A-Mag, 2009 Spring/Summer

Spring/Summer 2009

A Portrait of Col. Elliott • Face(book)ing the Future

Home FiresKeep Burningfor Alumni

Home FiresKeep Burningfor Alumni

Habe

rland

phot

o.Ga

ryM

illsph

oto.

Garri

son

phot

o.Ph

oto

cour

tesy

ofA.

Paul

Pare

W’6

2,’6

7of

Culve

r.Ha

berla

ndph

oto.

Gary

Mills

phot

o.

To view and order photographsfrom Alumni Reunion and

Summer Homecoming weekends, visit MyCapture,

Culver’s online photo gallery, at www.culver.mycapture.com

REUNIONin Review!

Clockwise, from top

Faculty brats from the Class of 1959 pose afterre-enacting their Iron Gate ceremony. They are,from left, A. Coke Smith IV, Greta Hughes, JeanCurry Stephenson, and Dr. Melvyn Estey.

David Culver ’59 makes his point to classmateJim Metcalfe after their reunion class photo.Culver was the recipient of the 2009 ButlerAward. Endowed by Joe Levy ’43, the ButlerAward recognizes distinguished service to Culverand includes a $10,000 Annual Fund gift in thename of the recipient’s class. Culver is the great-grandson of the school’s founder, H.H. Culver.

Members of the Culver Academy for Girls Class of1974 returning for their 35th reunion had theopportunity to pass through the CGA GraduationArch, which did not exist when they graduated.Participating were, left to right, Kathleen Riley Beck,Dorothea Noyes Ragsdale, Anne Reilly Fahim,Barbara Bach, Fay Eliopoulos, and KC Carswell.

1969 classmates Rich Wells (left) and JohnBiddulph are all smiles during their 40th reunionreception at the Roberts Hall of Science.

Arm-in-arm, members of the Class of 1999 enjoytheir 10th reunion with a stroll toward theReviewing Line.

Habe

rland

phot

o.

ContentsCulver

Departments2 Letters to the Editor

4 Views & Perspectives

16 Sports Roundup

18 A Splash of Summer

33 Alumni Class News

39 Passings in Review

Culver educates its students for leadership and responsible citizenship in society

by developing and nurturing the whole individual – mind, spirit, and body –

through an integrated curriculum that emphasizes the cultivation of character.

20page

10page

29page

Face(book)ing the FutureThe writing is on ‘the wall,’ andCulver alumni and the schoolitself are using Facebook to com-municate with alumni, parents,and friends. Donald Kojich ’78explains how social networking is helping his classmates connectand re-connect.

Monument HonorsDistinguished FacultyThe names of faculty with morethan 25 years of service are nowmemorialized in a granite bench, a gift of Miles ’73 and KimberlyWhite. The Faculty DistinguishedService Monument currently bears 125 names representing4,185 years.

Spring/Summer 2009

A Portrait of Col. Elliott • Face(book)ing the Future

Home FiresKeep Burning

for AlumniHome FiresKeep Burning

for Alumni

A bonfire burns brightly in front of theNaval Building. During Reunion andHomecoming weekends, this lakesidelocation is the venue for class receptionsand parties, the bonfire serving as a bea-con to returning alumni and their families.Photo by Doug Haberland.

ON OUR COVER

visit us on the web

From a cadet to acting superintendent during World WarII, the 57-year career of Col. Allen Elliott ’08 is capturedin words by Master Instructor Emeritus Richard Davies.On canvas, Fine Arts instructor Jack Williams has painteda portrait memorializing one of Culver’s historic figures.

Habe

rland

phot

o.

2 Spring/Summer 2009

Volume 87 Issue 1 Spring/Summer 2009

Culver (USPS 139-740) is published quarterly by TheCulver Educational Foundation, 1300 Academy Road,Culver, Indiana 46511-1291. Periodical postage paidat Plymouth, Indiana, and at additional post offices.

Postmaster: please send change of address notice toCulver Alumni Office, 1300 Academy Road, No. 132, Culver, Indiana 46511-1291. Opinions arethose of the authors, and no material may be reproduced without the editor’s written consent.

Printed by Harmony Marketing Group, Bourbon, Indiana.

Mailed by Shepherd Services, Plymouth, Indiana.

COMMUNICATIONS

Director/Strategic CommunicationsBill Hargraves III ’77

Editor/Culver Alumni MagazineDirector/PublicationsDoug Haberland

Asst. Director/Publications Jan Garrison

Website Content ManagerAnnalise Kaylor

PhotographerGary Mills

ALUMNI OFFICE

DirectorAlan Loehr Jr.

Legion PresidentRussell Sheaffer ’81Mahtomedi, Minn.

CSSAA PresidentKathryn Ryan Booth SS’67Harrison, N.Y.

Director/Culver Clubs InternationalLindsey Pick ’95

INTERNATIONAL

Director/International AdvancementTony Giraldi ’75

DEVELOPMENT

Director Mike Hogan

Deputy DirectorMary Kay Karzas

Director/Annual FundChet Marshall ’73

Director/Planned GivingDale Spenner

Lettersto theEditor

Three cheers for Tippy trips Three big cheers to Bob Meek for his com-mentary about the shortness of recent Tippytrips and his influence on increasing theirlength this summer (Winter/Spring 2009).Canoe trips of three or four miles are prettymuch a waste of time, definitely not a chal-lenge, and just an aggravation for everyoneinvolved, be it campers, counselors, or sup-port personnel.

While in the D&B in the mid ’60s, theTippy trip was 20 miles and one of the pre-mier, most anticipated escapades of the sum-mer. The Tippy was not a gentle paddledown the river, but a 20-mile search-and-destroy-mission/race. The object was to bethe first war canoe to reach Beason Park.There were no rules, other than fist-fightingand paddle-bashing were forbidden.Swamping opposing war canoes, “borrow-ing” their paddles, and enticing canoes to runaground on sandbars by hanging balloonsabove them as bait were all just part of thegame. Thinking back, it is a wonder that theBoat Shop crew could keep enough canoesafloat to complete all the trips!

Grady Smith W’67Marietta, Ohio

Was its name Hal?I enjoyed reading “Technology at Culver: AStudent Perspective” in the Winter/Spring2008 issue.

Culver got its first computer on June 15,1967, and put math teacher Al Bunner(with help from Bernie Stukenborg) incharge. The IBM 1401 wasn’t a laptop, noteven a desktop. I guess you’d call it a floor-top computer. It had no screen; output wasin one of two forms: a special computerpaper that came in rolls or punch cards.

The Culver computer was primarily forbusiness and administrative purposes –accounting, class schedules, etc. True to theschool’s educational mission, the Academy’sfirst computer class began that September.Mr. Bunner taught 18 of us how to writeFORTRAN (formula translation) programsand stood next to the 1401 to witness theresults. He immortalized these experiencesin a 1968 article for the Alumnus magazine.

Computing has changed a lot over those 42years, becoming an indispensable tool inthe education of all Culver students. Theeducational value of computers nowdepends as heavily on resources providedon the Internet as it does on the software ofany single machine.

R. Jeffrey Blair ’69Nagoya, Japan

• Daniel Young’s first name was incorrectin the inside front cover of theWinter/Spring 2009 mag-azine. Rest assured hisname is properly recordedin the annals of Culverathletic history – and thestate of Indiana – as ourfirst individual statewrestling champion, fin-ishing his senior seasonwith a perfect 48-0 record.

• It was President Reagan’s second inaugu-ral parade in 1985 that was canceled dueto severe weather (Winter/Spring 2009,page 28). That parade would’ve markedthe first appearance of the Equestriennesin an inaugural parade. “The girls did afantastic job preparing and were ready,”said R. Jeffrey Honzik H’65, formerdirector of Horsemanship (1980-88),who pointed out the error.

• To clarify an Alumni news item,Catherine Vanessa Bentley Lyons ’89 hasonly one child, a son, Jack, who wasborn Dec. 30, 2008.

• There were conflicting dates published inthe Winter/Spring 2009 issue forSummer Homecoming Weekend. Weapologize for any resulting confusion theerror may have caused.

Corrections & Clarifications

Winter/Spring 2009

John Mars turns 90! • Inaugural Parade 2009

StakeholdersSharing Commitmentto Keep Costs Down

StakeholdersSharing Commitmentto Keep Costs Down

3Culver Alumni Magazine

aw

ordfrom

the

EditorDoug Haberland, Editor

(574) 842-8365

[email protected]

Alumni Reunion and Summer Homecoming weekends are among the busieston the Culver campus. There are a lot of long days and hard work for the staffsof Alumni and Development and for everyone from the head of schools to theemployees in the dining hall and Uniform Department. It’s a total team effort,and the payoff is seeing so many alumni enjoy their return to campus.

After 16 years, I am feeling like more of a participant than a working observer,and I like that. I always get to meet some new people, and I enjoy seeing familiarfaces. Alumni are always complimentary of the magazine, publications, and thephotographs, and I certainly appreciate hearing that, as well as any criticisms orconcerns they might have about our publications.

Several alumni asked me this year about the online version of Culver AlumniMagazine planned for the Fall/Winter 2009 issue. Some didn’t like the idea, andI shared with them that the reason for going online with the 2008-2009 AnnualReport (see page 7) and the magazine was to save money. I can’t say I like iteither, but it’s the right thing to do to help the Academies keep expenses incheck while we continue to deal with a recessed economy.

As a former newspaperman, I still have ink in my blood, and I like it on my fin-gers. I like the feel of newsprint and the rustle of turning pages. I want to relaxwith my Sunday newspaper and a cup of coffee in my favorite chair or on mydeck. The same goes with the magazines I like to read. For one thing, after

spending my working day in front of a computer, sittingdown to one at home to read an online newspaper or amagazine has very little appeal.

For years, printing and mailing Culver Alumni Magazineand other materials were the primary methods of commu-nicating with alumni. Now, there are many other ways –the website, electronic newsletters, e-mail blasts, andFacebook. All of these are electronic, but it doesn’t meanthe printed magazine is going away.

But these electronic ways of communicating and network-ing aren’t going to go away, either. The good news is, there is more Culver newscoming your way than ever before. Communicating with alumni has never beenfaster, easier, more immediate, or less expensive – and it is just going to keep get-ting better.

Communication today is now also a two-way street. Facebook is one of manysocial networking avenues available and one that Culver and Culver alumni aretaking advantage of. In this issue, Don Kojich ’78 shares how classmates fromthe late ’70s and early ’80s used Facebook to connect, re-connect, and organize amini-reunion in Chicago.

We don’t want you to miss the upcoming online issues of the Annual Report andCulver Alumni Magazine, so make sure we have your latest e-mail address and thatyou are registered in order to access the Alumni Portal (www.culver.org/alumni).

– Doug Haberland, Editor

Coming back, and moving forward

‘. . .make sure wehave your latest e-mail address. . .in order to accessthe Alumni Portal.’


Pam and I have just completed our 10thyear at Culver, and as I write this are wellinto our 11th Summer Schools & Campssession. It does not seem possible. Whenwe arrived, we saw so many opportunitiesand so much potential. I remember think-ing that in a strange way saying that aschool or a person or a program has poten-tial is not a very positive thing. To say aplace has realized its potential is thesupreme compliment. I believe we are closeto that ideal now, and believe we all haveevery right to be proud of Culver for itsaccomplishments, the impact it has on thesecondary school world, the leadership itprovides to its peer schools, and the qualityof its people and programs. We no longerneed to dwell in the past and talk aboutwhat a great school Culver once was. Weare at the top of our collective game.

When someone in the academic worldmakes such a lofty claim, that person needsproof or warrants to support the assertion.Consider the following as my warrants: thehistoric ride in the Presidential InauguralParade this past January, the number ofMerit Scholar finalists, the performance ofour athletic and academic teams, the qualityof our faculty and staff, the high level of per-formance of our arts initiatives and groups,the exceptional performance of Culver stu-dents on Advanced Placement examinations,the vibrancy of the Summer Schools &Camps at 1,360 strong in this witheringeconomy, the excellence of the oversight pro-vided by the Board of Trustees, the relativeperformance of the Culver endowment in

this downturn (outperforming all indicesand every major college endowment), andthe quality of the student body – referencetheir college choices and destinations. Thereis so much of which to be proud. This is apeerless school.

However, at the end of a decade of work – inpartnership with faculty, students, staff, andalumni, friends, and of course, each other –what makes Pam and me most proud ofCulver is the commitment to the well-beingof this institution. People who have experi-enced Culver care about the school and thecamps and will do what they can in order tohelp it not only succeed, but to prevail.

Recently I have chronicled the success ofthe Batten Leadership Challenge in ouralumni correspondence. We have talkedabout the vision and the selflessness ofFrank and Jane Batten. They realize what itwill take to make Culver viable and theyact on that knowledge and that opportuni-ty. They obviously have the means to makea real difference and thank goodness, theymake that difference. Enter the thousandsof alumni and friends who in a down mar-ket, maybe the worst in 75 years, do theirbest to support the school and theirbeloved summer programs by qualifying fora matching gift.

This alone is impressive enough, but thenconsider the sacrifices being made by thefaculty and staff to support their school.Dozens of members of the faculty and staffhave given back time to the school so theycan qualify to be part of the Batten

by John N. Buxton Head of Schools

Caring people making a difference has takenCulver to the top

‘(I) believe we all have every right to be proud ofCulver for its accomplishments ... the quality of itspeople and programs.’

PerspectivesViews &


That is commitment, especially when youconsider that no faculty or staff were givenraises for the coming year. In an effort to

help reduce the budget, we concluded thatany increase on an already weighty salaryand benefits line would be more than wecould manage, especially when we neededto plow as much resource as possible backinto financial aid for families in distress.

These are special indicators of the care andconcern members of the Culver faculty andstaff have exhibited in these tough econom-ic times. But there are others. The cohort ofseven young faculty members who wentthrough their five-year evaluation processpooled some of their salary money to createan endowment for future five-year classes inorder to provide time and resources forthem to complete this all important evalua-tion more professionally. This fund will bematched and will stand as another shiningexample of the selflessness of this faculty –putting Culver first in a difficult time.

There is the story of the senior facultymember who used his professional develop-ment grant money to help pay for the grad-uate school expenses of a younger colleaguewho needed the support. Then mostrecently, a family who had received a finan-cial aid grant that would allow their childto return called to say they had had aslightly better second quarter with theirbusiness than they expected. So they werereturning half the money so it could beused for a more needy family.

If there is a warrant that provesthat this great school is a trueexemplar, this story of the spiritof service at Culver is the bestthere is. Pam and I could not bemore pleased to work with thosewho care enough to do the bestthey can to make a difference,especially when it makes a differ-ence for Culver.

Thank you.

Leadership Challenge. Some hourly staffhave decided to work a number of days forfree and have used the dollar amount notpaid to them to gain the match forCulver. Other professional staff havechanged their schedules to less time ontask – a week to a month – and the dol-lar amount they have not been paid willqualify for a match as well.Administrators have given back salary tomeet the criteria for the match. All inall, we should have nearly a quarter of amillion dollars coming back to Culverthat is eligible for the matching fundsFrank and Jane Batten have provided.

PerspectivesViews &

‘... the senior faculty memberwho used his professional development grant money

to help pay for the graduateschool expenses of a younger colleague...’

Head of Schools John Buxton and his wife, Pam, with Brice Geoffrion during Commencement.

Garri

son

phot

o.


By Example Campaign Update:Together, We Can Do This Dear Friend of Culver:

Though a few have had doubts,we can do this.

• We have raised almost $300million for Culver throughthe By Example campaign.

• We have already earned morethan $17 million in matchingfunds through the BattenLeadership Challenge.

• We have accomplished so much together duringthis extraordinary campaign for Culver.

But as campaign chair, I need to remind all of youabout one little detail that is very, very important: Itis not over!

We have many campaign goals yet to reach, all inareas where your gift at this time can make a real dif-ference. We continue our efforts to endow eight spe-cific endowment funds identified as priorities for theBatten Leadership Challenge and Culver: GeneralEndowment, Technology, Athletics, Summer SchoolsSupport, Scholarships, Faculty Support, Staff Support,and Physical Plant/Facilities.

As of the end of this fiscal year, Culver’s endowmentstood at an estimated $189 million, thanks to a prudentinvestment strategy and generous major gifts to theendowment from the Battens, George Roberts, and somany others. As we have stated before, our goal is toraise Culver’s endowment to the $300 million level,which could mean $15 million a year (at 5 percent) tosupport Culver’s operating budget. What a differencethat would make for Culver! Such a fiscal positionwould greatly reduce pressures on the school’s annualbudget. I’m sure the school’s leadership would agree thatsuch an endowment would be a great comfort shouldwe ever experience such an economic maelstrom as thecountry has faced in the past year or so.

By the time you receive this magazine, there will beless than six months remaining to earn matchingfunds through the Batten Leadership Challenge. Bythe end of June, your generosity had helped us earn$17.6 million in matching funds. Granted, that isgood news, but it also means more than $32.4 mil-lion remain available to earn! We are counting onyour participation and ongoing support to earn therest between now and the end of January 2010.

Remember, all new endowment gifts and all AnnualFund gifts received between now and Jan. 31, 2010,are tremendously important because they will bematched dollar-for-dollar as part of the BattenLeadership Challenge, with all matching funds goingdirectly into Culver’s endowment. Every gift not onlycounts, it counts double!

Jane and Frank Batten ’45 promise to give Culverevery single penny of the $50 million, if and only if asmany of Culver’s alumni, parents, friends, and donorsas possible participate and rise to meet the challenge.The Battens realize that Culver must build both itsendowment and a larger base of alumni supportingthe school. We are so fortunate they chose this time toissue the Batten Leadership Challenge.

As Head of Schools John Buxton pointed out recently,the dollars raised for Culver at this time may be themost important dollars the Academies have ever raised.

On behalf of Culver and all those who care about thefuture of this outstanding school, thank you for yourongoing support of the By Example campaign.

Let’s put this campaign way over the top.

Sincerely,

Miles D. White ’73Campaign Chair

$5,000 in matching funds throughtheir combined efforts.

• Longtime faculty member JohnGouwens made a special endowmentgift to support the organ and carillonmusic programs in the MemorialChapel; his gift was doubled, too.

All across campus, Culver employees haverisen to the challenge and made contribu-tions to support this remarkable endeavor.

It doesn’t stop there, as alumni, parents,and friends of Culver are doing their partto help grow the endowment by donatingto the Annual Fund or to priority endow-ment funds. Recent graduate Guga Tosi ’07donated his first paycheck to Culver; theBattens matched the amount in full. SinceApril 1 (when the Battens announced theyalso would match contributions to theAnnual Fund) donations to the AnnualFund have earned $2.3 million in matchingfunds for Culver’s endowment, helping tofurther strengthen the endowment by miti-gating the draw for budgeted purposes.

All matching funds go directly to theendowment. However, you can direct yourgift to support specific endowments of theBy Example Campaign: The Campaignfor Culver, including faculty and programs,student life, facilities, and Summer Schools& Camps. If you would like more specificexamples, note that eight endowment fundshave been identified as priorities for theBatten Leadership Challenge: BattenGeneral, Technology, Athletics, SummerSchools Support, Scholarships, FacultySupport, Staff Support, and Facilities/Physical Plant. There is no minimum giftrequirement to earn matching funds. Allnew endowment gifts or Annual Fund giftsreceived by Jan. 31, 2010, will be matcheddollar-for-dollar.


CurrentCulver

Batten Leadership ChallengeMaking progress toward earning $50 million in matching giftsby Bob Quakenbush, Campaign Communications Coordinator

For those eligible to earn corporate matchingfunds from their employers, all corporatefunds must be received by Jan. 31, 2010.

Please help Culver fulfill Frank and JaneBatten’s goal; don’t leave one single penny inthe account! Make your gift today, while youcan double its impact through the BattenLeadership Challenge! For more informa-tion, please visit www.culver.org/batten.

With just over five months to go, we’vemade significant progress!

Thanks to the generosity of many alumni,parents, and friends of Culver Academies,as of the end of June, Culver had earnedmore than $17 million in matching gifts tothe endowment through the BattenLeadership Challenge.

Several months ago, Frank ’45 and JaneBatten of Virginia presented an extraordi-nary $50 million challenge to buildCulver’s endowment as quickly as possible.

The Batten Leadership Challenge matchesdollar-for-dollar any new gifts for existingendowment purposes received by Jan. 31,2010, and all gifts made to the school’sAnnual Fund between April 1, 2009, andJan. 31, 2010. In addition, payments madeto fulfill endowment pledges previouslymade in writing are being matched 50cents on the dollar.

If Culver is to earn the entire $50 million,everyone’s participation is important; already,people who care about Culver are findingcreative ways to earn the matching funds:

• The Class of 2009 rose to the BeasonChallenge issued annually by theLegion Board to graduating seniors toachieve an 85 percent participationrate. Seniors raised enough money forthe Annual Fund and their class schol-arship fund through their contribu-tions and an incentive grant from theLegion to earn $22,500 in matchingfunds for the endowment through theBatten Leadership Challenge.

• The master instructors pooled theirmoney and earned more than $6,500in matching funds.

• The cohort of younger faculty whohave just reached their fifth year atCulver had similar results, raising

Look for the Culver Annual Report in yourInbox rather than your mailbox this fall.

As part of the school’s ongoing response tothe economic downturn, Culver will reducecosts by publishing its 2008-09Annual Report elec-tronically this fall. Bypublishing the AnnualReport online, theschool will save sub-stantial dollars inprinting, mailing, andpostage costs.

Donors will receive apostcard or an e-mailannouncement (with a link tothe Annual Report) once it is publishedthis fall. Donors, alumni, and friends ofCulver will also be able to access theAnnual Report through the website, withwritten articles accessible on the web andthe donor recognition lists password pro-tected on the Alumni and Parent portals.

Printed copies of the Annual Report will beavailable on request to donors who preferreceiving a hard copy. To reserve a copy,please e-mail [email protected] orcall (574) 842-7400.

2008-09 Annual Reportgoing online to reduce costs

Academies’ riders invited to World Equestrian Games


A new chapter in the long history ofCulver horsemanship will be written Oct. 2-4, 2009, as the Academies host aweekend celebration to unveil renovationsand improvements to the VaughnEquestrian Center.

All former Troopers, Equestriennes,Summer Cavalry School participants, andSummer Camp riders, as well as patronsand friends of the Horsemanship Program,are invited to return for a celebration thatThe Culver Educational Foundation BoardChairman Jim Henderson ’52 said will rivalthe Troop Centennial of 1997.

Horsemanship Reunion Weekend willinclude a re-dedication ceremony,Horsemanship Hall of Fame inductions, ahorse show for interested alumni, polo, andopportunities for alumni at every level toride. The festivities will also include per-formances and exhibitions by Culver’s cur-rent Troopers and Equestriennes, featuringthe Lancer Platoon and Rough Riders,among other related activities.

The weekend celebration will also unveilPhase 2 of the Vaughn Equestrian Center.These plans will include artist renderings ofa second indoor riding arena and anEquestrian Learning Center that will behoused in the renovated Armory.

Visitors will have an opportunity to tourthe facility and see firsthand the renovated

Jud Q. Little Riding Hall, with its newlighting and seating; the new Robert C.Vaughn Stable, which features 94 box stalls,four tack rooms, and a veterinary suite; andthe new outdoor paddock area.

During the $11 million refurbishing, greateffort was put into preserving, restoring,and recycling original brick, wood, stone,and other building materials to ensure theriding hall and stable retain the look and

feel that are so much a part of the historyand heritage of the Academies. FormerCulver riders will be challenged to findwhere new brick has replaced the old.

For more information about this excitingweekend in October, please contact theAlumni Office at (574) 842-7200.

Horsemanship Reunion, Rededicationof Vaughn Equestrian Center Oct. 2-4

Stalls in the new Robert C. Vaughn Stable

Habe

rland

phot

o.

Culver Academies’ Black Horse Troop andEquestriennes have been invited to partici-pate in the largest equestrian sporting eventever to be held in the United States.

The 2010 Alltech FEI World EquestrianGames will be held at the Kentucky HorsePark in Lexington, Ky., from Sept. 25through Oct. 10, 2010. The 16-day event

includes world championships in eightequestrian sports: dressage, eventing,jumping, driving, endurance,reining, vaulting, andpara-equestrian.

2010 marks the firsttime the gameswill be held in

the United States. The event has previouslybeen held in Sweden, the Netherlands,

Italy, Spain, and Germany.

For more information about the World Equestrian Games, visit

www.feigames2010.org.

visit us on the web

horsemanship


CurrentCulver

During the past year, a subcommittee ofthe Legion Board of Directors has updatedand revised elements of the LegionConstitution. In addition to streamlininglanguage, the revisions address areas of thealumni association’s work that will align uswith the other volunteer boards servingCulver, including the CEF Trustees. Moreimportantly, we believe the changes allow usto serve you, the alumni, and the Academiesin more efficient and effective ways.

The subcommittee was led by VicePresident Whitney Alvis ’96 and outgoingLegion President Rick Jennings ’70. Theconstitutional amendments are outlined

ARTICLE VIBoard of Directors

and Officers

Changing the number ofLegion Board members to amaximum number of 24 (previously 30); and to fillthe following officer posi-tions: President, VicePresident, and Secretary,and to eliminate the posi-tions of Treasurer andSenior Vice Presidents.

ARTICLE VIII Committees of theBoard of Directors

Retaining the Nominatingand Executive Committees,and forming ad hoc com-mittees as needed to addressspecific needs. Members ofthese ad hoc committeeswill not necessarily be limit-ed to Legion Directors.Examples of such commit-tees include AlumniActivities, Development,and Student Life. Their pur-pose would be solely to assistCulver officials and to aid in the concerns, ideas,trends and technologies ineach of said designated areas.

ARTICLE IXMeetings of the Board

of Directors

Conducting three meetingseach year (previously two),sequenced from the begin-ning of the school year, sothat the Annual Meeting ofthe Culver Legion shall bethe third regular meeting ofeach year.

ARTICLE XElection of Board of

Directors and Officers

Adding performance eval-uations for directors at theend of each director’s two-year term, which will fac-tor in the decision toextend another term.

ARTICLE XII

Bylaws

A new amendment whichstates: “The Bylaws for thegoverning of The CulverLegion may be adopted,amended, altered, repealed orre-adopted by the Board ofDirectors at any regular orspecial meeting of the Board,but the powers of such direc-tors in this regard shall at alltimes be subject to the rightsof the members of TheCulver Legion to alter orrepeal such Bylaws at anyAnnual Meeting of TheCulver Legion.”

below. They were approved at the board’sMay 2009 meeting and they are recom-mended by the board for your ratification.

The Legion Constitution requires that anyamendments be voted upon by the entiremembership. As a reminder, all CMA andCGA graduates are Legion members.Therefore, we are asking you to be an activeparticipant and exercise your right to vote.We have elected to conduct the voting elec-tronically via the school’s website. This repre-sents a significant savings to the school at atime when prudent budgeting is expected.

Please log on to the address listed below toview the Legion Constitution and its pro-

posed amendments, and follow the instruc-tions for casting your vote.

Finally, you were well-represented by mypredecessor, Rick Jennings ’70. He has, andcontinues to be, one of Culver’s most activeand steadfast volunteers, and I want toextend the Legion Board’s appreciation tohim in this public forum.

Russell W. Sheaffer ’81Mahtomedi, Minn.

THE LEGION BOARD PROPOSES THE FOLLOWING CHANGES IN THE LEGION CONSTITUTION:

To the Members of The Culver Legion

Cast your vote today at culver.org/legionCast your vote today at culver.org/legion


CurrentCulver

Stone bench memorializes distinguished faculty

“Sometimes, I think the part (ofCulver) that does not get enough recogni-tion is you, the faculty.”

That simple sentiment explained whyKimberly and Miles White ’73 of AbbottPark, Ill., chose to donate a FacultyDistinguished Service Monument to theAcademies as a lasting tribute to faculty andstaff who have served for 25 years or more.

The granite bench – bearing the names of125 individuals representing 4,185 years ofservice – was dedicated May 8 on theAcademic Quadrangle. Some 30 currentand retired faculty/staff members whosenames appear were on hand for the cere-mony, joined by members of The CulverEducational Foundation Board of Trustees,faculty, staff, and students.

The faculty and staff honored on the benchrepresent every era in Culver’s history. Theaverage years of service is 33, and room hasbeen left to engrave additional names as oth-ers achieve the quarter-century milestone.

White said the length of service of the facultynamed on the bench was not only impressivebut important to the life of the school.

“The people who stay the longest are reallythe ones who shape the evolving personality

of institutions like Culver. To survive 115years and still be here and be tops in its classas a school is a function of, not students, butthe faculty members, staff members, andleaders of a school who kept it what it was,valued what it was, and stayed true to what itwas,” said White, who is vice chairman ofthe Board of Trustees and chairman of theBy Example capital campaign.

A bench recognizing the faculty is the latestgift from the Whites to honor those whohave dedicated their lives to Culver insideand outside of the classroom. The couple ear-lier created an endowment that will provide astipend for the retirement account of anycurrent faculty member who crosses the 25-year threshold.

“This is an unprecedented honor; no schoolshonor their faculty in a significant way,”Head of Schools John Buxton said. “You cango to many campuses . . . and you will neverfind a trace that those faculty members –those people who really made the difference– were a part of that institution.”

In accepting the bench, James HendersonW’47,’52, chairman of the CEF Board ofTrustees, said in his travels for Culver heoften hears the same refrain: What everybodyremembers are the teachers who made a dif-ference in their lives.

“I am particularly thrilled that they are ingranite, somehow that all seems right. I thinkof them all as blocks of granite, and granite,to me, signifies forever. I think they deservethat kind of recognition and permanencehere,” he said.

Bill Roth ’63, a 40-year veteran of theCulver classroom, represented the faculty.“Today we sustain the ethos of this uniqueinstitution. We acknowledge the endlessthread of dedicated mentoring, love, andcommitment of youth and passion for thehuman character that identifies each Culverman and woman. Events such as this andthe landmark we dedicate . . . unite thecommunity and contribute to the engagingidentity that makes Culver an essential andenvied educational institution.

“My colleagues, I am proud to stand amongyou. . . . We current faculty and staff takehumble pleasure in just seeing our namesside-by-side with yours. Thank you for yourfriendship and wise counsel. This bench rep-resents a vigorous quality of life. It is the lightof a school with a purposeful direction.”

– by Doug Haberland and Bob Quakenbush

See page 48 for a listing of all names on the monument.

Gary

Mills

phot

o.

Faculty, staff, and retirees with 25 years of service or more who were present for the dedication of the Faculty Distinguished Service Monument.

Spanish instructor José Manuel Garzón,who closed the book on a 35-yearAcademies’ teaching career at the end of the2008-09 school year, was honored withemeritus status and with the John R. MarsFaculty Merit Award at the June 6Commencement Convocation.

Also honored with the Academies’ highestfaculty-staff awards were Humanitiesinstructor John Oberwetter, who wasnamed the Kaser Scholar, and chemistryinstructor Phil Cook, the recipient of theMajor General Delmar T. Spivey Award.

It was truly fitting that Garzón be namedthe Mars Award recipient, as it was then-

department chair JohnR. Mars who hired theSpanish native in 1974,Dean of Faculty KathyLintner told the EppleyAuditorium crowd.

Garzón also served asHonorary GrandMarshal at Commence-ment and received theMartin Uebel Friend

of the Band Award. The Uebel award isgiven by members of the Culver Band forexceptional service and support to instru-mental music.

A graduate of Muskegon CommunityCollege with post-graduate degrees fromGrand Valley State University and theUniversidad de Salamanca, Garzón hastaught all levels of Spanish, including 28years Advanced Placement SpanishLiterature, Spanish Language, Spanish Art,and Spanish Art History courses. He is amaster instructor and holder of the W.A.Moncrief Jr. Chair of Teaching.

Spanish art has been a lifelong interest, andGarzón has lectured at many colleges anduniversities as well as presenting sessions atregional and national conferences. He hasbeen a consultant in Spanish Language and

Literature for the College Board since 1979and a regular presenter for AP summerworkshops and conferences across theUnited States.

Garzón “believed that his teaching wasintricately tied to the sharing of the know-ledge of his culture, its history, art, theater,poetry, religion, and philosophy,” Lintnersaid. “José also wanted his students tobecome citizens of the world with highmoral standards, honor, decency, and char-acter, besides being able to talk – and talkwell – the language of Cervantes.”

Garzón integrated his love of language withhis passion for art, particularly Picasso, intothe classroom. He played the mandolin andsang for his students and cooked andserved Spanish food, complete with apronand chef ’s hat, Lintner said.

Colleague and friend John Mars, now 90,had this to say about the man he hired 35years ago: “The international parents findin José, and in María Jésus, too, personalfriends with whom they can talk and dis-cuss whatever concerns they might have.Through the bond of speaking Spanish,these people use José’s home as a kind ofmecca, where they are treated most gra-ciously and kindly. José, through his gregar-ious nature and friendly disposition, hasbeen a secret weapon in advertising Culverto the Spanish-speaking nations.”

Lintner added that no tribute to Garzóncould be complete without thanking hiswife of 21 years, María Jésus. “She has beenhis best friend, his helpmate, and an equalteam member. Along with José, she hasopened her home and heart to hundreds ofCulver students, both domestic and inter-national, parents and alumni.”

The Board of Trustees established emeritusstatus in 1983 as a way of honoring retiringindividuals who have served at least 20years at Culver.

The Kaser Scholar award was established in1976 to recognize a faculty member whosescholarly interests, enthusiastic teaching,sympathetic understanding, and wise coun-sel combine to inspire students and kindlezest for life and learning. Appropriately, theannual recipient is chosen by the top 30students in the graduating class.

Honoree John Oberwetter came to theAcademies in 2001 after 18 years as anEnglish instructor inConnecticut and 10years as departmentchair. He joined theninth-grade Humanitiesprogram and served asthe department chair ofLower Humanities forthree years before Upperand Lower merged.Oberwetter received hisundergraduate degree in history fromColumbia University and his master’s in cur-riculum and teaching from Teachers Collegeof Columbia University.

Spivey Award recipientPhil Cook joined theScience Department in2007 as an associateinstructor of chemistry.The Purdue Universitygraduate changed hismajor from engineeringto teaching after realiz-ing he wanted to “focus

his energy on making students want tolearn science and to have as much passionfor it as he did,” Lintner said.

Named for Culver’s sixth superintendent,the Spivey Award was established in 1967and the recipient is selected by theAcademic Department chairs. The awardrecognizes and encourages superior teach-ing among young, promising members ofthe faculty.


CurrentCulver

11

Retiring Garzón honored with emeritus status, Mars Award Oberwetter and Cook also garner faculty laurels for 2008-09

José Manuel Garzón

John Oberwetter

Phil Cook

Being named the 2008-09 WilliamsonFellows is just the latest thing that instructorsJohn Buggeln and Cathy Tulungen have incommon. Interestingly, both were in thesame graduating class at Middlebury College,though did not know one another until join-ing the Academies’ faculty in 2004.

The Williamson Fellowship was establishedin 2004 by J.D. Williamson ’63 and his wife,Judy, as a way to reward faculty who have animpact on the education and personal devel-opment of Culver students. This awardincludes an honorarium to motivate andretain bright, young teachers. WilliamsonFellows are highly motivated, participate inmany extra curricular activities, stand out asstudent mentors, and rise through the ranksof the academic leadership systems.

With a bachelor’s degree in EnvironmentalScience, a master’s in religion from YaleDivinity School, and a doctorate in historyfrom Indiana University, Buggeln is ideallysuited to Culver’s Humanities program. Hisadministrative roles include AmericanStudies Program coordinator, Culver-in-China Program director, and director of theGlobal Studies Institute.

Tulungen earned a bachelor’s degree inGerman followed by a master’s degree inTeaching English to Speakers of OtherLanguages (TESOL) from the Schoolfor International Training inBrattleboro, Vt. At Culver, she hastaught German to native speakers ofEnglish and English to speakers ofother languages. Tulungen is a found-ing member of the Learning SupportCommittee and serves as coordinatorof International Student Programming.She spent 15 years as a teacher-trainerin the universities of Indonesia.

For 2008-09, the student body select-ed chemistry instructor SandySchriefer and humanities instructorKevin Danti as the recipients of theRalph N. Manuel Award. Named inhonor of the former president of theAcademies (1982-1999), the Manuel

Award is presented annually to the maleand female faculty member who, in theopinion of the student body, best exemplifythe teaching ideals of Culver.

A graduate of Indiana University, Schriefercame to Culver in 2005 after a stint in thepublic schools. Her students describe her as“tough,” “honest,” and “caring.”

Danti also came to Culver in the fall of2005. He is a football coach, speech teamcoach, trip leader for the spring break mis-sion trips, member of the Religious LifeCommittee, the Student Academic AdvisoryCouncil and the Program EvaluationCommittee, and co-adviser to the CMAHonor Council. Danti is a graduate ofPurdue University and earned his master’sdegree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Battery C counselor Dana Neer, a HowardCounty resident the past 23 years, served asdirector of the 25th Haynes-AppersonSports Festival in Kokomo, Ind., in lateJune. Neer had directed the festival’s chil-dren’s track meet the past five years. A long-distance runner, Neer also assists with track

and cross country at the Academies.

The festival involved hundreds of partici-pants in basketball, cycling, golf, horse-shoes, martial arts, running, softball, soccer,tennis, kayak- and canoe-racing.

A combat veteran and retired infantry officer,Leadership instructor Ray Gleason, Ph.D.,has authored “A Grunt Speaks: Reflectionson a Devil’s Dictionary of Vietnam InfantryTerms and Tales.” Gleason’s personal perspec-tive uses the terminology and concepts of theVietnam-era infantry to explore the infantry-men’s attitudes toward their role in the war,the anti-war movement, their enemies, and each other. The book will be available this fall from Unlimited Publishing LLC ofBloomington, Ind., founded by Danny Snow ’74. For more information, clickhttp://www.unlimitedpublishing.com/gleason.

Former Culver Alumnus Magazine editorJim Coppens retired in June as the execu-tive director of the South Bend (Ind.) CivicTheatre and was honored with theMarjorie H. & James M. Wilson, M.D.,Philanthropic Award. After 16 years atCulver, Coppens became the Civic’s firstfull-time, paid executive director in 1995.Under his leadership, the Civic relocated tothe Scottish Rite Building, which under-went a $4 million renovation.


CurrentCulver

Current

Faculty, Staff & Retiree Notes

Gary

Mills

phot

o.

The inaugural 2009 Batten Fellows are, left to right, Tom Thornburg, Joe Horvath, Fred Haase, Candace Koehn,

Patricia Montgomery, John Yeager, and Dan Baughman.

Baccalaureate speaker John Zeglis NB’64, the retired chairman and CEO of AT&T Wireless, congratulates seniors and first-classmen during the Faculty/Staff FarewellHandshake following the service. In his remarks, Zeglis, a CEF trustee, told members of the Class of 2009 to push their limits and to not be afraid to fail. To his right isCollege Advising counselor Janet Kline.

Habe

rland

phot

o.


CurrentCulver

Former Laundry Department employeeMarguerite Zechiel, 95, of rural Culver,died June 20, 2009. Ms. Zechiel worked inthe Laundry Department from 1941 untilshe retired in 1978. She is survived by abrother and her sister, Elisabeth Davis, whoworks for the Head of Schools Office.

A. Dean Hurt died March 8, 2009, inGrand Junction, Colo. As a child, he wasactive in the Koshare Indian Boy Scouttroop, and head chief in his troop. He usedthat training to teach Indian Lore atWoodcraft Camp in the summers of 1948and ’49. Mr. Hurt was a Navy veteran ofWorld War II. After his discharge, heattended LaJunta Junior College andWestern State College. He taught at severalelementary schools in Colorado, retiring asa principal. He is survived by his wife,Lavone “Cindy,” three sons, nine grand-children, and five great-grandchildren.

Col. Quintus Cincinnatus Atkinson V diedFeb. 5, 2009. Col. Atkinson spent 1951-53on the ROTC staff as an instructor of mili-tary history and tactics. He also helped trainriders for the Black Horse Troop.

A career Army officer, Col. Atkinson hadlived in northern Virginia since retiring fromthe military in 1973. His father was an offi-cer in the horse-drawn artillery and Atkinsongrew up around horses and became anaccomplished rider. He was a 1943 graduateof the U.S. Military Academy.

Then-Lt. Atkinson participated in the cam-paigns of Normandy, Northern France,Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.From 1946-48, Capt. Atkinson wasHeadquarters Company Commander forGen. MacArthur’s Far East Command. Hewas one of 10 officers from the EuropeanTheater hand-picked by MacArthur forcritical leadership positions.

Deaths in the FamilySubsequent duty assignment included the3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at FortMeade, Maryland; the Command andGeneral Staff College at Fort Leavenworth,Kan.; and liaison officer to French CavalrySchool in Saumur, France. ColonelAtkinson retired after a final tour with theJoint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon spe-cializing in African affairs. His awardsincluded the Silver Star, Legion of Merit(twice), Bronze Star, National DefenseService Medal (twice), and Joint ServiceCommendation Medal (twice).

In retirement, Col. Atkinson co-founded andserved as vice president of the Tank DestroyerAssociation comprised of veterans of theWorld War II tank destroyer forces. His workand leadership helped to ensure the installa-tion of monuments which memorialized theservice of these veterans.

He is survived by his wife, a son, daughter,and sister.


CurrentCulver

Three CMA first-classmen and four CGAseniors were honored at the June 6Commencement Convocation with the mostprestigious and coveted of Culver Academies’student awards. A number of other studentsand faculty members were recognized duringthe Eppley Auditorium ceremony.

Thomas Ott (Co. A)was a dual honoree,being named the recipi-ent of the YMCA Cupas the cadet who bestexemplifies the ideals ofCulver and theChambers Award,which recognizes com-bined excellence in

scholarship and athletics. Among his manyachievements, Ott served as the regimentalcommander and received the Colonel C.F.McKinney Saber. He was named to theCum Laude Society, the Blue Key Society,and was a Wendy’s Heisman ScholarshipIndiana state finalist. Ott received varsityletters in lacrosse, ice hockey, and soccer. Aresident of Palmyra, Pa., he will be attend-ing the U.S. Military Academy this fall.

Chicagoan Lathelma Armstrong (Ciel) wasawarded the Superintendent’s Bowl, present-ed to a CGA senior in recognition of herleadership, example, influence, and totalrecord of achievement. Armstrong served asa senior prefect, spiritual developmentchair, leadership training chair, studentdirector of the GospelChoir, Praise Bandassistant director,Spanish Club presi-dent, and public rela-tions chair for theBlack Student Union.She was a member ofthe Speech Team,Leadership Committeefor Africa, and the

CGA Council, among other involvements.Armstrong also performed in several theaterproductions and was a member of the FineArts Honor Society. She will continue hereducation at Scripps College.

The Van Zandt Key, awarded to the first-classman who, by virtue of his effort andexample, has increased an awareness ofmoral and spiritual values among the Corpsof Cadets, was awarded to Russell Davis

(Battery A) ofPlainfield, Ill. Daviswas involved in manyclubs reflecting hismoral and spiritualinterests. He was thecreator of the “ThreeP’s Revival,” a memberof the Gospel Choir,the Black StudentUnion, Multi-CulturalAwareness Retreat,

Cordon Society, the Chinese Tea Club, andFellowship of Christian Athletes. His lead-ership positions included battalion com-mander, regimental chaplain’s aide, squadleader, unit first sergeant, and battalion ser-geant major. Davis will matriculate atMichigan State University.

Ashlyn Ayres (Ithaka) of Atlanta receivedthe Mary Frances England HumanitarianAward. The award, named in honor of thefounding director of Culver Girls Academy,is presented to the senior girl who, by heracts, has revealed an exemplary concern forothers. Ayres was a member of the SpanishHonorary Society and received ScienceResearch Honors. Shewas involved in theSchool for theEntrepreneur, TheVedette, the Multi-Cultural AwarenessRetreat, Youth Choir,and was the editor ofThe Quill. Ayers, whowill attend Furman

University, participated in crew, fencing,swimming, and cross country.

The recipient of the McDonald Award wasNicolas Elizondo (Band) of Culver. Theaward is presented to the first-classmanwho, by his individual work, example and

inspiration, has con-tributed materially tothe betterment of cul-tural life at Culver.Elizondo performed in12 theater productions,as well as in band andchoir. He was an All-State Choir memberfor three years. He wasvice president of the

Academies’ International Thespian Societyfor two years and president for one year.He received varsity letters in theater andspeech. Elizondo was a member of the FineArts Honor Society, the Speech Team, waseditor-in-chief for The Vedette, wrote forThe Quill, and was the Praise and WorshipTeam director. He also served as the regi-mental aide to the administration. This fall,Elizondo will be a freshman at the Univer-sity of Indianapolis.

Audrey Abrell (Atrium) Valparaiso, Ind.,was the recipient of the Arthur G. HughesAward, presented to the graduating seniorwho has revealed the most exceptional con-cern for cultural life at the Academies.Abrell was a member ofthe Gignilliat Quartet,Folk Ensemble, FineArts Honor Society,speech team, andorchestra, as well as thecrew team and SpanishHonorary Society. Sheheld leadership posi-tions as an HonorCouncil chair,Community Service Council representativeand secretary, a member of the Dorm

Seven 2009 graduates garner Academies’ highest honors at Commencement Convocation

Thomas Ott

Lathelma Armstrong

Russell Davis

Ashlyn Ayres

Nicolas Elizondo

Audrey Abrell

on campus, and in the community, the cri-teria calls for the recipient to be a strongstudent and involved in extra-curricularactivities, especially athletics and the arts.

The Mark Todd Berger Scholarship was award-ed during the Commencement Convocationto Blake Hunnewell ’10 (New York City).Funded by the Berger family, the scholarshiphonors the memory of Trooper Berger, whodied April 7, 1988, of his first-class year fromcongenital heart disease.


CurrentCulver

tered in 1925. Another 22 juniors and sec-ond-classmen were named to the Blue KeySociety, an academic honor society for highschool juniors.

Senior Brady Banks (White Pigeon, Mich.)was the 2009 recipient of the TiffanyPowell Leadership Award presented at theJunior-Senior Tea during CommencementWeekend. The award was established in2000 in memory of Powell ’98, who diedtragically July 16, 1999. The Class of 2000established the award to honor Powell’soutstanding example as a leader. In addi-tion to excelling in leadership in the dorm,

With a 3.98 grade-point average, AlexisHoward (Bourbon, Ind.) was the valedictori-an of the 2009 class and the recipient of theDonnelly Scholastic Award as the CGA sen-ior with the highest academic average. Thesalutatorian was Hao Wu of Beijing, China,with a GPA of 3.97. He also received theScholarship Medal for the highest GPAamong cadets. As valedictorian and salutato-rian the pair also received the Weil AcademicAchievement Award, a monetary award of$3,000 and $2,000, respectively.

Thirty-five 2009 graduates received diplo-mas indicating honors in various academicdisciplines. To graduate with honors, a stu-dent must achieve at an exceptionally highlevel in a subject. In addition, he/she mustdemonstrate this excellence through a vari-ety of means – written or oral examina-tions, recitals, research projects, public per-formances and presentations – to gain theapproval of the academic departmentsinvolved and the faculty honors committee.Three students graduated with honors intwo disciplines. They were Ashley Eberhart(Downers Grove, Ill.) in Global Studies andVisual Arts; Ashley Fairbanks (Galena, Ill.)in Equine Science and Visual Arts; andHyoung Keun Kwon (Seoul, South Korea)in Global Studies and Science.

At the Commencement Convocation onJune 6, 29 members of the Class of 2009were named to the Cum Laude Society, anational honorary academic society found-ed in 1906. The Culver Chapter was char-

Student Notes

Senior Brady Banks (far right) was the 2009 recipient of CGA’s Tiffany Powell Leadership Award. Making the presentation at the Junior-Senior Tea on Commencement Weekend were Assistant Dean of Girls Lynn Rasch ’76(center) and Jody Fox ’10, first rotation CGA Council chair for 2009-2010. See below for more details on thePowell award.

Habe

rland

phot

o.

Committee, hall prefect, Catholic prefect,Catholic Advisory Council, and CordonSociety. Abrell will be a freshman this fall atTufts University.

Katherine Barnes (Ciel) received the JaneMetcalfe Culver Bowl, which recognizes theCGA senior who has distinguished herselfin the classroom and on the athletic field. A

Culver resident, Barneswas captain of theCGA basketball team, aLeadership Trainingprefect, the Protestantprefect, hall prefect,and percussion sectionleader. She was theRelay For Life develop-

ment chair, received Honors in Music, wasan AP Scholar, a National AchievementOutstanding Participant, and a member ofthe Cum Laude Society, Spanish HonorSociety, and Fine Arts Honor Society.Barnes will attend St. Olaf College this fall.

Katherine Barnes

onship with wins over Penn (11-9) andNoblesville (8-3).

Staadt was named a first-team All-American by the Indiana Chapter ofU.S. Lacrosse and Balchan, Freymiller,Staadt, Abigail Herbert ’09 (Plymouth,Ind.), and Hayley Quartuccio ’10(Aurora, Colo.) were named AcademicAll-Americans.

CMA lacrosse also claimed a state champi-onship three-peat with a 15-9 victory overIndianapolis Cathedral, avenging its onlyin-state loss of the season. The Eagles wereled by Brandon Benn ’10 (Orangeville,Ont.) with seven goals, followed byTommy Ott ’09 (Palmyra, Pa.) and JesseRabishaw ’10 (Sharon, Ont.) with three

each, and Pierce Leonard ’09 (Cornelius,N.C.) with two. Goalie Robb Harrison ’09(Memphis, Tenn.) finished with eight savesin the title game. Benn and Ott werenamed All-Americans by the IndianaChapter of U.S. Lacrosse and Benn anddefenseman Connor Eustace ’10(Newmarket, Ont.) were named the offen-sive and defensive players of the champi-onship game. CMA advanced to the cham-pionship game with wins over Park Tudor(16-2) and Carmel (11-4).

First team all-state honors went to Benn,Ott, and Rabishaw. Leonard, John Sabo ’09(Granger, Ind.), and Ryan Everson ’10(Greenfield, Wis.) were named to the secondteam. Honorable mention went to Harrison,Bud Lowans ’12 (Orangeville, Ont.),Dominic Panetta ’09 (Zionsville, Ind.), BlakeSaylor ’10 (Centennial, Colo.), MichaelKime ’10 (Zionsville, Ind.), and RyneSternberg ’10 (Toronto).


Spring athletes farewell in post-season

The spring sports season again extendedbeyond graduation as Culver athletes maderuns deep into the state tournaments. TheAcademies finished with two more state titlesin lacrosse, a CGA doubles tennis team mak-ing a final four appearance for the first time,and two state runner-up medals in track.Along the way, the girls tennis and trackteams picked up sectional titles.

CGA lacrosse won its third straight statecrown with a 6-3 win over Park Tudor, ateam that had beaten the Eagles earlier inthe season. Leading the team was CaitlinJuricic ’10 (Michigan City, Ind.) with twogoals and one assist and Kristen Stafford’09 (London, Ont.) with one goal and twoassists. Kelly Flanagan ’10 (NorthBarrington, Ill.), Frances Staadt ’09(Rockville, Ind.), and Sarah Freymiller ’09(Nappanee, Ind.) each scored a goal. GoalieHenrietta Conrad ’11 (Chesterton, Ind.)turned in an all-tournament performancewith 13 saves. Also named to the all-tour-nament team were Maddie Balchan ’10(Springfield, Ohio), Staadt, Stafford, andJuricic. The girls advanced to the champi-

Sports

Girls Lacrosse

Boys Lacrosse

Garri

son

phot

o.

Senior members of the CGA lacrosse team, left to right, Abigail Herbert, Kristen Stafford, Francis Staadt, and SarahFreymiller are all smiles after a third straight state championship.

17

SportsCulver

In CGA track, Waverly Neer ’11(Russiaville, Ind.) earned two silver medalsat the Indiana High School AthleticAssociation state meet. Neer finished sec-ond in the 1600 (5:00.48) and 3200(10:53.82), scoring all 16 of the Eagles’points as CGA finished 13th. WillowSmith ’10 (Rhinelander, Wis.) finished11th in the 3200 and the 4 x 800 relayteam of Kaye Sitterley ’11 (Mooresville,N.C.), Stephanie Burian ’10 (Portage,Ind.), Jenna Iwaniec ’09 (Culver, Ind.), andSmith finished 18th. The relay team alsosmashed its own school record by 11 sec-onds (9:47.54) at the Bremen Regional.The team won the Rochester Sectional andfinished fifth at the regional.

CMA track advanced two runners to thestate track and field meet. Daniel Ching’09 (Trout Valley, Ill.) finished ninth in the300 intermediate hurdles (a school recordof 38.98) and Alejandro Arroyo ’10 (LeonGuanajuato, Mexico) placed 11th in the3200 (9:21.87). Ching advanced to thestate meet by breaking his school recordwith a 39.58 at the Kokomo Regional.Arroyo qualified for the state with a sec-ond-place finish at Kokomo with a person-al best time of 9:34.01.

CGA tennis picked up another sectional tro-phy with 5-0 victories over Knox and

Rochester, but dropped a 3-2 decision toPenn in the first round of the regional tour-nament. The No. 1 doubles team of twinsJessica and Andrea Simon ’10 (Huntertown,Ind.) continued in the individual tourna-ment, reaching the final four in Indianapolisbefore losing to the eventual state championduo from Indianapolis Brebeuf.

Crew’s Cameron Crowell ’10 (Winona Lake,Ind.) and Trevor Weaser ’10 (Plymouth,Ind.) were undefeated as members of the var-sity four boat at the Indiana-Kentucky cham-pionship and the Culver Regatta. As mem-bers of the varsity eight shell, they helpedguide their team to an 11-3 record. Finally, asa varsity double boat, they were 12-2, withtheir only losses coming to CincinnatiCountry Day at the Midwest Scholastic (sil-ver medal) and in the American ScholasticChampionships. Crowell and Weaser alsoplaced second in the Junior Quadruple scullat the Midwest Championships, missing firstplace by half a second.

The CGA side enjoyed similar success, withmembers of the varsity eight boat going 15-2and the novice eight finishing with an 18-6record. The varsity four shell finished 7-0.

The CGA softball team finished with a 10-10 record with Brenna Newell ’10(Frankfort, Ill.) stepping into the pitching

circle for the Eagles. Newell also delivered atthe plate, being one of the leading hitters forthe team, earning her the Most ValuablePlayer honor. Seniors Tess Strang (Urbana,Ill.) and Stephanie DeSutter (Aylmer, Ont.)and junior Taylor McSheffery (Granger,Ind.) also paced the team offensively.

The CMA baseball team finished with a 9-11record. With just four first-classmen, the teamrecovered from a shaky 1-7 start. The turn-around is reflected in the Eagles’ first roundsectional victory over Mishawaka Marian, 4-3,after losing to the Knights, 13-3, earlier in theseason. Max Terhar ’11 (Cincinnati) and JoshWright ’10 (Crown Point, Ind.) led the teamin hitting. Terhar batted .456 in 57 at-bats,while Wright finished with at .453 in 64 tripsto the plate. Connor Kucera ’10 (Plymouth,Ind.) was the top pitcher with an ERA of 1.70over 37 innings.

The CMA golf team finished with a 14-5dual match record. The team averaged 332.4for 18 holes with a team low of 324. Thelow nine-hole team score was 152.Individually, Michael Grover ’09 (Culver)paced the team with an 18-hole average of82.4. He also shot a 36 for the best nine-hole score. Andrew Eiler ’11 (Rochester,Ind.) was second with an 82.8 average, card-ing the individual 18-hole low of 76.

The rugby team finished the season 3-9while playing some of the top-ranked teamsin the Midwest and the nation. Zach Deery’10 (Nappanee, Ind.) was named the team’stop rookie and Gene Shmurak ’09(Overland Park, Kan.) was the mostimproved. Blake Hunnewell ’10 (New YorkCity) was named the most valuable backand Conor Casey ’10 (Lafayette, Ind.) themost valuable forward.

– Compiled and written by Jan Garrison

Culver Alumni Magazine

Track & Field

Girls Tennis Softball

Crew

Baseball

Golf

Rugby

CMA Lacrosse celebrated its third State Championship in a row with a 15-9 victory.

Garri

son

phot

o.

18 Spring/Summer 200918 Spring/Summer 2009

“How could you have a Garrison Parade without the bands?”

Naval Band. Drum & Bugle Corps. Naval Band and Drum andBugle Corps together. Regardless of the combination, the militaryband – its horns, its drums, its intoxicating cadence – is an integralpart of Culver Summer Schools & Camps. In July, SummerHomecoming Weekend was a chance to revel in the memories asband alumni returned to honor 105 years of Naval Band and the90th year of the D&B – and some of those alumni played in both!

Much effort has been made by the Culver Summer Schools &Camps Board of Directors to restore the Naval Band to its glorydays amid waning numbers in the wake. Those efforts – bolsteredby scholarship initiatives and fund-raising efforts that have put newinstruments in the hands of young musicians – have raised theNaval Band’s numbers to a robust 61 (up from 36 in 1999 whenthere was one trumpeter). It is music to alumni ears. Enrollment inthe D&B has been more consistent, with 59 this summer.

As alumni reunited with each other and interacted with currentmembers of the Naval Band and D&B, there was an amazing inter-play. Bearded Boomers and graying grandfathers became kids againas they tucked a bugle under their arm or wrapped their fingersaround a drumstick; they marched to the beat of an ageless drum-mer. At the same time, D&Bers and Naval Bandsmen spoke pas-sionately, reverently, and all-knowingly about the role they play andthe importance of each note.

“Nobody has what we have,” boasts Matt Scheffer,12, of Valparaiso, Ind., a first-year D&Ber whoplays the snare drum. Enjoying a Friday night pic-nic with D&B alumni, Matt likes to hear “how theD&B hasn’t really changed that much” over theyears. He appreciates the tradition and the history.

Charles Greenman 12, a third-year trumpeter fromSouth Florida, says the D&B has gone to lot ofparades this summer. He enjoys representing Culverand understands the value of promoting the D&Band the summer camp program to the specatatorslining the streets.

Between bites of hot dogs and sips of lemonade,the six D&Bers around the table reflect on thecamaraderie. “It’s about keeping together.Sometimes we have bad days and don’t marchwell,” offers one of the boys.

“But when we need to pull together and work together, we do it,”Charles adds.

Alumni Craig Borchelt W’79, A’82 of St. Louis knows all about thecamaraderie of the D&B. Thirty years later he’s seeing it almostdaily on Facebook. A graduate of West Point and a member of theArmy Reserve, he knows the importance of the band in the espritde corps at camp and in the military.

And the bands play on . . .

Habe

rland

phot

o.

As a soldier, Craig is interested in hearing from those who haveserved in the same regiments he served in. As an alumnus, that’s alsowhy it is important to get involved with today’s D&Bers. It’s abouthistory and discipline; “it’s the same cadences, the same songs.”

Brothers Ronald Auchter W’75, NB’79 (Houston) and Joe AuchterW’75, NB’80 (Goleta, Calif.) have a nephew in D&B. Theyobserve there are more cabins than in their era (they remember theircabin number and their laundry number), and in their day thebugles had no valves.

What hasn’t changed is the hard work, perseverance, and independ-ence fostered by the D&B.

Having practiced already for the Alumni Homecoming Parade, theAuchter brothers remember all the old songs. “We didn’t play them

as well (as before), but we still knew them,” Ron admits.

The Auchters and other alumni joined the Naval Band in concertFriday afternoon for a rousing rendition of “Anchors Aweigh.” Afterthe concert, trombonist H.D. Hibbard, 16, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., saysseeing how much alumni care makes being a part of the Naval Bandseem that much more important to him.

“I am just amazed how people really care for the Naval Band. It’sgood to play with alumni and learn about the past,” H.D. says.“We want the Band to be better and better every year.”

A common refrain.

– Doug Haberland

Cynthia J. Dunbar W’86,SS’89 (far left) of Carmel,Ind., presented a photoshe took in 1989 to theNaval Band in remem-brance of the summershe and other ‘bands-women’ were permittedto march with theNaval Band. The photoof Naval Band celebrat-

ing its Communications Relay victory ‘represents the dedi-cation and teamwork that embodies the Culver spirit,’ Dunbarwrote, adding that her gift ‘honors . . . these young men whoembraced us and brought us into the fold.’. Twenty years later,Dunbar and Catherine (Bowersox) Tomfohrde SS’89,’91 (Katy,Texas) returned to march with the Alumni Band at Homecoming,finding that ‘the bond is still there, if not stronger.’

The Culver Summer Schools Alumni Association honored outgoingpresident Kathryn “Kay” Ryan Booth SS’67 at itsannual meeting in July by establishing theKathryn Ryan Booth Award. The award will begiven annually to a second-class girl for her lead-ership and commitment to the ideals, traditions,and mission of Culver Summer Schools &Camps. A resident of Harrison, N.Y., Boothwas a member of the first Culver SummerSchool for Girls graduating class, the first femaleCSSAA president, and is the mother of two summer school alumni.

Frank Berall N’45 takes his placebehind the bass drum purchased byhis wife, Jenefer, in honor of herhusband and his contributions toCulver. His personal mallet inhand, Berall and the drum madetheir debut at the July 25 NavalBand Concert. Berall is a pastpresident and member emeritus ofthe CSSAA Board of Directorsand the honorary commander ofthe Summer Alumni Homecoming Parade. With an estate bequest,Frank and Jenefer will endow the Louis J., Jeannette F., Frank S., andJenefer C. Berall Chair of Science.

A group of Butterflies surround Julius Hegeler II W’39, thanking himfor the renovations to Cabin No. 9, which were funded by the JuliusW. Hegeler Foundation. For the extraordinary education he receivedand that of his two daughters who attended CGA, and in recognitionof his 70th anniversary of hisWoodcraft graduation,Hegeler also has established anendowment for the upkeepand maintenance of the newIndian Crafts Building and anendowment for the overallSummer School & Camps pro-gram. He also was on thereviewing line for the SummerAlumni Homecoming Parade.


CurrentCulver

Habe

rland

phot

o.

Phot

oby

Laur

ieO

’Brie

n/Bu

nkO

ne.

Phot

oby

Dale

Spen

ner/

Deve

lopm

ent.

Habe

rland

phot

o.

Summer Shorts

From his days as a cadet

to Acting Superintendent

during World War II,

Colonel Allen Elliott played

an integral role throughout

his Culver career

In many respects Allen R. Elliott was the epitome of the Culverman. His association spanned fifty-seven years, beginning as a cadetin 1904 to his election to The Culver Educational FoundationBoard of Trustees in 1957, and ending with his death in 1961.

Elliott was as involved with Culver as a cadet as he was later as a mem-ber of the faculty and staff. He came to Culver in 1904, graduating in1908 as captain of Company D. As a cadet, Elliott served as a corporaland first sergeant of Company C before transferring to D Company.He took part in a number of activities during his cadet days; theseincluded serving as vice president of the Class of 1908, manager of theHop Club, and military editor of the Roll Call. He was on the DCompany rifle team as well as a member of the Rifle Association.Elliott was a member of the Dramatics Club and acted in severalschool plays. He also participated in the Culver Minstrel Show, whichled to an entry in the “Class of 1908 Prophecy” stating:

Next we have Elliott, dear little Allen,Whose talented ways we know,He’ll travel around the big cities and towns and makePeople laugh at his big minstrel show.

There were other more personal aspects of his life as a cadet: the1908 Roll Call featured him as a ladies’ man; the First ClassAlphabet noted that “E stands for Elliott, of ‘girl-fussing fame.’ ”That same Roll Call recorded that he received two letters during hisfirst-class year from a certain Violet Lee [1A].

Elliott returned to Culver in 1910, beginning his service as a lowlyteacher of infantry tactics, but ending his career at the Academy bybeing elected to The Culver Educational Foundation Board ofTrustees in 1957. During his tenure Elliott served in many capaci-ties – instructor in infantry tactics, tactical officer of Company E,post adjutant, executive officer, and as acting superintendent duringthe Second World War (1943 to ’45). After his retirement he servedas secretary to the trustees before being elected to that board threeyears before his death in 1961.


by Richard Davies

A devoted tactical officer, Elliott laid out his view of the role in aletter written in 1922:

“In short, the tactical officer is the father of the company;there is a mutual understanding between the cadet and histactical officer, a confidence and friendship without thefamiliarity which breeds contempt. Observance of militarycourtesy and etiquette is maintained but not allowed tointerfere with the free exchange of ideas between the boyand the officers.

“A parent recently wrote the following in a letter to the boy’stactical officer: ‘I have had my boy in several schools beforethis, but Culver is the first one where I ever have receivedanything at the end of the month except bills [1].’”

Elliott’s view of the tactical officer mirrors the contemporary thinkingabout the role of the counselor, especially in its view of the confidentand friendly relationship between the counselor and the students.With such sentiments it is hardly surprising cadets and colleagues heldElliott in such high esteem. Elliott moved quickly up the ranks froman instructor in infantry tactics to that of tactical officer en route toassuming higher positions in the Culver administration.

Elliott took seriously his role as a military man even while holdingdown civilian jobs at Culver. During the First World War he leftCulver for military service in May 1917, serving for twenty-two

months. During that time he was appoint-ed as a captain and later promoted tomajor in the infantry. He was assigned tothe Reserve Officer’s Training Camp andlater transferred to the 334th Infantry inKentucky before finishing his duty in the77th Infantry at Camp Custer inMichigan. He was honorably dischargedat Camp Custer on February 1, 1919, andreturned to his duties at Culver. He con-tinued to serve in the Army Reserve andwas, for a time, a lieutenant colonel withthe 336th Infantry. In 1927 he spent six

months at Fort Benning taking a course in the National Guard andReserve Officer Infantry School. He attained the rank of full colonelin the Infantry Reserve in 1936.

As a citizen-soldier, Elliott believed strongly in the positive role thatthe military could play in the education of young men. He devel-oped those ideas in an article he wrote for The Nation’s School,“The Plus Values of Military Training.” Elliott made the case for ayear of compulsory military service for American young men. Awarethat the Axis powers all had compulsory military service, Elliottfocused on Switzerland’s compulsory military program. He pointedout that Switzerland was a democracy basing its military programon democratic values. Elliott believed that “universal service in theUnited States should, of course, be based on the American way, thedemocratic way. The many advantages to her youth physically, edu-cationally, and morally would far outbalance any disadvantages [2].”

Elliott’s qualities led legendary Culver Superintendent LeighGignilliat to promote him into higher leadership positions. In 1931he was appointed post adjutant; in 1936 he assumed the chairman-ship of the Department of Health and Athletics, as well as continu-ing to serve as post adjutant. After assuming that chairmanship,Elliott came to realize “the weakness in the physical training andathletic programs of his own cadet days which failed to provideinstruction or training in the ‘carry over’ sports in which both theaverage athlete and the boy with no leaning toward physical activitymight fail to participate.” He felt that the old-fashioned athleticinstruction did not give boys any “beneficial hobby both to providehealthful recreation and to keep down the increasing middle-agewaistline. Under Elliott’s guidance, cadets in the first and secondyears were assigned to a particular type of instruction in swimming,golf, squash, badminton, and tennis – activities which they canenjoy when school and college days are over [3].”

In 1938 he was appointed executive officer of the Academy, servingdirectly under the superintendent. He was responsible “as directorof all non-instructional activities including the operation of finance,service of supplies and equipment, operation and upkeep of physicalplant and grounds, and operation of the mess, uniform department,Academy store, and canteen. In this position Elliott was responsiblefor all foundation property and equipment. He also functioned asdirector of alumni activities. He continued with his duties as chair-man of the Department of Health and Athletics [4].”

Elliott maintained a good but spirited relationship with the flam-boyant Gignilliat. In 1938 a Hollywood producer wanted to make afilm about the Academy called “The Spirit of Culver.” Gignilliatspent a great deal of time with the producer and director inHollywood to make sure that they captured the real spirit of theAcademy. In the winter of 1939 Gignilliat learned that Culver haddeclined to premier the film, prompting an irate and spirited letterto Elliott voicing his displeasure at this decision:

“For God’s sake, Allen! Have I gone haywire orHollywood or is Culver going the ‘holier than thou,’unimaginative, dry rot route, to win approval from suchas never made Culver though they made the West, madehistory, though they may not have made a university club,or made their sons bond salesmen.

“I am truly worried about something more than a pictureand its premier. I am concerned about the ‘Spirit of Culver.’

“Perhaps I am out of step, and the time has come for me,not for a premier, but a final bow, yet until I make it, I shallstrive to keep Culver non complaisant, conscious of thegreat medium of expression of our times, the movies, theradio, included, even though they seem academically undig-nified, for the moment . . . Perhaps because I have tried toput so much of that sort of thing into this picture; the spiritof all you people I have worked with, all the boys of Culver,the ones upstairs, their pictures, over and past the salutedgold stars, in a room just to the left of the Allied flags; per-haps because of all that I have thought that Culver shouldlaunch into this picture, that so nicely depicts fine young


Elliott, 1931

American boyhood, and Culver’s product, not, surely not,with Hollywood ballyhoo but with a Culver benediction . . .

“In the picture there is a scene in which they wanted therehabilitated, once shell-shocked father of Bob Randolph IIIto appear in the flag ceremony at the Indianapolis warmemorial as the . . . I wired the Dept. of Indiana for per-mission. They wired back ‘the American Legion of Indianais safe in your hands, we leave everything to your judgment.’Their confidence has not been betrayed [5].”

In his reply, Elliott admitted that he had been wrong about the filmand the actors when he finally viewed the picture:

“I was most happily surprised with Freddie Bartholomew’sperformance and admit that I was a hundred percent wrongin my judgment of him. I thought Tim Holt’s acting as anold cadet and officer in advising a rebellious new cadet wasthe high point of the picture. He was in my opinion, per-fect. . . . I felt that the presentation of Culver was dignifiedand in keeping with the spirit of the place and that therewas nothing in it that could possibly do us any harm. I feelthat the picture will do us much good in the way of enroll-ment and that this good will be measured over a period offrom five to ten years since lots of youngsters will see thepicture and have the name of Culver pretty firmly fixed intheir minds [6].”

Gignilliat wrote Elliott again about the film expressing disappoint-ment at the

“flat reception of ‘The Spirit of Culver’ by the faculty andthe corps of cadets [this] was one of the keenest disappoint-ments that I have experienced in my school career.Naturally, therefore, when the review of it in The Vedettegave it no mead of praise to any-thing except Jackie Cooper’s capaci-ty as a trap-drummer and neglectedto mention even Tim Holt’s finecharacterization as cadet captain, Ifelt very let down indeed [7].”

Elliott reassured Gignilliat that the reac-tion of faculty and cadets was muchmore positive at the second showing ofthe film.

Shortly after this exchange ColonelWilliam A. Gregory was installed as thenew superintendent. Elliott was retainedin his position as executive officer, as wellas associate secretary of the Culver

Legion, and in 1945 as secretary of the CEFBoard of Trustees. In 1940, Elliott was appointedacting director of the Culver Summer Schools andpermanent director in 1942. He was named actingsuperintendent in 1944 during Gregory’s active military service inEurope, serving until Gregory returned in 1945. From 1945 to1953, Elliott served as director of the Culver Summer School as wellas executive officer, associate secretary of the Culver Legion, and secre-tary of The Culver Educational Foundation board.

In 1949 he suffered a heart attack; it slowed him down but he didnot relinquish any of his duties. He announced his retirement fromactive duty in 1952, although he continued to serve as secretary tothe board. In spite of his official retirement Elliott continued to playa role at the Academy. For example, Gregory sent out a memo in1955 stating that while he was away for two weeks “all mattersrequiring decision from the Superintendent’s office [should] bereferred to Col. Elliott in my absence [8].” In 1957, Elliott waselected as a member of the CEF board, a position he held until hisdeath from a second heart attack in 1961.

Elliott was one of the giants of Culver. The number of positions heheld indicate something of his capacity to work and lead effectively.Shortly after his death Superintendent General Delmar Spivey wrote ofhis relationship with Elliott:

“Speaking for myself, I shall miss Col. Elliott more than Ican say. Since I came to Culver in 1956, his staunch friend-ship and sage counsel have been invaluable to me. Thebreadth of his experience, ranging from that of a cadet tothat of Acting Superintendent and Board Member, has beenalways at my disposal, and I have availed myself of his wis-dom and counsel.”


From

the

Culve

rArc

hive

s.Superintendent Leigh Gignilliat (seated at center)convenes with the key members of his staff inthe spring of 1939. From left are Dean ofStudies Col. W.E. Gregory, Commandant Col.Charles McKinney ’12 (standing), and ExecutiveOfficer Col. Allen Elliott ’08.

In his eulogy, Chaplain Allen Bray said that “with his dry humor,warm heart, and resolute determination, Col. Elliott gave himself com-pletely and irrevocably to something he considered greater than him-self. Yet those of us who knew and worked with this man . . . knowthat [Culver’s] greatness was in fact derived from Allen Elliott and afew men of similar caliber. As cadet, instructor, administrator, anddirector, he brought his gifts to the altar of this Academy, and thereoffered both them and himself [9].”

Culver Archivist Robert B.D. Hartman reveals another side of Elliott’scharacter. Thinking back to his own early days at the Academy,Hartman wrote of Elliott, whom he knew only at a distance: “Ithought him to be visually formidable, if not severe – and [I felt] thathe would not be warm to rookie instructors.” Hartman also said thatas a young, new instructor, Elliott frightened him.

Veteran language instructor JohnMars, the revered former superin-tendent, had yet another view ofElliott. He wrote that “beneath asomewhat dour appearance ColonelElliott was not the stern, intimidat-ing military officer he appeared to bewhile in uniform on campus or inthe front office of the Academy.” Headded, “For those who knew himwell, he was a kind and compassion-ate gentleman with a quick smileand a subtle sense of humor, whichhe reserved for his closest friends, Colonel McKinney, the comman-dant and next door neighbor, being the closest of all.”

Mars also noted “although Colonel Elliott was a year or two older thanColonel McKinney, they had been cadets together when Culver wasstill in its first twenty years of existence and [they] remained the closestof friends for life.”

Expanding on that relationship Mars wrote that “Colonel Elliott’sdaughter, Peggy, the proverbial apple of her father’s eye, once related tome an account of her father and Colonel McKinney carving aThanksgiving turkey as if it were a human being on an operatingtable, her father being the chief surgeon and Colonel McKinneybeing his assistant to hand over the carving scalpel and operatingutensils. I gather that the friends and family attending the dinnerwere convulsed in laughter. That the two gentlemen had probablybeen fortified by a libation or two could be assumed . . . howevertheir behavior as administrators of the Academy and away fromhome was impeccable and always exemplary.”

Mars wrote, “For the entire period in which I knew ColonelElliott and up to the time of his retirement, he had always been

the number two administrator of Culver and Colonel Gregory’smost important confidant.” When Gregory left Culver for wartimeservice “Colonel Elliott became the Acting Superintendent.Esteemed by all, he was the logical choice, and the school prosperedunder his leadership.”

Mars ended his reflection by adding that “behind almost every greatman is a devoted and supportive wife, and Colonel Elliott’s wife,Margaret, was the perfect first lady. Her disarming graciousness wasa notable contrast to the decorous reserve of her husband, andtogether they kept the Academy in smooth operating status untilColonel Gregory returned home from Europe [11].”

After Elliott’s death, the young editors of The Vedette offered yetanother view of the man:

“Few members of the present student body knew person-ally Colonel Allen R. Elliott, who died last Sunday. Yetevery Midshipman, Trooper, and Woodcrafter is indebtedto Colonel Elliott for the opportunities he is enjoying this summer.

“In a Culver career that spanned 51 years, Colonel Elliottparticipated in practically every major decision made since


Elliott, 1941

The retirement of three veteran officers provided the cover for the May 1953 issueof the Culver Alumnus. The trio, which had accumulated 118 years of service to theAcademy and Culver Summer Schools, included (left to right) Col. G.L. Miller, mathinstructor and Band counselor since 1913; Col. L.R. Kellam, a faculty member since1918; and Col. Allen Elliott ’08, an executive officer since 1910.

From

the

Culve

rArc

hive

s.

the early days of the Summer and Winter schools. To agreat degree Culver is the superior educational institutionit is today because of Col. Elliott’s dedicated service.

“On behalf of the entire Corps, The Vedette sends its mostsincere sympathies to Colonel Elliott’s family. At the sametime, The Vedette pledges on behalf of the Cadet Corps tolive up to the high standards and ideals established byColonel Elliott so that he will continue to live on atCulver in the years to come [10] .”

Colonel Elliott epitomized what was and is best about Culver. Hewas first and foremost a devoted family man. Elliott and his wife,Margaret, had two children: “Buddy,” who died when he was nine,and Margaret, who would later marry Richard Gimbel, an Englishand language instructor and a Culver legend in his own right.Elliott was devoted as well to the school and gave his entire career tothe institution. It is all together fitting that his daughter left funds,shepherded by Paul Gignilliat ’49, to create a portrait of her fatherto grace the halls of the institution that he adored. Like many otherfaculty and staff, Elliott helped to make Culver the national institu-tion that it is today.

Editor’s note: Richard Davies retired in May 2008 after 42 years with the Academiesas a teacher, coach, and mentor. He came to Culver in 1966, leaving in 1968, andreturning in 1974 as counselor of Troop A. Like Colonel Elliott, Davies had a variedCulver career. He served as a history and humanities instructor, crew coach, coordi-

nator of the Ninth Grade Program, director of the WorldSpirituality Series, and was the holder of the W.A. Moncrief Jr.Chair of America’s Democratic Heritage. He and KathyLintner also developed the Myth & Lit course, which garnerednational attention. Davies is a graduate of DePauw University and earned amaster’s degree from the University of Wales in Great Britain. He received hisdoctorate in history and the philosophy of education from Indiana University, and asecond master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, where he wasa Klingenstein Fellow. He is the author of “Swords at Culver,” a novel integratingEuropean and Native American lore with the campus as a backdrop. In retirement,he is working on a sequel and continues to research and write about Culver’s history.

End notes1. Letter to Mr. F.L. Brooke regarding role of tactical officer April 11, 1922,

Elliott No. 1 File.2. The Nation’s School, Vol. 34, No. 6, December 1944, pp. 28-29.3. Memo May 20, 1938, Elliott No. 1 File.4. Memo from Gignilliat to all Academy members, June 8, 1938, Ibid.5. Letter to Elliott from Gignilliat, Feb. 19, 1939, Ibid.6. Letter March 19, 1939, Ibid.7. Letter March 17, 1939, Ibid.8. Memo from Gregory, June 27, 1955, Ibid.9. Quoted in the Culver Alumnus magazine, Summer 1961 [alu-sum-a961-0002.]

10. The Vedette July 1961, Elliott No. 3 File, Jan. 1948-to date.11. Material about Colonel Elliott taken from a letter to Richard Davies from John

Mars; Dec. 22, 2008.


The July 28, 1961, issue of The Vedette marks the death of Col. Allen Elliott.

From

the

Culve

r Arc

hive

s.

26 Spring/Summer 2009Artist Jack Williams

Though Colonel Allen R. Elliott hadserved as acting superintendent of CulverMilitary Academy during World War II, his portrait does not hang in the LegionMemorial Building.

His daughter, Peggy Gimbel, who died in2004, made a provision in her will to have aportrait done of her late father. Her wishescame true during this past year when FineArts instructor Jack Williams was commis-sioned by Paul Gignilliat ’49 to paint a por-trait of this legendary Culver figure.

Williams looked to several formative sourcesin the production of the Elliott portrait. Theinfluence on his own artistic heritage comesfrom two traditions that are often viewed ascontradictory. He first studied at The PaierCollege of Art in his hometown of NewHaven, Connecticut, earning a Bachelor ofFine Arts degree in 1986. At Paier, he studiedportraiture under Joe Funaro, who was a stu-dent of Deane Keller, who taught drawingand painting at Yale University for over fourdecades and painted hundreds of official por-traits for the university and other clients.Williams met Keller in the 1980s after thelatter had suffered a stroke. At their firstmeeting, arranged by Keller’s wife, Kellerexamined one of Williams’ paintings, declar-ing the portrait “promising.”

(Keller is featured prominently in therecent film “The Rape of Europa.” As anArmy officer serving in Italy during WorldWar II, Keller played a key role in therecovery of priceless masterpieces of Italianart that the Nazis had looted.)

As Keller’s last student, Williams feels a par-ticular responsibility to transmit Keller’stechnical legacy, which Keller recordedtoward the end of his teaching career. Years

ago, Keller’s wife provided Williams with amanuscript, and Williams followed Keller’sinstructions during the production of theElliott portrait. Williams also likes to recallKeller saying to him that “it is a poorteacher whose students do not exceed him.”As a teacher, Williams wants his own stu-dents to exceed him.

In his drawing and painting classes atCulver, Williams makes a point of citinghis connection to Keller and the heritagethat Keller represents; a heritage thatKeller’s son traced to the French Neo-Classical painter Jacques Louis David, who, in turn, was influenced by the ItalianRenaissance artists. Williams teaches thesetraditional methods to his Culver students,some of whom attend informal lessons after school. Using Keller’s methods helped Williams solve several technicalproblems that arose during his work on the Elliott portrait.

Another of the influences on Williams’approach to painting comes from LelandBell, with whom he studied while pursuinga Master of Fine Arts degree at the ParsonSchool of Design in New York City in thelate 1980s. Through Bell, Williamsencountered a Modernist approach topainting that blends abstract art with a fig-urative subject called post-abstract figura-tion. For Bell, painting – regardless of sub-ject matter, style, or genre – was the organi-zation of colored forms on a flat surface.The purpose of this organization, Bell said,quoting French painter Andre Derain, was“to give life to a dead surface.” Williams’work is the product of his struggle to rec-oncile the two traditions that he has inher-ited from his professors, traditions that col-lectively span the history of Western art

and that merge seamlessly in the work ofthe Masters, old and new.

Williams subsequently earned a bachelor’sand master’s degree in English at SouthernConnecticut State University. In 1992, hetook a year off to teach fine arts andEnglish in Athens before returning toConnecticut. Between 1998 and 2003 heearned a law degree, taking night classes atQuinnipiac University while studyingpainting and drawing during the day atThe Lyme Academy of the Fine Arts.Williams joined the Culver faculty in 2002,but left Culver in 2004 to earn a master’sdegree in Art History from the Universityof Notre Dame. That accomplished, hereturned to the Academies’ Fine ArtsDepartment in 2006.

When Williams began work on the Elliottportrait he applied the technical means thatKeller described in his manuscript but alsosought the two- and three-dimensionalrhythms that Bell espoused. Williams wantedthe painting to be consistent with the otherportraits of past heads of school in theLegion Memorial Building. He studied eachone, at times removing his shoes and climb-ing on the polished cabinets beneath thepaintings to better examine them. He con-cluded that the portrait should show three-quarters of Elliott’s figure and that thecolonel should be standing.

For this reason, Williams’ first task was tolocate and purchase a vintage U.S. Armyuniform like the one Elliott was wearing inthe reference photo provided. The photoonly shows Elliott’s head and shoulders, soWilliams employed a stand-in. Over severalweeks, Williams purchased various articlesof clothing and the necessary insignia for


Putting brush to canvas: Fulfilling a daughter’s wish


his model, who posed for color studiesand reference photos wearing themore-or-less complete uniform of aU.S. Army officer, circa 1945. Severalversions followed, each rejected onvarious grounds, some technical, andsome aesthetic. At one point, ColonelWarren Foersch, CMA’s currentdeputy commandant, noted that theSam Browne belt worn in the portraitwas too high on Elliott’s waist, soWilliams repainted it one-inch lower.Trustee Paul Gignilliat ’49, who gener-ously funded Williams’ work on theportrait and the splendid frame, rec-ommended that Elliott be portrayedwearing his cap because Elliott’s publicpersona was rigidly formal, he recalled.

In the final incarnation, Williams placedElliott outside to accommodate the cap,which no officer would wear indoors.The colonel holds a slim folder and pairof calfskin gloves, his right arm deliber-ately set at an angle to proportionatelydivide the space around the figure.Likewise, Elliott’s left leg extends slightly toestablish a degree of tension with the edge ofthe canvas and thus achieve a sense ofrhythm. The position of the right arm andleft leg also helps estab-lish a pyramidal shapeto the colonel’s figure.This effect and the locationof the strongest contrast ofdark and light emphasize the

head as the focal point of the painting. Toachieve the appropriate level of tonal con-trast, Williams darkened the sky behind

the colonel.

Dean ofFaculty Kathy

Linter notedthat the dark-

ened skyintroduced

an historicalaspect by provid-

ing the metaphorof a gathering storm

– the coming of the

Second World War. For Williams,however, the color and tone of the skymerely solved the problem of empha-sis. During the process, Williams stud-ied the works of great English por-traitists such as Sir Joshua Reynoldsand Thomas Gainsborough, both ofwhom darkened the skies in many oftheir portraits to establish contrastwith the subjects’ heads.

Williams spent two years and over twohundred hours working on the variousversions of the portrait. Painting inoils on a Belgian linen canvas,Williams employed the layeredmethod of over and under painting helearned from studying Keller’s manu-script and copying some of Keller’sportraits at Yale.

Williams said he welcomed the oppor-tunity to paint Elliott’s portrait becauseit gave him the chance to serve Culverby portraying a man who gave his lifeto this institution. Part of Culver’s mis-sion is to encourage students to find

something to give meaning to their lives.Williams finds meaning in painting andteaching Culver students how to paint.Elliott found his meaning in helping shapethe institution that he loved. The finalpainting of Elliott reflects all of the tradi-tions and techniques which Williams hasreceived from Keller, Funaro, Bell and hisbeloved Italian Renaissance painters. In theend, this portrait commemorates a lifetimeof service that Allen Elliott gave to this insti-tution, it fulfills the wish of his beloveddaughter, and gives him his rightful place inthe lineage of Culver superintendents.

– Richard Davies

Prior to starting the final version of the portrait, artist Jack Williamscompleted several tonal and color studies. In this preparatory painting,the arrangement of light, middle, and dark shapes of the compositionachieved the sort of movement that his teacher Leland Bell espoused

No surprise that Facebook has hit Culver, right? The popular social networking site celebrated its fifth anniversary in February and has more than 200 million users worldwide

(as of May 2009). It is adding nearly five million users a week.

Facebook is where you hang out with friends online. Users write oneach other’s “walls,” post pictures and videos about special momentslike a birthday or new child, chat about their favorite movies andsongs, and update their status pages.

No big deal. However, look closer and you will find that the vibrant– and growing – Culver community on Facebook is dominated by

graduates from the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Yes, a group of peo-ple who actually remember the first moonwalk in 1969 and gas sell-ing at twenty-five cents a gallon are on Facebook. There are morethan 350 people in the Class of 1978 Culver group, and the num-bers are increasing weekly.

You have a collection of individuals – successful doctors and lawyers,businesspeople, innovative entrepreneurs, financial wizards, creativemarketers, stay-at-home moms and dads, race car enthusiasts, starvingartists, budding musicians – all re-connecting with friends and class-mates. The common bond is their experience at Culver.


A growing number of alumni from the 1970s and ’80s are using Facebook to connect and re-connect with Culver friends and classmates

By Donald Kojich ’78

Why do you thinkthere has been such a connection withCulver grads on Facebook?“Most people graduate from high school where they grew up,and even if they leave their hometown will still have connec-tions with it and the people they graduated with due to tieswith family or friends. At Culver when one graduates, every-one is scattered across the globe. Connections are much harderto maintain, and you find that you can’t just go back at anytime to see the old friends who became your family duringthose important adolescent years. So, to be presented with thisvehicle (Facebook) that has joined us all back together incyberspace – pictures and all – is a real gift. It is a connectionto our past that we never had before, and in some cases may bea rekindling of friendships that are the oldest ones we’ve got.These are the people who knew us when . . .”

– Marie Hoerner Hagberg ’78

“I think that we all lived together and shared some very goodand bad experiences. We also had our cliques or groups thatwe hung out with. We were all immature kids dealing withsome adult situations. Our friends were our support group.The people we looked to for support and friendship. Andtruthfully we only used a small portion of the whole group,because we were cliquish and small-minded. Now as adults wehave all gotten past that and have the opportunity to reach outto the rest of the whole group.”

– Larry Klein ’78

“I think Culver graduates have close bonds from living togeth-er at a young and emotional stage of growing up, and now wecan revisit our friendships and reconnect to that part of ourlives. Culver was a community as well as a school to me. It wasthe longest that I was ever at one school, so for me, it was thelongest friendships that I made during my school years.”

– Kathyrn (Knoerzer) Klein ’78

“We’re so spread out across the country and around the worldthat it’s nice to have this one-stop place to get together. Plus,the Culver experience was so unusual; I think we all relate to itin one way or another!”

– Becky Banfield ’80

“Culver is special to me because there is a bond of friendshipthere that has never been matched in my life. The faculty caredalso and showed it by their actions and words.”

– Nancy Child Moss ’77

Dogged Determination

It all started last fall with the persistence of Sara Bramfeld Gedrimas ’78. She made it her mission in life to get the community off the ground.

“I was asked to get on Facebook by the 1978 class president, JulieHanna,” Gedrimas recalled in an e-mail. “I was already a memberof Facebook and had seen what an easy way it was to keep up withhow and what people are doing. It was very simple to set up thegroup and I found about five people from my class who werealready on FB.

“Getting more members has been far tougher, although easier as timehas gone by. Our age group is a bit more suspicious than the youngerclasses of the Internet and worriedabout privacy. I started invitingeveryone for whom I had an e-mailand look all the time for newCulver members. After a bit, we alldecided other classes would make itmore fun, and there were plenty outthere who seemed happy to join ourCulver Group. I changed the nameto Culver Academy Alumni 1978and Thereabouts.”

The response to the efforts hasbeen incredible.

“I have most enjoyed reconnectingwith old friends and even moreimportantly, making new ones,”Gedrimas wrote. “I especially loveseeing the joy and sometimes com-plete transformation of people’s attitudes and memories. I have wit-nessed people going from feeling unaccepted and disconnected fromeverything about Culver to absolute joy with finding that they areand have always been a part of that community. They find thefriends they still have even if they haven’t spoken for thirty or moreyears. They remember the often wonderful things they themselveshad accomplished. I get to experience the sometimes joyous, some-times solemn, sometimes sad, and often hilarious memories thathad been forgotten. The funny and kind and intelligent conversa-tions that were brought about by Facebook and this Culver groupcan not be overstated in my mind.”

“I initially joined FB to keep up with my kids,” said Marie HoernerHagberg ’78. “It gave me a way to see current pictures of them andto find out what they were up to after we moved away. Facebookhas been great for both reconnecting with old friends and makingnew friends who shared the Culver experience during our era. It hasalso been fun getting a snapshot of who people are now with statusupdates and witty wall posts flying back and forth.”


‘...we all shared a veryunique and powerfulexperience: the greatinstitution that is Culver.We were all teenagers,away from home, andequals at a time in ourlives when that wasreally important.’


Online community

Even though the initial goal was to create a community for the

Class of ’78, plans changed quickly. Culver is one of those unique communities where you get to know many people in the

classes before and after you. Soon the Culver group was adding membersfrom other classes as quickly as the stock market was dropping fromNovember to March. It became a place where you could find out whathappened to that person who sat next to you in Bob Hartman’sEuropean History class, the person who had the role opposite you inHarvey Firari’s latest theatrical production or the person who youenjoyed a late night Mountain Dew (or two) with in West Barrack.

“I had actually been trying to get a social network group for the Classof 1977 for quite awhile and even created a group on NING (another

social network) with a very small bit of success,” said Tom Rogers ’77.“Then I was having dinner with Charlie ‘Tuna’ Lewis ’77 and reiterat-ed my interest in starting a FB group for the Class of 1977, and hetold me about Sara doing this, too. Sara seemed to have way moreenergy than should be allowed in a human, because she did all the leg-work that I wanted to get done for our group.”

“Inspired by Sara Bramfeld’s 1978 group and Lou Stejskal’s 1985-90group, I decided to start a Facebook group for Culver students andalums from 1980-84,” said Becky Banfield ’80. “Our icon is a pic-ture of The Shack. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.In six months, we’ve grown to almost three hundred members,including alumni, former teachers, and even some older andyounger Culver alums.”

Culver is on board – on Facebook – and it is opening up awhole new exchange between alumni and the school, alumniand alumni, and the school/alumni with the entire electronicworld we live in.

“It’s a new evolution in communication,” said Bill HargravesIII ’77, the Academies director of strategic communications,“and we either get on the train or it will run us over.”

Culver has long used the traditional communications platforms(Culver Alumni Magazine, newsletters, promotional mailings,correspondence, etc.) that are one-way and “count on the reac-tion of the audience,” Hargraves said.

Those days are over – or at least Culver is no longer relying solelyon those traditional methods of reaching out to its various con-stituencies. Facebook and other social media provide two-waycommunication, a chance to talk with alumni and parents.

“The people we communicate with now have a voice,”Hargraves said.

Sharing information on Facebook that enlighten a wide rangeof individuals is a baby step for Culver, but it is an importantfirst step. Social networking “won’t go away. It is only going toincrease,” Hargraves said.

The very nature of Facebook promotes theexposure of news and information aboutCulver to those not directly associated withthe schools and summer camps (your“friends” on Facebook). “This allows ourbrand to extend, in some cases without us

even knowing about it,” Hargraves said.“Facebook is a significant way of

Culver connecting withalumni and with others.”

Facebook and other social networking avenues (such asTwitter) are not without their downsides, however. Hargravessaid posting information to the Academies and SummerSchools’ Facebook pages require additional (human) resourcesand a planned strategy to support those pages. “It is importantfor us to sustain this initiative,” Hargraves said.

But on the positive side, “the better we provide information ata consistent level, the more people are aware (of Culver’sFacebook presence) and able to interact. We begin to hear frompeople that we hadn’t heard from before or who Culver hadlost contact with.”

With social marketing, Hargraves said the forms of communi-cation are limitless. Culver’s Facebook friends are growing bythe scores daily, and “what other platform can provide thatkind of growth?” Hargraves said. (As of this writing, theAcademies had 1,984 friends on Facebook and SummerSchools & Camps 721.)

The initial choice for content on Facebook was to provideupdated information on campus events and highlight themwith videos, pictures and information before and after. Thecontent will expand as needed. Looking ahead, Facebook caninclude Culver experts in academics and leadership who canshare their experiences and expertise, making the Culver expe-rience come to life for prospects.

“If we position it correctly, people will respond,” Hargravessaid. “We’re excited about connecting.”

The Governance Committee, a collaborative campus group,was created to oversee Culver’s exposure and content onFacebook. The 16-member committee is comprised of repre-sentatives from across the campus.

– Doug Haberland

Facebook.com/culveracademies

The hot topics for discussion online fluctuate as frequently as thespring weather along Lake Maxinkuckee. Recent discussions focusedon the burning of the Little Gym in November 1977 to fondestmemories (tic) of former superintendent Colonel Ben Barone.Recently, Dan Brooks ’79 posted several questions, such as whichindividual at Culver influenced your life the most, what Culverclassmate you would most like to see again, and which individualdid you have a secret crush on while at Culver. All questionssparked some interesting debate and answers.

Facebook has also been beneficial in catching up with what is goingon in our lives. We have discovered that Nancy Child Moss ’77loves to cook; Becky Banfield ’80 enjoys Cuban food; Eliza BrodnaxShallcross ’78 has written two books; Mike Hackbert ’77 still has apassion for music, and Laura (Vanderkolk) Spensley ’78 and herhusband John Spensley ’77 are huge college hockey fans. The list ofinterests and activities goes on and on.

We have also learned that some of our classmates have lost theirjobs in this economy, struggled with health-related issues, or aregoing through a divorce or the death of a loved one. We have pro-vided words of encouragement or kept them in our collectivethoughts and prayers. This is now the Culver Experience 2.0 – theupdated version.

“When I first began this group, I had not realizedhow strong the bond is between Culver alumni(definitely not only Academies’ graduates) and thosewho love Culver,” Gedrimas said. “Being an oldhand at this now, I will say what I have decidedabout that phenomenon; I have given it muchthought. We might not have all been friends atCulver or even attended at the same time. However,we all shared a very unique and powerful experi-ence: the great institution that is Culver. We were allteenagers, away from home, and equals at a time inour lives when that was really important.

“The group consists of real friends reunited in away that e-mail could never allow. The kindnessand concern and plain old liking we all have for each other defiesany explanation I can give. But I have seen it, and continue to seeit, every day.”

“I’m not sure who I initially had as friends on Facebook, but onceSara Bramfeld joined it became one big reunion with Culver peo-ple,” said Nancy Moss. “I don’t mean we were all friends to begin,but I can tell you I’ve made new ones who are precious andrenewed old ones I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

Destination: Chicago

Amulti-class mini-reunion in Chicago was the culminating event. Through the efforts of Kent Blankenship ’78 and Gedrimas, more than seventy-five graduates from the ’70s

and ’80s held a get-together in Chicago in late March. The entireevent was organized and publicized on Facebook. Hotel reserva-tions, menus, and travel arrangements were finalized via the socialnetwork. Classmates converged on the Windy City for the weekendfrom as far away as Florida, California, and New Jersey.

Blankenship’s bar – The Dirty Martini – located in the River Northarea was the rendezvous point the first night.Many friendships were rekindled over theweekend at the House of Blues and otherwatering holes and eateries. More than onceconversations were started by saying that “Irecognize your picture from Facebook.”

The beauty of this event was that it broughtCulver grads together from multiple classes.That is actually one of the great things of theCulver experience. You become friends withpeople who are both older and younger thanyou were. While in school, you might not havehad much in common with them, but nowyears – and yes, decades later – you might be in

the same profession or have similar interests.

In Chicago we either reacquainted – or just acquainted – ourselveswith a group of people we went to high school with more thanthree decades ago. The bond was that we all experienced being awayfrom home at fifteen or sixteen and trying to find ourselves in thesometimes brutal world we all called “high school.” Social network-ing has enabled people from all over the world to communicate andstay in touch in real time. The remarkable aspect is that it hasbrought a community of people back together who once knew eachother during those high school years. For scores of people, Facebookhas brought Culver back to being that touchstone experience thatwe remember from our most formative years.


Some of the ’70s alumni who convened at Fogo de Chão in Chicago were, left toright, Larry Klein ’78, Margaret Church ’78, Alex Claney ’79, Don Kojich ’78, andJulia Westland ’78.

Phot

oco

urte

syof

Thom

asTo

ole

’78.

Editor’s note: Donald Kojich is the associate vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Illinois Foundation. He has written and presented nationallyabout the use of Web 2.0 communications strategies. Almost all of the information he acquired for this article was gathered electronically.

‘The entire event wasorganized and publicizedon Facebook. Hotel reservations, menus, and travel arrangementswere finalized via the social network.’

and are active with the United Way andphilanthropic ventures at home.

1959 Gold Medal h

John Findling, who studied the ModernOlympics as a member of the history facultyat Indiana University-Southeast, was quotedin the July 5, 2009, Parade Magazine Sundaynewspaper insert, which is distributednationally. In an article titled “Does it pay tohost the Olympics?” about Chicago’s bid tohost the 2016 Games, John said, “It’s veryhigh risk to host the Olympics because of thehuge investment involved.”

1960 Gold Medal h

50th Reunion • May 20-23, 2010Homecoming • July 23-25, 2010

Robert A. Funk underwent a six-arterybypass in July 2008, and was hospitalizedin October with an infection. Bob is nowtaking it easy in McClellan, Calif.

James R. Harding of Wicomico Church,Va., has authored a novel, “First Posting,”the story of a soldier’s wife in the 1890s asshe adapts to the constant changes andchallenges of life in the frontier West. Jimspent 30-plus years in the military, graduat-ed from the U.S. Military Academy, andearned a master’s degree from HarvardUniversity. When he’s not writing, heenjoys sailing the Chesapeake Bay andsouth to the Florida Keys.

Larry and Kay Covington Kolito spendtheir winters in Palm Springs, Calif.,returning in May to the north shore ofLake Tahoe.

1961 Gold Medal h

Arthur W. Campbell (N) is a law professor atCalifornia Western, teaching criminal, copy-right and entertainment law. Art sits on theboard of directors for San Diego’s AppellateDefenders, Inc., and Federal Defenders, Inc.

1941 Gold Medal h

David B. Huston reports from Tucson,Ariz., that his beloved wife, Betty, died inApril 2009.

C. Richard Walker of Holland, Mich.,enjoys keeping up with current events andwhat occurs at Culver. He and his bride of64 years, June, have 12 grandkids and twogreat-grandchildren.

1947 Gold Medal h

William H. Kyle continues to enjoy the sun-shine and some golf in Palm Desert, Calif.

1948 Gold Medal h

Despite being on oxygen 24/7, John H.Oliver spent 26 days on an Amazon Rivertrip in 2008. He and Joanne (a sister of BillBarnes ’48) have been married 55 years.They live in Lake in the Hills, Ill., whereJohn breeds Beagles and boards dogs ninemonths of the year.

1949 Gold Medal h

John S. Kitts-Turner and wife, Vicki, travelin their motor home a few months each year.At home in Alachua, Fla., Jack plays bassoonwith the community band, composes, andarranges. He also accompanies Vicki to gemand trade shows “to carry her stuff.” John was

on campus in May for his60th reunion.

Carl J. Metzger ofSpringfield, Va., enjoyedhis 60th reunion in May,especially time with class-mates and singing withhis quartet from his cadetdays, Three Hics and aCup, comprised of GilTherien, Paul Corkins,and Pete McKinney.

L. James Paul writes fromPlainfield, Ill., that his wife

of 56 years, Phyllis, died in December 2008of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. They have six chil-dren and 16 grandchildren.

Time, distance, and health precluded JohnW. Webster of Irvine, Calif., from attend-ing his 60th reunion.

1950 Gold Medal h


Penny and Jerry Peabody’s return to cam-pus in December 2008 for brother TerryPeabody’s Graduate of the Year ceremony“rekindled our appreciation for Culver andthe fine work it does in identifying anddeveloping young people and shaping theminto leaders.” The couple lives in MercerIsland, Wash., and granddaughter HelenHansen will be a freshman this fall.

F. James Voss Jr. is playing a lot of tennisand doing physical rehab with his son inAlbuquerque, N.M.

Earl S. Worsham and his wife, Margit, aresemi-retired in Gatlinburg, Tenn., but trav-el extensively. In June 2008 they took their16-member family, including grandchil-dren, to South Africa for a month, startingin Cape Town and ending at KrugerNational Park. The couple also fly fish eachyear in Argentina, chase salmon in Norway,


Class NewsCulver

Alumni Class NewsClass news published in this issue was received and processed prior to June 15, 2009. Alumni Class News for the Academies and Culver Summer Schools and Camps are combined and listed under the graduation year.

The Class of 1949 set a 60-year reunion attendance record with 30 returnees.

Habe

rland

phot

o.

He also plays polo throughout southernCalifornia. A Washington, D.C., trial attor-ney during the 1970s, he left courtroomwork to write his first book and to teach atGeorgetown, George Washington, Howard,Catholic, and American universities. He isthe author of “Law of Sentencing,” consid-ered the national authority and cited morethan 300 times in judicial opinions and lawreviews. Art’s poetry has been publishednationally and internationally.

1962 Gold Medal h

Rene V. Murai continues to practice law inMiami with his business boutique firm. Heand his wife, Luisa, live in Coral Gables.

1963 Gold Medal h

J. Joseph Mapes of Vicksburg, Mich., hasre-opened his Bank Street Bingo Hall inKalamazoo, Mich. He closed the hall in1999, but after several unsuccessful salesand leases he got back “in the game.” Joehas seven games operating weekly, run bysuch organizations at the Air ForceSergeants Assoc. and the VFW.

1964George “Joe” Hoerter Jr. has retired fromthe Boeing Company and is living insouthern California, with his wife, Eureka.Joe does some consulting and part-timeteaching to engineering grad students at theUniversity of Southern California.

Retired Judge Thomas F. Zachman isdoing consulting work for the Supreme

Court of Ohio Judicial College. He and hiswife, Jane, were on safari in Africa earlier in2009 and have trips planned for the sum-mer and winter. They live in Ripley, Ohio.

1967Florrie Binford Kichler (SS), publisher andfounder of Indianapolis-based Patria Pressand president of the 3,500-memberIndependent Book Publishers Association,has been selected by Book Business Magazineas one of the top 50 women in book publish-ing. The inaugural list recognizes womenwho are making a significant contribution tothe book industry. Founded in 2000, PatriaPress publishes the award-winning YoungPatriots Series of historical fiction for childrenages 8-12. The company’s 14 titles have won10 national awards for excellence. Florrie livesin Indianapolis with her husband, Mark, ason, and daughter.

1968 Gold Medal h

Platt W. Hill operates two retail nurseries inSt. Charles, Ill. He and wife, Barbara, have ason in the Marine Corps and another whorecently graduated from Bradley University.

Thomas P. Matlock of Naples, Fla., lost hiswife, Barbara, to cancer earlier this year.They had been married for 32 years.

David L. Schwaiger manages a VeteransAdministration outpatient mental healthclinic in Sheridan, Wyo. Dave is enrolled ina psychiatric nurse practitioner programfunded by scholarships from the VA andthe state of Wyoming.


Class NewsCulver

1969R. Jeffrey Blair continues to teach Englishas a foreign language at Aichi GakuinUniversity in Nagoya, Japan. In April, hetransferred to the General Studies Divisionof the four-year university after 13 years atthe junior college.

Stephen E. Wesner is the senior ministryconsultant at Walk Thru the BibleMinistries. He and his wife, Celeste, live inRoswell, Ga. Their daughter recently grad-uated from college and their son will be acollege freshman this fall.


In April, the Longwood University rugbyfootball club, coached by John R. Graham,Ph.D., made its second appearance in thelast three years in the College Division IIInational finals, finishing third. Last fall,John coached both the Longwood men’sand women’s teams to the Virginia RugbyUnion championships. He lives in NorthMyrtle Beach, S.C.

1972Todd Parchman and his wife, Bryn, haveproduced a full house of lacrosse All-Americans. Daughter Kallie was named aU.S. Lacrosse Academic All American inaddition to making one of the all-areateams here. It is the family’s third U.S.Lacrosse All American: Jack ’04 played forthe U.S. Air Force Academy, Andy ’07 isAcademic All American at HarvardUniversity, and Kallie is also an AcademicAll American.

1974 Gold Medal h

Society for New Communications ResearchSenior Fellow and publishing futuristDanny O. Snow has been elected to theboard of directors of the Independent BookPublishers Association, the largest associa-tion of independent publishers in theUnited States. IBPA represents more than3,500 publishing companies coast to coast.Snow, a Harvard graduate and founder ofUnlimited Publishing LLC (Bloomington,Ind.), is also a journalist focusing on new

The Golden Anniversary Class of 1959 is in-step and looking good in the Alumni Garrison Parade

Gary

Mills

phot

o.

historic Old Town Alexandria, the LorienHotel & Spa combines old-world qualitywith modern style and offers a luxuriousretreat close to the many monuments andattractions of Washington, D.C.

Stacey R. Scaravelli is working full time forRMC Consultants, an environmental reme-diation firm. She works for several businessand environmental non-profits, and recentlypurchased a new home in Denver.

Bob and Cymber Quinn Conn launched ahigh tech start-up in 2008 (Sixis, Inc.)which was named Start-up of the Year by anational entrepreneurial organization.Cymber has since retired and spends hertime playing healing music on her Celticharp for patients in various environments.She is also turning five acres of sugar caneland into an organic garden, and performedthe wedding ceremony in 2006 for PamelaLaurence Hyde ’84 and her husband. TheConns have been living on the Big Islandof Hawaii (Hakalau) for almost five years.

1987 Gold Medal h

Shallan and Jackson W. Hazlewood (W)are parents of a daughter, Mayble, bornMarch 27, 2009. The family lives inBoulder, Colo.

1988 Gold Medal h

A daughter, Mary, was born April 7, 2009,to Lauren and David D. Ledbetter (N’85)of Rome, Ga.

1989 Gold Medal h

Jonathan L. Neville and Susannah(Bowles) Neville ’91 welcomed their firstchild, Evelyn, on Nov. 19, 2008. TheNevilles live Carpentersville, Ill.


Andrei M. Rakic, M.D., has completed aone-year fellowship program in pain manage-ment at the University of Illinois MedicalCenter in Chicago. He completed a residen-cy in anesthesiology at the med center inJune 2008 and was voted by the faculty toreceive the Robert D. Dripps MemorialAward for outstanding graduating resident.


Class NewsCulver

publishing technologies and new media.He is widely quoted by print, broadcast,and online news outlets worldwide.

1975 35th Reunion • May 20-23, 2010Homecoming • July 23-25, 2010

John J. Bollman’s daughter, Brennan, gavethe commencement address for the Class of2009 at the University of Notre Dame grad-uation on May 17. The class valedictorian,Brennan was in good company; she sharedthe stage with President Barack Obama. Herspeech can be viewed on YouTube. Brennanwill be heading to Harvard Medical Schoolthis fall and brother Barrick ’08 will be asophomore at ND.

1977 Gold Medal h

After years of dreaming, Andrea MeridithCiske (SS) launched her own business,aciskedesign.com, a card company thatkeeps you connected and communicating.Andrea works out of Dexter, Mich.

In May, William F. Eyre (W’74) of Chicagowas awarded his doctorate in Inter-discipli-nary CERIAS program by the PurdueUniversity Department of Communication.Bill has been working in InformationSecurity at the U.S. Senate since May 2008.

1982 Gold Medal h

Malcolm K. Beyer III (N’79) has racked up4,000 miles on his GEM (neighborhoodelectric vehicle). It’s capable of about 30mph, and Malcolm lives three miles from

work, which explains his low mileage. Nextyear, he plans to buy an electric Smart car orMini. Malcolm lives in Boca Raton, Fla.

Deca-Medics, Inc., owned by Thomas E.Lach (H’79), received the grand prize ofthe Create the Future Design Award inMarch for its LifeBelt®-CPR product. TheColumbus, Ohio-based corporation special-izes in the development of innovative resus-citation products. The LifeBelt®, which hasnot yet been approved by the FDA, reducesthe force required, making it easier to per-form high-quality CPR compressions in theevent of cardiac arrest. LifeBelt was amonga record 1,091 entries in the contest, spon-sored by NASA Tech Briefs magazine. Thomand his father, Ralph D. Lach, M.D.,founded the firm in 1994.

1983 Gold Medal h

Patrick J. Moynihan of Salem, S.C., hasreturned as president of The Haitian Projectand its Louverture Cleary School in Port AuPrince. Patrick previously served as presidentfrom 1996-2006, guiding the schoolthrough a period of tremendous growth, asthe campus expanded to support the educa-tion of 340 students. His efforts to helpbuild a thriving support community led TheHaitian Project to add staff, volunteers, andboard members from seven dioceses acrossthe United States.

Hildy J. Teegen has been named dean ofthe Moore School of Business at theUniversity of South Carolina. Prior to com-ing to the school in September 2007, shewas director of the George Washington

University’s Center forInternational Business andResearch in Washington,D.C. A graduate of theUniversity of Texas-Austinin Latin American studiesand international businessand finance, Hildyreceived her doctorate ininternational businessfrom the same school.

1984Donald S. Anderson hasopened a new hotel inAlexandria, Va. Located in

Fifty-six members of the Class of 1979 returned in May, setting an attendancerecord for the 30-year reunion class.

Gary

Mills

phot

o.

1996 Gold Medal h

Dr. Jeremiah Depta and his girlfriend,Sadie Lynne Bukach, are parents of a son,Robert, born March 19, 2009. Jeremiah iscurrently chief medical resident at theCleveland Clinic and his cardiology fellow-ship will begin in 2010. They live inCleveland.

Peter C. Uher and his wife, Jessica, are par-ents of a son, Landon, born Dec. 30, 2008.They live in Ann Arbor, Mich.

1997Nicholas L. Borden and his wife, Lindsay,will celebrate their first anniversary on Nov.1, 2009. They are living in Naples, Fla., andNick is the founder of Naples Payroll Co.

Allison L. Aley Hodgson (SS’95) is a full-timemom in Reston, Va., raising 1-year-old Cole.She has her hands full, and loves it. HusbandCharles is in the restaurant business.

1998 Gold Medal h

Margaret “Meg” Roudebush married JessTedder on March 14 2009. Luis Gutierrez’98 was a member of the wedding party.Meg and Jess live in Cincinnati, where Megis a general manager in her family’s proper-ty management business.

1999Trevor H. Borom has been promoted toassistant varsity basketball coach at Ben DavisHigh School in Indianapolis. He is the in-school suspension supervisor at Ben Davis.

Andrei will be joining the medical team atGood Samaritan Hospital in DownersGrove, Ill., where he will be practicing anes-thesiology and pain management.

1994 Gold Medal h

Patricia Slemmons Mong and her husband,Chip, are parents of a daughter, Whitley,born March 12, 2009. She joins brotherChase at home in Indianapolis. The maternalgrandfather is Bill Slemmons ’56.

A daughter, Elsie, was born April 5, 2009, toGreg and Katherine A. Hutchinson Turnerof Asylstrasse, Horgen, Switzerland. Theyalso have an 18-month-old son, Connor.

1995 Gold Medal h


Corey D. Labadie is an Army Specialistwith the 82nd Airborne Apache HelicopterMaintenance stationed in Afghanistan.

Brad and Lindsey (Martin) Pick are par-ents of a daughter, Ainsley, who arrivedApril 15, 2009. Brad works for theAcademies’ Development Office andLindsey is in the Alumni Office.

Blake and Laura (Burlin) Putnam (SS’93)announce the arrival of a daughter,Alexandra, born May 7, 2009, in Vail,Colo. She joins sister Chloe (3) and broth-er Thomas (23 months).

Andy Dabasinskas and Tracy L. Voreis areparents of a son, Paxton, born March 30,2009. The couple live in Centennial, Colo.

Trevor also coaches AAU Basketball for theSpiece Gymrats and is president of RunnersBasketball Club, a non-profit youth develop-ment program. He and his wife, Sheleah,have built a home in Brownsburg, Ind.

Kuan-Yu Chen is studying for a master’sdegree in biblical counseling at CalvaryTheological Seminary in Leawood, Kan., inpreparation for becoming a Christian minister.

Emily K. Swain DiPanni, husband Doug,and their 1-year-old daughter, Madeleine,live in Warwick, R.I.

Brockton L. Herschberger is now an Armycaptain and stationed out of Fort Bragg.

Michelle L. Jackson received her master’sdegree in teaching (Spanish) and is anadjunct professor at Vincennes University.Her daughter, Autumn, is 2.

Tiffany S. Kyser has been included in theNCAA’s “Some of Us Go Pro in Somethingother than Sports” Hall of Champions. She ispart of the Indiana exhibit at NCAA head-quarters in Indianapolis. A graduate ofIndiana University-Purdue University inIndianapolis, Tiffany was the Women ofExcellence winner and received IUPUI’sWomen’s Leadership Award. She is a gradu-ate assistant with the Norman BrownDiversity and Leadership Program at IUPUI.

Nicole A. (Rosenbaum) Perdomo lives in Miami with husband Eduardo andteaches second grade at a private school.She and her husband spent a month inEurope this summer.


Eli Jones and Jenny (Clemons) ’01 live inLexington Park, Md., with their son,Aiden, who was born Aug. 14, 2008. Eliwill graduate in December 2009 from theU.S. Naval Test Pilot School at thePatuxent River Naval Air Station inMaryland. Being accepted at the school is arare honor, says his proud wife, since Eli isa civilian aerospace engineer and privatepilot. He has been working for the Navysince 2005.


Class NewsCulver

With children in tow, the Silver Anniversary Class of 1984 marches in the Alumni Garrison Parade.

Habe

rland

phot

o.

one and 10th in the other. Live broadcasts ofCORR races are carried by NBC and theSPEED network.

2001Lauren S. Corcia (SS’99) graduated inMay with an MBA from SouthernMethodist University.

A chance meeting in Panama with Culveralumnus Carlos Effio ’96 has put EduardoE. Tapia on the team of president-electRicardo Martinelli. Through Carlos,Eduardo met Demetrio “Jimmy”Papadimitriu ’91, who was Martinelli’spresidential campaign chief. Eduardo vol-unteered to help with the campaign, andnow finds himself as part of the Martinelliteam which took office July 1. Jimmy hasbeen named Minister of the Presidency. “Ifthings continue, you’ll have two Culvergrads serving Panama with the values andmorals instilled in us from our days atCMA,” Eduardo wrote.

2002Mason T. Jennings has graduated from ThirdPhase (land warfare), which trains, develops,and qualifies SEAL candidates in basicweapons, demolition, and small unit tactics.The last five weeks of the nine-week trainingwas spent on San Clemente Island. Mason isnow in SEAL Qualification Training.

John A. Kapecki (N’00) has completed hisprofessional degree in architecture at theIllinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.John spent a year in France and traveledextensively prior to entering the five-yearprogram. He worked for Weiss Architects,an established Chicago architectural designfirm, prior to the recent recession.Currently, he is involved with a few archi-tectural design competitions with his peers.

2nd Lt. Theodore J. Lauzen (N) has beguntraining as a naval aviator in Pensacola, Fla.He graduated in January with Honors fromMarine Corps Basic School at Quantico,Va. Ted was 10th in a class of 233 officersand was named to the CommandingGeneral’s Honor Roll. He graduated magnacum laude in 2007 from Duke University.

2004Rodrigo V. Ampudia of San Diego has beenracing professionally in the ChampionshipOff Road Racing (CORR) series since 2006.CORR races trucks in three classes over an

eight-weekend season. Rodrigo finished the2007 season in third and competed in two ofthe three classes in 2008, finishing third in


Class NewsCulver

One CulverThe CSSAA has forged a strong leader-ship group and the continuity of lead-ership is one of our most importantproducts. Our alumni leadership andthe current summer staff have a strongculture of service and commitment toour current campers and students,while preparing now for the program’slong-term success. Staff members andeveryone else who plays a role in get-ting students to Culver, includingmany of you as volunteers, are to becommended for continuing the strongenrollment trends we have seen, partic-ularly in a challenging economic envi-ronment. This summer, the 1,359campers represented the third-highestenrollment since 1994.

Culver’s alumni, parents, and staff arebuilding a financial resource base thatwill ensure the security of these efforts.Shared goals implemented by theadministration and the board pack apowerful punch for the Academies. Asa result, the CSSAA Board and CulverSummer Schools & Camps are in thebest shape in decades.

Here is a short list of many of theshared successes:

• Woodcraft Camp renovation andlandscaping

• Improved summer staff training

• A dynamic Board Treasury Fundthat has directly and indirectly

A summer of shared successesCulver’s 84th Summer Homecoming Weekendwas a success. The alumni battalion that passedin review was the most impressive I have seen inmany years. The highlight was the Naval Bandalumni leading the way with “Anchors Aweigh”and in perfect step as they went by.

provided over $250,000 to thesummer camp operating budgetand its endowment

• Replacement of the Naval Fleet

• Endowed scholarships for nearlyone third of the Naval Band

• Modernization of the facilities forthe Indian Lore program

• Creation of a new Seamanshipand Navigation program

In the coming months, we will be pre-sented with more opportunities to helpCulver prior to the close of the BattenLeadership Challenge in early 2010.This amazing program matches everygift now coming to Culver for annualgiving and endowment support. I urgeyou to participate at the level withwhich you are comfortable.

At the CSSAA annual meeting, onenew director was ratified, Rogelio SadaH’85, ’88, of Monterrey, Mexico. Wealso elected your new president, PhilSbarbaro W’59, N’63, of Vienna, Va.Our transition has been smooth, and Iknow he will be a dynamic leader foryou and Culver.

See you July 23-25, 2010, for the 85thHomecoming.

Kay Ryan BoothKay Ryan Booth SS’67Harrison, N.Y.

FROM THE CSSAA PRESIDENT

Elliot R. Lauzen (N) graduated in Mayfrom Harvard University with a pre-meddegree. He plans advance studies in genet-ics. Elliot played varsity football atHarvard, walking-on as a freshman. A widereceiver, he captained the JV team and ledthe squad in receptions and receiving yards.He and his brother, Hans N’06, werecounselors in Woodcraft Division IV dur-ing summer camp 2009.

Army 2nd Lt. Jeremiah Shenefield is in theprocess of completing the Infantry OfficerBasic Course. He has already completed theBasic Officer Leader Course 2 and theMechanized Leaders Course. Jeremiahgraduated in May 2008 from VirginiaMilitary Institute, majoring in history andplaying rugby all four years.

Josephine B. Zizic (W’99, SS’02) has grad-uated cum laude from Robert MorrisUniversity. JoJo received the School ofBusiness’ Outstanding Hospitality &Tourism Management Award as a junior.She played Division I lacrosse and graduat-ed as the highest scoring senior.


Makoto K. Blair has transferred from theUniversity of Hawaii to Sophia (Jochi)University in Tokyo. Makoto is a third-yearstudent majoring in anthropology and is amember of the basketball team.

Sarah B. Newnam, a senior co-captain forthe Dartmouth College women’s hockeyteam, was featured earlier this year in theschool’s athletic newsletter. Sarah playeddefense for the Big Green, which hadappeared in two NCAA tournaments, wonan ECAC Hockey League regular seasonand tournament championship, and an IvyLeague title when the article appeared inFebruary. She was all-Ivy Second Team as ajunior. Sarah graduated this past springand has moved on to New York City as asales and marketing representative withMorgan Stanley.

Christiannah O. Oyedeji graduated fromEmory University in May, but has realizedher true calling is small business and entre-preneurship, not medicine. During her sen-ior year, Christy worked on raising capitaland creating a business plan for KnapsacTextbook Rental. She presented her plan atthe finals of the Miller Coors UrbanEntrepreneurship Business Plan Competi-tion, and attended the first Kairos SocietySummit held in New York City.

2006 Gold Medal h

Hans M. Lauzen (N) is a sophomore at theUniversity of Southern California majoringin business and a member of the ROTCunit. He is co-captain of the Trojan trackteam. Last summer, Hans placed third inthe U.S. Junior National ModernPentathlon Championships and representedthe United States at the junior world cham-pionship. The modern pentathlon is anOlympic event involving running, swim-ming, fencing, shooting an air pistol, andhorse riding. He and his brother, ElliottN’04, were counselors in WoodcraftDivision IV during summer camp 2009.

University of Massachusetts-Boston hockeyforward Kristen L. Smith was featured inApril in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News. Atransfer from Ohio State, Kristen wasenjoying Division III hockey and the bigcity. She finished the season second in goals(16) and tied for third in points (22).

2007 Gold Medal h

Logan B. Gomez (W’02) is now drivingNo. 24 for Alliance Motorsports in theFirestone Indy Lights Series. Gomez hasbeen the only Indiana native in theIndyCar developmental series the last twoyears and one of two this season, accordingto an article in the Gary Post-Tribune.Logan has made 33 career starts in IndyLights, with 18 top-10 finishes, seven top-fives and a victory at ChicagolandSpeedway in the last race of 2007.

Alexandra E. Harper is spending nine weeksof her summer in Nicaragua working with

children with disabilities under GettysburgCollege’s Heston Internship Program. Alex isa starter on the women’s rugby team that fin-ished runner-up in the Division III nationalchampionship in November, and she wasnamed Player of the Match.

In early April, John-Patrick F. Rappleyewas selected as a roster player for BowlingGreen State University’s national rugbyplayoff game. Pat is a sophomore on a sen-ior-dominated team. His Academies coachDarrell Knowlton said just making the ros-ter on a team that carries over 50 players isquite an accomplishment.

Zachary M. Zygowicz is studying aviationat Metro State College in Denver. A private pilot, Zach enjoys flying in colorfulColorado, snowboarding, and mountain biking.

2008 Gold Medal h

Hockey center Nicholas A.P. Dowd hasmade a verbal commitment to skate for theSt. Cloud State hockey team in 2010 or2011. Nick skated for the Wenatchee(Wash.) Wild of the NAHL last season,where he was noticed by the Huskies. Hehad scored 49 points on 16 goals and 33assists in 43 games with the Wild. Nick wasa seventh-round (198th overall) pick of theLos Angeles Kings in the June 2009 NHLDraft. Defenseman Sam Zabkowicz ’05also plays for St. Cloud.

Jonathan J. Juricic (H’05) is a student atVillanova University, where he made theDean’s List. He was sworn in as a memberof the NROTC Unit there, a member ofthe Color Guard, and of the “WhiskeyUnit” Honor Drill Team. Jon spent amonth of the summer at CORTRAMIDtraining one week each for submarine duty,on a missile destroyer, Marine duty atCamp Lejeune, and flight school.

Richard O’Neill, Andrew Urban, AnthonyMonge, and Mike Coughlin traveledtogether throughout Europe during thesummer of 2009.


Class NewsCulver


PassingsCulver

Richard S. Smith ’28 (Co. D) ofWickenburg, Ariz., died April 14, 2009. Hegraduated from the University of Arizonawith a bachelor’s degree in language and agri-culture. He operated the Jersey Dairy at theSahuaro Ranch. He was also in the 5th and7th Cavalry and the Merchant Marines. Mr.Smith raised Thoroughbred racehorses at theSahuaro Ranch until it was sold to the Cityof Glendale in 1977. He is survived by hiswife, Sharon.

William B. Weisell ’32 (Band) died inBloomington, Ind., on March 3, 2009. Mr.Weisell graduated from Columbia College inNew York and the law school at ColumbiaUniversity. An Air Force veteran of WorldWar II, he became the senior partner in theIndianapolis law firm of Locke, Reynolds,Boyd and Weisell. He was a leader in manycivic and community organizations: presi-dent of the Washington Township SchoolBoard in 1961-62, an advocate for theIndianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and pres-ident of the Indiana State Symphony Societyfrom 1974-79. Mr. Weisell is survived bytwo children, eight grandchildren, and threegreat-grandchildren.

Asbury W. Lee III ’33 (Co. C), a retiredU.S. Army colonel, Pennsylvania banker,and civic leader, died Feb. 10, 2009, inClearfield, Pa. Graduating from Culverwith a second lieutenant’s commission, heattended St. John’s College in Annapolis,Md., and completed his undergraduatestudies at the Wharton School ofCommerce and Finance of the Universityof Pennsylvania. He completed his militarytraining at the Army Reserve Center inDuBois, attaining the rank of first lieu-tenant, Infantry. Called to active duty, Mr.Lee was awarded the Silver Star while serv-ing as a major in the North African cam-paign. In 1944, as commander of a tankbattalion of the First Armored Division, hetook part in the Anzio invasion in Italy andwas wounded in the attack on Rome. He

also received a Bronze Star, Purple Heart,and other decorations. He retired from themilitary in 1945, joining the ClearfieldBank & Trust Company as a trust officer.Mr. Lee became president of the bank in1959 and chairman of the board of direc-tors in 1975. In 1976, he served as presi-dent of the Pennsylvania BankersAssociation. In 1957, he was appointed tothe newly-formed Pennsylvania IndustrialDevelopment Authority, and he was reap-pointed by five Pennsylvania governors.During his 32-year business career, heserved with many civic organizationsincluding the Pennsylvania Chamber ofCommerce, the American Red Cross, andlocal hospital and library boards. He alsoserved on the board of the DuBoisEducational Foundation of Penn StateUniversity. He is survived by a daughter,five sons, including Robert E. ’59 of GlenAllen, Va., and William F. ’63 of Brooklyn,N.Y., a sister, 13 grandchildren, and ninegreat-grandchildren.

Marshall A. Jensen NB’34 died May 26,2009, in Rancho Bernardo, Calif. Mr.Jensen graduated from Hobart College andstudied at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. His first job was as an engineeron the construction of Kingsley Dam, aproject conceived by his grandfather andother Nebraska irrigation pioneers. He wasa major in the U.S. Army Air Corps andinstructed pilots during World War II atMather Field in Sacramento and at SanMarcos, Texas. After the war, he was a heat-ing and air conditioning engineer inStockton. In 1949, he returned to Minden,Calif., to farm. He moved to San Diego in1972 and worked as an engineer until hisretirement. Mr. Jensen is survived by hiswife, Gene; a daughter, son, five grandchil-dren, and five great-grandchildren.

An amateur sportsman, former Naval offi-cer, dairy farmer, and oilman, A. RufusKing ’35 (Co. A) died March 21, 2009, in

Passings in ReviewDeath notices published in this issue were received and processed prior to June 15, 2009. Full obituaries are limited to alumni who have died within three years of the publication of this issue.

The Office of Alumni Relations hasreceived notice of the deaths of thefollowing alumni, but sufficient infor-mation for a complete obituary wasunavailable. The city listed may be thelast known address and not necessarilythe place of death.

Marcus J. Leschin ’30 (Co. F)Feb. 20, 2008 (Kansas City, Mo.)

Walter C. Goodman ’40 (Co. D)Jan. 20, 2008 (Las Vegas)

David W. Dennis ’41 (Artillery)Aug. 23, 2008 (Old Lyme, Conn.)

Manford D. Hine ’43 (Troop)Nov. 23, 2008 (Greenville, Ohio)

Robert A. Brown ’45 (Artillery)Dec. 11, 2008 (Huntsville, Ala.)

Bruce M. Listerman W’51March 17, 2009 (Chagrin Falls, Ohio)

Robert M. Redman N’51March 2009 (Dana, Ind.)

Thomas R. Burns ’56 (Co. D)May 8, 2009 (Indianapolis)

Thomas H. Barret ’57 (Co. C)March 24, 2009 (Conroe, Texas)

Byron M. Humphrey ’58 (Co. C)March 2009 (Nice, France)

Robert O. Haass ’60 (Co. D)Oct. 3, 2008 (Lighthouse Point, Fla.)

Thomas B. O’Rourke W’75Jan. 19, 2009 (Royal Oak, Mich.)

Michael P. Gordon W’89July 31, 2007 (Northfield, Ill.)


PassingsCulver

Wichita Falls, Texas. Mr. King graduatedfrom Southern Methodist University in1939 and served as a lieutenant in the U.S.Navy during World War II as a gunneryinstructor. At the age of 14, he won theGrand American Handicap Trapshootagainst a field of over 800 internationalcontestants. At SMU, Mr. King was theSouthwest Conference golf champion. Healso won the Colorado State Amateur andthe Colorado Open Championship by theage of 22. In 1949 he was the runner-up inthe U.S. Amateur Championship. The fol-lowing year he was invited to compete inthe Masters and the U.S. Open. He wonthe Texas State Amateur Tournament in1960. Mr. King was a partner of R.A. King& Sons and King Oil, Inc. He owned sev-eral other businesses, including WichitaFrozen Food Lockers and Wichita VanLines. He and several dairymen formed theNorth Texas Milk Association to ensure thequality and fair price of milk being sold inthe community. This organization helpedbuild the American Association of MilkProducers. He was a board member for var-

ious organizations including the FirstWichita National Bank. Mr. King is sur-vived by two sons, six grandchildren,including Duggins King ’89 of New YorkCity; and 12 great-grandchildren.

John K. Norwood W’36 of Concord,Mass., died March 11, 2009. Mr. Norwoodreceived his bachelor’s degree from TuftsUniversity and his master’s degree in educa-tion from the University of Pennsylvania.He spent most of his career as a teacher atthe Sewickley Academy in Sewickley, Pa.He is survived by a brother, Henry ofWayland, Mass.

Edward S. Smith ’36 (Co. B) died April 4, 2009, in Hillsboro, Ore. Born inChina, Mr. Smith was fluent in French,German, and Spanish by the time heenrolled at CMA. He played baseball atStanford University before serving as amajor in the U.S. Army Air Forces duringWorld War II. After the war he moved toPortland where he oversaw the develop-ment of the export division at OmarkIndustries, one of the largest employers in

Oregon with offices and manufacturingfacilities worldwide. Mr. Smith becamechief executive officer and chairman ofOmark, serving until his retirement in1985. He was a board member of KeyBank, Good Samaritan Hospital, Lewis &Clark College, and Georgia GulfCorporation, among other communityinvolvements. Surviving are his wife, Joan;three children, a sister, brother, four grand-children, and three great-grandchildren.

Kenneth F. Kahn ’37 (Troop) of St. ClairShores, Mich., died April 20, 2009. Whileattending Wayne State University LawSchool, Mr. Kahn was the first reserve offi-cer and law student called to active duty inthe U.S. Army during World War II. Heserved in the military intelligence divisionas a liaison with the British in Jamaica. In1944 he joined the faculty of the JapaneseLanguage School of the War Department.Following graduation from law school in1947, Mr. Kahn joined his father’s practice,specializing in commercial and corporatelaw. In 1986, Mr. Kahn received the

IDN

R/O

utdo

orIn

dian

am

agaz

ine

This photo and another appearing on page 45 were part of an article in the May/June issue of Outdoor Indiana magazine on the Culver Summer Schools & Camps sailingprogram. The R.H. Ledbetter was featured on the cover of the monthly magazine.


PassingsCulver

President’s Cup for outstanding service tomembers of the Commercial Law Leagueand State and Federal Bar associations. Hewas a former president of the Culver Clubof Detroit, the Grosse Pointe (Mich.)Reserve Officers Association, and theGrosse Pointe Hunt Club. Mr. Kahn is sur-vived by his wife, Rosemary; two sons, twodaughters, eight grandchildren, includingStephen Kahn ’90 of Chantilly, Va.; andsix great-grandchildren.

Ralph Falk II ’38 (Troop) of Rancho SantaFe, Calif., died May 28, 2009. A graduate ofDartmouth College, he was commissionedimmediately as an ensign and then a lieu-tenant in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Mr. Falktrained soldiers for landings on the beachesof Normandy and Italy and later participatedin the battle of Sicily. After the war hereceived an MBA from the University ofMichigan. He joined Baxter International inJackson, Miss., eventually becoming chair-man and serving on the Board of Directorsof Baxter International Inc. The originalBaxter Laboratories was co-founded by hisfather. Mr. Falk was also on the board ofoverseers when Dartmouth began its medicalcollege. His passion for racing cars was sur-passed only by his love of deep powder skiingand the mountains of Utah. He was afounder of the Snowbird Ski Area. His wife,Dana, and three daughters survive.

Jack Tootle ’38 (Co. A) died April 11, 2009,in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Mr. Tootle was thevice president of Tootle Dry Goods for 23years. He had attended the University ofMissouri. He was a member of the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art, the St. JosephMuseum, and the Pony Express Museum.Mr. Tootle was a former Eagle Scout, BoyScout Master, and charter member of theMackinac Yacht Club. He is survived by hiswife, Kathryn; three children, including son John ’72 of Manhattan Beach, Calif.; andtwo grandchildren.

Norman J. Collins ’39 (Artillery) ofColumbia, S.C., died May 10, 2009. Hewas a graduate of Northwestern Universityand received his graduate degree in bankingat the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Collinswas senior vice president and chief creditofficer at South Carolina National BankCorporation in Columbia and Florida

National Bank in Jacksonville, Fla. He alsowas an adjunct professor with the School ofBusiness at the University of SouthCarolina as well as the School of Bankingof the South at LSU. He was a formerboard chairman of Anderson College and astate and national president of RobertMorris Associates. Mr. Collins was a retiredlieutenant colonel in the U.S. ArmyReserve. Surviving are his wife, Trudy; ason, daughter, three grandchildren, and twogreat-grandchildren.

Retired Warsaw, Ind., businessman and civicleader W. Matthew Dalton ’39 (Artillery)died Feb. 4, 2009, in San Diego. The retiredChairman of The Dalton Foundries, Inc.,Mr. Dalton attended Butler University andthe Advanced Management Program ofHarvard Business School. He was founderand chairman of the Kosciusko EconomicDevelopment Corporation as well as theKosciusko Leadership Academy. He served aschairman of the Indiana State Chamber ofCommerce (1983), chairman of the IndianaCommittee on Youth Employment (1979-82), and the Kosciusko County Council(1980-84). He also had been a trustee for theIndiana Vocational Technical College, mem-ber of the Warsaw Community SchoolBoard, founder and chairman of theIndustrial Division of the Warsaw Chamberof Commerce, and founder of Warsaw JuniorAchievement. Surviving are his wife, Fran;two sons, a daughter, a stepson, three grand-daughters, four stepgrandchildren, and onegreat-grandson.

Charles S. Price ’39 (Co. D.) died April29, 2009, in Southmont, Pa. He attendedBrown University and was a World War IIArmy veteran, serving in North Africa andItaly. Mr. Price became president ofCambria Equipment and retired in 1990.He served on the committees of theChamber of Commerce, Jaycees, GreaterJohnstown Committee, and United Way.He served on the board of directors forMemorial Hospital for 30 years and aschairman for 10 years. He sat on theboards of the Johnstown Bank and Trustand Citizens Cemetery Association.Surviving are three children, including sonCharles III’ N’64 of Johnstown, Pa.; andsix grandchildren. He was preceded indeath by a brother, William ’39.

George W. Tate ’39 (Co. C) of Charlotte,N.C., died March 21, 2009. Mr. Tatebegan his career with an early Chryslerfranchise in the Charlotte area and laterworked in the real estate business. Heattended Davidson College until enlistingin the U.S. Army. Mr. Tate was captured inItaly in 1944 by the Germans andremained a prisoner of war until liberatedat the war’s end. He is survived by threechildren, a sister, four grandchildren, andone great-grandchild.

Philip S. Church Sr. N’40 of MoreheadCity, N.C., died Nov. 24, 2008. Mr. Churchattended Hobart College before entering theArmy in 1942. He served in the Pacific andwas wounded on Okinawa. He settled inOhio, working at WLWD-TV in Dayton,and then managing radio stations inBellefontaine and Urbana. In 1966 heentered the cable TV business and wasawarded franchises in several Ohio cities.After selling the cable businesses, Mr. Churchretired to Morehead City in 1978, where hewas involved in communications consultingand was active in local politics. Surviving aretwo sons, a daughter, and five grandchildren.

Businessman, civic leader, and co-founder ofthe World Affairs Council, Edgar K. Orr ’40(Band) died June 9, 2009, in East GrandRapids, Mich. Mr. Orr and others formedthe World Affairs Council after World WarII, a small organization meant to educatethemselves and the public on world issues byhaving discussions and inviting speakers ofnote to address open meetings. The non-par-tisan, educational group brought a parade ofinformed figures through Grand Rapids,according to his published obituary. Mr. Orrspent two years at the University of Michiganbefore entering the U.S. Army Infantry as asecond lieutenant. During World War II, hewas stationed at the Panama Canal and laterthe Galapagos Islands. After his discharge, heentered the Babson Institute of BusinessAdministration. Mr. Orr raised funds for theCommunity Chest and served on the boardof D.A. Blodgett Home. In 1951, he washonored with the Jaycees’ DistinguishedService Award for community service.Surviving are his wife, Nancy; four children,among them Tracy Pickett ’79 of GrandRapids, Mich., Stephen ’72 and his wife,


PassingsCulver

and computer engineering from CarnegieInstitute of Technology, where he was aWestinghouse Scholar. He received a mas-ter’s degree and his doctorate from theIllinois Institute of Technology. Mr.Teasdale also graduated as valedictorianfrom the John Marshall Law School in1951. He also taught graduate engineeringat Georgia Tech, Cal Tech, and UCLA. Heis survived by two daughters, two sons, andeight grandchildren, including LindseyMarie Teasdale SC’00, Ida Teasdale ’04,Claire Teasdale ’06, Mari Teasdale ’06,Kevin Teasdale W’08, and MelissaTeasdale SS’06,’09. (Editor’s note: This obituary isbeing re-published to include more complete information.)

Peter D. Kleinpell H’43 of Naples, Fla.,died April 14, 2009. He served with theMarine Corps in China after World War II.After the service, he earned a bachelor’s andMBA from the University of Michigan. He operated a travel agency in Ann Arbor,Mich., and became involved with the fami-ly lumber business in Flint. Mr. Kleinpelland his wife, Nancy, traveled extensively,spending several summers bicyclingthrough the low countries of Europe. Heserved on the Flint School Board, HurleyHospital Board, and was City Manager ofFlint. He also was involved with the FlintCity Club, Flint Shakespeare Club, andFlint Institutes of Arts and Music, amongother activities. In addition to his wife, alsosurviving are two sons, two daughters, a sis-ter, two stepsons, a stepdaughter, eightgrandchildren, and five stepgrandchildren.

Roy H. Schreffler ’43 (Troop) died May 22, 2009, in Knox, Pa. Mr. Schrefflerwas a licensed psychologist in Delaware andPennsylvania. His public school positionsincluded teaching sciences, providingspeech therapy, and serving as a school psy-chologist and supervisor of special educa-tion. In 1966 he joined the faculty atClarion University in teachereducation/special education and attainedthe rank of professor. He retired fromClarion University in 1988 and was award-ed the Baumgartner Honor Award for spe-cial education service in 1996. He was anArmy veteran of World War II, serving inFrance, Bastogne, and Germany. Mr.Schreffler obtained his bachelor’s degreefrom Juniata College, a master’s degree

Carol (Cassiday) Orr ’72, of Washington,D.C., and Greg ’74; and 12 grandchildren.

William R. Kennedy Jr. ’40 (Co. C),PG’41 died May 11, 2009, in South Bend,Ind. Mr. Kennedy grew up at CMA, wherehis father, Lt. Col. William, was a mathinstructor and tactical officer from 1905-44. Mr. Kennedy retired from CarletonFinancial Computations in 1986. He hadpreviously worked at Bendix Corporationin Mishawaka, Ind., and for the DouglasAircraft Company in Santa Monica, Calif.He attended the Art Institute of Chicagoand graduated from the John Herron ArtSchool in Indianapolis in 1944. He taughthigh school in Wisconsin, at John Herron,and at Monticello College in Alton, Ill. Mr.Kennedy is survived by his wife, Eunice; adaughter, a son, and three grandchildren,among them Sarah Seniff ’01 ofIndianapolis and Allison Kennedy ’10 ofNiles, Mich. He was preceded in death abrother, Jack ’39.

Charles M. Flood ’41 (Co. B) died March 27, 2009, in Kerrville, Texas. Mr.Flood owned and operated businesses inCentral Texas, East Texas, and the HillCountry. He attended St. Edward’sUniversity in Austin. During World War II,he was a glider pilot and flight instructorstationed in Marfa, Texas. Surviving are hiswife, Betty; a son, daughter, three grand-children, three great-grandchildren, a step-daughter, stepson, and their children.

Dr. Robert H. Kuhn ’41 (Troop) diedApril 21, 2009, in Pickerington, Ohio. Hegraduated from the University ofCincinnati Medical School and spent morethan 40 years practicing family medicine inColumbus. Ohio. He was honored withthe 2004 Physician of the Year Award fromMount Carmel Health. Dr. Kuhn ownedBedlam Ranch Arabians and bred andshowed his horses. Surviving are fivedaughters, a brother, five grandchildren,and three great-grandchildren.

Robert D. Teasdale ’42 (Co. A) ofFullerton, Calif., died Nov. 20, 2008. Anelectrical engineer, Mr. Teasdale worked forHughes Autonetics and Aeroneutronics inCalifornia and Magnetic Metals inPhiladelphia. He served two years in theArmy before earning a degree in electrical

from Penn State, and his doctorate at PennState in 1968. Along with his positionswith public schools and professional organ-izations, Dr. Schreffler participated innumerous musical organizations, includingthe Philipsburg Little Symphony Orchestraand the University of Florida Orchestra. He is survived by his wife, Brenda; fourdaughters, two sons, a brother, Robert ’42of Chester, Va.; two stepchildren, and eight grandchildren.

Richard A. Spierling ’43 (Band) ofLancaster, Pa., and formerly of PortJefferson, N.Y., died Feb. 27, 2009. Mr.Spierling retired after 36 years from thePort Jefferson School District in LongIsland, N.Y., where he taught history,English, photography, and driver’s educa-tion. An avid traveler and photographer, heespecially enjoyed his trips to Africa and hisreturns to the Culver campus. His photog-raphy has appeared in the Alumni magazineand in his class newsletter, The Bugle. Mr.Spierling served during World War II in the1252nd Army Engineer Corps. After thewar, he graduated from SwarthmoreCollege with a bachelor’s degree (history)and a master’s degree from New YorkUniversity. He is survived by his wife,Arlene. He was preceded in death by twobrothers, Frank N’35 and John ’48.

George A. Mullineaux NB’44 died Feb. 2,2009, in New Albany, Ind. Mr. Mullineauxwas a pioneer in modernizing ambulanceservice and was a charter member and pastpresident of the Indiana AmbulanceAssociation. He founded Medic AmbulanceService, which became one of the largestambulance services in the state. Mr.Mullineaux was a graduate of the IndianaEmbalming College and then joined thefamily business, eventually becoming part-owner of Mullineaux Funeral Home inNew Albany and the Motaz-MullineauxFuneral Home in Jeffersonville, Ind. Hewas a Navy veteran of World War II and acolonel in the Indiana Guard Reserve.Survivors include his wife, Eileen; threesons, including Mark NB’67 of Sellersburg,Ind., and Bill NB’77 of Indianapolis; andtwo grandchildren, including TroyMullineaux SC’84. He was predeceased bya brother, Thomas NB’47.


PassingsCulver

Henry H. Crimmel ’46 (Co. B) died May 26, 2009, in Salt Lake City. Dr.Crimmel taught philosophy at St.Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., retiring in 1999. He received SLU’s J.Calvin Keene Award for “high standards ofpersonal scholarship, effective teaching andmoral concern.” He earned his undergradu-ate and master’s degrees from IndianaUniversity and a Ph.D. at the University ofChicago. Dr. Crimmel served as a first lieu-tenant in the U.S. Army, receiving theBronze Star for meritorious service in theKorean War. He enjoyed outdoor pursuitsand at the age of 65 summited 14,000-footMount Rainier in Washington State.Survivors include a daughter, son, brothersJohn ’48 of Naples, Fla., and Clyde ’50of Callawassie Island, S.C.; a sister, andfour grandchildren.

Miles P. Englehart ’46 (Co. D) ofHillsboro, Ore., died Feb. 1, 2009. Heattended Northwestern University and,after serving in the Army in 1951, returnedto Portland to work for MassachusettsMutual Life Insurance Co. He succeededhis father in 1958 as general agent for the

state of Oregon. He was active in the LifeUnderwriters Association, the PortlandJunior Chamber of Commerce, serving aspresident, and as president of the PortlandJapanese Garden Society. After his insur-ance career, he was associated withWindermere Realty Group in Portland. Mr.Englehart is survived by two daughters, ason, a brother, eight grandchildren, andone great-grandchild.

Peter K. Oppenheim W’41, ’47 (Co. C) ofSan Francisco died Nov. 14, 2008. Mr.Oppenheim worked for Bank of America forover 30 years, beginning his career as a for-eign exchange trader in Los Angeles in 1957and holding positions in San Francisco andin New York City until he retired as vicepresident and head of business developmentfor Latin America and the Caribbean in1987. An expert in international banking, hetaught at several graduate banking schoolsand authored multiple articles and publica-tions on international banking, including theAmerican Bankers Association’s textbookseries. He was a graduate of the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, where he also earned amaster’s degree in international relations. Mr.Oppenheim is survived by his wife, Elda.

Richard M. Zimmermann N’46, ’47 (Co.C) died April 30, 2009, in West Bend, Wis.Mr. Zimmermann worked in the familybusiness, Hoge-Warren-ZimmermannCompany for 43 years, retiring in 1992 aspresident and chairman of the board. Hewas a vice-president of the National RoofingContractors Association, an officer and pres-ident of the Gypsum Roof DeckAssociation, and active in many otherorganizations aligned with his work. Hereceived a degree in civil engineering fromthe University of Cincinnati. Upon graduat-ing, he entered the Army as a first lieu-tenant during the Korean War. He was sta-tioned in Germany as an artillery officerand then reassigned to an engineering sec-tion in Frankfurt. Mr. Zimmermannlearned to speak fluent German and becamefriends with many of the German workerswho invited him to participate in their par-ties and songfests, according to a publishedobituary. He and his wife, Connie, traveledthe world during their 54 years together.Mr. Zimmermann also contributed to manycivic endeavors, including serving as presi-dent of the Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Library Board.In addition to his wife, he is survived by a

Habe

rland

phot

o.


PassingsCulver

daughter, Vivian Bennett ’79 of Slinger,Wis.; a son, and several grandchildren andgreat-grandchildren. He was predeceased bya brother, John S.M. II NB’44.

Richard H. Dunn ’48 (Troop) died May 26, 2009, in Delray Beach, Fla. He issurvived by his wife, Dorothy; four sons,and a daughter.

Harvison Hunt ’48 (Co. A) of Baltimore,named best All-Around Athlete of hisCulver class, died May 15, 2009. He was aretired mechanical engineer, transit consult-ant, and decorated Vietnam War veteran.Mr. Hunt earned his degree in mechanicalengineering from the Naval Academy.Commissioned as a second lieutenant inthe Air Force, he flew 120 combat missions

over Vietnam. His decorations included theDistinguished Flying Cross, five AirMedals, and two Meritorious ServiceMedals. Discharged as a lieutenant colonel,Mr. Hunt earned a master’s degree in busi-ness from American University. He was thevice president in Baltimore for KaiserEngineers, an international architecturaland engineering firm working with transitprojects. Since 1999, he had owned andoperated Hunt & Associates, a safety andsecurity firm. Surviving are his wife,Bonnie, two sons, a daughter, brother, andtwo grandchildren.

Richard R. Johnstone N’48 of Rapid City,S.D., died March 13, 2009. A graduate ofSouth Dakota State University, Mr.Johnstone served in the Navy during the

Korean War aboard the USS Philippine Seaas a radar operator. He was the presidentand owner of South Side Plumbing inMinneapolis from 1959-73. At the sametime, he was president and owner ofMinnesota Mechanical Company inMinneapolis. From 1973 to ’78 he waspresident of H. Conrad Manufacturing inMinneapolis, and from 1978-89 was theCEO/president of N.U.E. Company, acommercial woodshop. Mr. Johnstoneretired in 1989 and moved to Rapid City.Since 2000 he had worked for MountainStates Security and for the Airport ExpressShuttle. His many volunteer involvementsincluded Minneapolis Society for the Blind,Boy Scouts of America, Humane Society ofthe Black Hills, and SCORE (ServiceCorps of Retired Executives). He is sur-vived by his wife, Peggy; a daughter, son,and four grandchildren.

Donald K. Winks H’48 of Upper St. Clair,Pa., died April 11, 2009. A former EagleScout, Mr. Winks graduated from PurdueUniversity with a bachelor’s degree in aero-nautical transportation. He retired fromPPG Industries after a 35-year career inengineering and purchasing. He was a U.S.Army veteran of the Korean War. Mr.Winks is survived by his wife, MaryFrances; a son, daughter, two stepchildren,and six stepgreat-grandchildren.

William H. Cavender ’52 (Co. D) ofLondon, Ohio, died Oct. 17, 2008. Hewas an avid golfer and fisherman. Survivingare three sons, a daughter, two stepchildren,and several grandchildren

Otto Helweg N’53 of Maumelle, Ark.,died unexpectedly in Denver Nov. 2, 2008.A graduate of the Naval Academy, Mr.Helweg held a degree in engineering andmaster’s degrees in divinity, business admin-istration, and educational science. Duringhis career he served as dean of the Collegeof Engineering and Architecture at NorthDakota State University, was acting directorof the California Water Resources Center,and chairman of the civil engineeringdepartment at the University of Memphis.After his naval service, he and his wife,Virginia, spent a year as volunteer teachersin a mission high school in Tehran, Iran.After completing work on a master’s degree

Talent broker Samuel Cohn ’47represented Newman and StreepSamuel C. Cohn W’41, ’47 (Troop), a powerful agent who dominated New York’stalent business during his heyday, died May 6, 2009. Starting in 1975, Mr. Cohnspent more than three decades with International Creative Management representingan array of actors, directors, writers, playwrights and composers. Over the years, hisclients included Paul Newman, Woody Allen, Meryl Streep, Robin Williams,Whoopi Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, Lily Tomlin, Nora Ephron, Bob Fosse, RobertAltman, and Mike Nichols, according to a Los Angeles Times obituary.

In 1993, Time magazine called Cohn “the first super agent of the modern age.” ANew Yorker profile noted that in 1981 ten feature films and nine Broadway or off-Broadway plays opened that were written, directed, or produced by one of his clientsor in which a Cohn client had a major acting role. He was known for also gettingColumbia Pictures to pay a record $9.5 million for the movie rights to the Broadwaymusical “Annie.”

He was inducted into the Academies Fine Arts Hall of Fame in November 2004. Adie-hard New Yorker, in his prime Mr. Cohn reportedly saw at least 100 movies and75 plays a year, in addition to spending nights at the opera and at concert halls.

Following graduation from Culver, he majored in English and German literature atPrinceton. He matriculated at the law school at Yale, served for two years in the U.S.Army, then returned to Yale to complete his law degree in 1956. He began his careerin the entertainment industry as a lawyer for CBS, and then worked for the NewYork firm Marshall, Bratter, Greene, Allison & Tucker. In 1971, Cohn joinedCreative Management Associates as a vice president. In 1975 he helped to createInternational Creative Management (ICM) by facilitating the merger of CreativeManagement Associates and The International Famous Agency.

Mr. Cohn relinquished his management role at ICM in 1999, but he continuedworking as an agent until retiring in February. He is survived by his wife, Jane; adaughter, son, and four grandchildren.


PassingsCulver

from UCLA, he spent five years among theKurds in Western Iran. He consulted withmany countries in hydrogeology, includinga special consultant to the government ofRwanda, where he spent 2007 working tobring potable water and the gospel to vil-lages, schools, and hospitals. Mr. Helwegwrote over 100 reference papers and threebooks. He received a number of honors forhis work in both engineering and volunteerwork, including the Hoover Medal in1997. The Hoover Medal has beendescribed as the equivalent to a Nobel Prizeby the engineering community. He is sur-vived by his wife and three sons, amongthem Otto NB’82 of Seattle and Mark ’87of Raleigh, N.C.

Malfred J. Hamerin NB’54 of Indianapolisdied May 14, 2009. Mr. Hamerin wasowner of the former Patio Lounge in Broad Ripple in the early 1970s and, afterretirement, he worked for Connor Prairieas an interpreter. He earned a degree infinance from Indiana University. He was amember of the 500 Festival Association and was executive director of the IndianaRose Festival. Surviving are his wife,Virginia; two sons, a daughter, a brother,and four grandchildren.

Robert B. Wilson W’51, ’54 (Band) diedMay 18, 2009, at his East Dundee, Ill.,home. Mr. Wilson was the retired presidentof Elgin Corrugated Box Co., and the suc-cess of the business was chronicled in thebook “Thriving on Chaos” by Tom Peters.Mr. Wilson was a graduate of theUniversity of Chicago, where his adviserwas Norman Maclean, author of “A RiverRuns Through It.” Drafted into the Armyin 1959, Mr. Wilson served in WestGermany and was a civilian employee ofthe Army Intelligence Corps and involvedwith rounding up Nazi war criminals. Hebegan his career in the packaging industryin New York in the early ’60s and joinedElgin Corrugated as CEO and vice presi-dent in 1981. He became the president in1991 and retired in March 2009. Survivingare three children, including NatalieWeidemier ’95 of Chicago and MichaelW’90 of San Francisco; two grandchildren,and his partner, Shirley Solberg.

Rayburn R. Smith ’55 (Co. C) ofPlymouth, Ind., died June 1, 2009. A grad-uate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he servedfour years in the Navy and then earned hisMBA at the Harvard Business School. Asister, Betsey, survives.

Dallas businessman E. Pierce Marshall ’56(Artillery) died June 20, 2006. A graduateof Pomona College, he began his career atGeneral Motors as an engine test engineer,followed by a tour with the U.S. Navy. Mr.Marshall then worked for the New Yorkinvestment banking firm of Loeb Rhodes,an experience he later used in the securitiesbrokerage business. In 1969, he moved toHouston to manage various investmentprojects with his father, including variousroles at Koch Industries, International Oil& Gas, and Marshall Petroleum. In 1981,after his father-in-law’s death, he was elect-ed chairman of the Electron Corporation(an iron foundry concern). Later, he wasappointed president and led the companythrough a successful turnaround, savingover 300 jobs in Colorado and Oklahoma.In 1993, Mr. Marshall ceased his securitiesbrokerage business, delegated his responsi-bilities at Electron, and assumed opera-tional responsibilities at MarshallPetroleum. Mr. Marshall is survived by hiswife, Elaine, two sons, and a brother, J.Howard III ’53 of Pasadena, Calif.

John A.D. Curtis Jr. H’57 of Mishawaka,Ind., died Feb. 27, 2009, after an extendedillness. Mr. Curtis was an independent over-the-road trucker for over 30 years. Heattended the Lincoln Technical Institute inIndianapolis, where he developed his skills asa mechanic. He was an avid drag car driver,racing funny cars, motorcycles, jet cars, andeven a semi, on tracks across the country. Mr. Curtis is survived by his wife, ShirleyTakace; two daughters, a son, three sisters,and three grandchildren.

Samuel E. “Ed” Wilhite ’60 (Co. A) diedFeb. 19, 2009, in Ojai, Calif. He graduatedfrom Yale University and received his lawdegree from Stanford. Most recently, he wasthe Naval Company II counselor during the2008 summer session and was rememberedat a July 5 memorial service. Surviving is abrother, Jim of Palm Desert, Calif.

Rafael Muniz ’61 (Troop) died Sept. 6,2008. He is survived by his wife, MariaLuisa, three sons, among them Eduardo’00 Mexico City and Rafael ’90 ofHouston, and two grandchildren. A broth-er, Jose ’63, is deceased.

Attorney Benjamin B. Cassiday III ’69(Troop B) died June 2, 2008, in Honolulu.Mr. Cassiday had practiced law in Hawaiisince the 1970s. He was known for repre-senting former state House Speaker DanielKihano on federal corruption charges.According to published reports, he also rep-resented his second cousin, auto dealer andland developer James Pflueger, in civil andcriminal cases related to environmentaldamage caused by a Kaua’i real estate devel-opment. The Cassiday family traces itsroots in Hawaii to the arrival in 1811 of aBritish sea captain. Mr. Cassiday is survivedby his father, Ben Jr. ’40, a retired U.S. AirForce brigadier general; a sister, Carol Orr’72 and her husband, Steve Orr ’72 ofWashington, D.C., and an uncle, PaulCassiday ’46 of Honolulu.

Jan G. Schab ’79 (Troop) of Niles, Ill.,died Jan. 12, 2009. Mr. Schab is survivedby his wife, Deborah; his mother, Harriet; abrother, and sister.

Augusta W. Woods ’89 (Atrium) ofTampa, Fla., died Jan. 29, 2009, after abrief illness. She graduated from theUniversity of Tampa with a degree infinance. She is survived by her mother andstepfather, Harrison and Thomas Giddens,and a brother, Frederic III N’86. She waspredeceased by her father, Frederic Jr. ’54.

IDN

R/O

utdo

orIn

dian

am

agaz

ine

CCI is excited to report the appointmentsof five new regional vice presidents.Regional vice presidents are the vital linkbetween regional clubs, CCI PresidentKevin Henderson ’91, and the Director ofCulver Clubs Lindsey Pick ’95. Theirresponsibilities include serving as a resourceto each club in their region by sharing ideasof other clubs and communicating withclub presidents on at least a quarterly basis.Additional responsibilities include ensuringthat each club maintains strong and effec-tive leadership, overseeing the progress ofeach club’s yearly events, and assisting withthe filling of chair positions for each club’ssteering committee. Together with the CCIpresident and the director of Culver Clubs,the regional vice presidents assist in theplanning of CCI’s annual goals. Please joinus in welcoming our new regional vicepresidents to their important posts.

Gregg Vier ’91 – Northeast Region

April Ronchetti-Little ’88 – South Region

Nick Borden ’97 – Southeast Region

O’Neal Turner ’00 – Western Region

Lindsey Pick ’95 and Kevin Henderson ’91– Midwest Region

Culver student teams up with Culver Clubs For her senior service project, CaitlinMiclot (Austin, Texas) is organizing aCulver Alumni Global Day of Service forSept. 26, 2009. Caitlin hopes that Culveralumni, family, and friends will gather withtheir local Culver Club to organize andwork on a service project that benefits theirlocal community.

Culver seniors and first-classmen arerequired to complete a service project as apart of their leadership curriculum. This isthe first time a Culver student has attempt-ed to organize an alumni Culver Club


Clubs InternationalCulver

Culver Clubs name five new regional vice presidents

with friends and family and I continueto be awed by that beautiful lake. Ihear similar stories from both summerschool and Academies alumni all of thetime. The memories hatched on herbanks seem to have a lasting impact onthose who have had the privilege towalks her shores. I am happy to reportthat the Culver Clubs are doing theirpart to keep those fond memories alivein minds of alumni.

We are in the midst of yet another suc-cessful year. We are on track to haveover 60 quality events in different citiesthroughout the country. As the lives ofall Americans get filled with more andmore activities, time becomes a moreprecious commodity. Therefore, wehave tried to focus on the concept ofquality over quantity in the hopes thatwe can host an event once or twice ayear in each major metropolitan citythat would attract alumni from all agegroups and interests. This is still awork in progress, but we are well onour way thanks to the tireless dedica-tion of our volunteer leaders.

Our club leaders are outstanding. Theyhave committed the time and energy

Culver Clubs keepingMaxinkuckee memories aliveAs the Woodcrafters and Upper Campers wrapup yet another successful summer, I am remind-ed of majestic Lake Maxinkuckee. I can picturemyself being there during the summer months

to help their alma mater and I want tothank each and every one for theirhard work. We would not be enjoyingthese successes without them. Thanksto their selflessness, the clubs will havea long and successful life.

We will always be in need of morealumni support for Culver Clubs.Having too many volunteers is never aproblem any organization faces. Yourcontributions to Culver Clubs do nothave to be solely in the form of clubleadership. We often get inquiries fromalumni as to how they could sponsor anevent or host an event at their home.Other alumni have used their profes-sional life connections to find speakersor venues for events. These are all wel-comed and offer yet another way for youto give back to the school on the lakethat fostered all of those fond memories.

Sincerely,

Kevin Henderson W’87, ’91Culver Clubs President

FROM THE CCI PRESIDENT

event and we hope many clubs will takeadvantage of this opportunity to connect(and re-connect) with alumni, family, andfriends and leave a positive imprint on ourcommunities by showing how, in that oneday, Culver can make a difference.

If you would like to get your local clubinvolved with this project, please contactCaitlin at [email protected].

Charlotte Culver Club gathers at Lake NormanMany thanks to the Alan Simonini ’71 fami-ly who opened their lovely home on LakeNorman to our Charlotte Culver Club inJune. The event was attended by about 30people; the adults all hung out on the cabanaand had some margaritas while the kidsswam in the lake. The dinner was Southernbarbecue, and we all appreciated the hardwork of the Simoninis to make the day awonderful experience. We are all looking for-ward to our next event in the fall.

Chicago Culver Club off to the racesSave the date for a Day at the Races atArlington Race Track on Sunday, Sept. 6,hosted by the Chicago Culver Club. TheChicagoans continue to host monthlyHappy Hours at Potters Lounge in thePalmer House Hilton. The last eventattracted more than 50 alumni, parents,and friends.

Cincinnati Culver Club activeThe Cincinnati Culver Club continues to bevery active hosting bi-monthly luncheons. InMay, club members hosted a lunch for thecrew when it was in town for the MidwestChampionships and also supported the row-ers. Special thanks to Irene and DaveRobinson ’61 for hosting an evening on theOhio River as part of the club’s cocktail andhors d’oeuvre river cruise.


Clubs InternationalCulver

Members of the Cincinnati Culver Club gathered to support the varsity crew at the Midwest Championships on May 9.

Phot

opr

ovid

ed.

On Aug. 8, the Georgia Culver Club hosted its annual afternoon cookout to celebrate the send-off of local stu-dents heading off to Culver Academies and to welcome home those who had attended Culver Summer Schools &Camps. The party was catered by Five Star Culinary Services, owned by Richard Lea ’88, and was hosted byChristine and Bill Hunt ’88.

Phot

opr

ovid

ed.

Below are the names of the 125 individ-uals – names that represent 4,185 years –who have served Culver for more than 25years. Each name has been etched in gran-ite, and is etched in the memories and

hearts of thousands of men and womenwhose youthful lives were shaped by thesecaring, dedicated teachers and mentors.

Faculty and staff members who pass the25-year mark in subsequent years will be

added to the monument. The monumentis a gift of Kimberly and Miles White ’73and was dedicated May 8, 2009.

Faculty and staff members are listed by lengthof service. Those listed in italics are deceased.


Faculty Distinguished Service Monument

And one more thing...

Habe

rland

phot

o.

For a story about the dedication see page 10

Bert H. GreinerHugh G. GlascockWalter M. HandGeorge H. Crandall Sr.John F. GrantE.V. BoblettAbraham S. StoutenburghFrederick L. HuntLeigh R. GignilliatRalph H. MowbrayFrank L. BrookeMarvin V. BennettJ. Seddon FleetWilliam R. KennedyRobert RossowC.S. YoungFranklin W. BatesHillard W.WalmerArthur J. HewesLee Roy KellamGeorge L. MillerWilliam G. JohnstonRobert H. ShanksHenry V. DavisWilliam E. GregoryCharles F. McKinney Sr.

Homer A. ObenaufCharles C. MatherJudd T. StinchcombLewis J. StoneJames H. BishopJohn W. HendersonHugh H. HarperAllen R. ElliotGeorge O. JohnsonErvin R. NelsonCecelclere BrownClarence A. WhitneyWallace E. LelandDonald M. MarshalWalter G. RobertsCharles S. McMinnEdward T. PaysonDonald C. SutherlandC. Warner WilliamsKenneth HesgardE. Kemp MooreMilan D. BakerJohn W. BaysWilliam J. MacQuillanJohn F. RoosWalter W. Strait

Richard W. GimbelEdward StephensonFrank W. WalaitisArthur G. HughesBurton L. CurryAlfred J. DonnellyErnest B. BensonRussell D. OliverPatrick H. HodgkinA. Coke Smith IIIWilliam A. StrowMartin A. UebelJohn F. EdgellRaymond C. JurgensenCharles C. Maull Jr.Myron E. BennerMelvyn A. EsteyJohn R. MarsJames V. MiracleHarvey FirariMarshall L. BrownJohn W. ChadwickAlbert A. Paré Gordon UyttebrouckCharles E. BaylessAlan M. Bunner

Channing E. MitzellL. Kingsley MooreRaymond K. WalmothMary Frances

“Mai-Fan” EnglandDavid L. NelsonDavid L. BurkeRobert B.D. HartmanAlexander D. NagyFrederick D. LaneJ. Frederick LintnerRonald H. NoelCarl V. SteelyColin W. StetsonDarrell H. BeachPhillip K. MalloryGerald R. ThomasBruce L. HoladayJohn L. BabcockJoan M. BessLarry A. BessRichard G. DaviesWilliam E. BrowneJames A. BrughMichael E. ChastainJ. Allan Clark

Michael F. DeeryCathy Mitzell DukeJose M. GarzonJohn R. GouwensFrederick A. HaaseJoseph M. HorvathJanet Stannard KlineTony T. MayfieldNancy Nowalk

McKinnisPatricia A. MontgomeryDavid B. PowellWarren K. ReissWilliam G. RothEmily Payson RymanDavid R. SampsonJulie A. ThornburgThomas R. ThornburgJill B. TulchinskyGuy B. WeaserLaura J. WeaserJanice A. WeaverStephen D. Winet

CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY • CULVER GIRLS ACADEMYCULVER SUMMER SCHOOLS & CAMPS

Phot

oby

Gary

Mills

.

The Culver Legion would like to welcome...

A-Mag, 2009 Spring/Summer

Documents

Transcript of A-Mag, 2009 Spring/Summer