Almost spring break...

 Getting ready to welcome grandparents and grand friends! Allegra and Olivia paint a sign while Shauna looks on and offers helpful support.

 Our grandparents will go to classes with their upper school grandchildren. The always bring wonderful insights to our class discussions.

HAPPY SPRING BREAK, EVERYBODY! The sun is finally shining!

Visitors to the Upper School 3.21.13

We have welcomed 2 amazing visitors to the Upper School today! I am hurriedly sharing this news with you as a reminder of our panel discussion tonight on Girls and Education in Afghanistan: Facing Challenges and Sustaining Hope. This panel is being sponsored by the Afghan Sister Schools Program and the PSA. I hope you are able to attend at 6:45 in the Meeting Hall.

 You may recognize in this picture Ann Frank who is second from the left. Also in this picture is one of our speakers today, Barbara Rodbell, a childhood friend of Ann's and a Holocaust survivor.
Barbara's father was German and her mother was Dutch. They moved from Berlin to Amsterdam when Nazi atrocities were worsening. Barbara's boyfriend (she was around 17) got false identity papers for the whole family, but her parents and her younger sister did not go into hiding as Barbara did. They all died in Auchwitz; her grandmother died at Bergen-Belsen. Her family lived a block away from the Frank family and she and her sister were friends with Ann and Margot. She has an amazing story and is a very spunky 80+ year old. It was such an honor to have her come to CFS

 We had a huge lunchtime crowd made up of Upper and Middle School staff and students along with some parents who were able to join us.

 Barbara Rodbell shares her story.

 We had time for questions from the audience, all of whom were quite moved.

 Immediately following Barbara's talk, Philip welcomed Fahima Vorgetts to his Comparative Government class. Fahima is the founder of the Afghan Women's Fund and one of tonight's speakers. She was in the Upper School today along with Marybeth Dugan of the Afghan Sister Schools Partnership Program.

Fahima will be speaking tonight along with Abdullah Antelpi, Muslim Chaplain and Adjunct Faculty of Islamic Studies at Duke and Hassina Sherjan, Founder of Aid Afghanistan for Education. I hope you can make it tonight!

Cabaret 2013--A rousing success!

Thanks so much to those of you who were able to come to the Cabaret, be entertained, and support our End-of-Year Program. We had a large and enthusiastic crowd.  Here are some photos to highlight the event.

 The Quaker N'Oats started us off with their cup play and singing.

 Erin and Audrey: I Can't Help Falling in Love with You

 Jamie, Jonathan, Ellie, and Katie: Take a Load Off Annie

 Knox, Austin, and Lucas: 2 original songs

 The parents surprised me with their own rendition of "Carrie" to the tune of Sherry by the 4 Seasons. This was a total surprise to me--and wonderful!

 Max sang a few of his own songs.

 Elise narrated a slide show of Trinidad while Jamie accompanied her on the piano.

 Hally and Jamie duet

 Jonathan's Jazz Band with guest artists Jim Henderson and Joseph Umstead performed 3 numbers.

 More Jazz Band...

What a great evening! We enjoyed fun entertainment, yummy baked goods, each other's company...and we raised over $1200 for the End-of-Year Program!! Thank you!

CABARET: Saturday, March 16 at 7:30pm

 Coming soon to a theatre near you--the Annual Upper School Cabaret! Saturday, March 16 at 7:30pm.

 The Cabaret is our one fundraiser for our End-of-Year Program. This is a family-friendly event. Come one, come all!

 We will have a yummy bake sale. Bring your appetites!

No basketball games on Saturday night. March Madness begins on Sunday. Y'all come!

Looking ahead: The US Prom is scheduled for Saturday, April 20th, from 9-12 at the old Murphey School. This date was changed from April 27 early in the year to accommodate and enthusiastically support FRIENDSFEST, which you should all attend.

Family History: Katie Hansen 3.8.13

Katie has always been interested in finding out about her past history. When she was younger, she used to ask her parents, "What countries did we come from?" During her ancestral research, she was able to take giant steps toward answering this question for herself. The most prominent ethnic group of her past relatives is English.  George Soule and Myles Standish were two distant relatives of Katie's who came over on the Mayflower during the "earliest days of the country I now call home."

 Paul W. Litchfield, Katie's great-great-grandfather, was born in Boston in 1896. He graduated from MIT where he worked various different jobs. He never expected to be famous and go down in history. When he was offered a job at Goodyear Tire, an infant company with no predicted direction, he took it. He worked his way up from practically nothing to becoming the president of the entire company. He established the "8-hour day" and "vacation days" during the Depression.

 Katie's great-great-grandfather, Albert Wallace Denny, was born in 1906. When he was young, his parents were divorced at t time when no one ever got divorced. A.W. also worked at Goodyear Tire. He fell in love with and married the boss's daughter, Edith Litchfield. Edith and A.W. were both licensed pilots. Edith gained her fame by becoming one of the first female pilots in the world and worked for her father's company, flying the Goodyear blimp!  A.W. had his blimp and pilot's licenses signed by none other than the father of air travel himself, Orville Wright.

 Joseph Kubiak, (another great-great) was a very experienced pilot who was known for the crazy stunts he would pull, such as flying in loops or even straight through a local barn. He met and married Hazel Shepardson.

 In 1936, Hazel and Joseph had a baby girl named Georgia. Her parents loved her very much, but unfortunately her story would not turn out to be a happy one. In 1947, Joseph died in a plane crash while flying home in the middle of a thunderstorm. To make matters worse, a short time later, Hazel contracted tuberculosis and had to be moved to a sanitarium far away from her daughter. Georgia was left alone to live with her aunt whom she detested.

Above, you can see baby Georgia with her mother, Hazel. Thank you, Katie, for sharing your family history with us!

Family History: Jessie Anderson 3.7.13

Jessica Ross Anderson was born in Chapel Hill in 1995. While researching her family, Jessie was able to get all the way back to her great-great-great-great-grandparents! Her family originally comes from Germany and Sweden.

 Bertha Louise Winkel is Jessie's great-great-grandmother. She was born in 1875 in Germany. She came to the U.S. in 1889 with her two parents, Johann and Mathilda, and her sister, Mathilda. Bertha's family came on the S.S. Augusta Victoria. They arrived in New York City and traveled to Wisconsin from there.

 Bertha Winkel Zimdars is on the left, above. She had a very Germanic look with a heavy German accent. She parted with her husband in their later years. Living in a bungalow, she rented out the bottom floor and lived in the cramped second floor. It was not a very pleasant place to visit. The house smelled of mothballs.

 Nadine Bahr (in the photo above) is Jessie's grandmother. Nadine was 10 years old when WWII broke out in 1941. She went to a one-room country school. Nadine went to college and received her teaching degree.

 Ethel Reese (above) is Jessie's great-grandmother. She was born in Wisconsin in 1906.

 Ethel married Elmer Reuben Ross in 1931. They lived in Stevens Point, Wisonsin all of their married life. They had 3 sons.

 Gertrude Elise Bassler is also Jessie's great-grandmother and was born in 1906. She came to America from Germany when she was 8 years old. Gertrude flew planes during WWII, owned a Culligan water business with her husband in Florida, and had a Masters degree. Above, you can see Gertrude's pilot's license.

 Carl August Wedell is Jessie's great-great-grandfather. He was born in Sweden in 1864 and came to America in 1881 at the age of 18. Carl was sent ahead his family so he could establish a home for the rest of the family who followed later.

I couldn't resist including this adorable picture of Jessie's parents, Mark and Rachel. How cute!

Family History: Eliza Harris 3.6.13

Eliza Eaves Harris was born at Duke Hospital the day before a blizzard in 1996. While researching her paper, Eliza discovered that her parents had an "abundance of information" on her family. Her mother is a writer, and her father is a photographer. "So perhaps it is genetics that most of my extended family recorded their lives, through scrapbooks, photographs, film, and letters."

 Adolf Harris emigrated from what was then Prussia to Texas through Galveston in 1859. Above, you can see Adolf and his wife. Adolf's son, Arthur, is Eliza's great grandfather. For schooling, Arthur went to Phillips Andover, an elite prep school in Massachusetts. Evidently, Arthur was kicked out of Andover after almost setting a building on fire while smoking on school grounds.

 Here is Adolf's family. Arthur is the young man to the left. He eventually married Irma Liebman. During WWII, young Arthur enlisted in the Army. After Japan surrendered in 1945, Arthur senior wrote to request that his son be released from duty so her could take over the family company, The Atlanta Paper Company. Upon his return to the company, Arthur found it in great distress. After Arthur senior retired, his doctor told him that he had to stop doing the three things he loved most: gambling, watching Georgia Tech Football, and gambling on Georgia Tech Football.

 This is Helen Alexander, Eliza's grandmother. She was born in 1922. Her parents loved to go out, so nurses and governesses primarily raised her. Soon after Helen's younger brother was born, when Helen was still very young, she started having a limp in one of her legs. One doctor suggested operating. Her father's best friend was a psychologist. He advised her father to come out to the country with him and his son, and take Helen. When the psychologist's son took Helen's bicycle, her limp mysteriously vanished as she ran after him to retrieve it. The real reason for the limp was that her brother had just been born, and she was jealous of the attention he was getting. Her father wrote in his diary, "Me thinkist my daughter will be an actress."

 Frank Balfour Sartor, Eliza's maternal great grandfather, was born in 1890 in Louisiana. Frank married Earline Williams. Their first child died soon after being born. Their next child was Eliza's grandfather, Fred. Around the time of the Great Depression, Frank fell ill. His illness was kept a secret for many years, even from his own children. The truth was not discovered until many years later that Frank had died of Syphilis.

Fred Williams Sartor was born in 1921, the first of three sons born to Frank and Earline. Fred spent most of his growing up living and working on his family's farm. Fred joined the Navy in WWII as a lieutenant. He served on the USS Nevada, which had originally been a Japanese ship named the Negata before it was captured by the US. Just a few months after getting married in 1952, Fred was call back to the Navy to be the head surgeon on a Naval base in Rhode Island. Sadly, Fred died suddenly of a massive heart attack at age 62. His gravestone reads, "Devoted husband, father, physician."

I will try to keep up with one family history paper each day this week to share. I hope you are enjoying them as much as I am.

Family History: Lizzie Baldwin 3.5.13

Elizabeth Jane Baldwin was born at UNC Hospital in 1995. She goes by the name "Lizzie." Many of her ancestors came to North America from England in the early 1700's. One individual, Isaac Allerton, traveled to Plymouth in 1620 on the Mayflower! Another one of her ancestors turned out to be quite a bully while another was most likely a murderess! Armagil Wade (or Waad) was known by some as the "English Columbus," and worked for Henry VIII as his Clerk of Council. Lizzie has quite a heritage!

 This is a photo of Bully Wade and his family. William Drayton Wade was born in 1857 and was a child during the Civil War. He came from a very wealthy family, and it was likely they owned many slaves. William was not considered to be a nice man; in fact, he was given the nickname "Bully" for a reason. Bully was said to be a very stern man. He killed one of his farm workers by beating him with a cane because he did not saddle his horse correctly. The man was buried and the incident was "hushed up."

 Ezekiel Baldwin and Minnie Huff with their 6 children. Ezekiel Smith Baldwin was born in 1876. He was a member of a Free Mason group called "Al-Sihah."

 Ezekiel and Minnie eventually had 9 children. One of the couple's children was Lizzie's grandfather, Albert Sydney Baldwin, Sr., who was born in 1916. During WWII, Albert joined the Navy and was stationed in Okinawa. (above) When his group of ships were traveling to Okinawa, he witnessed Kamikazes coming out of the sky and plummeting into American ships. On the island, there was still a Japanese presence, and sometimes the Japanese would come out of the woods and begin shooting at the soldiers!

 These are Lizzie's great grandparents, Nellie Crockett Spencer and Charles Spencer. Nellie's father's second marriage was a catastrophe. When Nellie was only twelve, her father died suddenly, and it became clear that the stepmother might have had something to do with his unexpected death. According to the family, Mr. Crockett was poisoned by his wife with arsenic. See the article below from the New York Times.

As you can see, these family history papers are fascinating! More to come...

Family History Projects 3.4.13

If you have heard of Bryce Little, you may have heard about US History class...and you may have heard about Bryce's Family History Project. Each winter, Bryce's US History students (all of the juniors) interview family members in preparation for writing their Family History paper. If at all possible, students research their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, in addition to writing their own autobiography. Some of their interviewing questions include the following: What place did religion have in your upbringing? Have you changed your religious beliefs in the course of your life? What roles have major American historical experiences (wars, Depression, civil rights, union labor, '60s protest movements, etc.) played in your life? Are political concerns important to you, and if so, what concerns do you have?

Bryce's students work very hard on these papers. I thought it might be fun to share with you some of the information that students discovered about their families. The first of these papers was written by Lucas H. Selvidge who was born in 1995. Here are some of Lucas's ancestors:

 George Pendleton Selvidge was born in 1873, the son of a Confederate veteran who later became a Baptist preacher. George was the valedictorian of the 1st graduating class (of seven) at Baylor. He graduated in 1894. George founded Selvidge Business College, which operated until approximately 1915.

 Jane (Jennie) Morgan Mayhew was born in 1850. She was the mother of Toy Mayhew who married George (above). Jennie was married to a Union soldier who was wounded at the battle of Shiloh.

 Lt. Ancil Blackburn Mayhew was in the 9th Kentucky Regiment, Company C. He was married to Jennie (above). He was wounded on April 6, 1862, in the Battle of Shiloh.

 Georgiane Colaxson Schaeffer was born in Christiana (now Oslo), Norway. She married, divorced, and finally married William Schaeffer who was reportedly not a very nice man. She eventually became the grandmother of Frances Shafer Selvidge.

William Mayhew Selvidge, Sr. was born in 1916. At the beginning of World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. In August, 1943, he was the pilot of a B-24 named the "Sooner Queen." While in England, he was interviewed at Christmas time in 1943 by CFS war correspondent Edward R. Murrow for a Christmas broadcast that was heard in the United States. He was the grandfather of Lucas Selvidge.

I had a hard time picking and choosing from Lucas's long list of ancestors and interesting stories. Thanks to Lucas for allowing me to share parts of his paper with you. More to come on Family History projects.