AMENIA — Friends, family, staff and alumni gathered on Friday, May 27, to celebrate the graduation of Kildonan’s class of 2011.Before the ceremony began, the graduates gathered in one of the campus buildings to don their caps and gowns. Tears of joy, sadness, nervousness and excitement flowed as they began saying their good-byes to friends and staff members who had made their time at the school as memorable as it had been.“This was a particularly tight group,” said academic dean Robert Lane. “Graduation is always very exciting, but it’s as sad for us to let them go as it is for them to leave us.”Fourteen students participated in the graduation ceremony, but there were 16 students in the graduating class.A trumpet and bagpipes played as the graduates filed into the large tent on the campus grounds where the ceremony was held.The graduation address was given by David Flink, the executive director and co-founder of Project Eye-to-Eye, a national program that connects students who have learning disabilities with a mentor who has faced similar struggles in school and life. Originally implemented using mentors from colleges, this year Kildonan became one of the first high schools to host a chapter.Flink, who is dyslexic like the Kildonan students, gave a spirited speech that had the audience laughing along knowingly during personal anecdotes about life as a dyslexic and that made hearts swell in reaction to his strong words of inspiration and support.Kildonan’s system does not recognise a valedictorian. Instead, the class elects one of their own to give an address in their honor.This year’s student address was given by Eric Hellberg, who talked about the supportive atmosphere of the school and the lasting memories and friendships the students build there.The students have a yearly tradition during graduation. Before the day of the ceremony, the students steal the bell from the dining hall. The bell was hung in the graduation tent, and each student rung it after receiving their diploma.At the end of the ceremony, the students gathered at the flag pole to raise the flag and toss their caps before being showered with congratulatory hugs and kisses from their families.Kildonan class of 2011Bonnie Louise ChatfieldLake Brycen ClemmerTaylor Matthew DavidTrevor Albert GoldEd’Demiko Kyle HarrisCarl Eric HellbergSusan Louise JohnsonEmil Todd KaufmanSophia Eleonore Charlotta Lang-AssaelHeidi Anne LebeauxErin Thompson MastersonLouis Moscatiello, IIIRyan Alexander ShermanAlec Samaras White
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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