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THE FAMILY LOWES
"My sister, when she was working on her thesis, would spend a lot of time in Proctor," recalled Matt Lowes '10 of Sara Lowes '07. "She would wake up early, eat breakfast, then have a second breakfast, then '11-sies,' and then lunch."
Although "little Lowes" would tease his older sibling about her bizarre eating and study habits - " I think a lot of people that work in Proctor learn that you don't actually get any work done there," he said - at least Matt knew precisely where to find Sara when he needed advice on Economics classes or simply wanted to hear about her weekend.
As they did at family dinners in Texas, the Lowes siblings, during their shared time at Middlebury, would use meal time to catch up, but unlike family dinners, their encounters were often unplanned.
"We had our own lives, but also got to see each other pretty regularly," said Matt. "I most often saw her in the dining hall. When we would see each other, it was mostly about getting to check up on each other."
Despite the College's small size that allowed them to run into each other in the dining hall by chance, the siblings maintained very separate lives and identities. While Sara devoted her time at Middlebury to the frisbee and debate teams, Matt immersed himself in Christian Fellowship and volunteering at the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes, Vt.
"I think that the most interesting part about it is that like most siblings, we fought growing up and when she went off to college, the separation made us appreciate each other more," Matt said, explaining how the mutual appreciation was maintained in spite of the significantly shrunk separation. "And then coming to college, we each had our separate activities so it wasn't like growing up. We only had one year together which I think is the right amount of time because I could see how after too many years together you might start to encroach on each other's social territory… I'm glad I got to share a small part of my sister's college experience."
-H.Kay Merriman
THE FAMILY PEACH
Morgan Peach '09 knows very well the beginning of his nine-member family legacy spanning more than a century at Middlebury.
"My grandfather actually mistakenly proposed to my grandmother when they were here," Peach said. "He was interested in her - he would give the morning announcements in chapel that they used to do - and he would see her every day. She had this wonderful posture that really appealed to my grandfather … but he was a shy, bashful guy so he sent her a telegram in Forrest where she was living. He wrote on the telegram, 'Take my hand, you already have my heart.' My grandmother misconstrued it as a wedding proposal when in fact he was asking her out on a date. She agreed to the marriage, and so it was," he recalled.
Before that fateful telegram between Ted Peach '43 and Dolly Peach '45, Morgan's great-grandfather Arthur Peach had graduated from Middlebury in 1904. After the telegram, Morgan's parents, Steve Peach '71 and Laura Fuller '73, and his aunt, Chris Peach '75, matriculated. The current generation of Peaches includes Morgan, his brother Ian '07.5 and his sister Molly '11.5.
"It's a fairly ridiculous lineage," Morgan said. "The Peach name is reinvented with every new generation here, but the hope is that with that reinvention you're staying true to this history of what it means to be a Peach in the Middlebury world. We're an intellectual and sort of fiery bunch. Everyone has their own particular perspective to share."
The Peaches share that intellectual curiosity as well as a dgree of a love of the outdoors, self-sufficiency, but they have all found their own niches in the Middlebury community. Morgan spoke of his aunt as a wild child of the '70s, his father as the 'big man on campus' fraternity president and his mother as a hard worker focused on her studies and extracurricular activities.
"To some degree there are shared characteristics that all Peaches have," Morgan said. "I enjoy getting a little bit wild like my aunt Chris, and I think I'm disciplined and intellectual like my mother was."
-Lea Calderon-Guthe
THE FAMILY SILTON
The potential beginnings of a family legacy at Middlebury, Ben '11 and Will Silton '10 followed in their father's footsteps and became the second generation of Siltons to attend Middlebury. Both brothers say Richard Silton '80 never pushed them to go to Middlebury and neither of them ever planned on it, but frequent visits to the town and the Snow Bowl as kids made the school a positive presence and a definite option.
"It wasn't until I saw a lot of other schools and then did a formal college visit to Middlebury that I knew I'd enjoy attending this school," said Will. "My father never put an ounce of pressure on me to apply here - he let me figure that out for myself. Perhaps that was one of the reasons I chose Middlebury because I knew it was a purely personal decision."
The brothers did not plan on going to college together either, but knowing that Will was here tipped the scale for Ben in favor of Middlebury over Tufts University.
"It's been really nice having an older brother pave the way for me," said Ben. "He tests the waters, and I get to choose what I want to avoid and what I want to experience."
Will also appreciates that he is a year ahead of his brother.
"I think if we were in the same year and came here together, it wouldn't have been as hard for me to adjust, but it also wouldn't have built as much character," said Will.
Will and Ben have many of the same interests and they find themselves skiing together frequently, attending the same parties and playing on the same intramural basketball team, but Ben named a laundry list of differences that allow each of them their own space on campus
"Will prefers a small group of close friends and I prefer a larger group of perhaps not-as-close friends; Will plays video games, I don't; Will is very messy, I am very neat; I like nature and the outdoors and Will doesn't care for it much, but I think being at Middlebury is slowly changing that," said Ben. "Being at college together has given us a deeper understanding of each other's natures in a largely social sense. I think we also appreciate the familial bond more."
-Lea Calderon-Guthe
THE FAMILY ADLER
After experiencing a lifetime as "one of the Adlers," one dynasty especially magnified at tiny Middlebury College, R.J. Adler '11.5 feels that the recognition is positive. "I feel an immediate sense of pride that I get to be associated with my siblings. Normally when people meet me they say, 'Hey! Now I've caught 'em all!' as if they were the only people to have ever completed that Pokemon-esque challenge."
After all, of the six Adler siblings, five attended Middlebury College.
The siblings in the Adler Dynasty (R.J. '11.5, Emily '07.5, Robbie '05.5, Benjy '03 and Ted '99.5) share similar interests and values (being a Feb obviously one of them) which include skiing, hiking, camping and being outside in general. However, even with commonalities, the Adlers always found (and are still finding) their specific niches at the College, as well as very different friend groups.
Emily majored in International Studies with a focus in Africa and minored in Teacher Education. R.J. Adler, the youngest of the crew, is a Theatre Major with a minor in Teacher Education as well. (But as his siblings would describe it, he is, for Winter Team at least, "a major in skiing and a minor in partying.")
As R.J. watched his siblings grow at Middlebury and share their stories with him, the idea of attending the College inspired him.
"For me, the words 'college' and 'Middlebury' were interchangeable," said RJ, "For a few years I thought that people went to Middlebury and n
o other colleges."
Yet R.J. did have quite another compelling reason to want to attend this school. He was nine years old when he went to visit his brother Ted for the night.
"Apparently I went to a party and spent the entire night (until 12 a.m.) dancing with one girl," said R.J. "I went back to my fourth grade class and told everybody."
Though their highs and lows have differed, the Adler siblings are united in their family pride.
"The best, and worst [part of being a member of a dynasty at Middlebury], is that everyone identifies you as so-and-so's sister," explained Emily. "This can be both bad and good. The bad part is that it is mostly annoying. The good part though is that it can also be this amazing gift in terms of meeting people ... you make friends with a lot of folks because people associate you with your brother."
-Rachael Jennings
THE FAMILY WOOD
The Wood legacy at Middlebury began with a trunk. On their first day at Middlebury in 1967, Alan Wood '71 carried a trunk for Martha McCravey '71 up to her room in her all-girls dorm. 25 years later, they took a picture of all four of their kids sitting on the canon in downtown Middlebury, and eight years after that, their first daughter, Gillian Wood '04, began her first day at Middlebury College, followed by her brother Gabe Wood '06 and twin siblings Caitlin and Micah Wood '10. Ironically, Caitlin spent her first year at Tufts University before transferring to Middlebury, but as a child, she was the only one of her siblings who wanted to follow in her parents' footsteps.
"Out of the four of us, growing up none of them wanted to go here, but I did. When it came time to choose, they all ended up here and I went somewhere else," Caitlin said. "I took 'the road less traveled,' and it was really, really hard, but I got here. My parents have always stressed academics and education, especially a liberal arts education. They tried to push all of us in this direction."
Parental push-and-pull aside, Caitlin and her siblings might have avoided Middlebury until the last minute because of each other. All hard workers and nearly all varsity athletes, the very qualities that have made the Wood family excel at Middlebury keep its members from getting too close at school, as exemplified in Caitlin and Micah's interactions.
"We don't see each other much at all because we're busy, competitive - our whole family is really competitive - and we fight a lot," Caitlin said.
"Micah is also definitely more science- and math-oriented and he's tri-varsity, a big athlete. I get more of the language and environmental studies aspect of Middlebury, and I'm more of a reader just floating along, but Middlebury definitely suits both of our strengths."
-Lea Calderon-Guthe
THE FAMILY BURLEIGH
Emmy and Connor Burleigh '10.5 lived their life as twins a bit differently than the norm. Instead of parting ways when they ventured to college, they reunited. The pair had attended separate high schools - Connor went to boarding school while Emmy stayed home.
Though very different in terms of personality (Connor is "a bit more of a party animal" and Emmy is "a better student"), their choice about where to spend the four years of their post high school life showed that they do have similarities.
"We approached the college application process open to the idea of going to school together, almost like a fun bonus to a good school," explained Emmy.
At Middlebury, Connor and Emmy share some of the same friends, since they both entered school as Febs. However, as the semesters passed, they have branched out and made new and separate friends, while still maintaining their roots.
Connor is a History major and spends his time playing rugby, working as an emergency medical technician in town, and as an active member of Omega Alpha (Tavern). Emmy is a joint Sociology-Psychology major with a minor in Economics. Cooking for Dolci, playing for the Otters Hockey team in town and helping first-year students in Ross are some of the areas in which she focuses her time.
Even with their busy schedules, the Burleigh twins still enjoy their family time.
"We see each other almost every day, usually just running into each other at meals or seeing each other out on weekends," said Emmy. "I think this is probably more related to the fact that Proctor is closed so we tend to eat in the same dining hall for lunch."
Connor described part of the bonus of having a twin with whom to share lunch as"having someone who has to listen to you when you talk."
The worst part?
"Having my parents call me to tell him something," said Emmy.
-Rachael Jennings
Barking up the family tree Middlebury's dynamic dynasties keep it all 'relative'
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