COAA News college of the atlantic association march 1987 Over 300 Honor Kaelber, Thorndike at Boston Dinner The remarkable contributions of Ed Kaelber and Betty Thorndike to College of the Atlantic were warmly by remembered by over 300 members of the COA community at the Phoenix Fund benefit dinner held in their honor on April 11 at Memorial Hall on the Harvard campus. The overwhelming success of the evening is a tribute to these people whose vision launched and continues to sustain the College. Sam Eliot, former COA Vice President eloquently expressed the feelings many of us have for Ed: the awe, respect and gratitude. Librarian Marcia Dworak spoke of Betty's many contributions to the College, including distinguishing the library with the Thorndike name. A further tribute to Ed and Betty is the $34,000 raised for the Phoenix Fund Campaign through ticket sales and generous donations by trustees and benefactors. This very significant contribution brings ground breaking for Kaelber Hall and Thorndike Library that much closer to being a reality. An event of this scope requires the time, creativity and faith of many people. Bob Holley '78 who, with the support of the COAA alumni board, conceived and promoted the idea for For the 5th Consecutive Year COA Senior Wins Watson Fellowship Betty Thorndike David Hecksher, soon to be a 1987 College of the Atlantic the dinner, deserves a very big thank you for giving all of us graduate, has been awarded an $11,000 Watson Fellowship the opportunity to honor Ed and Betty. for his proposed study of agriculture in the South American The dinner committee, including Mary Kay Eliot, Cathy Andes. Ramsdell Sweet, Larry Sweet, John Bideman, and Megan This is the fifth consecutive year that a COA senior has won Kraus, met regularly through the winter and spring to develop a Watson Fellowship. The fellowship, named for IBM and orchestrate this celebration. founder Thomas J. Watson, is given to recent bachelor degree In Bar Harbor, Gary Friedman served as the dinner graduates from selected small U.S. colleges for a year of travel committee's liaison with COA's staff and volunteers, and study. David joins former Watson scholars from COA: including development office secretary Terri Rappaport, Peter Wayne '83, Rick Espstein '84, Sally Greenman '85 and alumni coordinator Rebecca Buyers-Basso, Bar Harbor Carol LaLiberte '86. retiree Hilda Roderick, alumni and students. Hecksher's proposal focuses on potato agriculture. His The trustees play a large part in the success of any COA senior project is a study of the agricultural economics of event. Their unflagging support and encouragement of the Aroostook County, which he hopes will give him some college is vital and deeply appreciated. In his concluding preparation for his South American fieldwork. remarks trustee Frank Keppel summed up for many of us the "I'd like to discover how past and present agricultural underlying sentiment of the evening - that we were attending techniques affected the native Andean culture," Hecksher not a school reunion where we saw former classmates, told the Bar Harbor Times, "and how modern technology is colleagues and friends; but rather a family party where past changing and has changed that culture." experience and present ideals band us together in a common The first phase of his study includes work with biologists spirit and affection. and others at the International Center for the Potato in Lima, Jean McHugh '81 continued page 2 COAA Board Member COAA NEWS Senior Projects 1986-87 Student Advisor Project Title Allen, Bill Donald Cass Implementing Groundwater Protection in Maine: the Threat of Underground Petroleum Storage Tanks Anderson, Ross William Drury/ George Allen Art of Boatbuilding Batchelder, James Peter Corcoran The Maine Woods and Concepts of Wilderness Bracale, Dennis Stewart Brecher/David Hancock Landscape Design Cox, James Sentiel Rommel Naturally Postured Vertebrae Daly, Jennifer Peter Corcoran Garden Education Project Ellsworth, Jonathan Sentiel Rommel Winter Coyote Study in the Bigelow Preserve Gale, Tim Anne Kozak Alternative Treatments for Cancer and Heart Disease: Their Contribution to the Emerging Medical Paradigm Girton, Phil Steven Katona Survey of Killer Whales in Western North Atlantic Gustafson, Lori Prassede Calabi Stress and Biomechanics/Wolves Heckscher, David John Buell History of Potato Agriculture in Maine Heyerdahl, Aaron Elmer Beal/Pamela Parvin A Business Plan for Apple Woodworks Jamieson, Tom Elmer Beal Banjo Performance Kearney, Wendy William Drury Observation of Red Squirrel Behavior Kelly, Joe William Drury/Vicki Nichols Oceanic Birds of the Gulf of Maine: a Resource Book Kimball, Mike John Visvader Squeezing Blood from the Stones: Study of Scotland's Ancient Stone Monuments Lentier, Susan John Visvader/Sentiel Rommel/ Systems Modeling Harris Hyman Lerner, Ellen Peter Corcoran Significant Uses of Local Flora in Sanctuary Management Lindenthal, Jodi Ernest McMullen Perceptions in Clay Marshall, Rob William Drury Ecology of a Massachusetts Salt Marsh Mead, Carol John Navazio/Craig Greene Greenhouse Management Meservey, George John Buell Island Economy Michaels, TC Gary Stellpflug/Carl Ketchum Acadia's Hills and Trails History Newman, Nell Sentiel Rommel Anatomical Illustrations of the Sharp-shinned Hawk O'Connor, Chris Donald Cass Chemical Demonstrations Post, Cynthia Susan Lerner Together We Move Robinson, Bruce Ernest McMullen Human Ecological Ideas on the Degrees of Order and Disorder within the Built Environment of Mount Desert Island Roos, Eric Anne Kozak/Ed Leiter/ Divers' Guide to Mount Desert Island Michael Mahan Silver, Mara Ernest McMullen Ceramics: Exploring Design and Function Smedstad, Gus Harris Hyman Contour Mapping Stolte, Etzard Steven Katona The "Rats" in the Gulf of Maine Stone, Pamela Anne Kozak/Durwood Zaelke Citizens' Guide to Groundwater Protection -WATSON continued from page 1- Peru. Hecksher also hopes to visit Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador in the second phase of his study which takes him into the field, literally. "I plan to visit small mountain villages and learn from the native farmers there. I will also talk with biologists, economists, cultural anthropologists and other such professionals in related fields." In a personal statement attached to his proposal, David wrote, "The work in the Andes will transcend agriculture or anthropology as narrowly defined disciplines, for it will explore the difficult to define place where culture and agriculture touch and interact. My education at COA has taught me to analyze and synthesize, skills which are the foundation for understanding and wise action. The excitement of this proposal lies in the promise of discovering how a culture literally grew out of the potato, how the potato grew out of a culture, and how, with respect for the wisdom of the past and the complexity of the present, we can create beneficent futures." David Hecksher Rebecca Buyers-Basso '81 Alumni Coordinator 2 COAA NEWS