From the Archives
The Buck Started Here
Anne Allen Buck’s leadership role in the founding of Berkshire School, alongside her husband Seaver Buck, was instrumental. Her influence should not be surprising; Mrs. Buck, an 1895 graduate of Smith College, came from a family of educators. Her father, James T. Allen, was the founder of the former The Allen School in West Newton, Mass., where Mr. Buck taught as a young man. In the fall of 1907, Mr. and Mrs. Buck rented the buildings at the Glenny farm at the foot of Mt. Everett and founded their school with just six boys and four “masters.” From the beginning, Mrs. Buck imbued the campus with intellectual vitality and fostered deep connections with students. Arthur C. Chase, assistant headmaster of Berkshire at the time of Mrs. Buck’s
Anne Allen Buck enjoying her grandchildren with husband, Seaver
death in 1967, shared remarks at her memorial service, recalling her critical role. “I recognized immediately that the partnership of Mr. and Mrs. Buck was an extraordinary one in which her wisdom served as check and balance on a thousand occasions,” Chase said. In addition to serving actively on the School’s board of trustees from 1919 to 1945, Mrs. Buck made a direct impact on generations of students’ lives. “Her
countless trips to the infirmary, her birthday cakes and remembrances, her messages relayed from relatives and friends, and her infallible memory for all the achievements of Berkshire boys—all were evidences of her complete absorption in the life of the school,” recalled Chase. “In the history of independent schools, there have been few partnerships to equal the Bucks’.”
“She was garrulous, sharp as a tack, and loved to entertain ... her influence was enormous.” —C. Twiggs Myers Hon. ’57, Berkshire Bulletin, Summer/Fall 2007
Access the archive at: BerkshireSchoolArchives.org
