RE Log Fall 2018

Yet she is notable for who she is – the inspi- ration for the school itself – and for just how VLJQL¿FDQWO\ KHU (YHUJODGHV HGXFDWLRQ JXLGHG DQG LQÀXHQFHG KHU DV VKH ZRUNHG TXLHWO\ IRU many causes. For decades she modeled the Everglades Creed, which taught young women, among other things, “to achieve recognition – not in loud words but in worthy deeds.” “She’s deeply thoughtful and intelligent and concerned about the larger world,” said Christy Pennoyer, the director of The William C. Bullitt Foundation who served with Swenson Kahan RQ D SULRU QRQ SUR¿W ERDUG ³+HU KRUL]RQV DUH broad and wide. What seems to move her and excite her are the people around us who do not have all of the advantages that we have had. She’s a real asset to whatever group she gets behind because you want to come along.” Swenson Kahan attended Smith College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in art KLVWRU\ DQG &ROXPELD 8QLYHUVLW\ 7HDFKHUV College, where she earned a master’s degree in English. Jobs in publishing, special event plan- ning and fundraising provided experience that would later aid her as a volunteer. Swenson Kahan never saw herself as any sort of trailblazer; in her mind, she merely carried forth the ideals ingrained at Everglades and Smith, and walked through the many doors opened by her education. “My primary interest has always been women and children,” she said. “I’ve been very IRUWXQDWH WR KDYH EHHQ RɣHUHG RSSRUWXQLWLHV WR serve in ways that are very interesting, nourish- ing and important to me. “I owe so much to Everglades, and will al- ways be grateful to the school and my parents. I really was privileged to have that excellent education.” An early gift: Marie Swenson’s adoption Marie Swenson, the family matriarch, also lived a life of gratitude. She was adopted at age four out of a New York City orphanage by Harry Hoxie Bassett, the president of Buick Motor Car Company, and his wife, Jessie Hood Bassett. “It’s really an Annie story,” Swenson Kahan said. Marie and her brother Harry Hood Bassett were brought up with governesses, trips to Europe and the best educational opportuni- ties their parents could provide. Though they spent most of their growing up years in Palm Beach, “Hood” attended the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, and Marie the Madeira School, a boarding school for girls in Virginia. After graduating from the all-women’s Finch College in Manhattan, Marie married Edward F. Swenson, Jr., an alumnus of St. Andrew’s 6FKRRO 'HODZDUH DQG <DOH 8QLYHUVLW\ ZKR served in World War II before taking a job on Wall Street. About a decade later, the Swensons moved to Miami so that Marie Swenson could be closer to her ailing mother and extended family in Palm Beach. The Swensons settled into a home on Miami Beach as Edward Swenson joined the First National Bank of Miami. The couple prioritized education for their children. The Swensons sent their son, Edward, known as Ted, to Miami Country Day School as Katherine began attending the Cushman School in Miami’s Morningside area. Ted would later head to The Pomfret School in Connecticut, but Katherine preferred to stay home for high school. At the time, Miami did QRW RɣHU DQ\ KLJKO\ UHJDUGHG VHFRQGDU\ FROOHJH preparatory schools for girls. That changed in 1955. )$// Ransom Everglades LOG 9 “She’s deeply thoughtful and intelligent and concerned about the larger world... What seems to move her and excite her are the people around us who do not have all of the advantages that we have had.” – Christy Pennoyer, director of The William C. Bullitt Foundation