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REUNIONS |
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It's never to early to think TA reunion! A number of classes are planning celebrations this summer, and contact information is included here:
Class of 1960
Saturday, June 12
Scarlet Dube
(603) 795-2869
Saturday, June 26
Jim Sawyer
(214) 668-2270
Class of 1975
Sunday, October 24
David Baldwin
(252) 202-8680
Class of 1980
Saturday, June 12
Loretta Gray
(802) 785-4189
Saturday, August 14
Michelle Corcoran Gaskell
802) 584-3391
Class of 2000
Saturday, June 12
Ryon Clarke
(434) 249-0304
Also, Scottie Frazier from the Class of 1993 is interested in getting
folks together.
The Development Office would love to help you contact classmates, and our list of alumni information is growing daily. Please email wendy.cole@thet.netor call the office at (802) 785-2600 for information. |
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TA TRIVIA |
February Trivia Answer: Admiral Richard Byrd visited TA as a guest of Porter Adams.Good work to all those who answered correctly!
What year was Founder's Day started?
1944
1820
1922
Send us your answer with your mailing address. We will pick a winner to receive a special prize from the Alumni Relations office!
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Alumni Snapshots
In this issue we focus on a 1966 graduate who has followed a religious calling and traveled around the country since his time at TA. Not to be missed is the Construction Update, complete with new photos of the ongoing progress.
Also included is a review of the last varsity basketball game played in Anderson Hall. Read about Thetford Academy's place in Women's History. And as always, you can test your campus knowledge with TA Trivia.
If you would like more information about Thetford Academy activities or to be featured in Snapshots, please contact Wendy Cole, TA Alumni Director, at Wendy.Cole@Thet.Net.
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Alumnus Bio
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 Ross W. Putnam
Class of 1966
Alumnus Ross W. Putnam is one of 54 graduates of the class of 1966, which that year was the largest graduating class in Thetford Academy's history. After graduation, Ross enrolled in Concord Commercial College in New Hampshire; and then he moved to Portland, Oregon, to attend a two-year junior college where he made many cherished friends. He finished his undergraduate degree at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, with a major in American Studies.
Shortly before graduation from Heidelberg, he married Rosemary Kopp, a graduate of a nearby Mennonite College. Ross and Rosemary spent two years volunteering with the Mennonite Central Committee in Toronto as social workers in a public housing project. Ross comments, "I was especially impressed with the Mennonite's work for peace and reconciliation."
From Toronto, Ross and his wife moved to Richmond, Indiana, where he earned a Masters of Divinity (M.Div) degree from Earlham School of Religion. He was ordained as a pastor in the United Church of Christ, the denomination of the church in his hometown of Lyme, New Hampshire.
Ross and Rosemary served churches in Indiana, Connecticut, Essex Junction, VT, and Minnesota. Sadly, during their calling in Minnesota, Rosemary contracted cancer and died. Ross moved on to Attleboro, Massachusetts, to become pastor at the downtown UCC church.
While in Attleboro, Ross met and married Paula Elizabeth. Paula had earned her M.Div. from Boston University and was doing "Intentional Interim" ministry. The couple moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico; and they both earned MA degrees in counseling, with an emphasis on trauma, grief and loss. They also operated a counseling practice working with gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender relationships.
A year ago Ross and Paula moved to San Diego, California. Paula is once again doing Intentional Interim Ministry and Ross is concentrating on writing as well as church work. You can see some of his poetry at http://www.RossWPBestWorks.blogspot.com.
Ross says, "We are blessed. We have many friends; both of Paula's daughters, Drea and Mya, live only two hours away in LA; we live in a great city."
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Construction Update
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New
Science Classrooms
The walls are painted with drinking
fountains in place; 
cabinets and counter tops are being
installed; 
the greenhouse is completely enclosed
in glass; 
new windows and siding are in place; 
we hope to move into our new science
classrooms by the end of April!
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Women's History Month
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 Class of 1906
March is Women's History Month, and we celebrate the monumental role played by Thetford Academy.
Thetford Academy is a pioneer in women's education. Asa Burton, author of the oft-quoted line "The mind is capable of an endless growth" and one of the founders of TA, had one daughter who survived childhood. Thankfully for her, and all the women in Orange County, Vermont, he believed that females deserved the opportunity to obtain secondary education.
Thetford Academy opened in February, 1819, and was chartered by the
State of Vermont as an Academy on October 29, 1819. Already by then girls were being admitted to some other academies (usually only in the summer term) for studies which were advanced beyond the common schools, but these studies were not intended as college preparation. Thetford Academy from its inception, however, did offer college prep courses for both boys and girls.
Asa Burton has been quoted as saying, "I do not know of any place, or
Academy, where beneficiaries can enjoy greater privileges, while fitting for college, than at this Academy."
Thetford Academy is proud to claim as an alumna the first woman to graduate from college in the United States. Mary Hosford established her place in history by graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1841. |
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The Final Basketball Game
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Friday, February 19, 2010, is a night for Panther History. Anderson Hall Gymnasium hosted its last varsity Basketball Game, in front of a sell-out crowd. The varsity boys played Lamoille Union High School, and senior Sam Williams sunk the last basket for Thetford in the closing minutes of the game. Sam takes his place in the history books next to Peggy Joiner-Claflin, TA '55, who put the ball through the hoop for the first official score shortly after the gym opened in 1954.
During the game's half-time the teams and fans alike recognized the thirteen 1000+ point scorers, varsity coaches who spent at least three years at the helm of a team, members of TA's three championship teams, and Anderson family members. Each was presented with a glass window block from Anderson Hall, labeled with a plaque reading "Thetford Academy Anderson Hall Gymnasium 1954-2010".
Anderson Hall window blocks are available from the Development Office.
Block with plaque: $30.00
Block without plaque: $20.00
To reserve your piece of TA history, email alum@thet.net
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Notes from Wendy
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 We have had an excellent response to the call for TA alumni who are willing to mentor current students with regards to post-TA plans and specific colleges, universities, and/or career fields. Thanks to all who contacted me!
If you would like to be connected with a TA student interested in the college you attended or your field of expertise, send your information, along with the best way to contact you, to me and I'll add you to the list. The TA Counseling Office is working in conjunction with me to make the connections, and we will update information as often as possible. Of course the success of this program will depend upon the interests of the current students, but the larger number of contact choices we have, the more chances there will be for a match. Sign up today!
If you'd like to be on our list of contacts, please respond to Wendy Cole, either by phone at (802) 785-2600 or by email at Wendy.Cole@Thet.Net. Include the college or university you attended, what years, your field of study/employment, and the best way to contact you.
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