Maroons Online Vol. 1…No. 33
Acta non verba
Observer: RHSAA (RAX)
Macky’s New York: Moon Walker Red
Coco Hough: Making Croque Madame
RHSAA: RHS Alumni Externship Program (RAX)
Warren Gorlick, RHS 1977: Alumni Travelog
William Peay: Tales From The Wood…
Margaret Ahearn, RHS 1983: Matter + Assemble
ARTBeat 2021: June 1, 2021 Kassau Memorial Shell
Observer
RHSAA (RAX)
Our Ridgewood High School Alumni Association (RHSAA) is hitting it’s stride. They’ve created two programs to bridge the gap between students and alumni.
The first was a series of what are called Alumni Lectures. These are really opportunities which the RHSAA has used very wisely to both update the whole of the Alumni Association and to shine a light on the working world for students.
The updates by RHSAA President Bill McCabe have told the tale of years of hard work by past and current alumni trustees. As Bill will be the first to say, the obligations imposed on the trustees are formidable and they all take them seriously.
The light being cast upon the world of employment is largely thanks to RHS Economics teacher Tim Monahan’s adept questions. With each lecture he refines his interviewing technique and is able to illicit more than one might expect from the alumni who have volunteered to speak.
Next month begins the second program from Tim’s fertile mind: The RHS Alumni Externship Program (RAX). This one was very well received by alumni and over 100 people offered to mentor small groups of Juniors and Seniors for an hour at a time. What they do after their initial meeting will be interesting to predict.
Taken together these two programs are built on the shoulders of those who came before and ironed out the kinks inherent in any new venture. They were also created by virtual teams of alumni. I single Tim and Bill only because they are the leads, not because they did all the work. All the alumni who volunteered to be hosts are listed further down in this newsletter. There was also an impressive list of Corporate sponsors.
Bill also hinted at news about the largest donation to the RHSAA’s in its history. I’ll let him announce that news in his own good time.
Macky’s New York
Moon Walker Red
April 28, 2021 - Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Moon Walker Red
I sat on the east end of the fountain and he sat on the north - he was staring at me and I was pretending to act normal as I filled my scotch with a bit of the fountain water - then he got up and walked on top of the fountain and I shot this with my right hand while my left swirled my newly incorporated scotch and water - not a bad shot if you ask me...Johnnie Walker or the photo.
Shot looking north on the south fountain.
Time 345pm.
#mackysnewyork
Coco Hough
Croque Madame
This week we made a classic French bistro dish - A Croque Madame The French cousin to the American grilled cheese sandwich, a Croque Madame is great for lunch or dinner and for adults and kids alike. We'll serve it up with a French-style side salad Enjoy!
RHSAA
RHS Alumni Externship Program (RAX)
The RHS Alumni Externship (RAX) program is an opportunity for current RHS juniors and seniors to meet, receive mentorship from, and network with alumni (and parents) from a variety of career backgrounds. RAX sessions will be virtual and take place this May and June. RAX session hosts will share a day/week in the life of their job, discuss how they navigated from high school/college to their career, and allow time for interactive Q&A. For more information, please visit the RHSAA Externship page here. RAX is open to all RHS juniors/seniors. All applicants are required to provide one character reference. Once accepted, students will have the opportunity to indicate their session preference. Students must attend the session they are assigned to, but there will be an opportunity to watch recordings of other sessions.
RHS students may sign-up here.
Warren Gorlick, RHS 1977:
Alumni Travelog
The first in a series of alumni tales of travel post Covid. These reminiscences are intended to be aspirational and inspirational. There is a great big world for us all to explore, once we take appropriate precautions like getting vaccinated. We owe it to ourselves after many months in seclusion to venture out, however far you feel comfortable, and commune once again with our friends and with nature.
I don't do FaceBook very much, but am posting now on our awesome South African adventure, now nearly one week old.
After flying into the Jo'burg airport (entirely empty airplanes from Dulles via Ethiopia), and driving the 30 miles to our friend Helen's lovely Pretoria apartment, Peggy, Helen and I walked around the beautiful S.A. capital and had a good night's sleep in Helen's lovely apartment.
Helen is a brilliant Irish national, legally trained in the U.S. and now a lawyer for The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) with a 3 year duty station in Pretoria. She had arranged a remarkable journey for us in South Africa, starting with the long drive to the northern part of Kruger, an eight hour drive from Pretoria. Kruger is bigger than Belgium, and we went to the most remote part, near the Mozambique and Zimbabwe border, staying in a concession that the apartheid South African regime stole from the Makuleke tribe in 1969 when they were fighting the ANC and wanted a buffer zone with Mozambique.
Now, South Africa is in the process of giving the land back to the Makuleke, but the tribe has chosen to continue to live outside of Kruger and use the concession to employ their people.
So one of our two guides was from the tribe. He was aptly named "Wiseman." His father was 12 when his family was expelled from the land, just after his grandfather had been drowned by a crocodile while fishing.
Wiseman had gone through years of Eco-training and testing (it's like a restaurant, they send in examiners disguised as tourists so you don't know when you are taking your tests), to become qualified. The other guide was a former Jo'burg banker who chose a different life for himself, but he was also amazing.
They are now starting to train the Makuleke girls, too, to be guides as it is higher pay than the jobs they typically have as cooks and bed makers. It takes years for them to become qualified and pass all the tests, but both of our male guides were excited about the females also entering the profession, even though for the former banker it will eventually mean he's out of a job, once enough of the tribe completes Eco-training.
We hiked for days through the concession on the northern rim of Kruger. Wiseman's years of Eco-training paid off when we stumbled one day on a large herd of elephants, about 40 in total. Regrettably, I was too scared to take any photos. You have to imagine how I felt when they passed close to us. Two of the large matriarch elephants aggressively approached within 15' of us, apparently fearful of us and the many baby elephants in their herd.
Wiseman never had to use his rifle or even to fire a warning shot, he just had us sit down behind a tree and then he made some noises to deter the aggressor female elephants who backed off. Even staying in tents with no electricity, we were offered much appreciated hot showers, as they boiled water for that.
There were 2 other couples from Jo'burg on our adventure. One of the guys had also gone through Eco-training before deciding to marry his high school girlfriend and start a family in the city. Luckily for us it was like having 3 guides with him, and they were great company.
The 7 of us tourists had a lovely adventure, and I will never forget our two brilliant naturalist guides who knew every bird, plant and animal in the concession. In the off chance that you or anyone you know would ever go to South Africa, I have plenty of practical advice to impart. One can spend a whole lot of money and just end up on a bus with a lot of other tourists. This would be little different from a U.S. theme park. My suggestions would offer you the guidelines to have a real adventure.
There are other issues about when to go to avoid malaria and the heat of summer. Plus planning one's route through Kruger to avoid the 5:30pm curfew imposed as an anti-poaching deterrent, and things like that.
I think we were one of the only visitors who entered the park that day, judging by their guest book!
William Peay
Tales From The Wood…
William Peay is a scholar and a lifetime resident of Ridgewood. His pictures and videos speak volumes and fortunately for us he has quite a collection. We’ll post them every issue along with brief descriptions about the particular house or neighborhood for those of you who don’t get back to Ridgewood very often.
240 Crest Road
Hohokus Hill
Margaret Ahearn, RHS 1983
Matter + Assemble
M + A is a destination devoted to art, artists, artisans and design. We are inspired by art as it relates to design: the soul, the spark that ignites beautiful ideas. We are equally as motivated by craft traditions passed down from generations. Most of our designs are executed by artisan hubs.
The majority of the textiles that we develop at M + A are made by female artisans who have learned their craft from their mothers, and in turn, pass down their knowledge to their daughters. We take pride in supporting these women and by extension, their families. We know that by helping to empower women and their contributions we are helping to create a more inclusive global economy. We delight in sharing their story and hope that you will be as inspired as we are.
ARTBeat 2021
June 1, 2021 Kassau Memorial Shell
ARTBeat is a RHS Student Congress Committee that celebrates the talented young adult musicians and artists in Ridgewood High School and Ridgewood community at large.
The committee is currently led by co-presidents Jake Rubenstein, Tammi David, and Saori Takahashi (Class of 2021). In the past years, ARTBeat was led by founding leaders Sophia Swanson and Jack Shigeta (Class of 2019).
would ya look at that 🤯 the annual live ARTBeat bandshell event is bacccckkkkkkkkkkk! on tuesday, june 1st, stop by the vets field bandshell for a sick night of performances from seven awesome rhs student music groups 😽🎸💙
Peace