FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School Principal Ian Strever said secretary Cindy Fuller, speaking with admiration of the class of 2025, summed it up perfectly when she said, “It’s great to know so many good people are going out into the world.”
At graduation ceremonies Friday night, June 13, the constant theme was the accomplishments of these 99 students; academically, athletically, socially and civically and what an outstanding class it was.
Standing on the front steps of the school on a beautiful spring evening, Strever said next week the building will return to bricks and mortar when these students, “who are vibrant, exciting and Dunkin-fueled” are gone. He spoke of the endurance portrayed by four members of the class who faced tragedies and incredible challenges, but handled them with courage beyond their years.
Region One Superintendent Melony Shanley-Brady assured the graduates, “Housatonic will always be a part of you.”
Salutatorian Tess Marks chose to speak on the subject of humanity, noting the international and domestic strife now being faced. “We are the hope of what is to come.” She said compromise is a lost art, with people only hearing, but not listening. “Don’t let the differences pull us apart. Why can’t they bring us together? We’re all inherently different, but that is what makes a successful community.”
As they always do, the two AFS students, Carlos “Charlie” Castellana Cruz from Colombia and Allegra Ferri from Italy, spoke with deep gratitude, emotion and eloquence about the year they spent at the school and how welcomed they were made to feel.
“Everything Housy did for me will go wherever I go,” said Cruz, while Ferri said, “This year reminded me of the human connection.”
Essayist Lola Moerschell talked about life being a series of trapeze swings.
Elinor Wolgemuth decorated her graduation cap with a colorful scene and the words “To The World We Dream About.”Patrick L. Sullivan
Valedictorian Manasseh Matsudaira gave a touching tribute to his dad who died this year. He said he was so engrossed in the college application process, he couldn’t bear to watch the 19 videos his father had recorded during the last year. “I missed the opportunity to bond and connect with my father.” He urged his classmates to not let ambition get in the way of relationships with others.
Matsudaira moved the audience when he said his dad, who was ever-present at all his soccer game, was not there to see him make an impressive goal.
Valedictorian Mannasseh Matsudaira spoke of ambition and relationships in his speech at HVRHS graduation Friday, June 13.Patrick L. Sullivan
The class chose Peter Vermilyea, the social studies department chairman, to be guest speaker. Using a phrase found in the school song written decades ago by Hattie Travis, he focused on the “greater work” that the students will do in their future. “Not more work. Not harder work. But greater work — work that matters. Work that impacts the world around you.”
Vermilyea said looking back will allow them to remember their firsts, so when the greater works ahead feel intimidating, remember them and reflect on the progress made.
“Look to what you and your classmates have achieved, collectively and individually, to understand what greater work is...Along the way you have demonstrated — and taught all of us about curiosity and enthusiasm, leadership and mental toughness, kindness, bravery and determination. You’ve shown each other and the rest of us what it means to be a community. And that’s no small thing,” Vermilyea said.
The Good Sportsmanship Awards went to Daniela Brennan and Kyle McCarron. The Good Citizenship Awards to Tess Marks, Madeline Collingwood and Elinor Wolgemuth. The Chamberlain Arts Achievement Awards to Andy Delgado and Ellanor Karcheski.
David Moran, head of the agriscience department, was presented the Community Award of Merit.
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‘The Laundry Room,’ a painting by Maira Kalman from the exhibition “Shaker Outpost: Design, Commerce, and Culture” at the Shaker Museum’s pop-up space in Chatham.
“I always approach my work from an aspect of love,” she said. “I fall in love with a face or a chair or a shoe. And then it is my pleasure to paint. That is how I approached the pieces I chose for the installation. They spoke to me. They SANG to me.”
Her selections for the Shaker Outpost include clothing of daily life — hats, shoes, socks, gloves — alongside objects shaped by hand and necessity. A pair of bear fur mittens, a glove form, a forged iron stake. Items that once moved through ordinary days now sit in conversation with Kalman’s paintings, which draw from the museum’s photographic archive. “As I looked at the photo archive, I gravitated to images that made me happy,” she said. “The Shaker work is so full of delicate elegance and superb utility. I love that.”
Maira KalmanPhoto by Kimisa H.
The idea of utility that is elevated to poetry is at the center of the show. Kalman described the impulse to “edit your life” after encountering Shaker design, and here that instinct becomes both curatorial method and invitation. “After seeing their work, you want to run home and throw out everything you have,” she said. “You want to edit your life. You only want what is essential. The simplicity and beauty of Shaker design are rarely equaled… They have wit and wisdom. Clarity and kindness. They are practical and they sing. You just cannot go wrong.”
The exhibition also marks a return. After more than two years at the Kinderhook Knitting Mill, the museum’s programming comes back to Chatham — if only temporarily — before the opening of its future permanent home.
The pop-up exhibition at 4 Depot Square in downtown Chatham extends beyond the gallery walls. A small, carefully assembled General Store — also curated by Kalman — offers books, textiles, notecards and handmade goods by local artisans. Like the Shakers’ own public-facing shops, it blurs the line between commerce and ethos, asking what it means to buy something made with care. It is, deliberately, a place to linger.
Kalman sees the Shakers as kindred spirits. “Even though my mother was a Russian born Jew, she could have been a Shaker,” she said. “But then all of the women in my family could have been. A sense of beauty, care, simplicity and love imbued all that they did. They were frugal and fastidious.”
That inheritance feels newly relevant. “Today we have a very fast-moving day. Never enough time,” she said. “And I think that the sense of taking time to make beauty resonates very much these days. It restores the soul.”
Kalman worked closely with her son, Alex Kalman, on this exhibit. “Working with my son Alex Kalman on this installation has been a joy,” she said. “He curates for his museum MMUSEUMM, in a defunct elevator shaft on Cortland Alley in Manhattan. He is always looking for the intersection of humor and human expression and endeavor. That is how I approach the installation at the Shaker Outpost. Everything should matter.”
Shaker Outpost: Design, Commerce, and Culture runs through July 5 at 4 Depot Square in Chatham, with subsequent installations by Paula Greif and Kiki Smith later in the year. For more information, visit shakermuseum.us.
The Ticking Tent Spring Market returns to Spring Hill Vineyards in New Preston on May 2.
Juarez is president of Christina Juarez & Co., a communications and business development consultancy. Reynaert is market director at ELLE DECOR, an interiors stylist and author of “The Layered Home,” which he will sign at the event.
Benjamin Reynaert and Christina Juarez, co-founders of The Ticking Tent. Their one-day Spring Market returns to New Preston on May 2 at Spring Hill Vineyards on Bee Brook Road.Jennifer Almquist
“The Ticking Tent is about reimagining the joy of discovery — bringing together antiques dealers, artisans and design enthusiasts in a setting where community and creativity thrive,” Reynaert said.
Among returning vendors is Rhonda Eleish of Eleish Van Breems Home, with shops in New Preston, Roxbury, Westport and Nantucket. “The Ticking Tent is a fun event where you can shop curated goods, meet friends and enjoy the setting,” she said.
The market partners with ELLE DECOR as national media sponsor, along with Home & Garden CT & NY, Connecticut Cottages & Gardens, New England Home CT and Litchfield Magazine.
For information and tickets, visit thetickingtent.com or follow @thetickingtent.
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