Washington College Magazine
Dan Meehan '01, Jessica Koenig '01 and John Chrismer '02 goof around aboard Stars & Stripes, the America's Cup sailing vessel docked in San Diego, CA.
Michele Bantz '01 (right) traveled to Torrelodones, Spain, to attend the wedding of Isabel Navarro Suarez (see weddings), who attended WC as an exchange student from Madrid's Universidad Antonio de Nebrija. While in Madrid, Michele caught up with Maria Ramirez Auz (pictured), who had also been on exchange from Nebrija.
Staff Sergeant Brian E. Bender '06 is serving in Iraq. He greatly misses his girlfriend Caitlin Whittle '08, his KA brothers and family. Oddly enough, however, he says he finds Baghdad more pleasant than Professor Scout's lectures.
Three alumnae are working for the same publishing company (R&B Publishing) in Baltimore. From left: Cheryl McDaniel Keffer '01 works for the Times-Herald as well as the Baltimore Guide-South. Laura Greenback '05 works for B-More Live. Mary Helen Sprecher '86 is a reporter for the Baltimore Guide-Southeast. Cheryl and Mary Helen were both editors of the Pegasus, while Laura was an editor of the Elm. Renee Newberry '01 (not pictured) is a freelancer on their staff.
Sulolit Mukherjee '00 (right), pictured with his partner David Corbin, completed a master's degree in international economics and finance from American University and recently passed the DC Bar exam. After working at KPMG LLP's International Tax Advisory group, he now works in International Tax and Expatriate Tax Advisory for the accounting firm Argy, Wiltse & Robinson.
Bob Appleby '54 ran in the US Army's 10-mile run in DC last October and didn't finish last. A three-time dual champion in the North Carolina Senior Games, he most recently competed in the 75-79 age group, winning gold medals in racquetball and in 3-on-3 basketball competition. At the National Senior Games in Louisville, his team finished seventh.
Members of Kappa Alpha fraternity enjoyed a golf outing last fall. Pictured (front row from left): Frank Everett '64, Dick Natwick '66, Jerry Jenkins '65, Dick Wunderlich '67, Fred Weiss '65 and Eric Purdon '66. (Middle row): Jim Francis '66, Bob Leitch '62, Bob Clagett '63, Bob Natwick '64, Phil Tilghman '64, Jack Shannahan '65 and Ron Mrystik '64.(Back row): Barry Evans '63, Coach Ed Athey '47, Vance Strausburg '66, Jim Holloway '59, Doug Gates '59 and Bob Reck '63.
Class Notes
1940
Dr. Nathan Schnaper, though technically retired, works four days a week at the University of Maryland's Greenebaum Cancer Center, counseling cancer patients and their families. He's been hailed a "companion" and an "angel" by many. Professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he is the ranking faculty member. In 2003, the University of Maryland Medical Center named an internship program in his honor for students interested in medical research. Dr. Schnaper's autobiography, I Pay You to Listen, Not Talk, mentions his time at Washington College. The book is available in bookstores.
1942
Class Rep.: Bob Carter
Robert E. Carter joined several of his classmates at his 65th Reunion in May. He continues to be in good health. Among other things, he recently camped in California, and visited and hiked in Colorado, where he did some white-water kayaking. In August, he spent a week on Lake Champlain in upper New York State.
1945
Charlotte Hignutt. writes: "Life at latitude 18 degrees north, in Chiapas, Mexico, is not like life in Chestertown and living must be adjusted. One must inspect the washing machine for frogs, even on the second floor - they like the damp and they can climb. Pots of fern are not advisable - more frogs. Buy a pineapple? Always plant the leaf end and grow another. Take care chopping papaya tree trunks—they are full of water—as the machete goes in the water comes out and you have had a shower. The leaves of cinnamon trees smell wonderful, and lemon grass is for tea or amongst your clothes. Ants—their numbers exceed infinity, forgive that counter intuitive statement. I am told one species of ant, Rondas, may be allowed to enter the house. They arrive in great swarms, proceed to devour spiders and minutiae, and depart. Nonetheless, if the length of each ant is 3mm and there are 10,000 of them, there is a living mass in your house that is about 100 feet long and controlled by instinct, something not well understood. I think I will not do this. Living in a hard-surface house of tile and cement has made me realize how full of dust and microscopic creatures houses with rugs and upholstered furniture must be—better not to think about it. I read in Scientific American, air pollution prevents raindrops from forming. Mayan farmers have long known that when too many milpas (fields) are burned in the highlands the rains will be late. The pochote is the "timing tree"—when its leaves appear it is time to cut the milpas with machetes and when it blooms it is time to burn the cuttings and plant corn in the ash. The oil palm is an amazing and intimidating tree—20 feet high with huge, formidable thorny protrusions and an impenetrable mass of fibrous roots. Inside the upper trunk it is soft, cream colored and can be eaten—when roasted it tastes of peanuts. The ranchers of Chiapas are planting hundreds of hectares in oil palms. The price of palm oil makes this profitable but if the market should fail the trees and their roots are all but impossible to remove—the land is permanently committed and this is a worry. I invite correspondence and offer possible research space for faculty or supervised students interested in tropical studies - crhignutt@yahoo.com."
1948
Teen Short Stringfellow and her husband, Hart, spent their 59th wedding anniversary last June at the famous Cloister on Sea Island, GA, where they had honeymooned. "We learned that, if we could find the invoice we paid in 1948, we could return to stay at the original rate. We found it!!—and stayed in a five-room suite with personal butler ($1,700 a day) for only $28 a day and an invitation to return each year at the same low rate. Talk about divine intervention!" Teen reports that, later that summer, Hart suffered a pulmonary embolism and nearly died. Although he survived, he is still very weak. They enjoy visits from their three children, all of whom live near them in Gainesville, FL.
1957
Myra Bonhage-Hall will hold her sixth annual Lavender Fair at La Paix Herb Farm in West Virginia on June 28, 2008. La Paix was featured in Wonderful W.V. Magazine last June. Myra is also co-chair of the WV Sustainable Fair Planning Committee—the fair runs April 18-20 at Davis and Elkins College. For more information, check out www.lapaixherbfarm.com. She has also recently taken up painting again, concentrating on the beautiful plants and people at La Paix. "Come to the Fair(s)!!!! See you there. Please visit me on the web at http://www.lapaixherbfarmproducts.com"
1962
Class Rep.: Bob Leitch
Warren Milberg and his Hunter sailboat CrewZen were featured in the July/August 2007 edition of Good Old Boat magazine. When not sailing, Warren is a contributing writer for the Chesapeake Bay regional sailing publication SpinSheet. He also writes for a number of other sailing publications and the Sailboatowners.com Web site.
1963
Fletcher Hall is president of a public affairs counseling and strategic communications firm in the Washington, DC, area. F. R. Hall & Associates specializes in commercial agricultural transportation, renewable fuels, securities issues regarding food transportation, and coalition and organization management. Hall previously served as executive director of the National Summit on Agricultural & Food Trust Transport for the Future. Prior to March 2007, he was executive director of the Agricultural and Food Transporters Conferences of the American Trucking Associations.1970
Class Rep.: Chris Ely
Maryanna "Susie" Kieffer. has been appointed the new Director of Development for the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Hon. Barbara Osborn Kreamer and Robert Albert Kreamer have announced the engagement of their daughter, Elizabeth, to Kurt Dedrick Wittstadt, of Jarrettsville, MD.
Cyndy Renoff reports that younger son, Jordan Taler, graduated from Skidmore College in May 2007. Her elder son, David Taler, will graduate this May from University of Maryland Dental School, where his mentor is Dr. George C. Williams '71.
1974
Kevin O'Keefe. is chairing the annual Business Leadership Breakfast of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, an event that is targeted to raise $2 million to support the charity's work in serving children and families, the elderly, the developmentally disabled and the homeless. O'Keefe serves on the executive committee of the charity's board of directors. He is also chairing the parents' annual fund at Bryn Mawr School, which his two daughters attend.
1975
Class Rep.: Mary Silakowski Hayes
Susan Stiles has retired from PHH Arval in Sparks, MD, after 22 years. "I started in the business development area in 1985 and have had the great good fortune to work in many different areas of this financial business services organization. I was a client service representative, systems analyst, senior client liaison analyst, client liaison manager, information products business manager, manager of communications, and director of customer & vehicle services. I could not have anticipated that when I chose to major in English at WC, I'd end up with so much flexibility in my career. I am very excited to be starting a new chapter in life, which I plan to fill with family, friends (including former roomie Louanne Sargent), gardening, quilting, painting, attending concerts and performances, raising Shelties, and hanging out with a fantastic grandson."
1976
Julie Otto Shaw and her husband, Christopher B. Shaw '75, arranged to spend a weekend in November with Jacqueline Vansant '76 and Ron Garrett '74. The couples, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversaries, got together at the Shaws' home in Pepper Pike, OH. "Wow! As with our previous get-togethers," Julie writes, "we did those things we always enjoy together: sharing fabulous food (homemade and restaurants), exploring the local historical sites and metroparks, seeing movies, discussing books, and listening in awe to Chris's jokes. For those of you who are not familiar with our paths in life, Ron is a computer engineer for JSTOR and is based in Ann Arbor, MI. Jackie teaches German at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, and travels the world solving German emergencies. Julie is a woman of steel, in sales and marketing for engineered steel products for Lucchini USA. Chris is a humor genius sharing his culinary and life experience skills with his fellow employees at the Trader Joe's in Ohio."
1982
Leslie Lighton-Humphreys was elected in November to a two-year term as Upper Providence Township Auditor, in Montgomery County, PA. She continues to research with the intention of publishing a new biography of Dr. William Smith.
1985
Daniel Coon recently had occasion to see Dave "Spartacus" Collins, his wife, Sue, and sister Kelly. "That brought back a lot of great memories from WC. I'm currently a Lieutenant with the Howard County Police Department, Commander of the Information and Technology Division. Hard to believe since I almost failed out of computer science at WC. I see Kevin Beard occasionally in court, as an attorney not a defendant ... lol. Haven't heard from John "Puppy" Darlington, the missing "Link" Karnoff, or Todd Rowley in ages! Hope you guys are staying safe! We recently lost an officer in the line of duty, a terrible tragedy and significant loss for our agency. Tragedies such as that make you reflect and realize how fortunate we all are to have friends and family for support! Over my 21 years in law enforcement, I've gotten to see people at their worst and best. Frequently makes you wish you were back at WC playing beer-pong in Middle Hall, going to Beach Bash, or having a cheeseburger at Miss Dee's. Hope to hear from the old "Hill Street" gang from Middle Hall in the future. Wishing everyone the best."
1990
Class Rep.: Wendy Kloiber Frederick
Wendy Kloiber Frederick received the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Management last fall for her work building a learning technology program at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Wendy has worked at ATF since 2000 and currently serves as Chief of the Learning Technologies Branch. The award was presented at the DOJ Awards Ceremony by Acting Attorney General Peter D. Keisler.
1995
Deb Spence earned a nursing degree in May from MGW School of Nursing at Chesapeake College and is working in the Emergency Department at Chester River Hospital Center.
Melanie Wentzell Goas works at Longwood Gardens near Kennett Square, PA. "I'm not a gardener except in my own backyard, but I have an administrative position in the horticulture department working with the research, production and plant health care divisions," she says. She and her husband, Tom, live in West Chester.
Will Phipps, a horse trainer with Mott Racing Stable, is working with two horses considered early favorites for the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Will has been training Majestic Warrior since the horse first arrived at the Mott barn and onto Will's shed row. "We also have a nice filly named Mushka who has been plagued with problems but is a hopeful for the Kentucky Oaks, the major filly race the day prior to the Derby. See kentuckyoaks.com. I hope you all can watch or perhaps join in on the fun, the first Saturday in May."
1996
Kevin and Karen Walker Roland., along with son Aidan, 5, and infant daughter Miriam, are entering the home stretch of Kevin's assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Kevin heads off to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, in June '08 for a one-year posting, while Karen and the kids hopefully will spend a much calmer and cooler year at the family's home in County Clare, Ireland. Karen continues her USAID project management work for Chemonics International but now mostly from the comforts of her laptop. "We're looking forward to catching up with friends in the D.C. -Maryland area this May."
1999
Class Rep.: Gillian Mattimore
Captain Eric Johnson, United States Air Force, has been named Chief Financial Officer for the Medical Center at Scott Air Force Base, IL, which serves as major military treatment facility for 30,000 Department of Defense beneficiaries. Eric was named company grade Officer of the Year for 2007 and is still modeling under the stage name "Eric Beck" for a St. Louis agency. He has recently done print ad work for Bacardi and Anheuser-Busch.
Douglas Misarti was recently named head coach for men's lacrosse at Kenyon College in Ohio.
2000
Class Rep.: Marilyn McDonald
Erin Devlin Peterson has been working at Maryland's Frederick Community College for seven years, currently in the position of scheduling manager—she manages the production of the credit and non-credit course schedules as well as the academic catalog. She earned an MBA from Mount Saint Mary's in December 2003. Her husband, Shawn Peterson '00, is employed by Axiant (formerly Wolpoff & Abramson), a large legal collection firm. He has been working in the Frederick office for four years in the positions of collector, collections manager and acting site manager.
2001
Class Rep.: Jillian "Keeza" Matundun
Bob Cavanagh is director of sales for TaxStream, LLC, which is ranked #51 in Inc 500's fastest- growing companies in the U.S. Bob oversees all U.S. and European sales. The company is based in Hoboken, NJ, directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan. With the company's exploding growth, Bob is always looking for new additions to his team as well as for other departments. If interested in full-time employment or a summer internship in the NYC Metro area, please contact Bob (bob.cavanagh@gmail.com). In regards to his personal life, Bob has just purchased his second house, a single family home in Summit, NJ, and is celebrating his 30th birthday on Sept 23. Bob's wife, Tara Nash Cavanagh '01, is a program manager for InterExchange in Soho and just started a master's program in organizational psychology at Columbia University.
Jillian "Keeza" Matundan has been on the presidential campaign trail with her union, The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, working hard to get the first woman elected to the nation's highest office. She served as the Statewide Field Director for AFSCME in Iowa and Nevada caucuses. She is now serving as the Downstate Lead for AFSCME in New York City. "It's been an exhausting but terribly exciting presidential campaign so far and while I am eager to return home to Albany, I'm enjoying being a part of history." To catch up on her most recent exploits on the trail for Senator Hillary Clinton, check her blog at http://monkeeonthetrail.blogspot.com.
2002
Class Rep.: Jordan Yelinek
Kate Dowling was surprised to read in the last WCM that she is married to Colin Stone '04 and has a baby. All this time she thought she was living happily in Baltimore with her boyfriend and two cats. Kate is a Program Coordinator for the non-profit Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and, when not tending to her secret family, she enjoys hiking, vegetarian cooking and city life.
Alicia Gillis has moved to Juneau, AK, to work in the critical care unit at Bartlett Regional Hospital and to enjoy the outdoors.
Nicole "Nikki" Mancini is a fifth grade reading and language arts teacher at Bedminster Township Elementary School. She also serves on the Gifted & Talented Advisory Council and PTO, and advises Homework Club and Writing Club. At least ten of her students have published in various student anthologies. She looks forward to hearing from any of Dr. O Connor's past students from the Ed. block. "I hope everyone is doing well!"
Jordan Yelinek spoke with members of the House and Senate last fall through the Coalition for Life Sciences and the Joint Steering Committee on Public Policy, regarding the upcoming vote on National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Jordan, a doctoral student in cell biology at Yale University, spoke of the great things that scientists do for society, the economy and humanity in general.
2004
Julia Myers LoBosco. recently graduated from law school in Baltimore.
Tracey Stewart graduated cum laude from Pace University School of Law last May. She sat for both the New York and New Jersey bar exams in July 2007 and is happy to report that she passed both! Tracey is living in New York, where she is employed as an associate attorney at the Law Offices of O'Connor, McGuinness, Conte, Doyle and Oleson.
2005
Mathew Muenster completed a master's degree in American Studies from Penn State and is now preparing applications for doctoral programs to continue his studies in American culture.
2006
Class Rep.: Becky Binns
Rachel Stahm Austin has been working as a budget analyst for the Department of Defense since March 2007.
Mike Edison is pursuing a career in professional beach tennis. He took third place in the Aruba International Beach Tennis Open last fall. Check it out at myspace.com/rhinobeachtennis or www.beachtennisusa.net
Ryan Goff is an account services account executive with MGH, an Owings Mills-based marketing communications agency.
2007
Class Rep.: Chelsea Prior
Sarah Byrne is currently stationed in Iraq with the United States Air Force as a member of the Maryland Air Guard.
Chris DenBleyker works for Federated Environmental Associates in Pikesville, MD, as a project manager. He analyzes commercial sites for environmental risks.
Kimberly Last has accepted a position with Forbes in New York. As coordinator for two of the Forbes Internet properties, Investopedia and Real Clear Politics, she is responsible for designing and writing promotional materials for both sites. She is also project manager for handling all of the Facebook applications for Forbes and its sister Web sites. In her spare time, Kim works with New York Women in Communications (the group that previously awarded her two college scholarships). In December she was a keynote speaker, alongside Deborah Norville and NY television anchor Roz Abrams, for NYWIC's Gratitude Breakfast at New York's St. Regis Hotel.
Chelsea Prior is living in Pittsburgh, PA, and working as a full-time rowing coach. "I am starting an outreach program, called First Row Pittsburgh, for inner-city high school girls. The program is designed to introduce the sport of rowing to these girls while creating a competitive atmosphere. In addition, the girls receive academic tutoring and mentoring help, which includes college information and SAT prep." She is also pursuing a master's degree in sports leadership at Duquesne University.
Hilary Sama has earned her real estate license and is now a real estate agent with Long & Foster in the Washington, DC, area. She also teaches ballet to children at Ballet Petite in Bethesda.
Master's 1993
Jude M. Pfister earned a doctoral degree in history from Drew University last fall. Dr. Pfister's dissertation was entitled Constitutional Development in the United States Supreme Court during the 1790s. For the time being, Dr. Pfister will continue in his present position as Chief of Cultural Resources at the Morristown Historical Park in New Jersey.
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