Dallas+Thompson

Dallas Thompson

RESEARCHER

Peter Muilenburg was born in 1945 in Ithaca, NY. At a year old, his missionary parents moved to China and lived five years before fleeing to Hong Kong when the Communist leadership of the country began to persecute religious missionaries. He traveled with his parents frequently as they moved between Hong Kong, the United States, and the Philippines, where he graduated from high school.

He attended Dartmouth College, and graduated with a degree in history in 1968. He interrupted his studies to participate in the Civil rights movement, and was jailed overnight for those activities in Mississippi. His wife Dorothy is a graduate of Oberlin College, and following graduation, they went to St. John for vacation and never left.

Both secured jobs as teachers in St. John. This fact provides some context to the academic abilities displayed by Raffy when taking the entrance exam to demonstrate he was prepared to for the 10th grade. Both son’s followed in their father’s footsteps and attended Dartmouth, with Raffy becoming a lawyer, currently practicing in the San Diego area and Diego pursuing a career in medicine. He is currently a surgeon in the Sacramento, California area.

During their early years on St. John, the couple purchased a 28-foot sailboat, but became interested in building a bigger boat and began building Breath in 1979. To date, it is the biggest boat to be built on St. John.

For 15 years following the completion of the boat, they chartered the boat for tourists, but also participated in humanitarian trips to Haiti delivering medical supplies, and were honored by Rotary International. Outside of these activities, they used their boat to sail to all points in the Eastern Caribbean, Venezuela, and across the Atlantic to Spain, the Azores, Turkey, and up the Gambia River.

Peter’s background provides significant insight into not only his writing, but gives explanation to his approach in life concerning the way he interacted with his family and others. It also provides context for is interest and understanding of the historical perspectives on so many of the locations visited.

//Google Earth tour of the Muilenburg family's travels on Breath -// []

//Perspectives of a family friend// - []

//Secrets of St. John -// []

Charter a trip on Breath - []

Perspectives of a mentor - Article written by one of Peter's College Professors

**Researcher Rubric **

**(A- to A) ** || **Satisfactory ** **(B- to B+) ** || **Unsatisfactory ** **(C- to C+) ** ||
 * **Items being Assessed ** || **Excellent **
 * **Pertinent information about the author ** || Finds comprehensive biographical and contextual information from authoritative sources and acknowledges sources in full. || Finds biographical and contextual information that provides good insight into the author’s background. Without acknowledging sources. || Finds biographical information that provides minimal insight into the author’s .background without acknowledging sources. ||
 * **Information about the geography, culture, or history of the book setting ** || Provides comprehensive information about the book setting location(s) and history. || Provides some information about the book setting location(s) and history. || Minimal information about the book setting location(s), culture, or history. ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">History and derivation of unfamiliar words used in the book ** || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Identification of, and providing thorough explanation of significant words, particularly those that may have multiple meanings || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Identification of significant words with adequate explanation of significant words || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Identification of unfamiliar or significant words with incorrect or inadequate explanation ||
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Pictures, objects or materials that illustrate elements of the book ** || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Enhance group understanding of the book by identifying related links and other sources to illustrate book themes and activities || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Some use of other source materials to illustrate book themes || <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';">Minimal use of outside sources that illustrate book themes ||