Posts filed under ‘Penn State alumni’
Am I Too Late for a Gift Suggestion?
If you’re a fan of folk, bluegrass, or Appalachian music—and maybe even if you’re not—you might enjoy checking out a new holiday CD called The Gathering.
The project is the work of five musicians, including Mike Compton (known for his work with John Hartford and with the Nashville Bluegrass Band), Rhiannon Giddens (of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops), Joe Newberry, Jason Sypher, and a Penn Stater: Laurelyn Dossett ’84. You may remember we talked about Laurelyn Dossett a couple of years ago when her duo Polecat Creek appeared on the public radio show A Prairie Home Companion.
The Gathering, recorded this past August in a house in the woods of North Carolina, is a really interesting collection, including a couple of recognizable Christmas songs, some less well-known material, and six original songs written by Dossett. I just listened to a preview of the album on iTunes and heard everything from a Bill Monroe instrumental called “Old Ebenezer Scrooge” to “Christ was Born on Christmas Morn,” a jazzy piece dating to the vaudeville era, to an absolutely lovely version of “O Holy Night.”
Laurelyn Dossett ’84 (lower right) and the rest of the gang involved in "The Gathering."
It’s all done in a rootsy fashion, with plenty of banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and close vocal harmonies.
The album is getting some very good reviews. MySanAntonio.com gave it 4-1/2 stars, and the Wall Street Journal called it “a very special album.” My favorite was the one from the Chicago Sun-Times, which rated The Gathering higher than the new Christmas CD from Carole King (whose music I’ve loved since I was 14). The Sun-Times wrote about The Gathering:
“Come for the wintry warmth of Dossett’s family tale ‘Redbird,’ but by all means stay for the version of ‘O Holy Night’ sung by Gidden and backed only by upright bassist Jason Sypher. Superb.”
Tina Hay, editor
More on Sam Griffith
Maj. Sam Griffith ’97, killed in Afghanistan Dec. 14, 2011
Yesterday I heard from Maj. Erik Orient ’99, a Penn State Naval ROTC instructor who knew Sam Griffith ’97, the Marine officer killed in Afghanistan last Wednesday.
Erik sent along a note from the pilot who flew Griffith’s body from an airport near where he was killed to Kandahar, the first stop on Griffith’s final journey back to the U.S. A memorial service was held for Griffith yesterday in Virginia Beach.
The letter, written last week, was so touching that I thought I’d post it in its entirety here. The name of the pilot is unknown.
I carried a hero yesterday and was honored to do it, although I wish I never had to. The Marine had been killed in action.
I was flying near one of the airports we operate near when I recieved a call on the radio that we would become a Hero Flight and needed to divert to pick him up. We landed and I knew that he would not be transferred to my aircraft for about two hours, yet I could see there were already Marines waiting at the edge of the flightline. As I walked over I was hit by the fact that I knew (more…)
A Penn Stater, Sam Griffith, Killed in Afghanistan
One of my Alumni Association colleagues forwarded to me an email the other day with some sad news: A 36-year-old Penn State grad, Maj. Sam Griffith ’97, has been killed in Afghanistan.
Griffith, a Marine fighter pilot by training who was serving a tour of duty with the reserves, was shot and killed last Wednesday, Dec. 14, in Helmand province. He was part of the Marine Corps Reserves’ 4th Air/Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, out of West Palm Beach, Fla.
The email notifying us of Griffith’s death came from Dave Schlosser ’97, president of our L.A. chapter, who knew Griffith from their Penn State days. Back then, Schlosser was dating someone who lived near Griffith’s hometown in the Raleigh, N.C., area, so when Griffith would go back home for a weekend, Schlosser would catch a ride with him.
“We would make the trip together in his beautifully restored 1960s Ford Mustang, leaving mid-afternoon Friday for the nine-hour drive and returning Sunday night,” Schlosser wrote. “I met him through the ride board at the HUB, and although many might think it strange to hop in a car with a total stranger, we quickly realized we had much in common (like both being Eagle Scouts), and it made the long drives go by quick.”
Griffith, whose funeral takes place today in Virginia Beach, becomes the seventh Penn Stater to die in Afghanistan or Iraq; the complete list is here.
Griffith was 36 and leaves behind a wife, Cassandra Warnock Griffith ’99, whom he met at Penn State, and two young boys. You can read news coverage of Griffth’s death here, here, and here, with the latter story offering a particularly heartbreaking detail: “The family says his 7-year-old son wrote Griffith a letter asking him not to go on this tour, saying he’d be furious if he was killed in action.”
Tina Hay, editor
Here’s a Random Assortment of Happy News
Update: It looks like the Daily Mail has removed the story about Ty Burrell already. I can’t even find a cached version to show you. It’s too bad, because the story and photos were pretty sweet. If anyone knows a way to view the article online, please let us know in the Comments section. —Tina
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I hit a wall where I don’t think my brain can process one more piece of ugly or sad news coming out of the Sandusky scandal. In case you happen to be feeling that way today, we offer you a few bits of more upbeat news.
—Chicago Bears placekicker Robbie Gould ’03 is having an excellent year. This story from the Bears’ website was written a couple of weeks ago, just after he had kicked field goals of 50 and 53 yards in the same game, a loss to the Raiders … and then this past Sunday, in an overtime loss to the Broncos, he kicked one of 57 yards—a team record.
Better yet, this past Monday—the day after the Denver game—he took a bunch of needy kids shopping. Gould, through his Goulden Touch Foundation, gave a $120 shopping spree at Target to each of 99 kids from Mooseheart Child City and School, a place for children and teens who don’t have a stable home life. Gould was there for the shopping, and the article about the event has a small gallery of photos from the event that should make you smile.
—Then we have Modern Family star Ty Burrell ’97g and his cute little adopted daughter. It seems little Frances
Your Letters on the Scandal
As a teenager, I wrote a “Dear Abby” style column for my high-school newspaper. I, the advice guru, would respond to “Stressed Senior” or “Perplexed Prom Date” with a witty, convenient solution to the problem in 300 words or less.
Truth be told, most of the letter writers were my friends, whom I’d convince to detail recent heartbreaks or college-rejection sagas for the student body’s reading pleasure. And my advice was mostly banal—Take a bubble bath! Call a friend!
More interesting, though, was the relief my friends seemed to find in just writing about their feelings. Despite my nagging to do so, expressing their emotions publicly provided a catharsis that even confiding in a best friend during study hall could not.
Today, I’m the letters editor at The Penn Stater. This means I’m responsible for organizing the manageable handful of compliments, criticisms, and occasional corrections we receive for the previous issue, and editing them for print. The methodical process has become an almost-soothing constant in the rushed weeks before deadline.
On Nov. 4, that, like everything else at Penn State, changed. (more…)
Campaign for RAINN Hits $500K Goal
On Nov. 10, a group of Penn State alums launched ProudToBeAPennStater.com, a grassroots effort with two goals: help restore pride to Penn Staters everywhere, and support victims of child sexual abuse by raising $500,000 for RAINN, the Rape Abuse Incest National Network. This morning, the campaign hit $500K. The current total: $500,565.
Also, the autographed helmet for sale on eBay is still up for grabs. Proceeds from the auction, which ends Wednesday, Dec. 7, will go directly to RAINN.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
A New Way to Support RAINN
John Cappelletti '74 with the autographed helmet.
With less than $5,000 to go before the RAINN campaign hits $500,000, there’s a new opportunity to support the cause—and get a little something in return.
Donated by the Omaha-based Johnny Rodgers Youth Foundation, a football helmet autographed by four Heisman Trophy winners—Penn State’s John Cappelletti ’74 and Nebraska’s Johnny Rodgers, Mike Rozier, and Eric Crouch went up for auction this past Wednesday on eBay. Bidding ends next Wednesday, Dec. 7, and proceeds will go directly to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, or RAINN. The current high bid is $425.
Since launching on Nov. 10, ProudToBeaPennStater.com has raised more than $495,000 for RAINN’s Online Hotline for victims of sexual abuse.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
RAINN Campaign Edges Closer to $500,000
Like everything else in the past two weeks, things at Proud to be a Penn Stater have been moving at warp speed.
Since its launch on Nov. 10, the grassroots group founded by a handful of Penn Staters has raised more than $463,000 for RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network—and earned plenty of media coverage in the process.
Co-founder Larena Lettow ’98 appeared on CNN’s American Morning last Thursday, and MSNBC, Huffington Post, Time, and a handful of blogs (including ours) have covered the group’s fundraising efforts. Proud to be a Penn Stater has a goal of raising $500,000 for RAINN by Thanksgiving.
There are some new ways to help: T-shirts with the phrase “[Still] Proud to be a Penn Stater” are available for $18, with proceeds going directly to RAINN, and cell phone users can text PSU4RAINN to 20222 to make an automatic $10 donation.
Funds raised will support RAINN’s Online Hotline, which provides free support for victims of sexual abuse. The hotline has seen a 54 percent increase in calls since news of the Sandusky scandal broke two weeks ago.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
Bright Spots in the Darkness
As Penn State continues to reel over the events of the past nine days, students and alumni are focusing their attention on the victims. Charitable efforts, popping up all over the Web since early last week, are giving Penn Staters an opportunity to help victims of child abuse — and some much-needed hope.
—Proud to be a Penn Stater. Spearheaded by Jerry Needel ’98, this grassroots campaign was founded by alums to “help victims get their pride back.” The goal is to raise more than $500,000 by Wednesday, November 16 — 1 dollar for each of the 557,000 Penn State alumni — to support RAINN, the Rape Abuse Incest National Network. Thanks in part to help from Alumni Association chapters nationwide, donations topped $350,000 as of Monday morning. To donate, click here.
—Prevent Child Abuse Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania chapter of the national charity sponsored the “Blue Out” of Beaver Stadium Saturday and distributed thousands of blue ribbons, symbols of child abuse awareness, before the game. Visit PCAP’s website to learn ways to prevent child abuse or to make a donation.
—We (Still) Are. Modeled after Kickstarter.com, WeStillAre.com is a user-generated platform for messages of hope and positivity, inviting users to share posts, pictures, and videos, and “channel their energy around this tragedy into good.”
—Information & Support for Victims. We Stand With You. A Facebook page with resources and messages of support for victims of abuse.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
More Tintypes by Cody Goddard
One of many cool tintypes from Cody's Halloween shoot.
Last week, we introduced to you to Cody Goddard ’10, a photographer who works with old-fashioned equipment and techniques. As promised, Cody posted the results of Friday’s Halloween-themed tintype shoot to his website. Check them out here. The photos—and the costumes—are fantastic. Although I watched the making of some of these images, it’s still hard to believe they’re not actual antiques.
A collection of Cody’s tintypes will be on display at the Green Drake Art Gallery in Millheim, Pa., this month, as part of the “Under 30 – The Work of Young Artists” exhibit. The show opens today.
Mary Murphy, associate editor
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