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8
WINTER
2011
My quest had brought me thousands of
miles to a small town in Connecticut.
I was in search of a very special man.
A man who would provide me with the
inside story of IC’s rich history. It was
here that I was to find the last link to IC’s
past – the last surviving grandchild of
IC’s founder, Alexander MacLachlan.
The man I was seeking was a 91 year old
former university professor: Dr. Howard
Alexander Reed.
On the patio of a Swiss-style built house,
nestled among a rich lush of trees and home
to wandering deer and wild turkey, I find
Howard Reed. Tall with a shock of white
hair and soft blue eyes, he is - as there’s no
better way to explain it – a real gentleman.
“What do you want to know about IC
and grandfather?” he asked gently.
Now that I was here, I didn’t know where
to begin. Fortunately, Reed did.
“I remember him well,” he began. “I was
twenty years old when he died.”
For the next three days, Reed and I be-
came constant companions as he unfolded
the rich layers of IC’s past and colorful
chapters in his own life.
Reed was born in 1920 to Cass and Rosa-
lind Reed in Smyrna (now Izmir), Turkey.
He, his older brother Lachlan, and young-
er sister Joan (both now deceased) grew
up at the International College in Smyr-
na, as it was known.Their playground was
the 20-acre campus built by the vision of
their grandfather.Their home, surrounded
by a green hedge, peach trees and a vast
array of flowers, was Kenarden Lodge,
the president’s house, named after a loyal
benefactor: John F. Kennedy.
Just beyond were the tennis courts. Part
of Reed’s boyhood chores had been to
keep them well maintained.The living
room had two grand pianos at each end
of the room. One was bought and the
other a gift and both lovingly catered to
by Rosalind – Reed’s mother. She would
spend hours playing the pianos and would
give recitals on Sunday afternoons (she
The last link
Award of Appreciation presented
to Dr. Howard A. Reed
for outstanding support and
encouragement to the International
College throughout the years. Shukran!
Dr. Reed with his wife Shafiga,
stepdaughter Sibel, and grandson Sarp