SS 11 Final

The Scratch Sheet, Volume 11

June 21, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

A. SHOEMAKER ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF GIRARD’S BOARD OF MANAGERS

B. A WORD FROM CHARLIE ELLIS, OUR MOST TYPICAL HUMMER

C. JOE HIPPLE IS FOUND

D. JIM BACHMAN IS HEARD FROM

E. NEWS FROM THE HUM

F. A REPORT ON FOUNDER’S DAY COMBINED WITH A REUNION COMMITTEE UPDATE

G. SCRATCH SHEET SCHEDULE

H. A REPORT FROM THE CLASS GIFT COMMITTEE

I. PHOTOS FROM FOUNDER’S DAY 2009

A. SHOEMAKER ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF GIRARD’S BOARD OF MANAGERS

On June 4, 2009, Pete Shoemaker, Class of 1960, was elected Chairman of the Board of Managers at the recent Board of Managers Meeting, succeeding Bill Slate, who resigned.

Pete has been an active member of the Board since 2002, recently serving as Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee. He is also on the Executive Committee, and was on the Search Committee which led to the selection of Autumn Adkins as Girard’s new president.

The Board of Managers has 24 members and is made up of representatives from a variety of Girard constituencies, including members of the Board of Directors of City Trusts, community leaders, educators, alumni, parents, faculty and students. Its role is to provide oversight and direction to Girard and its President. It was formed in 1996 at the behest of certain alumni, and others, who were concerned about the direction, or lack thereof, of Girard. Pete will be its fourth Chairman since inception. At the meeting in which Pete was elected he was nominated by the outgoing chairman, William K. Slate, who had the following to say.

“Peter Shoemaker, a Girard College Alumnus – is hands down the most committed person to Girard College, who is not paid staff, that I have ever met. He lives, eats and sleeps Girard College. He is engaged and highly respected by the leadership of the Board of City Trusts – he understands thoroughly – and I mean thoroughly, the finances of Girard College and City Trust. His judgment is thoughtful, measured, practical, sound!

He is presently the indefatigable Chairman of this Board’s Finance Committee, and a hard-working member of the Executive Committee; an engaged and highly effective member of the Presidential Search Committee; a sensitive and hugely helpful member of a small Presidential Transition Committee.

Peter and Roz as many of you know are also the generous benefactors of the Travel Abroad Program to Bordeaux, France.

Peter is literally everywhere doing everything important for Girard College.

As Peter Scotese is fond of saying, “always find in your successor in office a person who will greatly exceed your own competence and abilities” – (I succeeded Peter). In this recommendation of Peter Shoemaker for the position of Chairman of the Board of Managers, I believe I have done so.

Mr. Shoemaker was then elected Chairman of the Board by acclamation!

B. A WORD OR THREE FROM CHARLIE ELLIS, OUR MOST TYPICAL HUMMER

Charlie sent us a tape describing his life in the Hum. You’re humble editor was happy to transcribe. Did you know that in our Corinthian’s Class Poll, Charlie was not only voted Most Typical Hummer, but also Class Wolf? What was that all about? But here for your reading pleasure is Charlie:

“The remembrance I have is my mother bringing me into West End on Sept. 9, 1949 into section F, which the Governess was Ms. Vantrees. I think the first people I met was a big boy named John Castaldi, class of 59. And then I remember my mother leaving, and I became very upset, and I didn’t know quite what to do. In those sections of West End those days there was a room filled with toys and other objects, and coats in a circle I believed. And I remember going to that room very, very upset. And upon arriving I threw every toy and every object in those rooms and every coat onto the floor. Of course, Ms. Vantree didn’t know what to do since I had only been in that section for about 10 minutes. Then, a gentleman named Mr. Nicholson, who we all remember very well, came in and he said to me “ what is the matter? “ And I said ‘I believe my mother had left’, and I believe I was crying. And in those days I wore a Mickey Mouse watch, which today would be worth a lot more than it was then. And at that time he wore a real gold watch which was probably expensive for its day. He said if I behaved myself he would trade watches with me. So as soon as he said that I stopped crying, and felt that someone was interested in me. And maybe from that day on I adjusted to Girard and was basically OK.

A couple of the adventures in West End that I remember very well, were the baseball games, and a fellow from Section E, Leo Scott, who hit the ball very well. John Hagerty, who was from another section and I didn’t really know, was playing with some toys, at poolside, and I kicked him, not him, the toys. He became very upset, and he gave him me a little what fer. As you know later on he became my best friend, and has remained so to this very day. Also one time in front of Ms. Vantrees, I used a word that I shouldn’t have used. She marched me upstairs to the sinks, and made me bite a piece of soap, so that I would not use those words again. I did not use those words ever again before a faculty member, ever again. Another memory is an accidental push off the sliding board by another classmate, John Houghton.

My first grade teacher, Ms. Sargent, was a little stern, but a good teacher.. And in second grade I had Ms. Parker who was a very good looking young lady, but a good teacher. In third grade, when we moved to Junior School, my teacher was Ms. Whitacre who was also a very good teacher. And Ms. Stacks was my governess, in I believe Section 4, which was the first section to have a TV. They had won through the Ghost Writer Club, about six months before I came to Section 4. There was not too much more exciting about that until we got to 5^th grade which was known as Good Friends and the governess was Ms. Varney, and Mr. Wileman was the other staff member there. We used to have team baseball, and I remember playing for Section 11, and a baseball came out to me, and I said I got it, I got it, and I got it alright right in the lens of my glasses which gave me a double black eye. My mother came in to pick me up for Easter vacation, and she didn’t even know who I was. She walked right by me.

And then of course the memories of Lafayette. Mr. Dunkle had many years at Girard, was considered one of the best caretakers of boys that they ever had. I believe I got the razor strap once for some infraction. And then there was Section 25 and Mr. Boutelier from Massachusetts, and he used to spar with the great Rocky Marciano, and we used to see a lot his films. And we used to see a lot of swimming races in the small pool. And of course, phys ed in the earlier days we used to have Mr. Groff, who used to say “who crapped in the pool.”

And then we went to 8^th grade where I had Ms. McCracken, and a few others, and she was fairly good as a teacher. In the 9^th grade we had Mr. McCloud, and a few others who I can’t recall at this time. Boot Joll was the head of Banker Hall, and Mr. Myers who liked to smoke a lot, and cough a lot. And we used to get in trouble a lot and had to scrub the steps. We were in Junior High School. Then we went to Merchant Hall headed by Mr. Craig, who was somewhat a tyrant, and would probably be considered abusive by today’s standards. And Mr. Rothberg, and I don’t remember the other housemasters. And it was a hard year for us who struggled in school in 9^th grade. As a matter of fact I almost had to leave, but a lot of the other academic geniuses in our class took me aside and we would work, so I could go on and finish the school year without too much trouble.

And in the 10^th grade in Mariner Hall which was a very mischievous year as we all remember. Meathead Richardson was certainly a character. Mr. & Mrs. Pease, and all the frolicking, but the study and wanting to get ready for college. That was probably my best academic year with the help of the boys from the upper academic classes to get me off to a good start in the 10^th grade.

In Junior Year it was basically normal, and I can’t remember much except for getting cut from the JV basketball team which was a sincere disappointment. I overcame it, we had a very good intermural team at that point. Then our senior year was the grand finale. I worked all summer with Tony Como the coach at Bartram High School who was a good basketball coach; coached at Cornell and Cheyney later. Taught me a lot of basketball, I worked my butt off all summer, and was able to make the varsity my Senior year, certainly one of the highlights of my athletic endeavors. And Dr. Gearhardt, who is now at the University of Pennsylvania told me that “ Charlie, there was no one who deserved their athletic letter more than you.” And today it means more to me than then, giving his success, and the success of all my classmates.

And another wonderful thing happened when Dr. White sent me and Ben Bertino to represent the College to a business endeavor in Center City, which was the highlight of my academic career. We certainly had a number of young men in that group who became very successful, who were very helpful to me in my endeavors in the business courses. And I think another very useful course was Archie Andrews’ public speaking courses, although I was not one of the better speakers at the time of our schooling. It helped me to develop speaking skills which helped me later in my own adult at-work life.

I remember all 102 of you very well. You were all part of my life. Your friendship has been enduring all my life. Your condolences in particular when my first wife passed away, and your caring, and I would guess that Webster has many definitions of love, and that is a propos to most of us. Not that we got along 100% of the time.”

C. JOE HIPPLE IS FOUND

Based on a lead provided by Hap Cohrs, Bill Evans made a call to Monroeton, PA to search for what looked like our man, Joe Hipple. Bingo! Joe had to leave after the 10^th grade because of the 18 year rule. So we need to find just Barkley Malumphy, and we will have reconnected with the four guys who had to leave under the rule. Alex Markauskas, and Bob Skrobiak were the others.

You will remember Joe as a very quiet guy, who was a wonderful athlete. Soccer players in the class rank him in a tie with Rich Popella as the most skilled soccer player. Joe went onto Penn State after finishing high school, and was there contemporaneous with Evans, and John Gearhart. Vic reported his conversation with Joe thusly:

I just got off the horn with Hipple and here are his contact specifics:

Name: Joseph (Joe) Hipple Address: RR#1 – Box 2462 Monroeton, PA 18832 Phone: (570) 265-8875 Email: jhipple@frontiernet.net

In terms of PA geography, Monroeton is located in Bradford County and is northwest of Scranton – Wilkes-Barre. I was the first person from the Hum that he has contact with since his Penn State days and the one-sided talk marathon that ensued might indicate that Joe was vaccinated with a victrola needle. He was a high school chemistry teacher in the Springfield Delco area for ten years before moving up to the woods to start a new career in home construction. He laid some heavy educational philosophy on me as well as sharing his Meyers-Briggs Psychological Profile as it related to the teaching profession. All in all, Joe seems very content and well-adjusted and is interested in reconnecting with our class which I indicated he could do once I sent him to the link to our site.

D. JIM BACHMAN IS HEARD FROM

We received a very nice 2 page letter from Jim Bachman, who hasn’t been heard from in quite awhile. Among other things, Jim noted:

“I would remark that some of the classmates shown in the nice pictures that you sent looked a bit, ‘tired and worn’ Then I had a sharp dose of reality when I took a good look at myself while shaving the other day--enough said. I enjoyed a picture of Dan Ferro who looked pretty good for an ‘old buck such as we’. I always remember Dan as having a pleasant personality, and I enjoyed the grapes that he secreted out of the D & S and made his own homemade wine. Wasn’t quite a Dom Perignon, but had a rather interesting flavor. Nice job Dan!”

“I received my bachelor’s degree from Wilkes College in 1964 with a major in English. I really didn’t do much of anything with my English background but entered the insurance property claims adjusting field, and have been so involved until present-evidentally I’m not too smart to be in a business dealing with people and money.”

Jim goes on to note that he failed his army physical because of an ACL knee injury, and he now limps considerably, and requires a replacement. Jim married Martha Ann Mace in 1967, they’re running on 42 years, and have 3 children, and 2 grandchildren. Jim still lives in Nanticoke. He notes that he is an extremely conservative, right-wing evangelical Christian. Jim is still quite into sports, and physical activities, and often does 2000 push-ups a week.

“As to my thought about Girard, they are for the most part relatively pleasant. I learned to broaden my appetite, and I was able to co-exist with the disciplinary requirements.” Jim notes that he never locked horns with Stubby Craig, but along with his two younger Hum brothers feels that he was ‘probably the last wall of defense between rebellious 14 or 15 year olds and a misspent, unregulated life afterwards.’ He goes on to say that “I have fond memories of Al (Meathead) Richardson, Billy Dunkel, Malcolm Nicholson, Hoppy Holman, and Emory (Hands) Wagner. I can honestly say there were no Hummers in my graduating class that I truly disliked, or to whom I had a strong aversion. I believe Girard was basically an excellent school. . . On the other hand, I must admit it was not natural to be away from home for an average of four weeks or more at a time.”

Jim is quite dissatisfied with the Hum situation now, and feels that Stephen Girard’s legacy has disappeared. He notes that “the Girard I graduated from in June of 1960 no longer exists. It has regrettably passed into the annals of history.” Jim thinks he will be unable to attend our 50^th, but sends “his best wishes and prayers to all of the people that will be there, and I will end by noting that it is good to soberly reflect on one’s own mortality and the fact that so many guys are ‘no longer with us.’”

E. NEWS FROM THE HUM

Pete Shoemaker reports:

Hopefully by now, all of you have read the news of Dominic Cermele’s retirement and of Autumn Adkins’ appointment as the next President of Girard College. I had the extreme pleasure of serving on the Search Committee and, over time, I am sure you will all see what we saw during the interviewing process. Autumn will be a dynamic leader of Girard. She is a strong academician with a passion for teaching and child development. She leads with vision and inspiration. In addition to a focus on the academic side of things, in my opinion (and hers), one of the key areas of her focus will be fundraising. Given today’s financial markets, it is obvious the Girard Estate does not have the necessary funds to support all the needs of the school, both operating and capital needs. In fact, I personally have felt the Estate didn’t have adequate funds for many years prior to the current financial downturn. So, as was indicated in our Class Gift article in Scratch Sheet #9, out of necessity, there will be a smaller enrollment next year and possibly further reductions in 2010-2011. We are anticipating 630 students for 2009-2010.

On a brighter note, there are 42 graduating seniors. All but one has been accepted to either college or trade school. Some of the schools they’ll be attending are Princeton, Howard, Bryn Mawr, West Chester, Penn State, Rutgers, Emerson, and Old Dominion.

F. A REPORT ON FOUNDER’S DAY 2009 COMBINED WITH A REUNION COMMITTEE UPDATE

This year’s Founders Day produced a fine turn-out from the Class of ’60, with over 19 classmates attending one or more of the festivities. Along with the normal Saturday activities, and the golf outing, we also had two get-togethers at Jack’s Firehouse to talk through many of the plans for next year. Those attending some portion of the weekend were: Linda and Rich Adams, Alberici, Elizabeth and Joe Baji, Caplan, Cohrs, Culver, D’Amico, DiRomaldo, Ellis, Evans, Ferro, Frigiola, Gearhart with daughter, Lizzy, Jakoby, Kane, Saracini, Seaman, Shoemaker, and Tait. The reunion committee’s report by Joe Frigiola sums up much of the weekend, and lays out the issues with which the committee is dealing. It follows.

Hi Folks:

Friday's dinner meeting at Jack's Fire House was fairly well attended; 10 people in all. Adams, Caplan, D'Amico. DiRomaldo, Ellis, Evans, Ferro, Frigiola, Kane, and Shoemaker. John Kane presented cost figures for his latest Hotel search, the Crown Plaza on City Line Ave. With a location 10 minutes from the Hum, free parking, attractive amenities and a very reasonable price of $119 plus tax per night, we made the selection. John will sign a contract for 10 rooms Thursday night and 25 each Friday and Saturday nights. We can get more if we know early enough. That weekend in 2010, like this one, is very busy with a number of local graduations.

Saturday at Girard was lightly attended but our class was in force with 19 returnees, plus spouses, and kids. You can see the pictures taken by Dan Ferro and Hap Cohrs at the end of this Scratch Sheet. The Chapel Service was somewhat haphazard this year. The food at the Armory Lunch was also a bit off standard. The Armory did clear out by 2:00, so we can have our Discussion Groups there at 2:30 if we choose. Campus exhibits and activities were the usual fare. The crowd was small but enthusiastic. Dinner in Founder's Hall was pleasant and well handled. The Class of '59 had the largest contingent. We had six classmates there. Things began winding down by 8:30, so the idea for next year of an extension with dance music, etc at 9:00 would seem to work.

At Sunday brunch, also at Jack's, the attendees were Caplan, D'Amico, Evans, Ferro, Frigiola, Kane and Seaman.We shared our reflections on Saturday's festivities, especially the Chapel Service.

What we didn't like:

The whole day seemed a bit light. Too few Alumni.

Not enough of a focus on the students.

Didn't seem to be any clear message for the kids

The student speaker on stage was hidden behind the 'dignitaries'

They fumbled the Student Award. Some one forgot the Award , or the name of the honoree.

The musical selection by the Elementary Band and Choir was cacophonous.

Suggestions for next year

Have choir and band do separate numbers. The bell choir was OK.

We should offer requests for the numbers which should be performed.

The Alumni Choir should sing 'Good Night and Christmas Prayer'

Invite the Senior Class to sing the Farewell song on stage with us.

Have the students sit on the main floor of the Chapel. (Guests to the sides and rear).

Keep the speeches short. 5 minutes max.

Present honorary diplomas to those who didn't graduate during the Chapel Service.

Make better use of the AV capability that is available in the Chapel.

Construct our class speaker address by committee.

Finally, we listed, but did not nominate, candidates for class speaker. More deliberation needed.

Finally, Mike Quinn, John Kane, and Ed DiRomaldo are working with the Hum audio-visual Dept, (yes, they have one), to plan taping much of the reunion weekend, to produce keepsake DVDs for all of us.

Next Meeting:

Bob and Faye Culver will host our next meeting on Thursday, June 25, 11 - 3:30 up in Northern NJ. All are invited, especially those in the N. NJ area. Outside opinions really help the permanent committee members, so please feel free to come and share. If Joe Frigiola does not know that you plan to attend please let him know so he and Bob know who to expect. Call Joe at 609-702-0503. See you soon. – JF

G. SCRATCH SHEET SCHEDULE

We are hoping to produce a new Scratch Sheet every 6 weeks from now until our 50^th anniversary. We would really like to get the dialogue going, as to things you would like to do that weekend. In our next issue we will have a section on things to do in Philadelphia, especially for those who are coming long distances, and haven’t been back to Philadelphia in a long time. It’s not the city we knew in the 50s. But we need your input.

Think about sending your recollections of the Hum, life histories, your feelings about the Hum today, etc., to Rocco for inclusion in the SS. Charley and Jim did it for this issue, we need more. rdamico@ihsm.com, or 301-229-0834

Ideas for the reunion, let Joe Frigiola know. Joe would especially like ideas for the discussion groups we plan to hold at the reunion, e.g. the adjustments of the first year and beyond, music education in the Hum, staff we loved and hated. Joefrigiola@comcast.net .

Ideas for the Class Gift, give Myron or Pete a buzz. Myron mcaplan@blumcraft.com, 412-621-4256; Pete shoemakerp@gisx.com, 813-908-8773.

H. A REPORT FROM THE CLASS GIFT COMMITTEE

Our fundraising efforts are progressing, but we still have a way to go. Overall, we have raised over $117,000, as summarized below.

SUMMARY OF CONTRIBUTIONS

Fund	Number of Contributors	Amount
General Class Gift	30	$107,145
Memorial Gifts	9	$ 1,650
Help for Others and Administration	7	$ 8,675

As shown below, we have received contributions from 30 classmates, including one anonymously. In addition, we have a pledge from one additional classmate, but we still haven’t heard from 54 classmates.

Here is a summary of total contributions to date:

$10,000 and above

Rich Adams

Toby Caplan

Rich Page

Don Ratajczak

Peter Shoemaker

$5,000 - $9,999

Rocco D’Amico

Joe Frigiola

$2,500 - $4,999

Dennis Bevans

Bruce Singer

$1,000 - $2,499

Anonymous

Ed DiRomaldo

Bill Evans

John Kane

Matt Mills

Nelson Mishkin

Rich Popella

Dave Phillips

Dave Ross

$1 - $999

Joe Alberici

Joe Baji

Dan Ferro

Art Garfein

Ed Hill

JohnHoughton

Garry Jakoby

Mike Quinn

Dave Ross

Carl Sehl

Ron Saracini

John Woods

Contributions made in the name of

Ed Coccagna

Sterling Gedraitis

Walt Grey

Cathy Kane (John)

Bob Himmelrich

Judd Johnson

Paul Register

Jim Ritchie

Carl Sehl

Jim Stidham

In closing, please make a pledge or send what you can to either of us. We’d love to hear from you. Toby Caplan 412/821-4256 and Pete Shoemaker 813/908-8773

I. PHOTOS FROM FOUNDER’S DAY 2009