GOOD College of the Atlantic Association Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 January 1988 Vol.3, No. 2 Carpenter's Speech Celebrates Growth Bill Carpenter's speech, delivered at COA's construction celebration on October 9, 1987. When I think of the beginning of Human Ecology at COA it was in the very first class of the first experimen- tal summer session in 1971. I was co- teaching with Sam Eliot. I'm glad he is here to verify the story because it is SO far back that it's at the point where memory begins to shade off into invention. But Sam and I were Together again COA alumnae Alice Leeds, Megan Godfrey Kraus and teaching this first meeting of the first Gillian Brown Fulford renew old friendships during COA's first 10th Reunion. COA class in the room that was to See story on page 6. become the original Thorndike Library. This was before it was Kael- smart. The nature of their intel- the circular staircase that was our in- ber Hall but Ed had been living in it ligence is in traveling to some sacred tercom before their were any exten- so it was already beginning to take on place every century or so to burn sions to the phone system. his name. themselves up. This is tragic in the What the phoenix knows is that At any rate Sam and I and the sense that they do die, but it is also death is necessary for rebirth and so first twelve students had settled in desirable because they are renewed. it walks willingly and proudly into the around the table and had opened The bird that flies out of the ashes is fire when its time has come. The fire Thoreau's The Maine Woods, which a brand new creature and has the of 1983 was tragic but it has allowed was the first book taught at COA. strength and beauty and agility of the unbelievable generosity and crea- The doors were open to a lovely youth. It is ready for the trials and tive energy that we see now focused Maine summer morning and in ran a challenges of the next hundred years, upon this spot in order to rebuild. chipmunk with a cat in hot pursuit-- and it is full of new ideas for the par- We are able to be doing what we are probably Ed Kaelber's cat--and the ticular demands of a new century. doing today because of the fire. cat caught the chipmunk by the neck None of us will ever forget There can be no evolution without and began chewing off its head the where we were standing when we biological death. There can be no way they do. I reached out and heard the news of the COA fire. creative activity without some pre- smacked the cat across the head so Many irreplaceable objects were vious destruction. It's hard for us to the chipmunk got free and went scur- destroyed, and there is almost noth- see and hear the earth being rying back into the garden. ing so horrible in human history as dynamited and back-hoed all day This incident divided the class the burning of a library. It carries long while we try to teach non-violent down the middle. They put their echoes of the death of civilization it- relations to the land. It's hard to un- books down and started to argue self. The fire was a particular loss to derstand why they have to dig so whether or not I, man, should have the COA faculty because so many of deep into the earth for a foundation. interfered with the processes of na- us had our offices there and SO much "That's where the poolroom and the ture. That dialogue has been going of our labor had gone towards build- saunas are going to be," Dan Scully on here ever since. ing the Thorndike Library collec- tells us, but it still haunts us to see the To the best of my knowledge no tions. In a way the childhood of the hole because we do care so much cat ever caught a phoenix. Phoenixes school was lost -- the blue learning even for plain granite rock. are too big and too mythical and too center, the yellow learning center, The new Kaelber Hall will trans- (continued on page 4) Editor's Note You have in your hands the Winter issue of COAA NEWS. By the time our Spring issue appears it will have a new name, supplied by one of you. The only suggestion to date is "The COA Blowhole" (as in a whale's breathing apparatus), COAA NEWS is published in Fall, so please help think up something better and send it on to me or to Becky within Winter and Spring by College of the the next month or so. Atlantic Association, COA's alumni The 10th Year Reunion was enormously satisfying to me. Over thirty COA organization since 1982. graduates and former students, from the college's earliest days, spent Columbus Day weekend together on MDI. Counting husbands and wives and children, we COAA NEWS, were more than 75 persons. Over one hundred participated in the Saturday eve- January 1988 Edition, Vol. 3, No. 2 ning events, which included a round table discussion group, a wine and cheese Editor, party with faculty and friends, a vegetarian dinner, and a dance, all in the Tur- Philip B. Kunhardt, III, '77 rets. Production Editor, I have rarely seen such a wonderfully alive evening, literally aroar with con- Rebecca Buyers-Basso, '81 versation, serious and hilarious. To me it was COA at its best, and most fun. The Layout, spirit of the weekend is caught for you in Alice Leeds' sensitive article, in pic- Jamien Jacobs, '86 tures taken during the Saturday boat trip and later that evening, and in words spoken on Friday by Bill Carpenter and Father Gower. COAA 1987-88 Board Members A single weekend cannot bridge a ten year expanse. But for some, it was the Michael Kaiser, '85, Secretary first real contact with the college in a decade. A reunion is for reuniting, and for Jean McHugh, '81, Treasurer many that happened. Special thanks to the people who worked so hard to pull it George Bennington, '82 off. The $300 left over from contributions after paying all our bills will be saved Joy Knowlton, '82 to help host future COAA events. Philip B. Kunhardt, III, '77 In this issue we have initiated a "Readers' Forum", whereby faculty, staff and alums share with one another the books which they have found to be most in- fluential. Suggested books can be "best ever read" or "best read in the last year or two". Submissions should be given complete with author, title, publisher and year, and your own brief annotation or review. Here's a way we can keep up with the best in each other's fields. The most thrilling work I have recently been exposed to is David Attenborough's four-part series on PBS, "The First Eden". What a marvelous in- terweaving of history and natural science! Attenborough sees the Mediterranean as a microcosm of the entire planet, holding essential lessons for humanity. Here is television at its best. At a recent All College Meeting the COA students and faculty unanimously Table of Contents approved a Resolution mandating the use of recycled paper for COA News and COAA NEWS. As I write, we are in the process of searching out suppliers of Carpenter's Speech page 1 such paper. It might mean going out of state. Ecology and economics, conserva- tion and support of local enterprise: the issues can become difficult to sort out. It Letters from Alumni page 3 reminds me of debates we had back in the early 1970's. I'm glad things are still lively! Annual Appeal page 5 Send me ideas for future newsletters, in the form of poems, articles, or let- ters. Thanks to Jamien Jacobs '86 who helped Becky and me with this issue's Readers' Forum page 4 production. Tenth Reunion page 6 PHILIP B. KUNHARDT, III Campus Store, Notices Editor and Update Form page 11 2