A Newsletter from the Abbot@Andover Committee
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Spring/Summer 2023 Edition
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"...celebrating and facilitating interaction among alumnae and perpetuating Abbot's spirit within the Andover Community"
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Note from the Chair: Lori Seegers ’73
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the merger between Abbot and Andover, which brings out many feelings for Abbot women. Andover is a very different school than it was in 1973, with much done since to honor and revive the Abbot legacy. Nonetheless, it remains important to continue to promote Abbot women and their achievements, and acknowledge the emotional bonds that still exist between classmates. Please let the Abbot@Andover Committee know any thoughts you may have on how we can further bring the Abbot legacy to life by sending us an email here.
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Abbot@Andover Committee News
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We thank Lee Sullivan ’68 for all her hard work and many contributions to the committee over the years as she steps down as co-chair.
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Clan MacPherson Pipes and Drums Band
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Photo from the Abbot Archives
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Many Abbot graduates are familiar with the Clan MacPherson Pipes and Drums Band from their memorable presence at commencements since the early 1950s. However, the band has been a fixture in the Andover area since 1921. The Pipes and Drums Band was established by Clan MacPherson, 81, order of Scottish clans, in 1921. Originally, members of the band had to be members of the Clan MacPherson umbrella organization. They were also required to live close to the practice facility in Lawrence.
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Since many of the original members worked in the textile mills of Lawrence, this was not generally a problem. While many of the original members were Scottish immigrants, British army veterans also joined the band. The rule that members have Scottish ancestry has since been abolished.
The band led the Abbot graduation processions on the Abbot Circle from the early 1950s until 1971. This tradition was adopted by Andover in 1972 and continues to this day.
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Source: Cooper, Doug. “Andover Stories: Great Scot, It's Clan Macpherson!” The Andover Townsman, 11 Apr. 2022, https://www.andovertownsman.com/opinion/andover-stories-great-scot-it-s-clan-macpherson/article_bef8e0ba-b9f0-11ec-9104-7fbf31f5a1bb.html.
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The Abbot Academy Fund 50th Anniversary Documentary
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The Abbot Academy Fund (AAF) will premiere a 12-minute documentary that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the AAF over the upcoming reunion weekend. The film, by Alexandra Morrow ’12, explores the impact that the AAF has had on the Andover community and beyond. Included is a brief history of the AAF over its five decades of grant-making, plus interviews with grant recipients, students, the Head of School, faculty, and Abbot alumnae.
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The Abbot Academy Telescope, Part 2
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John W. Briggs ’77 is an instrumentation engineer who has lived and worked at observatories around the world in various technical capacities, including Mount Wilson, Yerkes, National Solar, Maria Mitchell, Venezuelan National, and others. Nonetheless, the Abbot Academy Clark telescope, built in 1875, has held a special place in Briggs’ heart ever since he had the opportunity to use the instrument during his time at Andover.
Deemed to be obsolete, the telescope was sold in 1974 to Robert B. Ariail, an amateur astronomer and collector from South Carolina. As Briggs, then a lower at Andover, helped to dismantle the instrument for shipping, it never occurred to him that he would own the Alvan Clark & Sons telescope one day.
Through his career in astronomy, Briggs eventually became acquainted with Mr. Ariail and was able to organize a trade to obtain the Abbot telescope and the accompanying original wooden observing seat.
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Photo from Andover Magazine, Spring 2006 |
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Briggs returned to Phillips in 2005-06 as a visiting scholar to facilitate the expanded use of the then new observatory atop Gelb Hall.
He's shown here with the Abbot telescope in the background, speaking in Abbot Hall.
As an active astronomy historian, Briggs started the Astronomical Lyceum in Magdalena, New Mexico as a collection of instrumentation and related artifacts.
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| Among the many items included in the collection are the Abbot telescope and the stair-like seat.
The Abbot telescope is still used on special occasions and works wonderfully well according to Briggs. It's shown, in the photo to the left, set up in the front yard of the Briggs home in the high desert near Magdalena, New Mexico.
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George B. Clark was a student at Andover in 1844 and brought his interest in telescope making home to his father and brother. The family became leading telescope makers and were world-famous in this specialty. The Abbot Academy example, a Clark 5-inch telescope, is seen in the foreground of the photo to the left.
To find out more about astronomy books once owned by About Academy that are now housed at the Astronomical Lyceum click here.
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Abbot Academy Fund Grant: Abbot Hoops
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Izzy An and Nathan Bechard, both Class of 2024, presented a pitch to the Abbot Academy Fund (AAF) for a grant to build Andover’s first outdoor basketball court. Bechard and An thought an outside court would be a good place for the campus community to gather and enjoy a spontaneous game of basketball.
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“Our joint idea was to create a place with a low-key environment to have a good pickup game with friends, with faculty, with faculty kids, or with anyone who wants to play,” says An.
The “Abbot Hoops” court opened in September of 2021 and included remarks of appreciation for the AAF and a three-on-three basketball tournament with six teams and gift card prizes. So far, the new court has proven popular. “I haven’t yet walked by the court and found it empty,” says Bechard.
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Source: Abridged from Andover Magazine article, November 16, 2022 by Nancy Hitchcock
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The Abbot@Andover Committee Cordially Invites You To:
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| A Virtual Conversation with Wendy Ewald ’69
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Photographer, Educator, Cultural Explorer, Researcher
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Monday, May 15, 2023
7 to 8 p.m. ET
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In Ms. Ewald’s words: “In my work with children and women I encourage them to use cameras to look at their own lives, their families and their communities, and to make images of their fantasies and dreams. While making my own photographs in the communities, I ask my collaborators to alter my images by drawing or writing on them, challenging the concept of who actually makes the image – who is the photographer, who is the subject, who is the observer and who is the observed. My work questions the conventional definition of individual authorship and casts into doubt an artist’s intentions, power and identity.” Read Wendy's full bio.
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Abbot Archives: History of The Maple Walk
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In the early 1870s, Abbot Academy's two most active trustees, Warren F. Draper and George F. Smith, began to improve the landscape of the girls' school campus. They added new walks, built stone walls and fences, and planted ornamental trees. From the 1850s on, the school slowly increased its land holdings from one acre. In 1877 the trustees acquired an additional 14 acres of the Abbot estate on Phillips Street, bringing the total grounds to 22 acres. A year later, in 1878, Abbot Academy trustees hired civil engineer Charles W. Gay of Lynn, Massachusetts to coordinate improvements and prepare a landscape plan. Gay based his scheme on the existing structures rather than introducing a new master plan for the campus. He added formal drives, the Maple Walk and paths to connect the buildings.
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For photos of Charles Gay’s Plan for the Abbot Campus and an early photo of the Maple Walk click here.
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Source: Roberts, Paige. "Draper Hall, 1888-1890, at Phillips Academy." Clio: Your Guide to History. December 5, 2019
Photo by Sara Ingram
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Abbot Edibles – Peter Q. McKee’s Anadama Bread Recipe
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The name “Anadama Bread” first appeared in print in 1915, but it was undoubtedly baked in many New England kitchens before then.
So what does “Anadama” mean?
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New England legend overwhelmingly credits a Gloucester fisherman with coining the term as a not-so-loving tribute to his wife, Anna. It seems Anna wasn’t a great cook, and after numerous bowls of molasses and cornmeal porridge for supper, the fisherman angrily tossed in some flour and yeast one evening and threw the mixture into the oven. While it baked, he sat muttering, “Anna, damn her!” and the name was born.
Peter Q. McKee spent 42 years at Phillips Academy after originally being hired in 1947 to teach Physics. Throughout his career at Andover, Mr. McKee taught Physics, Chemistry, Math, General Science, and Astronomy.
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He also held various administrative roles, including those of house counselor, Dean of Students, Dean of Faculty, Chair of the Science Department, and Associate Head of School.
It is probable that not much swearing occurred as these Anadama loaves baked, but we do know Mr. McKee’s recipe is as good as the original.
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Reunion Weekend 2023 - Register Now!
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CAMPUS: Reunion 2023
Friday, June 9 through Sunday, June 11, 2023
Classes ending in 3s & 8s kindly click below to find your class year and registration page.
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CAMPUS: Abbot Day 2023
Friday, June 9, 2023, 10 a.m.
All Abbot Alumnae are invited to celebrate!
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Lori Goodman Seegers ’73, P’05, Chair
Committee Members
Anstiss Bowser Agnew ’67, Blakeman Hazzard Allen ’66,
Nathalie Taft Andrews ’59, Mae Concemi Bradshaw ’62,
Jane Christie ’58, P’85, ’87, GP’24, Martha Mason Denzel ’62,
Sandra Castle Hull ’58, P’81, ’84, Elizabeth Humstone ’66,
Sara Ingram ’71, Lynne Moriarty Langlois ’62, P’90,
Cornelia Weldon LeMaitre ’53, P’80, ’82,’86, ’86, ’87, GP’ 13, ’16,
Noreen A. Markley ’73, P’11, Chandri Navarro ’82, P’15,
Susan W. Peters ’75, P’09, ’12, Holly Robertson Taylor ’59,
Ruth Sisson Weiner ’66, P’97, ’01
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