Updated October 21, 2003

PLEASANT THIELE ROWLAND FRAUTSCHI '62 of Middleton, Wisconsin belongs to the Forbes 400 List of the wealthiest people in the country. After selling her American Girl Doll Company for more than $700 million, she became Vice-Chair of the Board of Mattel.

Rowland was seen repeatedly on campus consulting with architects for months before the public unveiling of the Master Plan. Many faculty members, students, alumnae, and residents recognize her as the driving force behind the initiation and implementation of the Campus Master Plan.

The relation of the Village Plan to the Campus Master Plan is noteworthy. The same owner, developer, funding source and architectural firm are involved in the two plans. The village and campus fall within the same National Register Historic District. Both seem part of the same "vision."

The college entered a partnership with Ms. Rowland in February 2001. Their new corporation, the Aurora Foundation L.L.C., controls all the college's village properties and more: the Inn, French House, Fargo, Walcourt, old mill, grocery store, gift shop, ice cream store, mansion, old post office - school building, village parking lot, campus golf course, and much undeveloped acerage. Though called a foundation and presented as a non-profit organization, the L.L.C. is a limited liability company which can earn profits and deny public access to its financial records.

Pleasant Roland holds majority control of this new corporation.

The corporation applied for permits to destroy the interior of the 1833 Aurora Inn, demolish the adjacent grocery store, and build two large modern wings on the inn. The permits were issued in September 2001, ignoring the serious objections of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Preservation League of NYS, the State Historic Preservation Office, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Chair of Cornell University's Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, regional preservationists, dozens of alumnae, and many village residents.

The extremely controversial village project may be the overture to the staging of the Wells College Campus Master Plan.

National Coverage: Context: below please find informative articles about Ms. Rowland's: ___________________________

1. ROWLAND SUPPORTS a Large Group Awareness Training center:
an announcement from the Hoffman Institute, purveyors of the Quadrinity Process.

Date: Fri Nov 10, 2000 7:08 pm
Subject: News and Interviews from the Light News

The LIGHT News
November 2000

Hoffman Grad Purchases New Site for the Process

In an act of unprecedented generosity, the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation has purchased a beautiful, permanent site for the Hoffman Process in California. Located in the scenic Napa Valley, White Sulphur Springs Resort was a $5.8 million acquisition. Hoffman President Raz Ingrasci said, "With this gift, Pleasant Rowland has brought forth an expansive new future for the Quadrinity Process. This property gives the Hoffman Institute a horizon for growth of 500 percent. Now we have the capacity to serve more people than ever before. This is a dream come true."

Pleasant - who lives in Madison, Wisconsin - took the Process in 1991. Since then, many of her family and friends have also benefited from the Process. To honor Pleasant, the Institute has created a special Parents' Scholarship Fund in her name for the specific purpose of financially supporting parents of young children who want to take the Quadrinity Process.

The entire Hoffman community feels enormous gratitude toward Pleasant Rowland for empowering the Hoffman Institute mission. Because of her gift, thousands upon thousands of people will find healing and experience greater forgiveness, compassion, freedom and joy.

The Process was previously presented at White Sulphur Springs from 1994 through 1998. In those five years thousands of students graduated from the Process and remember it as a very beautiful and supportive setting. We are excited that the Process is returning there. "White Sulphur Springs is a beautiful, serene and safe place to be," said Elena Ducharme, an August '98 graduate. "The grounds and spaces are beautiful. There isn't anything that interferes with your experience. The environment is luxuriously simple."

........Initially, the facilities will be used about 60 percent of the time for Hoffman Processes. On alternate weeks it is available for tourism. Hoffman graduates who want to visit the Napa Valley can take advantage of special rates at White Sulphur Springs from November to March........

- Raz Ingrasci, President

For more info on this organization, please visit the Hoffman Insitute

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2.

ROWLANDS REPUTATION ON THE WELLS COLLEGE CAMPUS

From the Student Newspaper, The Onyx, the April 2003 "Best of Wells" issue:

Best Fascist in Town:
This [award] goes to the one whose name we shall not speak. The one who put LATTICE in front of the FARGO. Yeah, lattice! The only person with the audacity to own a restaurant that sells $5.00 tuna sandwiches in an area where more than 25% of the households make less than $15,000. The only person with the audacity to not leave a tip to the wait-staff at said restaurant, despite the millions that she flaunts. The only person with a house bigger than the French House in a town that she doesn't actually live in. We love the help, but listen to the people. They might need a place to go without those annoying checkered plates after a while.

The Onyx Opinion Page, October 10, 2003: Wanted: Academic Sugar Mama

Those who know me are aware that I have a total and implicit trust in authority.

So when 1 discovered that after the protests at last year's trustees' meeting, the trustees voted to replace the tenure track position in French, my trust was vindicated. When the trustees voted at the same meeting not to increase faculty salaries, I assumed that raises were unnecessary at that time. Of course, I had to take this on faith because the college's financial situation was not a topic of conversation when I spoke with the trustees at lunch, but I was still sure they knew what they were doing.

I never really questioned Wells' budgeting skills until the college considered buying back Professor Linda Lohn's house at 331 Main Street Aurora. Professor Lohn put the house on the market around the end of last spring semester because she could not afford the upkeep and mortgage on her current salary.

I must point out that a community that cannot afford to keep its most vital members housed should maybe have no business dealing in real estate.

I have been thinking about this situation for some time: Wells has a solid but dwindling faculty, and a ravenous appetite for historic buildings. The solution, I believe, is more obvious than we may realize.

Wells College has had over the past few years an excellent benefactress, an alum, who has dedicated herself to beautifying the campus. For Wells, That She May Bloom, indeed.

Before I go any further, I must acknowledge that it very popular among some students and faculty to be disparaging of this dedicated, energetic, and obviously loaded woman. I want to distance myself as far as possible from anyone so ungrateful. Wells College is home to the most comfortable couches of any institution of higher learning in New York State, and anyone who has ever fallen asleep in the lobby of Macmillan owes this excellent woman a giant "Thank You."

In addition, I feel it is not appropriate to criticize how any of our benefactors choose to spend their money. When you have built a multimillion dollar business and you choose to buy your alma mater an Italian carpet, I am sure you too will find it galling to have runny-nosed 19-year-olds criticizing your taste. Ladies, this is pointless. Enjoy the carpet and get back to work.

Unfortunately for us students, our benefactress� primary interest with regard to Wells seems to be in our fine historic buildings, and not in the people who work in them. These things happen. What Wells needs, then, is an ACADEMIC Sugar Mama.

The relationship wouldn't have to last long, only long enough to establish a chair of Women�s Studies here, add to the endowment for German or Political Science, or perhaps make a sizable donation to faculty salaries, whatever this generous woman would consider worthwhile. She who signs the checks makes the call, but that�s only fair. Much can be done in a few years with only a few million dollars.

You don't find professional financial advisors on the arms of flashy Hollywood movie executives or big-time drug dealers, be they ever so young and hot. A woman who pays her own bills does not submit to the indignity of acting as the mistress to some Wall Street mucky muck old enough to be her father, unless she really feels like it. It is only those who can�t hold onto their cash who find themselves asking someone else to buy them nice things. If Wells has a predilection for expansive lakefront property (and we know she does), then Wells is in need of some more cash. The usual alumnae tax-deductible contributions, phonathons and state grants are just not going to keep us together: ask the Computer Science department.

What we need is a rich alum to come in and take charge of our academic programs----er, pay the bills until we can get on our feet.

I admit, I look down on Cornell and Ithaca College. What�s the point of sitting in a classroom with a nationally known expert on Whatever if they never get the chance to learn your name? The personal relationship is the best thing Wells or any small college had going for it, but let�s not kid ourselves, our faculty are really good. We have a team of award-winning experts here with intimidating and inspiring credentials in a number of disciplines, and they drink tea with us.

The only problem is continuing to pay for all this stuff and keeping all these awesome people coming around. Wells College needs to hike up its metaphorical skirt and show some fishnet-covered calf. We have to go out there and seduce another sugar mama to provide our professors with adequate compensation for all the work they do.

All we need is to find one more rich alum with an interest in Women�s Education. How hard could that be?

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3.

ROWLAND AND COMTEMPORARY CULTURE

Barbie and American Girl Dolls
( by M.G. Lord, in The Washington Post, June 28, 1998)

"Pleasant Rowland has no shame. Or if she once had, it vanished for a price. Rowland, who founded Pleasant Co., purveyors of tasteful , costly American girl dolls, recently sold her empire for a cool $700 million to Mattel Inc., the giant toymaker, whose tawdry low-rent mainstay, the Barbie doll, was the reason Rowland began making dolls in the first place. Rowland envisioned her sturdy Molly and plucky Samantha as alternatives to fashion-plate Barbie. Priced at more than $80, they come with natural-fiber clothing, simulated antiques and books that tell stories about them."

"But times have changed, and with them, so has Barbie. She is stouter now, and less vapid looking.... Only occasionally - when, for example, she shows off her body in a tight, iridescent bikini, - would you suspect the truth: that 39 years ago, Mattel founder Ruth Handler was inspired by a German hooker doll that was sold in tobacco shops as a gag gift for men."

"Mattel says it bought Pleasant Co. because of its strength in mail-order sales, an area where Mattel is weak, and as a fresh domestic brand to peddle over seas. But the acquisition, like the recent revamping of Barbie, signals something more profound to me: Americans' preoccupation with social class."

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Girl World: American Girl Place, making "history."
American Rhythms / By Jane Eisner
( from the Inquirer Magazine of the Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2000)

" One day this summer, I went to Chicago... In the capital of the Midwest is a place that has, in less than two years, become a shrine for girls and a refuge for their mothers, an antidote to a coarse culture that urges young girls to confront Wonderbras and contraception when they just want to play with dolls. Here's a place that projects simplicity and purity, a love of history and, in the words of its founder, a chance "to create your own special memory for your American girl." And here's what I found:

Mothers will buy anything wholesome and cute, and grandmothers are even worse. History is another name for replicas of old things for sale. Doll hair stylists are looking to be the next growth industry.

Uplifting lessons are a central offering of American Girl Place, nestled in a handsome building just off fancy Michigan Avenue. But the atmosphere is so oppressively commercial, so thoroughly inauthentic, that I had to take a break and walk around outside. Where, of course, I spotted zillions of happy women carrying crisp, red American Girl shopping bags....

More than a million people have visited American Girl Place since it opened in November 1998... always with a doll, one of the six American Girl dolls themed to a historical period,,,, It's all part of an empire built by clever Pleasant T. Rowland, who began marketing high-end dolls in 1986 by cloaking them with the veneer of history....

"Putting vitamins in chocolate cake!" is how Pleasant Rowland describes the way she spoon-feeds "history" through books, clothes and a musical revue so sugary it can induce diabetic shock. But it's not history; it's another way to sell merchandise - $25 million in sales the first year. Beneath the "historical displays" for each American Girl doll are rows of coupons for the items in the dioramas, which can be purchased right there.

In fact, everything in American Girl Place is for sale. Everything. It is a seamless commercial for itself. The cup-and-saucer set ($18) and miniature doll seat ($25) used in the dining room for tea ($16). The sailor dress ($95) worn in the revue ($25 a seat). The polka-dotted, beribboned box filled with suggestions for mealtime conversation ($10.95) - which I suppose is for families who want "special memories" but can't think of anything to say. You can even buy an American Girl palm-size planner for $65. (Then you can plan to do more shopping.)

I asked Anne Maddox, vice president/general manager of American Girl Place, whether dolls costing $84 weren't outrageously expensive. "In relation to what?" she answered a bit defensively. "A pair of Nikes?" Indeed, a block away at Niketown, the latest sneakers were selling for $85. But then, Nike doesn't aim to be anything but a commercial enterprise. American Girl Place pretends to be about sweetness and togetherness, but the real message is: Happiness is a Stuffed Shopping Bag."

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For a lengthy article on the Pleasant Company's presentation of history to children, please see Adventures in Parenting .

From another point on the spectrum, see commentary on the American Girl Doll Company in a Christianity Today article entitled "Girls' Stuff, Kiddie Lit, and U.S. History."

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4.

The Citizen, June 1, 2001

AURORA IN ROWLAND'S GRIP
Villagers fret over too much land, power in hands of one person
Jennifer Miller, Staff Writer

AURORA - Pleasant Rowland is committed to revitalizing Aurora, the village she fell in love with when she was a student at Wells College. But some residents fear her commitment amounts to too much control.

Some villagers worry about the lack of information available about village renovations, lack of a finalized plan for renovations, the possible hike in property taxes, and about Rowland's growing control over the village.

George Peter, who served as moderator at a recent concerned citizens meeting, doesn't oppose Rowland's plans but he advises caution. "It could be healthy if the elected officials are cautious," Peter said. "Many residents have legitimate concerns."

Residents fear that, by owning so much of the village's commercial property, the Aurora Foundation, a partnership between Wells College and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation, will control the village's future.

The foundation's formation, announced in February, brings together commercial properties owned by Wells College and megabucks from the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Through the acquisition of Wells' commercial properties and the purchase of Mack's Branch Store and the old post office, Rowland owns all of the commercial property in the village with the exception of Jane Morgan's Little House, Shakelton Hardware, and Shakelton Funeral Home.

Rowland, who has no listed telephone number in Aurora or her home community of Madison, Wis., could not be reached for comment.

Buying spree

Rowland also purchased Mackenzie-Childs Ltd., the Leffingwell House, and the Abbott residence. Rowland hasn't said these properties will go to the foundation. Rowland will refurbish the Leffingwell House into her Aurora home; her permanent residence will remain in Madison.

The Aurora foundation was introduced as a non-profit real estate holding organization which would handle the daily responsibilities of the properties and funnel profits to the college. Rowland's foundation would absorb any losses.

Since the announcement of the Wells-Rowland partnership, however, the foundation has become a limited liability corporation. As an LLC, the organization can earn a profit, although Rowland said her intentions are not to make money.

Michelle Berry, director of communications and media relations at Wells, said the change to an LLC was announced at the May 14 town meeting. College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson's speech at that meeting, however, and all discussion since then only refer to the partnership as a foundation.

While Peter advises caution, elected officials are unsure of all of the plans. Village Clerk Nancy Yann says the village lacks a master plan detailing exactly what changes will occur.

No property transfers have been completed but Rowland plans to begin renovations this summer.

Yann says Rowland and the college have proposed changes, but those proposals are subject to change. Yann also said she has no way of contacting Rowland directly.

Transformation predicted

Complicating the partnership even more is the close relationship between the village and the college. Mayor Tom Gunderson and village trustees Jim Chase and Janet Mapstone work for the college. Trustee Jeri Vargo, a Wells alumna, retired from the college earlier this month.

Peter believes it's always dangerous when all power resides in one set of hands. But, Peter says, "It could be the best thing for this town. Upstate New York has become a series of ghost towns. This will transform Aurora and upstate New York."

And the power does seem to reside in one set of hands. The proposed partnership will technically control the commercial properties. But, as chairman of the Board of Managers, with control of 51 percent of the foundation, it seems Rowland will ultimately hold the reins.

The Rowland Foundation will control 51 percent of the Aurora Foundation and Wells will control 49 percent. A board of managers for the foundation, to be chaired by Rowland, will consist of an executive director who has not yet been named, Ryerson, Wells College Trustee George Edwards, and three members appointed by the Rowland Foundation, who also have yet to be named.

Residents at the concerned citizens meeting expressed fears about a property tax hike caused by Rowland's purchases. Rowland bought the Abbott residence at three times its assessed value, according to the notes of the concerned citizens meeting posted in the village.

Despite the concerns voiced at that meeting, villagers seem mostly in favor of Rowland's plans. "The town has been going downhill. People are leaving and they're not coming back," said Cathy Orman, owner of the Enchanted Florist, a business located in the Aurora Place. "The town needed this a long time ago."

Closings cause worry

Orman is leaving her business and she isn't the only one. In the village, many businesses have closed or changed management in recent months. Cravings Bake Shop, another business located in the Aurora Place, recently closed.

The Aurora Market closed briefly last fall, and was then re-opened under the management of Sodexho-Marriot, the Wells College dining service. The Aurora Inn closed for business last fall. In recent years, the inn has often been shut down and reopened, changing management several times.

"If she does what she says she will do, the village can prosper," said David Brooks, an Aurora resident. "I have faith that she will." "We need this to get back to where we were a few years back," said Debra Brooks, David's daughter and owner of Debbie's Corner Gift Shop in Aurora.

More meetings are planned concerning the revitalization project, the next one, with the Community Preservation Panel, takes place Tuesday at 7 p.m., at the Aurora Fire Department. There residents will discuss concerns about the removal of two additions to the inn, which currently house the inn's dining room and bar. Renovations to the inn and Mack's store are scheduled to begin this summer.

Another issue is the right-of-way located between the Aurora Market and the Gratitude shop. The right-of-way provides emergency access to the market for vehicles. Plans to rebuild the market will close off that area. Holt Architects of Ithaca, handling the project, was required to submit plans for an alternate right of way according to town documents.

Index at top of page

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5.

ROWLAND'S VISION FOR ANOTHER COMMUNITY

The Sunday NYT, August 20, 1995

Mount Kisco Is Astir Over the Fate of the 'Ragtime' Mansion
The Sunday NYT, August 20, 1995
By Kate Stone Lombardi

The fate of a Victorian mansion that has twice achieved national celebrity and has long been a source of pride to this village has changed directions once again. The stately gray home has over the last year become the center of a controversy that continues to rankle residents.

The Pleasant Company, a publishing company that produces a series of books, dolls, clothing and furniture called the American Girls Collection, had hoped to convert the home into a museum. But the property was zoned for residential use, and the proposal deeply divided residents and the village government.

At one point during the nearly yearlong rancorous negotiations, Pleasant T. Rowland, the founder and president of the company, threatened to dismantle the house and haul it away in pieces.

But last June, after concessions from Ms. Rowland, the Village Board of Trustees passed a local law allowing the business to operate in the residential zone. So it came as a shock to residents and the Mayor earlier this month when Ms. Rowland abruptly withdrew her plan.

"I was totally shocked and disappointed," said Mayor Richard T. Roth of Mount Kisco, who had cast the swing vote to approve the project. "After the long road we came down, after jumping through hoops and granting them a special-use permit, and then bingo -- she withdraws the application -- I was just totally taken aback."

Ms. Rowland made her announcement by taking out an advertisement in the local newspaper, The Patent Trader.

"I came to Mount Kisco a year ago with a vision of creating an educational experience that would enrich the lives of American girls and their families, preserve a Mount Kisco landmark and benefit the entire village," Ms. Rowland wrote. "It was never our intention to cause disruption to the community."

Ms. Rowland cited a lawsuit filed recently by residents who challenged the village's new zoning variance, along with cumbersome administrative proceedings before various village agencies as reasons for her change of mind. Noting that "it had become clear that this remains a divisive issue in the community" she wrote that she had decided to abandon the project.

The battle over the fate of the house stirred deep passions among residents and reflected the struggles this northern Westchester town has faced as it has grown. Over the last two years, Mount Kisco has revitalized its downtown and attracted stores from several national chains, including the Gap, Starbucks Coffee, Sam Goody's and T. J. Maxx.

But there is concern here about maintaining old neighborhoods and the intimate atmosphere of the village. Many said they believed that the museum would have been an attractive addition to the village, but others felt that traffic and food services it might bring to the residential area was inappropriate and could set a dangerous precedent.

"There hasn't been anything that has polarized the village like this issue," said Ralph Vigliotti, a Village Trustee, who voted against the project. "This has pit neighbor against neighbor, long-term family friends against friends, and even divided the board. This was not healthy for the village."

Before the museum controversy, the stunning mansion -- which has covered porches, turrets and slim, elegant windows -- was best known here as the �Ragtime House," because it was used in the filming of the movie "Ragtime," based on the novel by E. L. Doctorow. The house had its second brush with fame when it was used as the fictional home of a 10-year-old Victorian heroine in a series of historical books for young girls published by Ms. Rowland's company, which is based in Middleton, Wis. Five books in the popular series portrayed the adventures of Samantha Parkington during the year 1904, and one included a photograph of the house in the novel.

Paradoxically, the genesis of the current uproar lay in one pleasant memory and a dose of literary license. The author of several Samantha books, Valerie Tripp, grew up in Mount Kisco and set her character in the house that she used to pass daily as she walked to elementary school.

When Ms. Rowland saw last summer that the house was for sale, she was thrilled. She purchased an option to buy the house for $750,000, and told the village board that she planed to invest $2 million to restore the house and grounds "to their original Victorian/Edwardian elegance as they would have been in 1904."

The museum was to be called "Samantha's House," and was to have re-created life as it might have been for a girl at the turn of the century. Guides -- based on characters in the books -- would lead house tours and point out special features of the interior, in an effort to bring history alive for the visitors.

The museum planned to offer daily tours, with food being served in what is now the property's carriage house. A separate visitors center selling souvenirs was to have been opened in Mount Kisco's commercial district, and shuttle buses would have taken visitors from that center into and out of the museum site.

The proposal was originally turned down by the Board of Trustees, but in June, after the com- pany made several concessions, Mayor Roth changed his vote and the proposal passed. Now the destiny of the house remains uncertain. A "For Sale" sign stands on the lawn. The mansion does not have official landmark status, and the property is zoned for as many as five houses, each of which could be used as two-family dwellings. Supporters of Ms. Rowland's museum project say such a development would be far worse for the area than a museum would have been.

One thing is certain -- few people here still refer to the mansion as "The Ragtime House." "It is now known as 'Samantha's House,' "

Mayor Roth said. "Unless the house comes down and goes away, that's always going to be Samantha's house, whether she's in there or not."

Index at top of page

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6.

PURCHASE of AREA'S 2nd LARGEST EMPLOYER

Syracuse Post-Standard, Tuesday, May 22, 2001

ROWLAND OWNS MACKENZIE-CHILDS
Former doll maker approved as buyer of MacKenzie-Childs in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
Syracuse Post-Standard, Tuesday, May 22, 2001
By Dave Tobin

MacKenzie-Childs is getting the Pleasant treatment.

Pleasant T. Rowland, who with her money and dreams is putting her mark on Wells College and the village of Aurora, was approved in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Monday as the buyer of the nationally known home-furnishing design company on Aurora's outskirts.

Before Monday's proceedings began, Rowland, who made a fortune through her Pleasant Company making American Girl dolls, had emerged as the only real contender for the company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.

Friday, Rowland purchased from BSB Bank & Trust, Co., for $5.5 million, all of the bank's debt, securities, and collateral guarantees relating to MacKenzie-Childs. The bank, which had been owed $15.3 million as MacKenzie-Childs' only secured creditor, washed its hands of the company's difficulties.

That meant that Richard and Victoria MacKenzie-Childs, the company's founding owners, who were determined to retain ownership of the company, were not only bidding against Rowland, they owed Rowland what they had owed the bank.

Rowland's acquisition of the bank's debt also seemed to deter any other potential buyers. No one else bid on the company, which had run up debts totaling more than $18 million.

"Once someone else steps in the banks's shoes, they drive the process," said MacDonell Roehm Jr., chairman and CEO of MacKenzie-Childs.

Rowland's final offer, accepted by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Stephen D. Gerling, was Friday's $5.5 million, plus $700,000 in cash to pay current expenses. When all is said and done, unsecured creditors, who are owed $2.5 million, should get between 5 cents and 7 cents for each dollar owed, said Guy Van Baalen, U.S. trustee handling the case.

From their cottage industry start 18 years ago making ceramic tableware, the couple saw sales rise to $21 million in 1997. Then a series of bad decisions sent the company's finances reeling.

Prices were raised as much as 55 percent in 1998, and sales dropped to $14 million. That same year the company launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign in the New York Times Magazine. In 1999, the company secured two long-terms leases for major stores in Manhattan and Beverly Hills. The leases were costing $3.5 million a year, and the stores never opened.

Throughout the morning in the courtroom Monday, Richard and Victoria MacKenzie-Childs sat quietly, side-by-side, while negotiations were taking place in conference rooms down the hall. Richard scribbled notes. Victoria frequently darted up, making and taking cell phone calls. Neither would comment.

"It wouldn't be the right thing," said Richard.

Rhona Vogel, Rowland's financial adviser, said Rowland was "very excited" about buying MacKenzie-Childs. "She's (Rowland) hopes to make it profitable and successful," said Vogel.

Vogel declined to say what role, if any, Richard and Victoria would have with the company.

"It's sad for Victoria and Richard," she said. "We haven't made any decision at all. Our focus has been to stay in Aurora."

The couple's personal attorney, Lee Woodard, said the couple oppose the sale to Rowland, although they did not formally object. They did not try to outbid her.

The couple guaranteed their bank loans with personal assets (their house, their cars) as well as corporate assets. When Rowland purchased the bank's debts, she also purchased the bank's guarantees, so she could legally force the couple to sell their personal assets. Woodard asked for Rowland to demonstrate some of her philanthropy toward the couple.

"We're looking for them to be reasonable," said Woodard. "We need her to help out with the debt that's going to cloak Richard and Victoria."

Van Baalen, trustee in this case, approached the couple after the hearing, and offered his condolence.

"At least the company will continue to operate," he said.

Victoria, her eyes red, only nodded.

Index at top of page

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For more information about Rowland's impact on the village of Aurora, click here.

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