RE Log Spring 2023

2 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2023 From La Brisa My mother passed down to me her Joy of Cooking cookbook, the inspiration for this magazine’s extraordinary cover. The iconic book occupied a special place in our kitchen, and seemingly in everyone else’s kitchen, for decades. When that book lay open on the counter, our home soon filled with mouth-watering scents and the pleasant clamor of pots, pans and dishes. The real joy came not in the food preparation, but in the wondrous aftermath. Family and friends gathered eagerly around the table. We shared delicious dishes, lively conversation, endless stories and easy laughter. Lasting memories took shape. Was it the joy of cooking, or the joy of community? I think a bit of both. The Joy of Ransom Everglades resonates with a similar power. For generations of students and faculty, time in our classrooms and on our campuses holds an indescribably special place in our hearts. It’s not just the moments that stay with us; it is the remarkable uniqueness of those moments, which endure and grow over time. Much like that old cookbook, the Joy of Ransom Everglades is really about the joy of our community, a community built on certain foundational ingredients – fun, connection, engagement and shared history and traditions. Judy Golden Powers ’62 , a member of one of our earliest classes of Everglades Girls, explained it well after gathering with other members of the Everglades founding classes for a 60-year reunion last fall (see the story on page 22). They giggled and chatted over dinner like the school girls they used to be, pushing their husbands to another table. “We were very lucky to be a part of that group of gals,” Judy told writer Maggie Pearson ’80 . “I never found anything like it again.” The people and circumstances have changed, but that special element remains. Friend and former board chair JeffreyMiller ’79 called it “the secret sauce of Ransom Everglades,” sharing his appreciation for the participation of so many alumni in endeavors that help underserved members of our community. Meg Daly ’78 used the word “magical” to describe the willing collaboration and contributions of her RE peers in work to improve their hometown. In joyful stories about Jeff’s quest to create a great charter school in Opa-Locka (see page 16), and Meg’s Underline project that is transforming the path under Miami’s Metrorail (see page 12), Jeff and Meg both made it clear that they didn’t seek out Ransom Everglades’ partners as much as fellow RE alumni – deeply connected and nurtured by those famous words of Paul C. Ransom and the moral code of Marie Swenson – seemed to find them. The Joy of Ransom Everglades A year of engagement, community and shared traditions For generations of students and faculty, time in our classrooms and on our campuses holds an indescribably special place in our hearts.” “