A Newsletter from the Abbot@Andover Committee

Spring 2025 Edition

Editors: Peggy Bliss ’74, Anne Allen McGrath ’73

"...celebrating and facilitating interaction among alumnae and perpetuating Abbot's spirit within the Andover Community"

A Note from the Abbot@Andover
Committee Co-Chairs:
Lori Goodman Seegers ’73 and Faith Barnes ’74

A Shout-Out to Our Founders

There were ten founding members of the Abbot@Andover Committee.  Ten years later, we want to express deep gratitude for all they accomplished and inspired.

These women were proud and feisty volunteers who were driven to lift the 

Abbot legacy, including the complicated truth of the schools coming together. Their efforts led to a ton of spectacularly good stuff.  They provided the impetus for the Archives Project.  They reflected on the right way to name ourselves and our institutions.  A@A , as we call ourselves today, features the ideas of inclusiveness and partnership embodied in the circle symbol in our short-form moniker.  They wanted to protect not only the structures, but also their meaning, values, and traditions.  They were driven to shine a light on Abbot, a school felt in the shadows since 1973.

Looking back, we acknowledge the conversation that started it all.  There were many Abbot voices who spoke and shared their frustration around the 40th anniversary of the merger.  Dozens of Abbot alumnae joined the alumni office in Abbot Hall for a long conversation that concluded with the launch of this committee.  During the course of the last decade, this committee has been a leading partner to the school in lifting up the Abbot legacy and inspiring new ways and places where the Abbot legacy can grow and thrive in the present school.   That’s what this newsletter strives to promote and demonstrate.

With gratitude to our founders, ca. 2016.  Pictured from left are: Noreen Markley 1973, Ruth Sisson Weiner 1966, Blake Hazzard Allen 1966, Sandra Castle Hull 1958, Sara Ingram 1971, Shirley Rae “Lee” Sullivan 1968, Lynne Moriarty Langlois 1962, and Jane Hamilton Christie 1958.  Missing are Nancy Donnelly Bliss 1954, Mae Bradshaw 1962, and Cornelia Weldon LeMaitre 1953.

And we would be remiss not to mention Leslie Hendrix ’73, whose tenacity was inspirational to everyone on the committee as she worked to digitize the Abbot Archives.

The Abbot Spirit Survey Update:
It's Not Too Late to Participate

So far, we’ve received 33 awesome responses to the Abbot Spirit Survey originally posted in our last newsletter.  Before we analyze the findings and issue a report, we’d love to get more.  So, we’ve broadened our reach and scope.  We want to hear not only from those who experienced Abbot before the merger, but also from more recent Andover folks, both male and female. 

Here’s what we have so far.

We don’t want to bias you by sharing too much in the way of preliminary results.  But suffice it to say: the Abbot Spirit is definitely “a thing” to be valued and leveraged at Andover today.  Alums are demonstrating wonderful recall and depth-of-meaning, both positive and (constructively, of course) negative.  

That said, we can’t resist sharing three enticing, provocative quotes about what the Abbot Spirit means and why it’s important.

Andover boys don’t view women as something for them to exploit or as a foreign object.  They respect their women classmates and their contributions!  I no longer see Andover as a “military climate” with rigid hierarchies, but transformed into a community that believes the whole is better, if all are valued and included.

The fact that Abbot existed and provided a first-class education for girls for so many years might suggest to students that the merger was a melting of two distinct institutions, rather than a magnanimous male gesture of giving select girls access to a level of education that exists primarily for boys.

It’s hard to know where to start.  It wasn’t the rituals for me.  It was the freedom of thought, the incredible teachers, the fact that nobody rules me, that I was respected by adults, encouraged to assert and express myself.  The sense of family was stronger than what I had at home.  I cried when I left for break.

Class Agents and Class Secretaries have extended more invitations, but here’s a link for anyone who hasn’t yet participated.  It’s important for all voices to be heard.  We’d hate to miss something important.

In addition to broadening our sample, we extended the deadline through the 2025 reunions.

If you haven’t taken the survey, please take it now.  A few reminders.

Click here to take “The Abbot Spirit” survey.

Another Abbot Legend: The Triumph of Kristen Faulkner
Contributed by Jenny Savino P’21, ’24  

Last December, Kristen Faulkner ’11 returned to Andover to speak with students, faculty and alumni about her career and Olympic success. Kristen stayed and talked with hundreds of guests who took pictures, got autographs, and got to hold one of her two gold medals.

How better to showcase the Abbot Spirit than to win a few surprise gold medals at the Paris Olympics? 

Well, here’s how!  A few months after winning, come back to talk about it with current students, teachers, and the entire local community.  That’s how.

Kristen Faulkner ’ 11 wasn’t even supposed to compete.  But then she won handily, with 58 seconds to spare.

Click here to read an up-close-and-personal first-hand account from Jenny Savino P’21, ’24. 

Click here to read the full article on Kristen from Andover Magazine.

Such a Fun Mystery!

Becky Park ’74 donated the portrait of her great-great-grandfather Edwards Amasa Park to Phillips Andover.

The portrait of Edwards Amasa Park, Abbot Academy trustee from 1859 to 1900, is now back in Abbot Hall, thanks to his great-great-granddaughter Becky Park PA ‘74. No, Becky didn’t steal it. But as best we can tell, there were two portraits.

One hung in Abbot Hall we think for much of the first half of the 20th century. The other was in Baltimore, Maryland in his grandson’s home, Dr. Edwards Albert Park.

How did the Baltimore portrait get back to Andover? That’s where Becky’s mother, Nancy Kelley ’41  fits in. Nancy graduated from Abbot and loved it. She always wanted her daughters to go there.

So, it was propitious that when she met her future in-laws in Baltimore, she discovered that they had a portrait of Edwards Amasa Park in their living room. And she made the connection right away, because she knew the portrait well. When she was at Abbot, her assigned seat during Sunday chapel in Abbot Hall was beneath another copy of the same portrait!

It’s still a mystery what happened to the other portrait of Edwards Amasa Park, the one that hung in Abbot Hall in the first half of the 20th century. The good news is that when Becky inherited the other copy from her uncle, she decided it really belonged in Abbot Hall, in the erstwhile chapel. Thus, there it hangs happily today.

Speaking of Park House… 
Where Is it?  What’s It Used for Today?

Maybe you recognize this building and know its history?  Maybe not.  So, in addition to the mystery about the portrait, here’s another tidbit from the past. 

Professor Park with Mrs. Park and their daughter Agnes Park 1858 standing in front of Park House in the late 19th century. Photo from Phillips Academy Archives.

Even before Abbot merged with Phillips Andover, Abbot had to navigate the change from day school to boarding.  Becky’s great, great grandfather Professor Edwards Park played a pivotal role in managing that transition, thus ensuring Abbot’s future.  It’s no wonder Professor Park stands so proudly, with hat in hand, in front of their home on Main Street. 

Park House today.  The building is used as a faculty residence. Photo from Phillips Academy Archives.

Click here to read more about Edwards Park and the Park family’s contributions to Abbot and Andover.

Abbot Edibles 
Abbot Popovers: Cherish the Memory, But Update the Recipe
Contributed by Priscilla Martel ’74

Photo by Priscilla Martel ’74

Nobody but Priscilla Martel ’74 could make popovers look this good without including what she came to realize is an essential key ingredient: butter! 

Priscilla followed From the Abbot Kitchens’ 1970 legacy recipe as written, using two eggs instead of one. She realized only after-the-fact that they wouldn’t taste sufficiently rich without some measure of butter.  Thanks to some culinary sleuthing, she confirmed that the legacy recipe matched her grandmother’s recipe from the 1920s Boston Cooking-School Cookbook (4th Edition).  But, alas, the recipe produced results that neither look nor taste like what we remember.

So, when it comes to popovers, we’re dwelling more on sweet memories than an accurate recipe.  We remember Sunday mornings in Draper, where popovers were served with butter and raspberry jam. And we're appreciating the moments spent at those

solid round wooden (oak or maple?) tables, sharing the news and adolescent gossip of the day—in French, if Mlle. Baratte happened to join us.

Priscilla adds that the recipe for Yorkshire pudding, from the same legacy (though not fact-checked) cookbook would probably work better, thanks to the mutton grease it calls for.

For anyone wanting to make modern popovers that taste as delicious as memory demands, may we refer you to an excellent  online source.

Click here for a more current online recipe for popovers.

Click here for the legacy recipes for Popovers and Yorkshire Pudding.

Click here for the complete From the Abbot Kitchens, a community cookbook published by the Abbot Alumni Council in 1970.

The Abbot Academy Fund: Recent Winners

The board of the Abbot Academy Fund held its Fall 2024 meeting on campus November 14-15. Nineteen grants were awarded full or partial funding, for a total of $103,580.  The grants included an array of proposals, including support for Central American author Cristina Henriquez's visit to campus in January, the African Students Association’s Faux-Ever Yours African Wedding in February, and the Philomathean Society’s May celebration of its 200th anniversary.  These exciting events were/are open to the entire campus community.

Cristina Henriquez Pays Homage to Untold Stories

Brigitte Leschhorn, English instructor,
and Cristina Henriquez, author of The Great Divide

When Brigitte Leschhorn, an English instructor, first read Cristina Henriquez’s latest novel, The Great Divide, about the construction of the Panama Canal, she fell in love with the women—Ada, Lucille, Marian, Valentina. She couldn’t imagine the construction of the Panama Canal, a behemoth of her own childhood and her birth country’s history, through the eyes of the women who also made it happen.

That’s the gift of Henriquez’s narrative. Every story, even from the minor characters who suddenly become lifelong friends over the smallest interaction, are real, as much as the place is real. Leschhorn had been taught so much about her country only through a US-centric lens, and Henriquez gives voice to those whose narratives often get left out of our mainstream textbooks.

That’s why Leschhorn felt compelled to invite Henriquez to visit the campus and meet with her Central American literature class, to organize a lunch with members of the Alianza Latina and AfLatAm clubs and to host a fireside chat led by a student panel.

Click here to learn more about Henriquez and her campus visit.

You are cordially invited to two special Abbot events!

June Leaf: Shooting from the Heart, the Addison Gallery of American Art’s Tradition of Supporting Women Artists

Tuesday, April 8, 2025
7-8 p.m. ET

Hosted Virtually on Zoom

The Abbot@Andover committee will host a virtual event with Allison N. Kemmerer, the Mary Stripp and R. Crosby Kemper Director of the Addison Gallery, and Gordon D. Wilkins, Robert M. Walker Curator of American Art. The program will present an overview of the June Leaf exhibition, highlighting the breadth of this singular artist’s extraordinary 75-year career. It will place the exhibition in the context of Addison’s longtime commitment to supporting women artists, including alumnae of Abbot Academy.

Join us for the annual celebration of Abbot Day! With so many cherished traditions born on the Abbot Campus, our scheduled events aim to celebrate those traditions and foster connection among all alumnae. You are also warmly invited to attend Saturday's Andover Day. 

Friday, June 6, 2025

10 a.m.         Arrival and Tiffin

11 a.m.         Screenings of “The Girls of Abbot-A Memoir” by Charlie Stuart ’62 and
                     “Dream It, Do It: The Abbot Academy Fund’s First Fifty Years"

12 p.m.         Luncheon

1:30 p.m.     Back to the Classroom Sessions

4 p.m.          Class Photos

4:30 p.m.    Abbot Tea

6 p.m.          Reception and Dinner

Reach Out to Us

Our goal is to make this newsletter relevant and engaging to all who care about Abbot’s legacy at Andover.  If you have story ideas, questions, or suggestions of any kind, we encourage you to reach out to us.  Please share what you know… or would like to know.

Click here to contact us.  

Abbot@Andover Committee

Co-Chairs: Lori Goodman Seegers ’73, P’05 & Faith Barnes ’74 

Committee Members
Peggy Bliss ’74, Martha Mason Denzel ’62, Dara Donahue Hogan ’83,
Lynne Langlois Hunter ’90, Audrey MacLean ’53, Mary F. McCabe ’71,
Anne Allen McGrath ’73, Susan W. Peters ’75, P’09, ’12, Cynthia I. Sorensen ’63,
Holly Robertson Taylor ’59