Fascinated by the Middle Ages since he was four years old, Cameron Christian-Weir ’13 seemed destined to attend plenty of renaissance fairs, explore details of the 100 Years Wars, and take a keen interest in archery—and he did, even at a very young age. When his interest in archery was sparked again at age 15, he discovered—much to his dismay—that all his hand-me-down bows “bounced” (failed inspection). That was when he decided to start making his own.

However, he found no resources on bow-making in the local library, and this was in a “pre-Google” day. After some time, he obtained some books, with his mother’s help, from the Society for Creative Anachronism. He then sought out master bowyers to help him learn the art—masters like Joe Dupree and Jaap Koppedrayer. Seeing them only once a year, Christian-Weir’s proficiency increased, and he grew in his skills—but refining was needed. More help came from Jay St. Charles (Seattle), whose specialty is bows made of yew, a soft evergreen tree with high resin content that makes for light wood and fast shooting.

Eventually, he traveled to Wales, where he found Master Rodney Lyons (Liverpool), who provided an “unofficial” apprenticeship. With eight years of bow-making already under his belt, as well as certification as a cabinetmaker, Christian-Weir was able to complete a condensed and advanced version of the apprenticeship in six months, rather than the two years normally required by the Guild—and he recorded every moment of the sessions digitally.

Now Christian-Weir runs his own bowyer shop, Grey Goose Bows (find him on Etsy, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook: www.facebook.com/GreyGooseBows). Most of his bows are made from hickory and exotic hard woods, though he also uses yew, wenge, purple heart, lemonwood, and osage to make self-bows (made from one piece of wood) or laminate bows (made from several woods or materials). The most challenging aspects of his work are tillering (making the bow bend correctly) and selecting/reading the wood to avoid knots, flaws, etc. It gives him great pleasure to watch the customer’s face upon first seeing the new bow and then enjoying the feel of the bow when it is drawn, then loosed (fired).

While building his bowyer business, Christian-Weir also works with a security firm and is seeking a job that relates to one or both of his Augsburg majors—Sociology and Medieval Studies. Attending one of Prof. Phil Adamo’s Medieval Minnesota summer camps as a teenager was what led Christian-Weir to attend Augsburg.

If you’ve ever seen a Church Basement Ladies performance, you likely have a smile on your face at the very thought. Inspired by Growing Up Lutheran, a book by Janet Letnes Martin ’68 and Suzann (Johnson) Nelson ’68, the productions mine the humor of—and give a poignant picture of—women who faithfully serve in a Lutheran church kitchen.

Since September 2005, Janet Paone ’83 has played the role of Mrs. Vivian Snustad, the matriarch of the kitchen and a widow with traditional values who has a deep love for her church and its community. “The Last (Potluck) Supper,” the fifth of the Church Basement Ladies series, has been so well received that the show will be extended through the end of June. Paone fondly recalls the day she learned from the box office that one woman who had never been to a play in her life was seeing the show because her friends had told her she had to see the church basement ladies before she died; she was 86.

As an Augsburg student, Paone majored in theater and minored in music. While continuing her studies, she began singing with the Minnesota Opera Company, and continues to do so 30 years later! Having majored in theater, she now says that the mentoring of Dr. Ailene Cole at Augsburg was the “best educational experience one could have.”

Augsburg also figured prominently in Paone’s life more recently, when she needed a kidney transplant. The College and many alumni and friends hosted a benefit production to help pay for medical expenses. Her donor was a pilot for Delta, now retired, and a fellow actor. She met him in Fiddler on the Roof, in which she played Golda and he played Tevya. “He offered me his kidney after only knowing me for two weeks; he saved my life!”

In addition to acting in a wide variety of plays over the years (including Hamlet, Fiddler on the Roof, The Importance of Being Earnest, I’ll Be in a Home for Christmas, and the world premier of The Ultimate Pajama Party), Paone has enjoyed other long runs beyond the Church Basement Ladies gig, including two years in Nunsense, and more than eight years with Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding, in which she played Italian mama Josephine Vitale in productions in both Minneapolis and Baltimore. (Check out her diverse talents and availability on Facebook, The Janet Paone Company.) Also, she has directed after-school theater productions at Irondale (Minn.) High School for 30 years, and was the keynote speaker for the National Kidney FOundation’s annual dinner. She threw out the first pitch to Twins player Glen Perkins (twice). She was the first winner of the FM107.1 Undiscovered Divas contest, had a radio show, and sang with the New York City Opera. What especially pleases Paone about the Church Basement Ladies show is that it reaches a lot of people, makes them happy, has many messages—and it’s a show “you could take your mom/grandma to…even the men like it!”

This fall thousands of Augsburg alumni participated in the Auggie Maroon Pages survey to share updated contact information and details on what they have been up to since graduating. Below are a few highlights from the notes we received.

Then
Ebba (Johnson) Brooks ’42 was recently presented the Swedish Council of America’s Award of Merit. She was featured in an article in the Duluth News Tribune on June 16.

Then 
Jacqueline E. Forrester ’88 is working on establishing a nonprofit in Jamaica (her home country) that will provide food, clothing and other services to children.

Now
Ali Rapp ’11 finished her MA in communication studies at the University of Minnesota in May, and in August started her position as  Product Marketing Specialist at Nintendo of America in Redmond, Washington.

After 30 years of service, Dr. Gracia Grindal ’65 retired from her position in June as professor of rhetoric at Luther Seminary. She has contributed greatly to the Luther community and also to the larger world of church music and hymnody. One of the many lasting contributions Dr. Grindal has made is the annual “Singing of the Faith” event.

In special honor of Gracia, the annual Singing the Faith Hymn Festival, hosted by the Luther Seminary FRIENDS, was held on October 27 in celebration of the Lutheran Reformation and featured selected hymns and readings. This year, Finnish composer Kari Tikka premiered a new commissioned setting of the Apostles’ Creed.

The Augsburg Choir, under the direction of Peter Hendrickson ’77, was the featured choir for this event. Following the program, those in attendance enjoyed a Finnish-themed Smorgasbord, including lutefisk.

Last month, Ben Krouse-Gagne ‘11 joined the Institutional Advancement staff as Assistant Director of Annual Giving. Ben is returning “home” to Augsburg from St. Catherine University, where he served as the Annual Fund Assistant for the past two years. Ben brings strong experience with volunteer management, reunion giving, Phoneathon, e-philanthropy, and working with recent graduates. He has many ideas to strengthen Augsburg’s annual giving program.

“I had a great experience at Augsburg as a student and now I am proud to call this place my home once again,” says Ben. “I am excited to engage with the alumni and friends of Augsburg to keep strengthening this place.”

Ben graduated from Augsburg in 2011 as a Political Science major and History minor. During his time as a student at Augsburg, he served as Day Student Body Vice President and worked as a student caller at the on-campus Phoneathon. Ben also served as a member of the Young Alumni Council and has served as a lead volunteer for Auggie Volunteer Nights. He is incredibly dedicated to Augsburg, brings great passion for annual giving, and is eager to connect donors with ways to support the College.

Saturday, August 31 brought the arrival of one of the largest first year classes in Augsburg’s history! Pictured here are some of the nearly 40 legacy students with their Auggie connection; students whose parent/s, grandparent/s and/or siblings have also been Auggies.

Please mark your calendar for a celebration of all Legacy students, both current and future, during Homecoming and Parent and Family Weekend, September 28^th. This Legacy Open House, sponsored by Admissions and the Office of Family and Constituent Relations, will be a great time to meet other Legacy families. The Admissions staff will be available to visit with prospective Legacy students; come find out more about what it means to be part of a Legacy.

Congratulations to 2013 graduate Joe Buchman for receiving the prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship! Joe will use the fellowship towards his Doctoral study in Chemistry at the University of Minnesota.

McNeff, the co-inventor of technology used to refine biodiesel at the Ever Cat Fuels plant in Isanti, has been working for two years with a team of scientists and farmers to commercially grow two seed-bearing weeds as energy crops. Read more here…

He’s been blue for more than 50 years, but that doesn’t mean Larry Gallagher’s feeling down. No, this “blue” brings him pride and joy, because you see, Gallagher is an umpire and ever since he first strapped on the mask and chest protector, he’s felt right at home.

Gallagher first put on umpire’s gear when he was just 15 years old – too young to get behind the wheel but old enough to get behind the plate and discover the joy of umpiring.

And now, nearly 60 years since his first game, he still works about 150 games a year and loves every inning. Read more here…

The Augsburg College Alumni Board is pleased to announce this year’s alumni award recipients. All awards will be presented at the Homecoming Convocation on Friday, September 27, at 10 a.m. in the Hoversten Chapel.

The First Decade Award honors Augsburg graduates of the last 10 years who have made significant progress in their professional achievements and contributions to the community, and in doing so, exemplify the mission of the College to educate students to be informed citizens, critical thinkers, and responsible leaders. This year’s first decade award will be presented to Alexa Halford ’03.

Following graduation Halford went on to receive a Masters in Astronomy and Planetary Sciences from University of Colorado at Boulder and a Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Newcastle. Shortly after completing her Ph.D. work, Halford won a highly competitive “Visiting Young Scientist” fellowship from Dartmouth College.  Since then she has served as a Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher in Physics at Dartmouth, and is a member of the scientific team for a NASA-funded scientific balloon experiment project called BARREL (Balloon Array for RBSP Relativistic Electron Losses).

The Spirit of Augsburg Award honors alumni and friends of the College who have given exceptional service that contributes substantially to the well being of Augsburg by furthering its purposes and programs. This year’s Spirit of Augsburg Awards will be presented to Alfred Reesnes ’58 and Alan Rice.

Reesnes taught high school music in Minnesota for 33 years, developing fine choirs noted for high quality performance and literature. He was a charter member of the Augsburg Centennial Singers and assistant director from 1993-2001. For the past 12 years he has served as the director for the group.  

Rice, an Olympic athlete and Olympic coach,  is one of the most respected and honored men in US Greco-Roman wrestling and a member of the US Wrestling Hall of Fame. He has been a long-time friend of the College and supporter of the Augsburg Wrestling program. Through his generocity, the Alan and Gloria Rice Wrestling Center, a world class wrestling room, is one of the centerpieces of the Kennedy Center.

The Distinguished Alumni Award honors Augsburg College alumni in recognition for significant achievement in their vocation, for outstanding contribution to church and community, and for a life that exemplifies the ideals and mission of Augsburg College. This year’s Distinguished Alumni Awards will be presented to H. Theodore Grindal ’76, Clayton McNeff ’91, and Roselyn Nordaune ’77.

Grindal, former member and chair of the Augsburg College Board of Regents, is a partner in the Minneapolis law firm of Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.  He has been recognized as one of the top eight lobbyists in Minnesota by the Star Tribune newspaper and more recently, an article in City Pages named him “One of the 10 Most Influential Lobbyists in Minnesota.”

McNeff is vice president of research at SarTec, Ever Cat Fuels LLC, Mcgyan Biodiesel LLC, McNeff Research Consultants and ZirChrom Separations in Anoka, Minnesota. He is widely known as the co-creator of the “Mcgyan” process for using non-food sources, such as algae, to produce biodiesel.

Nordaune, founder of Nordaune & Friesen law firm, is recognized in the broader community for her work in family law. She is a former member of the Augsburg College Board of Regents and has been instrumental in the Augsburg Women Engaged program dedicated to engaging Augsburg alumnae in the philanthropic priorities of the College.