Welcome
to the PHS '77 Website 
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News About Classmates: Please Send Us Yours! (Or a Classmate's!)
Linda Spencer McClellan '77 presents a check for $250 to Sallie Toscano (and Shari L. Powell, V.P. Development of the Princeton Education Foundation class of 73) on behalf of the PHS Class of '77. This gift, proceeds from our 30th reunion, will go to the PHS Greenhouse created in memory of Mr. Toscano, our beloved Horticulture teacher. (02/08) Click here to see 2008 Princeton Packet Article about this event |
Phil Billington writes in February, 08: "I've attached a photo from last month of myself and my three children: Roy, Clara, and Rachel. With my wife Ninik, we all live in Fresno, CA where I am a criminal defense lawyer. I hope all my classmates are well." |
 Remember Kent Wilson? (Look for Miss Taylor's 2nd grade class in Childhood Photos section) Kent transferred to Ewing, married Eddie Rice, and still lives in NJ! It was so much fun having her join us at our PHS 30th reunion. Kent is pictured above on the right, sitting with our classmate Tracy Stephens Livingston in October, 2007. |
Chris Brown is currently serving as the Chief Investment Officer for Bucknell University. (2008) He resides in Ridgefield, CT with his spouse, Kim, with whom he has two children, Emily and Tom. |
June '08: Kat Hilst and her spouse, Bob Engelbrecht, divide their time between Seattle, Washington and Bend, Oregon, with their two cats, Anya and Leila. Kat is an aviation attorney, working as Of Counsel at a big firm in Seattle. Since graduating from Oberlin College (oh so long ago) with a piano performance degree, she's worked at the San Francisco Opera, married and divorced a famous symphony conductor, been a helicopter pilot in Alaska (where she met and married her wonderful husband, Bob), went to law school, has traveled a lot, and lived in many different places - from Alaska to Holland. She still loves music and plays the piano, and has been playing the cello too. She plays the cello with the Central Oregon Symphony and has recently formed a band with some new friends - its called 'North Channel' (check it out at www.myspace.com/northchannelmusic). Life is very full! |
Sue Christiansen lives in a lavender house by the water with her amazing dog Honey and her pointless but cute cat PeeWee. She works in New Haven, CT as a full-time high school teacher, which must be some sort of karmic justice, and as an adjunct professor, teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Despite all predictions made earlier in her life, her face did not "stick like that", though she is getting wrinkles in some rather odd spots. Mary Bolster just moved to the neighboring town, which means Sue can bug her all the time instead of only at reunions. |
Greg Burdwood writes in 2007: "Life is very, very good. Jesse is at UNH for Community Development, Tyler is a senior at Dover High and looking at a host of colleges, and Heather is also 'top of the heap' this year in 8th grade (and there is every indication that her 8th grade experience will be far more satisfactory than mine!). Laurie is a florist in Portsmouth and still paints... these days it tends to be stunning seascapes and landscapes - and we are surrounded by some of the most beautiful subject matter! I am at the end of my 3rd year at the HUB Family Resource Center ("... helping families raise healthy children in caring homes"), which daily restores and feeds my faith that humankind is essentially good... and resilient! For the fun of it, I sing in a barbershop chorus, "The Seacoast Men of Harmony," and a barbershop quartet, “The Executive Sweets” (w/a female tenor). Singing is great therapy. Being the political animal that I am, I'm enjoying the early primary season. Republican values seem more bankrupt and hypocritical than ever... look for a good year for Democrats in '08, much to the relief of most of the planet. Best wishes for a great reunion... see you at the 50th and 75th for sure!" |
Mina and family in December, 2007
Her(mina) Wert Merkel writes (Feb '08): |
Fred Smagorinsky writes (March '08): "Last summer I became CEO of Geo. Schofield Co., a natural stone business that is owned by a private equity group whose Chairman was my former CEO at Sealed Air. Schofield has businesses in CA, AZ, NC, TN, PA and its headquarters are in Bridgewater, NJ. We market flagstone, fieldstone, wallstone and decorative stone on both wholesale and retail levels to masons, landscapers, stone dealers and homeowners and also have quarries in TN, AZ and PA. (Some old and unfunny friends have started referring to me as "Mr. Slate" ...) This is a very new industry to me and I am enjoying learning about it and working with my management team to find opportunities to grow despite the slowing economy. My older daughter Tess is a junior at Wesleyan in CT and just returned from a semester abroad in St. Petersburg (Russia) and my younger daughter Karla is a junior in HS at Montclair High. My wife Holly is a labor and employment lawyer and is also President of the National Association of Women Lawyers. It was great to see everybody at the reunion!" |
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Mary Bolster writes (March '08): In June 2006, I left Yoga Journal (where I had been executive editor) in San Francisco to become editor in chief at Natural Health magazine (naturalhealthmag.com) back in New York. My partner Kevin O’Flaherty (who I met in October 05 at an English Beat concert in SF) and I moved into an apartment in Harlem. A year later, we bought a house in Milford, Connecticut, just down the road from Sue Christiansen who’s in West Haven. After more than 20 years of living in cities (Sydney, Dublin, San Francisco, New York), I thought I might curl up and die in the suburbs but, no, I’ve discovered my inner suburbanite and I’m happy as a clam. I still belong to my NJ book club Mostly We Eat (mostlyweeat.org) where I see Ellie Rose and her husband Hal Purdy (who started the club) every two months. Other than that, I’m working away at Natural Health (I was on the Today Show recently; (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23448376#23448376 - this should really make Ellen Finnie cry) and eager to have visitors at our new home. All are welcome. |
David Gray (former Lidz) writes (March '08): I moved back to Princeton in 2000 (primarily for the free babysitting). I have a small consulting firm devoted to improving nonprofit business (www.FinanceArts.com ). I am also the Executive Director of the New Brunswick Cultural Center, which means I'm the landlord for the theaters in New Brunswick. In March we're announcing a massive redevelopment project... tearing down 2 of our 3 theaters and building 2 (or perhaps 3) more, along with a 30 story office/condo tower...very exciting to be a small part of making something big happen. My wife, Kyra, retired last year from New York City Ballet after 33 years. Her farewell performance in June was a wonderful celebration of her career and the only unfortunate moment was during her 15 minutes of curtain calls when she dragged me onto the stage to stand with her and our boys... I would not have worn the Hawaiian shirt had I known I would be on stage...Now she's coaching dance students locally and doing the suburban Mom thing. Our boys, Joe (age 11) and Cameron (age 6) are in Johnson Park School... next year Joe goes to John Witherspoon which is now the middle school... very odd to walk the halls of these places as a parent! |
Jon Rock writes (2007): Hi all! My significant other (Stuart Country Day, class of '77) and I live in Newton, MA – sometimes referred to as “The Garden City”. In my free time, when I'm not working or volunteering to help feed the homeless in Boston, I love to travel. When not exploring the nature of the peat moors of northern Bavaria, Germany, or following the trail of some Tony Hillerman crime novel in Window Rock, AZ, we're in NYC doing the culture and food thing. Or, best of all, grooving at the Jersey shore. Needless to say, it's easy to put on a few gratuitous pounds while shoveling in German cakes and cheeses, Navajo fry bread, and sausage and peppers on the boardwalk. Boston is wonderful, a bit on the chilly side, but it makes for great skiing. I am looking forward to seeing everybody at the 30th reunion. Wow…we're old! |
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Ellen Finnie Duranceau writes: "I'm writing this because Kim asked for news,
AND I'm also writing this because our high school class is very much on
my mind right now-- for a week ago Kate Fox came down
from New Hampshire with her husband Frank and daughters, and together
we all visited Mr. Trego, who lives about 20 minutes
from me. It was wonderful to see him and his wife Patty and talk about
the old times at PHS and in the choir. Mr. Trego still has his great sense
of humor, his warmth, and his same dear voice -- it was a treat to revisit
the old days with him and go back over yearbooks and photos, comparing
memories. I feel fortunate to have so many good ones. As for the basics of my life: I live in Arlington, Massachusetts with my husband Jack and daughter Natalie, who is in sixth grade and just started middle school, and two dogs, a cat, and a bird. I work 30 hours a week as a librarian at MIT and spend much of the rest of my time being a mom, but also walking my dogs, gardening, biking, running, reading, writing, and exploring Buddhist practices (such as meditation) to cope with a life that seems perpetually on "fast forward." I hope some of you, like me, are finding that the mid-forties are a satisfying time of life -- I wish you all well and hope to see you at the 30th." |
[Our beloved classmate, Junior, passed away in the spring of 2007.... How we will miss him. -- Kim] Junior's entry from 2005: Jr. Oldham recently returned from Ethiopia and Ghana in pursuit of a life-long passion; traveling the world and photographing indigenous peoples of remote cultures and places. "I'm going to be good enough to go on assignment for National Geographic. If it doesn't happen, I'm going to have a hell of a time doing it anyway." This young
boy is from the Ethiopian Village of Lalibella, seat of the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church and home to rock-hewn churches dated some 2,000 years
old. He is in line to become a priest.
The image of me is in front of a fall near Lake Tanya in Ethiopia, the source of the Nile.
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Chris Woodside writes (March, '08): My husband, Nat Eddy, and I are living in a little house in the quiet Deep River, Connecticut, where we've been since 1992. Our daughter Elizabeth is 19 and a freshman at Yale, where she has done well in her classes and belongs to a dance group, A Different Drum. I am honored to be the mother of someone who understands chemistry. Our daughter Annie, 17, is a junior at Williams School in New London, Connecticut. She plays the flute, rides horses, and seriously wants to be a writer. (I told her to save her money.) My daughters and my husband are the joys of my life.
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Hugo
Walter has a B.A. in Literature from Princeton University (1981),
a Ph.D. in Literature from Yale University (1985), and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary
Humanities from Drew University (1996). He has taught at various colleges
and universities, including Yale College, Rhodes College, Drew University,
and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Hugo is currently a professor of English
and Humanities at Berkeley College in White Plains, New York. In addition
to his ten volumes of poetry, Hugo has also published essays on European
literature. His latest scholarly work is Space and Time on the Magic Mountain:
Studies in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century European Hugo's 10th volume of poetry: Click here for Hugo's most recent bookA Purple-Golden Renascence of Eden-Exalting Rainbows – Hugo Walter . Fithian $18.95 . |
Richard Besser, MD, is the Director of the Coordinating Office for Terrorism and Preparedness and Emergency Response (COTPER) for the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Here he goes over notes just before a special briefing of the Executive Leadership Board, Management Council and Division Directors. Besser took over just days before Hurricane Katrina struck. Photo by Kathy Nellis (Excerpted from CDC publication) (Submitted by Kim C) |
Megan Valentine writes (2006): "Ivy,
my partner of almost 13 years, and I live in the woods of rural North
Carolina with 4 llamas, 4 miniature donkeys, 3 dogs and 3 cats. |
Ellie Rose writes (Oct '07): "I currently have a solo adolescent medicine private practice about 1 mile from my house where I take care of patients with eating disorders and do a lot of office gynecolgy for girls that are too young to need it. 2 days a week I also run a clinic in Newark taking care of kids that have never been taught how to take care of themselves. I have a 16 year old daughter who is a junior in high school who rock climbs for fun and a 14 year old son who runs cross country, plays the violin, and learns physics for fun. My husband, Hal is a computer nerd who loves music and has recently taken up the piano. I also have a great dog who often comes to work with me."
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Kim Cromwell writes (Feb '08): "Life is good! I feel very fortunate. My partner and I will celebrate 23 years together this year. My consulting business goes well. I focus on a wide variety of consulting areas that all amount to helping organizations accelerate success through their people. Click here to read about Cromwell Consulting Was in corporate America for 18 years before launching my own business, and haven't looked back since. Am very involved in my alma mater, Denison University, currently serving on the Board of Trustees. Kath and I live in Provincetown, MA from mid-May through mid-October, and Fort Lauderdale, FL, for the rest of the year. In addition to staying in touch with reunion planners, I have enjoyed visits with PHS friends including Rich Besser, Jane Martin, Lucy Baruch, Pam Cobb, Maria Blair, Amy Johanson and Jane Bolster over the last year. Love staying in touch with our class! And learning how to create a website, too! Best to all. |
(Photo from 30th reunion) Dan Vichnevetsky writes (Oct '07): I have been running the studio here in Roosevelt for about 15 yrs(yikes). Somewhere along the line I adopted my high school nickname"Sky" as my legal last name: My 1st wife refused to be a Vichnevets. Love is blind, so I obliged. LOL I record and produce bands(blues traveler were among
my clients and I taught their now deceased bass player Bobby Sheehan to
play bass from scratch as well.) I also run an audio course to train
recording engineers. Before that I was teaching guitar (at PDS and
L'ville prep most of the 80's ) I also did a stint teaching digital
audio at MCCC recently. I played in all sorts of
bands and if "behind the music" about Bonjovi ever comes on MTV or
VH1 I can be seen playing bass in the early group (what a goof,
dig my 80's hair!!!)
Have two kids: Eric 19 and Leah 16 that I adore.
I 've had about as much luck as any of us trying to keep an intact family. See Dan's Skylab website: http://www.recordme.com/index.html
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Article about New Orleans "What I Feel is Emptiness" By Jim
Beckerman('77) North Jersey.com Click Here to Read Article on North Jersey.Com or or (submitted by
Kim C) |
(Photo from 30th reunion) Check out this great website featuring the work of one of the fine artists in our class, Beth Schaeffer: |
Gordon Silverstein is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Political Science at the Berkeley (University of California, Berkeley). |
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Debra Jones McCurry writes (2007): I live in Kensington, Maryland just outside the city
limits of Washington, D.C. I earned a masters degree in library
science and have worked for the past sixteen years as a librarian and
research coordinator in health care for several organizations including
two White House Commissions on veterans and bioethics respectively.
I am currently working for a health care measurement reporting group and
spend time on patient safety and quality of care improvement issues.
My husband, Mike, still works in politics and does press/media relations.
We have three children (ages 14, 12 and 10). We spend alot of time
watching soccer, baseball, field hockey and football games during the
fall and will soon move on to basketball and indoor soccer for the winter
season. I'm sure many of you parents know what this schedule is
like! I'm not complaining because I really enjoy watching my kids
do things.
My sister Gwyneth (class of 1980) and I participated in the
Avon marathon walk to raise money for breast cancer research last spring
here in DC. It was great training and a very inspiring experience.
I visit New Jersey often and you can usually find me at the shore where
my parents live. I had a conversation with a neighbor recently where
we were comparing high school memories. We both spoke highly of
our school, the people we met there and the education we received.
It turned out... you guess it, we were talking about the same PHS!
He is a member of the class of 1967. Small world, isn't it?
Thanks Kim, Ann and Mary for connecting the dots and the people.
I look forward to the 30th. Best wishes to everyone.
Debra (Debbie) Jones McCurry
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Win Brown
We found him! More info coming soon...4/1/08. |
Joe Borg
recently married Jane Mattes. The couple live in Pennington NJ.
Joe is a Network Engineer at AT&T (and STILL builds muscle cars),
Jane is an Administrative Assistant at Factiva. |
Chris Russo writes: "I've been into the Home Reconstruction business for the past 15 years or so and dabble in politics and writing on the side... My daughter's name is Evelyn and she just turned 10 back in October." Here's a photo of Chris and Evelyn!
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Tom Randall attended the weekend celebrations honoring the 60th anniversary of the Princeton High School choir this past June 9/10, 2006. He teaches music at Hampshire College in MA and also at a school in southern VT. |
Jon Krejci is Director of Training and Research at Princeton House Behavioral Health, the psychiatric and substance abuse treatment program of Princeton hospital (now renamed Princeton Healthcare System). He is an expert in motivational interviewing and has traveled as far as Uzbekistan to conduct trainings! He and Laurie Powsner '78 live in Princeton with their 16 year old son who is a junior at PHS and 9 year old daughter who is in fourth grade at Littlebrook. Laurie is a therapist in private practice and a hospice social worker. |
In March, 2008, Nancy Schwartz lives in Newburyport, MA, and will send her update soon! (: |
Lisa Stauffer Schmitt (pictured at far right, front row, at the PHS flagpole in Oct '07) graduated from the Berkel Training Institute, as a Certified Nursing Assistant on Jan 28, 2008. She works for the Princeton Care Center on Bunn Drive in Princeton.
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Peggy Wood was recently inducted into the PHS Athletic Hall of Fame. She was introduced by Debbie Breithaupt Smyth, PHS '76. Check out this link: http://athletics.prs.k12.nj.us/HallofFame/2007 |
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