Dr. Houston H. Stokes, PhD
Class of 1953
Graduation year 1953 from sixth grade
Where did you go to school after leaving BCD? I grew up on the AP Stokes place, in “Lake Cottage,” the first house to the south of BCD. I know every inch of the BCD grounds. I started BCD in 1945 in Kindergarten at Clipston Grange on the Lenox School Campus. My parents, William E. D. Stokes, Jr. and Lucia Stokes, were among the handful of families that started the school. Every year, the families and their kids all came together to put together the school. This meant moving boxes, cleaning rooms, etc. Right before my 1st grade year in 1946, I broke my leg and missed 50% of the year. As a result of getting behind, I stayed back in 3rd grade. I went to Lenox School in the 7th grade in the fall of 1953. I skipped 8th grade and graduated from Lenox “on time” in 1958. From 1958-1962, I was at Cornell University and graduated with a BA in Economics in 1962. In the period 1962-1964 I served in the US Navy. In the fall of 1964, I entered the University of Chicago, obtaining an MA in economics in 1966 and a PhD in 1969. Four of my teachers received the Nobel Prize in Economics. In the fall of 1967 I started teaching Economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I later became the Department Head for five and a half years and am still on the faculty. I love my job. I stayed in the US Naval Reserve for 22 years and retired in 1984 with the rank of Commander.
Where are you living now? My wife Diana and I live in Chicago right across from the Museum of Science and Industry where there are many space capsules. On weekends we go to our house in Sawyer, Michigan. We have two sons. William is 29 and a computer software engineer working on an NIH Grant. He was a BS (2002) and MS (2004) from Cornell University. His wife Melissa is a BS from Cornell University (2002) and PhD (2008) from Rutgers University in Biomedical Engineering. She works for Uni-Solar and they live in Stanton, Michigan. Our other son Houston A. Stokes, 27, graduated from the University of Michigan (with a year at Oxford) in 2004 and Washington & Lee School of Law in 2007. He clerked for a federal judge and is now working in Chicago for Littler Mendelson, in the area of labor law.
What are you doing now (work/family/personal projects)? I plan to continue to teach and do research. My area is econometric software development, International Economics and Applied Econometric Research. I have 94 publications, many of which are on line at www.uic.edu/~hhstokes
How do you think your time at BCD influenced the choices you’ve made? What about your time at BCD are you most thankful for? During my time BCD was a warm place where the teachers really tried to help the student. Students in the upper grades helped those in the lower grades. The classes were small. While in the 5th grade, I was the only boy in the room. This presented no problem. In my 6th grade year, several boys came into the 5th grade. When I graduated in 1953 there were no girls graduating that year and I was the sole graduate of the school!
By far the best teacher I had at BCD was Mr. Cowhig, who taught 5th and 6th grade.
What advice can you offer current students at BCD?
The most important thing is to dream big and never give up. Many small things are happening all around you and only in later years do you see their eventual impact. For example, in my life in 1954 the transistor was developed. In the fall of 1957 I tracked Sputnik on my Ham Radio 6 hours after it went up. In 1962 the US put up John Glenn in orbit around the earth and in 1969, when I obtained my PhD, I saw Armstrong walk on the moon. It was quite a period of which I was excited to be part. The rise of the personal computer has taken scientific research away from the monopoly of the major universities and into the world and has resulted in major gains that can be shared among all people.
In my own experience, in the lower grades many of the tasks involved things such as penmanship and spelling and foreign language that are not my strong points. I was not at the top of the class and felt pressure to do better. At Cornell I started in Economics, a very abstract subject that I found both fascinating and at which I excelled. My ability to do abstract work well helped me in statistics and computer programming and in my applied economic research. Memorizing was not needed. (I still have problems with spelling and penmanship but it matters less.) In my opinon one should strive to do what one likes and what one can do well.
Student(s) currently at BCD can expect to still be alive in the year 2100. My only regret is that I will not be here to see all the exciting things that they will experience. My life has been wonderful.
Cornelia ‘Nini’ Brooke Gilder
Class of 1964
BCD was still housed on Walker Street, in an old and historic dwelling, when in the spring of 1961, my sixth grade year, I had one of the most fulfilling learning experiences of my life. Our history class, led by Mrs. Dengler, suspended its fairly cursory progression past pyramids and forums of the ancient world to spend the spring semester on local history. That year Berkshire County was celebrating its bicentennial, and The Berkshire Eagle was filled with stories and photos related to the past. Our school assignments included assembling great clipping files on Herman Melville, Balance Rock, paper mills, lime kilns, iron mines, local fires, and local landmarks. It opened a new world to me! Here was history that explained the buildings, the street names, the natural landmarks around me.
Now, I realize this class was the groundwork for everything I have done since then. Later, I majored in history at Vassar with 18 months “reading” history at New Hall, Cambridge University. I then worked for the New York State Historic Preservation Office in Albany and returned to England for graduate work at the Institute for Advanced Architectural Studies in York.
For the last 15 years I have been writing and speaking about the wonderful historic buildings of Albany and the Berkshires culminating in several recent books: Houses of the Berkshires with Richard S. Jackson (2006) and Hawthorne’s Lenox with Julia Conklin Peters (2008). With a team that dates back to my days in the New York State Preservation Office, I am the principal contributor to a new book, Architects in Albany (Mt. Ida Press: 2009).
Thirty-some years after my own student days, BCD re-entered my life in the education of two of our children, Richard and Nannina. We still talk of the memorable teachers of their era—the Fawcetts, Geoff Ashworth, Gary Miller, Tim Gore, Steffi Fletcher, and Adrienne Cosel—who set high standards and opened academic and athletic doors for both of them. How fortunate we are in the Berkshires to have this remarkable school!
Mary Talbot Fee
Class of 1972
Years at BCD
Grade 6 (1969) through Grade 9 (1972)
Where did you go to school after leaving BCD? Taconic High School and then on to American University and then San Diego State University for a degree in Modern Dance/Education. I attended graduate school at the University of San Diego and received a degree in Education.
What have you been doing since you left BCD? After having an incredibly satisfying stint as a figure skater while at BCD and Taconic High School, I decided to major in Modern Dance in college (first at American University and then at San Diego State University). Later, as an elementary educator, I also taught creative dance for young children, as well as writing and publishing Children Dancing, a step-by-step book with photography on teaching dance to young students. In addition, throughout my late teen and adult years, I have been pursuing jazz vocal music.
Tell us about your love affair with music. My love of music began with the exposure to my mother’s musical and theatrical career in the Berkshires. I was well versed in show tunes, light opera, and choral pieces by the time I started my own pursuit of jazz. I immersed myself in Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughn’s styles and learned scores (pun somewhat intentional) of Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Jerome Kern to name a couple. Recently, I recorded my debut CD called “Midwinter Night’s Dream” which has tunes in French (thank you Mme Grad!), Portuguese, and Italian written by such luminaries as Stevie Wonder, Django Reinhardt, Lennon/McCartney, and Jobim. (Jobim’s “Angela” is a tribute to my mother, Angela, who passed away just after the last recording was completed.)
Did BCD play a role in your love of music? We had a weekly music class that was held in Furey Hall but as I remember it, it was mostly focused on classical music. [Music class] bolstered my knowledge of music but what BCD really did for me was to expose me to more independent and creative thinking, which made me a more well-rounded student and individual. I was immensely enriched by my BCD exposure – the nurturing and stimulating environment – it made me appreciate my creativity and music.
What have you taken away from your years at BCD? I started at BCD in the sixth grade. The experience was quite intimidating at first, coming from a small public elementary school in Richmond. I found that A’s were much more difficult to attain and that the intense caliber of teaching required much more of me. Suddenly, I was taking two languages, learning to read A Tale of Two Cities and delving into the Russian Revolution! It was a humbling experience that set me up for more advanced classes in high school (French 5 by junior year, as well as Honors and Advanced Placement classes), and an interest in life-long learning.
I thank Mme. Grad for her persistence in requiring us to correct all of our mistakes and to use the new vocabulary many times to learn them. Mr. Bemis’ demonstrations of scenes from A Tale of Two Cities will be forever imprinted on my brain, and Mrs. Jones’ technique of using a scepter to organize class discussions is something I used as a teacher myself. I loved Mr. Potter’s Latin classes as well as watching him as he carved little wooden animals between classes and, of course, the BCD Fair every year! The stimulation, creative freedom, wonderful teachers and brilliant friends from all over the county were an invaluable experience for me. I didn’t quite realize it at the time, but BCD was the best overall educational experience of my upbringing. The enthusiasm and energy that the staff and teachers kept for the school made for bright, electrified students. I see that now and I see it in photos of the faces of today’s students. BCD raised the bar for me. The influence of my highly driven parents combined with BCD’s can-do environment has made me not afraid to continue to go for my creative dreams, even now.
Where do you currently live? In San Diego, CA. I am married and have one child who is 19 and a musician as well. He is into computer music.
What advice can you offer current students at BCD? Don’t be afraid to change your mind and to try new things. I’ve had a lot of passions and interests in my life and have tried new things as they came along – it’s important to keep your options open and go for the things that interest you.