Gordon Chase, Visual Arts Department
Gordon Chase, Visual Arts Department Member of the Faculty, 1978–2013 In 1978, Gordon Chase brought to Milton his energy and passion for students making art. Milton’s walls have highlighted student self-expressions for more than three decades — witness to Gordon’s idea that art is about “identity” — where students have tested their assumptions and declared their beliefs. With long hair and cowboy boots, supported in his creative quest by Head of School Jerry Pieh, Gordon’s energy for new ideas was colorful and...
read moreGordon Sewall, Assistant Head for Development and Alumni Relations, 1996–2014
Gordon Sewall, Assistant Head for Development and Alumni Relations, 1996–2014 For 18 years, Gordon has been an institutional leader who helped Milton come alive for donors. He has been a teammate who put his shoulder to the common wheel, a problem solver, a can-do person. With donors, Gordon was as passionate as he was honest about Milton. That’s a perfect combination if your job is to build authentic relationships and keep them lively. Perhaps that is why he was such a successful fund raiser. He led Milton’s first comprehensive capital...
read moreMessages: Dr. Eric Jay Dolin
Dr. Eric Jay Dolin is an environmental scientist, a researcher and a writer. Dr. Dolin, presenter of the 2014 Hong Kong Lecture, told students the story of how America’s trade relationship with China began. His most recent book, When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail, chronicles the period following the American Revolution through the mid-19th century with tales of the tea, fur and opium trade, clipper ship travels and life in the seaport of Canton. “During this period, trading between...
read moreDuck & Goose Go to the Beach, by Tad Hills ’81
Duck & Goose Go to the Beach by Tad Hills ’81 Schwartz & Wade Books, April 2014 Duck and Goose have shared, explored, learned and quarreled in a long series of picture books, every time returning to the importance of their friendship. Duck & Goose Go to the Beach is the tenth book in the New York Times bestselling Duck & Goose series. Duck wants to go on an adventure. Goose doesn’t. He doesn’t see the point. After all, why would they go anywhere when they’re happy right where they are? But then Goose sees the ocean and...
read moreDrop It, Rocket!, by Tad Hills ’81
Drop It, Rocket! by Tad Hills ’81 Random House Children’s Books, July 2014 Rocket, the beloved dog from the New York Times bestselling picture books How Rocket Learned to Read and Rocket Writes a Story, is back in a Step 1 leveled reader. Rocket is ready to find new words for his word tree with his teacher, the little yellow bird. He finds a leaf, a hat, and a star . . . but when he finds a red boot, he doesn’t want to let go. What will make Rocket drop it? With predictable patterns, simple words, lots of repetition, and bright,...
read moreAddiction on Trial: Tragedy in Downeast Maine, by Steven Kassels ’68
Addiction on Trial: Tragedy in Downeast Maine by Steven Kassels ’68 AuthorHouse, October 2013 When Downeast local Annette Fiorno is found at the bottom of a ravine, outsider and relapsed drug addict Jimmy Sedgwick is accused of murder. Unassuming Maine lawyer Rob Hanston and big-shot attorney Shawn Marks form an unlikely legal team as they attempt to discredit the overwhelming evidence. Addiction on Trial, the first in a series of Shawn Marks thrillers, sends a powerful message of societal discrimination toward drug addicts and explores...
read more“When It Comes to Movies, Everyone Has an Opinion.”
By Ty Burr ’76 Being a movie critic can be a strange way to make a living. For one thing, everyone wants to talk about my job, but no one quite respects it. This occasionally includes me. I’ll meet someone at a party, ask what they do, and he or she will say “cardiac surgeon” or “third-world food bank coordinator,” and then I have to admit I spend my days watching movies about heavily digitized superheroes while taking illegible notes in the dark. And then someone else will walk up and want to talk about the new Hunger Games...
read moreGolf at Milton in 9 Holes
Hole 1 In 1912, Milton Academy decides to establish a golf club. Recognizing this endeavor could create logistical issues, the trustees label it “an experiment.” “The game of golf is not to be introduced here to compete with the major sports of baseball and football, but to give a comparatively large number of boys and others in the Academy, who cannot participate in these games, an opportunity for some healthful athletic diversion.” — The Milton Orange and Blue, December 1912 Hole 2 The trustees approve $150 in funds to build...
read moreThe Gift of an Oral Legacy
by Todd B. Bland The Camp — built by my great-grandfather, Hiram Bingham, as a retreat for his wife and seven sons — has been a family gathering place for more than five generations. So many of my childhood “firsts” happened during annual visits to the Camp; so many meaningful memories took root there. There, I learned through stories about my family’s intriguing adventures. My mother and father, aunts, uncles, great-uncles and great-aunts told stories, but my grandmother’s and grandfather’s were the most powerful. In the...
read more5 Treasured Traditions
Class IV Talks A rite of passage. A distinct memory for most alumni. Five- to seven-minutes on a subject you choose. At Milton today, classmates vote on which talks they want to hear again at an annual “Best of” event in May. Topics range from being the oldest of eight children to China’s one-child policy, from hiking Mount Washington to breaking a Breaking Bad addiction. “Class IV Talks are one of the most valuable things we do here,” says English faculty member Caroline Sabin ’86. “Putting students in front of their peers and...
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