Marching on Memorial Day

Christine and Andy marched and played with the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School band in the annual Memorial Day parade through the two towns.



It was Christine's last official appearance with the band after four years in its flute section. For Andy it was the conclusion of his first year in the band's percussion section.

Julie also marched in her capacity as Girl Scout Service Unit Manager for Fanwood and Scotch Plains.



There are over 1,000 Girl Scouts of various ages in the two towns, and more than 200 took part in the parade.

Liz graduates from RPI

Stadium scoreboard view of Liz receiving her diploma.    (Photo by Hugh.)

Liz graduated on Saturday from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with her bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

The school conferred degrees on 1,700 students at its 205th Commencement at the East Campus stadium.

Below, Liz poses with her parents, Doug and Lisa, and grandparents, Hugh and Dolores.

Dolores writes: "After an hour of processions, and honorary degrees, and doctoral degrees, and then the keynote address (by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin), the masters' and bachelors' degree presentations finally started. By this time the sun was shining nicely, and even though there were some clouds, it began to be warm! ... We were very glad to be in the early part of the alphabet, because after Liz walked across the stage, we ducked out for the shade under the stadium. Liz found us somehow, and were bused over to the huge picnic on the grounds of the college, under a lot of humongous tents. It was lovely and cool, and we all enjoyed seeing The Diploma! Probably no one was left in the stadium except for the parents of the X-Y-Zs, and the faculty!"

Vivien graduates from Cornell University

Vivien and a friend on 
Commencement Day at Cornell

via Facebook

Vivien received her bachelor's degree at Cornell University's 143rd Commencement on Sunday. She graduated from the School of Hotel Administration.

(We await more details of the ceremony and celebration.)

Dan honored at San Jose State University commencement (Updated 5/30)

Having completed his Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies degree in December, Dan joined with other Class of 2011 graduates at the San Jose State University commencement on Saturday.

Dan was honored as a summa cum laude graduate, signified by the medallion with gold ribbon he wore with his graduation gown.

At a convocation earlier in the week, Dan was presented with both the Emeritus Faculty Award and the Minnie Carr Award "for Academic Excellence and Service to the SJSU Communication Studies Department."

At right, he stands beside the building where he had most of his major-studies classes at SJSU.

Patrick graduates from Fordham Prep

Patrick gave the valedictory speech at the Fordham Preparatory School graduation Wednesday evening.

Patrick and 220 other seniors received their diplomas in the ceremony at the Fordham University Gym.

Come fall, Patrick will begin his studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

More graduations to come!

Kevin graduates from Manhattan College

Kevin leaves the gym with diploma in hand.

Kevin with his sister, Shanna,
on the Manhattan College campus

Kevin received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Manhattan College's School of Business on Sunday.

The day began with a Baccalaureate Mass for the graduates and their families, followed by a continental breakfast, and then the commencement exercises in the college's Draddy Gymnasium.

Everything went very well and Kevin is happy to have completed his four years at Manhattan.

Afterwards, Kevin and his family went to dinner at the Olde Stone Mill in Tuckahoe.

Also see:
Shanna receives her Master's degree
A cluster of commencements this spring

Another Preakness, another great party

Doug and Lisa hosted scores of relatives, friends, friends of relatives and relatives of friends at the annual Riderwood Preakness Party.

The weather was perfect for the gathering, a decades-long tradition at the family homestead. This clip shows just part of the crowd watching the race; others were watching in the house or busy socializing in the yard.



Doug and Lisa are back in residence at the Riderwood house after returning from Las Vegas this past winter. Doug, in his new job with Parsons Brinckerhoff, has taken charge of design work for a Metro rail extension in Virginia.

Their daughter Lizzie was down from Troy, N.Y., where she's about to graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Their daughter Rebecca, finishing her sophomore year at Rochester Institute of Technology, wasn't able to make it because she's begun her summer job with RIT Housing Operations.

Lizzie receives confirmation

Lizzie received the sacrament of confirmation on Friday, May 20. Her brother, Gerrit, was her sponsor.

The service took place at Our Lady of the Cape church in Brewster, Mass. The Rev. Msgr. John Perry, vicar general of the Diocese of Fall River, was the celebrant.

Shanna receives her Master's degree

Shanna's friend Amanda took this photo in their seats at graduation.

In ceremonies at the Westchester County Center in White Plains on May 18, Shanna received her Masters degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education Wednesday from Mercy College. 

Shanna writes: "It was a great ceremony and everything went well, despite the heavy rain. They even pronounced my name correctly as I received my diploma!

Shanna with diploma in hand.

Freeze-frame from video, via Facebook

"We celebrated afterwards with dinner at one of my favorite places, the Cheesecake Factory. A funny fact: My graduation from Mercy took place 4 years to the day from my degree at Purchase College.

"I'm very excited to be done with my Masters degree. These past 2 years have gone by so fast. I am currently looking for a position for September and will be spending my summer working at Camp Hillard for a second year."

Shanna began her post-graduate studies in the summer of 2009, wrapping up this spring with student teaching at Yonkers Public School 21, right in her own neighborhood.

This is the start of a series of graduations by members of our extended family over the next month. Check back for upates -- and please send along your graduation stories and photos.

Field trip to see the Wright stuff

Chris and Stephanie at Falling Water

Stephanie was among a group of students from Hilliard Crossing Elementary School who went on a field trip last week to visit two houses in Pennsylvania that were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Her mom, Cathy, and brother, Christopher, drove separately and met the students at both locations.

Stephanie is in the 5th grade "focus class" and the trip included all 4th and 5th graders from that gifted-student program.

Cathy writes: "Throughout the school year they studied structures and architecture, so this trip gave them a chance to see some of what they had studied in person."

"Apple Core,"
sculpture by Claes Oldenburg

The first stop was Kentuck Knob. "This house was built atop a ridge overlooking the western Pennsylvania landscape. Before touring the house, we walked through its modern-art sculture garden."

"The house itself incorporates hexagons in many ways into the shapes of the rooms, skylights and even the kitchen.

"Next we traveled a short distance to tour Falling Water -- perhaps Wright's most famous design. This house sits overlooking a waterfall. Like Kentuck Knob, the house was designed to incorporate much of the surrounding scenery.

"Upon visiting both houses, you can see many similarities in their designs. Even though Chris and Stephanie had visited both locations before, they still enjoyed another visit.

"In between the two stops Chris and I stopped off in Ohiopyle, Pa., for a brief look a the Ohiopyle Falls. This is the small town that I visited numerous times in my youth with my family. It still looks much the same as it did back then!"

See more of Cathy's photos from the trip:

A different style of drumming

Showing his versatility on drums, Andy this week went from playing jazz numbers in high school concerts to playing heavy-metal rock on a club stage.

Andy takes rock drumming lessons at School of Rock in Chatham. He performed on several numbers during an ensemble show the school put on Saturday afternoon at a place called Just Jake's in Montclair. They'll reprise the show on Sunday.



This show was made up of music by the late Ronnie James Dio, who sang with Black Sabbath and other heavy-metal bands. This number is called "The Last in Line," from one of Dio's solo albums.

Spring concert season is under way (Updated 5/11)

It's the season for spring music concerts and recitals at schools all over the land, and there are several taking place at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alone.

Here Andy plays drums with one of the school's jazz bands on a number called "Swing Shift."

In the high school's Spring Instrumental Program on Wednesday, Andy played with the Concert Band and the Percussion Ensemble, and Christine played flute with the Symphonic Band.

Please send along your stories and images of any other spring performances, musical or otherwise.

The trophies sitting on stage include a state championship won by the school's premiere jazz band, the Moonglowers. Also on display were the trophies won by various SPFHS groups at the Festival of Music competition in Washington last month.

Coming this spring: A cluster of commencements

This is another big year of transition for the students in our extended family. May and June will bring an outbreak of graduation robes, mortarboards and tassels.

By our count (and please let us know of any others): two students will graduate from high school and head off to college in the fall; four collegians will receive their diplomas and one grad student will receive her master's degree.

It's the biggest cluster of commencements in our family since (logically enough) four years ago. We counted eight graduations in 2007.

Here's the Class of 2011 rundown:
Dan - graduates from San Jose State University
Shanna - receives masters in childhood education from Mercy College
Kevin - graduates from Manhattan College
Vivien - graduates from Cornell University School of Hotel Administration
Liz - graduates from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Christine - graduates from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School
Patrick - graduates from Fordham Prep

Also moving up from one school to another (although not technically "graduating"):
Christopher completes 8th grade at Hilliard Heritage Middle School and heads to high school
Stephanie finishes 5th grade at Hilliard Crossing Elementary School and moves up to Tharp 6th Grade School for one year before proceeding to Heritage Middle

Check back for updates on the ceremonies and on post-graduation plans.

Andy receives confirmation (Updated 5/4 with more photos)

Andy was confirmed at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Westfield on Sunday by the Rt. Rev. George Councell, bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey. Following the service, he and the 19 other confirmands were presented with certificates and prayer books by the rector, Rev. Andrew Hamersley, and congratulated by the bishop.

Photos by Hugh

Afterward, family members celebrated with a lunch at a nearby restaurant. The gathering included Andy's parents, Dan & Julie; his sister, Christine; his girlfriend, Shannon; his grandparents Hugh & Dolores; his Aunt Cathy and cousins Christopher and Stephanie; his Aunt Kathy & Uncle Ted; and his Aunt Kathy, Uncle Kevin and cousins Kevin and Shanna.

Cathy, Christopher and Stephanie then began their journey back to Ohio, while the rest of the group visited for a little while longer at Birch Street.

This album has photos taken by Hugh, Cathy and Dan.