Piers Lane
Dear Editor: The Sitka Summer Music Festival staff and board would again like to apologize for the last minute cancellation of Piers Lane’s performance of the Chopin Nocturnes scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22. We are pleased to report that Piers’ health has improved markedly, thanks to the care he received here in Sitka and at Virginia Mason in Seattle, with plans for follow-up at his home in England.
We would also like to whole-heartedly thank all of those who were poised and ready to make the event a success. Special thanks goes to the Sitka Fine Arts Camp and Allen Hall support staff, the Homeport Eatery caterers, the Ferricks, the gourmet dessert chefs, Old Harbor Books, Raven Radio and the Sitka Sentinel, and the volunteers that were ready to gently move a Steinway grand piano across the snow and decorate the hall into a magical atmosphere. Thanks also to everyone who made Piers feel so welcome during his three-week residency in Alaska. He said Alaskans – and Sitkans in particular – must be the nicest people in the world.
If you purchased a ticket and have not already been reimbursed, please contact our office at 747-6774 so we can make arrangements. Thank you all for your continued support, and we will look forward to providing you with more opportunities to experience chamber music here in the most beautiful city in Alaska.
Kari Lundgren, Vice President,
Sitka Summer Music Festival
School Evolution
Dear Editor: When good things happen, recognition is due.
Recently I dropped our son off at Blatchley in the early morning for jazz band. In the dark, out front was Principal Ben White, who could have easily been buried in e-mails or paperwork but instead was out front, whistling, smiling and greeting all the kids stumbling in, bleary-eyed, lugging packs and instruments. Just the other day Asst. Principal Robyn Taylor joined Mr. White out front as the morning rush hour arrived.
A few weeks back I exited the school to find BMS teacher Tom Henshaw outside giving the kids a warm send-off home. Before and after school hours, classrooms and the gym are open with staff present and welcoming. The support staff and paraprofessionals are like secondary caring parents. It is all voluntary and spontaneous with a common goal to make a positive difference in our children’s lives.
What a stark contrast to my junior high 40-plus years ago which was your average urban school. Our principal was only seen briefly at large assemblies, if that. The heavy hitter, literally, was our vice principal; a WWII vet who had seen heavy combat. The mere sight of him kept the most flagrant hooligan in check. The only smile he showed was when he would be frog-marching some kid off to his office. His voice, tone and demeanor were as cold as the gym showers. His discipline tool of choice was the “spat board,” a large, thick wooden paddle with a handle built for two hands. It had holes bored in it to decrease wind resistance when swung.
After grabbing their ankles, a kid may get one or several whacks depending on the infraction. I recall a classmate coming back who couldn’t sit down and told us he’d had his head driven repeatedly into the wall. I suppose the cherry bomb he touched off in one of the toilets had something to do with that. Usually one trip to “the office” resulted in no more bad behavior at school but it sure increased it away from school. Bullying was daily and violent with no staff in sight to intervene. The buddy system was used at all times for safety. God help those who were “geeks” or special needs; it was sick to see this played out daily. One can only guess the lifelong effects this had on some of the victims.
Fast forward 40 years and a new era is in place. No school is 100 percent perfect to the challenges faced but Blatchley is an example of the efforts all of our local schools make. I often wonder where some of us “Baby Boomers” might be today if we’d had today’s safe, supportive educational environment. We were glad just to get home in one piece with books, homework and hide intact.
Eric Van Cise, Sitka
