MARCH 2001
IN THIS ISSUE:
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I trust that this premier edition of the Alumni E-Newletter finds you and yours in great spirits as we begin the new millennium. Your Alumni Association Board has been quite active on several fronts as we continue to "foster the Reserve spirit" throughout our community, as expressed in the Association's Mission Statement. By design, our Board now represents a thorough cross-section of the alumni rolls, including members from 16 states and two foreign countries, and spanning a whopping 59 graduating classes!
Your Association, while sponsoring many more social gatherings for alumni, particularly those distant from the Hudson area, has also become much more involved with certain aspects of the Academy's strategic goals, including student admission. See the committee report of Anthony Boerio '79 below.
Please take time to read through this issue of the Alumni E-Newletter and explore the rest of the WRA website as well. Make note of the changes that are occurring at your school. Check the calendar of events to see if there are any alumni gatherings in or near your area. Experience the entertaining and enthusiastic anecdotes of Tom Vince, the Academy's historian and archivist. But most importantly, let us know what is going on in your lives, provide us with any ideas or opinions relating to all things Reserve, and make suggestions as to how the Alumni Association and this newsletter can serve you better. Keep in touch...you will be glad you did!
Regards,
Charlie Tramel '79, President
WRA Alumni Association
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Lt. Gen. Dan Christman '61 Addresses Akron Roundtable
When Dan Christman graduated from Reserve in June of 1961, he headed east to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. His graduation from that school four years later began a 36-year career as a commissioned Army officer. That career will end this June when Christman retires from the military and as superintendent of West Point.
The Hudson native returned to the area on February 15 to address the monthly luncheon meeting of The Akron Roundtable and found time in his busy schedule to visit Reserve as well. [Photo caption: From several years ago, picture of Christman speaking in the Chapel.]
Christman was introduced to the Akron Roundtable by WRA Headmaster Skip Flanagan, and several Reserve trustees, staff, faculty, alumni and current students were in the audience, as well. David Hunter '68, is vice president of the Akron Roundtable and introduced Skip.
During his remarks, Christman said that the Army today has a broader role in the world than it once did. In addition to being battle-ready, it is also prepared to provide more peacetime and humanitarian aid worldwide. He also said that the United States Military Academy today seeks to develop officers who are well educated in technologies, but who also are well grounded in the humanities, and who are culturally aware.
Following Reserve, Christman went on to graduate first in his USMA class in 1965. He holds two degrees from Princeton and a law degree from George Washington University. He also is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the National War College. The highly decorated general has served in a variety of senior-level government positions, including as assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as a member of the Middle East peace negotiating team and in arms control negotiations with the Russian Federation.
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Alumni Gatherings Update
In Atlanta, 15 alumni renewed old friendships and made new ones at a reception at the Capital City Club on January 30. Two days earlier, nearly 30 Floridians met at the Naples Beach Hotel. Skip Flanagan attended both events, greeting the alumni and providing updates about the latest on-campus developments.
Northeast Ohio young alumni will hold their second annual St. Patrick's Day Party on Friday, March 9, at Fado's in the Flats in Cleveland.
Be sure to check the Alumni Events Calendar on this website regularly for news of upcoming events in your area.
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The Academy and Social Revolution
A history of WRA. in an era of social revolution, 1967-1982, is in its final stage of preparation and should be available for distribution through the Alumni & Development Office by mid-fall. Jim Gramentine '52 is the author. He was also a member of the Academy's history department for fourteen years. He makes no claim to objectivity when he declares, "This short volume should be of interest to every graduate, no matter the years he or she attended Reserve. This is the era when Reserve was transformed from Hardscrabble Academy to the institution we know today. The students of these fifteen years were agents of change at least as much as the faculty, the trustees, and Headmasters Briggs and Temple. While most did not understand what was occurring, those who resisted the change were overwhelmed."
Interviews and correspondence with alumni are the research foundation of this book.
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Alumni Assistance Sought to Meet Student Admission Goals
Sound admission policies and well-executed strategies are critical to the long-term viability of WRA. That is why members of the Alumni Association Board are becoming involved in the admission process in a variety of ways. Examples of alumni involvement include: acting as a liaison to the Admission Office staff; assisting in applicant recruitment; and making telephone calls to matriculating students and their parents to welcome them to the Reserve family.
The Admission Office goals include generating more awareness of WRA outside of Ohio, thus attracting a more diverse pool of applicants. To assist in this regard, the Alumni Association Admission Committee is finalizing a questionnaire for all Alumni Board members to determine who will be able to help the Admissions Office by acting as "Admission Ambassadors," essentially extensions of the Admission Office. Assistance can include making follow-up phone calls to matriculating students and their families and visiting high schools in areas where the Admission Office is recruiting. Within the next few weeks, Alumni Association Board members should receive a questionnaire about their ability to help.
Assisting the Admission Office with its important work is not just "reserved" for the Alumni Association Board. As the following letter from Director of Admission Chris Burner '80 notes, involvement by all alumni is needed:
To All WRA Alumni:
If you return to campus you will notice many changes to the school. The most evident are the buildings, as we have added a new library and a new dormitory. But the Admission Office has also been changing as we seek to broaden interest in Western Reserve Academy by expanding the geographical reach of the school and enhancing the diversity of our student body. We have traveled significantly recently to achieve these goals.
Now we are turning to another resource that has already spread throughout the nation and even the world - you, the graduates of Reserve. We would like to draw upon your strong attachment to Western Reserve Academy and your diverse locations to help us identify and locate students, schools, and other organizations that might be interested in Western Reserve Academy. If you have any contacts that may be interested in Reserve, please contact the Admission Office by e-mail at burnerc@wra.net or by phone at (330) 650-9716 and we will assist you in any way we can to develop interest in Western Reserve Academy in your area.
You can be a wonderful resource for us as we seek to expand the understanding of this distinctive educational opportunity. We need your help to take the next step in spreading the word about Western Reserve Academy.
Thanks so much and we look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Christopher D. Burner
Director of Admission
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Reunion '01 News
Plans are well underway for Reunion '01, reports Sue Ellen Steffens, Director of Alumni Relations and Special Events. Details will be forthcoming soon, but if you are in a class year ending with "1" or "6," this is your year. So set aside the weekend of June 8-10 and begin making your travel plans now.
Of course, alumni from any class year are welcome during any reunion year, so even if this is not your official reunion year, consider coming anyway to visit with those in classes before and after yours. Who knows--that freshman to whom you once gave "six bricks" may be looking forward to seeing you again.
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Remembering the Class of 1901
By Tom Vince, WRA Archivist and Historian
In June of 1901, WRA Co-Principals Clay Herrick and Dr. Charles T. Hickok presented diplomas to 13 graduates--11 young men and two young women. Another 17 students were listed as X1901, which meant they attended but failed to earn a WRA diploma.
Among these graduates, the best known was Junius Lucien Price (1883-1964) who became a well known editorial writer for the Boston Globe and the author of several books, notably a travel classic, Winged Sandals (1930), and Dialogues of Alfred North Whitehead (1954), the book about the noted philosopher made up of informal conversations between Whitehead and Price over a 15-year period. [Photo caption: Founders Day at WRA, April 1932 (left to right): Frederick W. Ashley, WRA Principal 1892-1897; Dr. Joel B. Hayden, Headmaster 1931-1946; Junius Lucien Price, Class of 1901.]
Here at WRA, Price was best known for Hardscrabble Hellas, his memoir of the school during his student years. Originally published in the Atlantic magazine, Hardscrabble Hellas was issued as a small booklet in December of 1929 and sent as a Christmas gift to all alumni. Price's fond recollections of "schoolmasters" Charles T. Hickok, Homer O. Sluss, Harlan N. Wood and others made this little book a campus favorite. It 
also provided a name for the WRA yearbook, Hardscrabble, first published in 1942.
Clarence E. Gibbons, another successful member of the Class of 1901, became an attorney in Washington, D.C. In a letter to the school, he recalled his student years as "strenuous though happy," and noted that he ran a laundry service for students that helped him pay tuition. He remembered Lucien Price "for his cello playing rather than any promise of the literary ability he later exhibited." Gibbons and Price, however, agreed that the sudden and untimely death of classmate Otto Neubauer in April of 1901 was the event none would ever forget. The popular athlete's death from smallpox resulted in the quarantine of the school for more than a week. Price's Hardscrabble Hellas tells the sad story of Neubauer's passing. [Photo caption: Lucien Price's 1901 class picture.]
Still another noted Class of 1901 alumnus was Charles F. "Bunny" Thomas, who followed Mr. Wood's recommendation and graduated from Amherst as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He taught mathematics at Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) from 1906 to 1945. For a number of years he was in charge of Camp Case near Waynesburg where he taught surveying to college freshmen. He was the last survivor of the Class of 1901, passing away in 1970 at the age of 94.
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