2012 was not a particularly good year for this project, which fact is reflected in, among other things, the relatively small number of posts to this blog. To be sure, there were some good moments; I had wonderful interviews with Seth Mendell and Cal Magruder, to name but two; I had a great time listening to the stories of the class of '62 at their dinner, and I continued to work my way through the Avon Weekly News-letter. I know more about the school's history now than I did a year ago, but I am not much closer to being "finished" than I was at the close of 2011. (I've said it before; I'll never actually be "finished," or at least the work will not, but I am not much closer to having something worthy of publishing or presenting or uploading or whatever it is we will be doing when I am ready. My frustration at this pace has caused me to change my approach.
Heretofore, I have been singularly focused on the Founder's Era; while I continue to think my reasons for that focus are valid, I've decided to move ahead with inquiry into any and all aspects of school history from now on. I do still have missing pieces to my work on the Founder's Era, but most of the sources I need to consult are far away from Avon at the moment. Thus, even as I ponder bridging that distance electronically - do Founder's Era alumni "do" Skype? - I have decided to seize the opportunity to work with the sources who are available to me here and now. There are literally dozens of people on or near campus with a wealth of information and stories to tell. Indeed, as I write, I am preparing to interview Henry Coons '71, who knew Don Pierpont (briefly) and George Trautman in his student days and worked with/for George Trautman and Ken LaRocque in his faculty days. Bill Kron, who worked here for more than four decades, still lives nearby and is frequently on campus. Indeed, there are 11 people on this year's campus phone list who were already here when I arrived over 30 years ago, and there are a few more who had been here and have since returned.
So, beginning with Henry, I will talk to those people and record their stories. Who knows how much I will have learned a year from now?
