There were 40 alumni who came for a least some portion of the weekend on April 25-27. Tim Wallace ’74 was a HUGE help in pulling this off! His staff at Benziger were very accommodating and hit it out of the ballpark with everything.
We started off the day with a private tour of this biodynamic winery. The guide, who was very funny, explained how Benziger doesn’t use any pesticides, but does use livestock to keep the grasses at bay, and also reuses their compost as fertilizer.
Benziger sits in a valley that was home to an ancient volcano, so the ground is exceptionally fertile. Tim explained that Benziger was originally started as a mass production winery called Glen Ellen (at one point it was one of the top five producers of bulk wine in the world). Mike Benziger wanted to get back to his roots and grow exceptional award-winning wines as organically as possible. As a result, they sold off the brand name and started doing things biodynamically.
We held the New York City Social at Ardesia Wine and Beer Bar. This small establishment is located in the Hell’s Kitchen part of New York on the West Side and was recommended by a young alum. Overall, we had 32 people in attendance. A couple of alumni volunteered to help me find a spot for the next reception. I told them I would love to do one this summer in a venue with outdoor seating.
Those in attendance covered a range of years—from 1956 up to 2010—and lingered even after the official end of the event. Will Fogg and Julie North popped in for a few moments right at the beginning, but had to leave soon after for another engagement.
I connected Marlene Krauss P’17 with Samantha Teece ’07, who was one of my soccer captains, and they chatted about Western United, the team that Olivia (Marlene’s daughter) will be playing for this spring. There are three other current Williston players on the team (including my advisee, Jasmin Movassaghi ’16). Foster DeJesus ’56 came with Arthur Coleman ’71. They spent a lot of time chatting with Liz Shaler Dos Santos ’84, who is the daughter of Al Shaler. Foster was one of the famed DeJesus swimmers of Williston lore (along with his brother, Prentiss ’57).
Amy Tucker ’97 recently released her debut EP (extended play) under her stage name Parabola West. According to a description on her website, the “six track EP Did You Hear? features catchy, soul-baring lyrics that speak to the heart.” Ms. Tucker, who also previously toured with the band Dreamfield, is a New Zealand-based, independent singer/songwriter whose pieces range from folk-pop tunes to piano-driven ballads.
“I’m very excited about this, and my first exposure to singing and writing poetry happened right there at The Williston Northampton School,” Ms. Tucker wrote in a message about her new EP. “I enjoyed being part of the Teller Chorus and also participating in many of the theater productions during my four years there. I have seen many of my classmates go on to follow creative pursuits with great success, and I am sure this is in no small part due to the support we all received as students.”
Read more about Parabola West and Did You Hear? on her website.
Breeder Susan Bennington ’78, owner of MoonLit Labradors, made history when one of her 10-month-old puppies won Winner’s Dog, the highest honor given by the Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac at the club’s annual show. “Ringo” was the youngest ever dog to win the honor. In this interview, Ms. Bennington talks about that win, how she became a breeder, and her favorite teacher.
What were you doing before you became a breeder?
I went to school, got degrees, and then landed in the corporate world. Originally, I was working for a segment of Estee Lauder and then for a very large duty free organization. I traveled the world, which was an education beyond anything, but as wonderful as it was, I’m just not one to work for other people.
The work of Kinda Hibrawi ’96 was recently featured in The Postcolonialist, an alternative online publication. The piece described how the Syrian-American painter has sought to highlight the complexity of the conflict in Syria through a series of portraits that also feature posts from Twitter. The article described Ms. Hibrawi’s work as “carefully crafted visages of real children residing in refugee camps. Each canvas recalls the site of a particular massacre (Ghouta, Houla) and overlays words with the face of a child gazing directly at the viewer.” According to the piece, Ms. Hibrawi, who is also co-founder of the Zeitouna Program for Displaced Syrian Children, is currently working on her next Twitter portrait, based on the Qubeir Massacre. Read the full piece here.
There were 40 alumni who came for a least some portion of the weekend on April 25-27. Tim Wallace ’74 was a HUGE help in pulling this off! His staff at Benziger were very accommodating and hit it out of the ballpark with everything.
Benziger sits in a valley that was home to an ancient volcano, so the ground is exceptionally fertile. Tim explained that Benziger was originally started as a mass production winery called Glen Ellen (at one point it was one of the top five producers of bulk wine in the world). Mike Benziger wanted to get back to his roots and grow exceptional award-winning wines as organically as possible. As a result, they sold off the brand name and started doing things biodynamically.
