The Hawthorne School Association, Inc.
Grand Reunion 2005
About The Hawthorne School Association
General
The Hawthorne School Association, Inc., is a Massachusetts
non-profit corporation founded for "civic, educational, charitable or
benevolent services or activities related to The Hawthorne School..."
Some current projects of the Association are:
Attempt to locate all former Hawthorne and Cibola students, faculty, and staff, and encourage them to sign up for the online Alumni Directory and the Master List of alumni.
Encourage the preservation, and as appropriate, the publication
of historical, scholarly, and educational materials relating to The
Hawthorne School (Washington, D.C., 1956-1982), its faculty, students,
and unique curriculum.
Arrange and facilitate gatherings of Hawthorne and Cibola students, faculty, and staff, such as the Grand Reunion 2005.
History
The history of The Hawthorne School itself is told on the Hawthorne website.
After the school closed in 1982, many alumni continued to stay in touch
with Sandy and Eleanor, but there was no formal ongoing alumni
association.
In late 2001, Dana Sawyer began the Hawthorne School website,
using a few megabytes of free web space. Independantly, John
Guard began to contact other alumni about the possibility of a Grand
Reunion, as did Bill Lennox and others. John's effort inspired Rebecca Trumbull, Karen Barrett, Peter Banner,
Maury Ringel, and Giorgio Cave to undertake an intensive search for
alumni over the next several years.
Working from the original Hawthorne records, Giorgio compiled a list of
the names of all known Hawthorne students, faculty, and staff,
including years of attendance and any available contact
information. Eventually, this list has grown to over 1500
entries, and has become the Master List of alumni. Building on
the results of earlier searches, Giorgio contacted hundreds of alumni
by telephone or postcard to confirm as much contact information as
possible. As alumni sign up with the web site, Giorgio continues
to incorporate their information into the Master List. There are
still many alumni for whom we do not have any contact information.
In August 2003, Peggy Diggs and Dana organized a small gathering of
Hawthorne alumni (which ironically Peggy
was not able to attend) at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, with much
appreciated help from Doug Orr. Sandy and Eleanor were there, and
the
occasion generated new enthusiasm for a Grand Reunion. An
informal working group consisting of the Orrs, Rebecca, Giorgio, Peter,
Maury, Peggy, and Dana (since joined by Molly Warner, Jennifer Woods,
Dave Levenson, and Valerie Taylor) began to plan the Grand
Reunion. Several
months were spent searching for a suitable location near Washington, D.
C., and we were delighted when Sandy and Eleanor found the National 4-H
Youth Conference Center. As negotiations with 4-H began, we soon
realized that the Grand Reunion was a serious financial committment
which would require the formation of a non-profit corporation.
Maury filed the necessary papers, and The Hawthorne School
Association
became officially incorporated on April 28, 2004. Several members
of the working group made loans to the Association totalling $4,000,
and the Association was able to make a downpayment to 4-H in early May
to reserve the Conference Center. As of March 2005, sufficient
money has been raised, primarily through registration fees, to entirely
cover the use of the 4-H center. The reunion was held as planned
on August 5 through 7, 2005, with approximately 300 people in
attendance.
At a business meeting held on August 7 during the Grand Reunion,
decisions were made to elect a Board of Directors for the Association,
to seek 501(c)3 tax-exempt status, and to arrange for the preservation
and cataloging of the Hawthorne School archives. Considerable
interest was also expressed in actively pursuing the educational goals
of the Association.
Donations
Donations to The
Hawthorne School Association are greatly appreciated, but are not
tax-deductable at this time. Click here to make a donation.