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EHS Connections Across Centuries
In 2023, Episcopal’s Historian in Residence and social studies teacher Mike Reynolds saw an interesting opportunity in the curriculum. Why not utilize the School’s vast archives to dive deeper into topics that have defined our collective history? His work inspired a new course: History of Place: EHS, Virginia, D.C. For the capstone project, students delve into a research topic of their choosing, utilizing primary materials from our archives. Reynolds’ students are well prepared for this project, as the course places EHS within the local, regional, and national contexts from the Early Republic era through the twentieth century. History of Place students have the opportunity to deeply research a subject of interest, engaging with materials from the EHS archives.
While it was known that Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt, attended Episcopal for the 1908-09 school year, Caleb Poston ’26 deepened our understanding and knowledge by connecting materials from the EHS archives with those from other repositories for his project. At the beginning of the project, “Caleb was concerned that just focusing on Quentin Roosevelt wouldn’t be enough, or there wouldn’t be enough source material,” Reynolds said. “We both quickly realized that the story was a very rich one and would help us better understand not only Quentin Roosevelt, but also EHS toward the end of Launcelot Blackford’s long tenure as Headmaster.”
The Roosevelt’s decision for their youngest son Quentin to attend Episcopal for the 1908-09 school year was two-fold. First, because President Roosevelt would be leaving the White House in March of 1909, Quentin could avoid the disruption of changing schools in the middle of the year by attending Episcopal. Secondly, he was too young to enroll at Groton in Connecticut, his older brothers’ school, but his year at Episcopal would help prepare Quentin for Groton’s entrance exam. The proximity of Episcopal to the White House, a short trip across the Potomac River, allowed Quentin to make frequent visits to the White House, sometimes without permission, and his parents made several trips to campus during the year.
Mrs. Roosevelt arrived by sleigh once in the winter and on horseback with two of Quentin’s brothers on another occasion, although President Roosevelt’s warmly received visit for Athletic Day was made by automobile. The Roosevelts were gracious guests, Mrs. Roosevelt during her multiple visits and President Roosevelt during his 1908 Athletic Day visit. The Roosevelts made the trip despite an unusually early snowstorm on November 14 that threatened the cancellation of the event. As Launcelot Blackford described the visit, “… soon after 11, two big motors rolled up to the front door.” The first car carried the Roosevelts and the second the Secret Service and press. The Blackfords hosted the Roosevelts for coffee in the parlor of Hoxton House. During their visit, President Roosevelt inquired about Quentin’s friend Pendleton, who was sick in bed. The President paid him a visit before heading outside to watch the competition. While Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Blackford watched the events from inside the car, President Roosevelt cheered warmly as he spectated from the edge of the field. After being individually introduced to each student, President Roosevelt made a brief speech to the students from the porch of Blackford Hall, appealing to the boys to play fair, but play hard and to go out to win, and not to shirk work for play.
Having turned 11 shortly after the start of the school year, Quentin Roosevelt was among the youngest of his classmates. His parents did not ask for any special treatment of their son despite their stature, but given his age the Roosevelts requested that their son stay in a faculty residence, rather than on dorm, a request satisfied for other families enrolling particularly young students. Despite the prominence of his family, or perhaps because of it, Quentin did not seek the limelight for himself. However, he did make an impression on his classmates and faculty, due to the quality of his character and his propensity for mischief. Some of his antics caught the attention of the local newspapers, such as the tale of the pig Quentin acquired at Episcopal and took into the District. Ambler Blackford, Quentin’s teacher and mentor recounted, “One day he bargained with the stableman (at Episcopal) for the purchase of the pig… . Quentin put his prize in a crocus sack, slung it over his shoulder, and started off bareheaded for the Washington trolley, some two miles distant. On the trip to Washington the sack was placed on the seat in front of its owner. No one suspected its contents until one passenger in the crowded car started to sit down on the bag, when a squeak came forth which was heard the length of the car. Versions of the story vary as to the final disposal of the pig. Quentin told me that he sold it at a profit to some man in Washington. The newspapers got hold of the tale, and declared that the sack was carried up to the White House and its contents deposited on the floor in the midst of the assembled family.”
Quentin’s small size, given his age, helped him carry out his mischief. At the on-campus wedding reception of faculty member John Moncure Daniel Jr., Quentin’s classmates boosted him through a window to surreptitiously distribute wedding cake to the boys, although he was caught and sent to the cellar to ensure he did not return.
Like any other student, Quentin faced consequences for any misbehavior, such as excessive demerits or the time he left campus without permission and was sent back to the School when his father found him sitting at the table in the White House. President Roosevelt trusted the School’s approach to discipline and when asked for permission to administer corporal punishment, as was accepted at the time, the President replied, “Beat him good! Bully!!” Thinking back on his time at Episcopal, Caleb felt that Quentin would appreciate the School’s current approach to discipline over the previous demerit system.
Despite the excitement of his year at Episcopal, Quentin passed Groton’s entrance examination and resumed his education there, but continued his correspondence with his teacher and mentor Ambler Blackford. Reynolds was moved by the relationship formed between Ambler Blackford and his student, which reinforced Reynolds’ belief that “one of the things that makes Episcopal so special is the relationships built between students and teachers.” Fostering those unique relationships, formed in the classroom, on the playing field, and on dorm continues to be at the heart of Episcopal’s mission and was the inspiration for naming the McCain-Ravenel Center after the special bond established between John McCain ’54 and long-serving English teacher William Ravenel.
Within ten years of Quentin’s matriculation to Episcopal High School, Ambler Blackford was struck by the grief-inducing headline, “Lieutenant Roosevelt Meets Heroic Death.” Caleb observed that given his privilege, Quentin Roosevelt likely could have avoided serving in World War I, but instead he strove to become an aviator, a pursuit so dangerous in World War I that one’s service was said to be measured in mere weeks. He was so determined to become an airman that he overcame the disqualification of poor eyesight by memorizing the letters on the eye chart. The Germans sought to capitalize on Quentin Roosevelt’s death by circulating an image of his lifeless body next to his plane for propaganda purposes, but instead the photograph garnered the respect of both Americans and Germans, who recognized that as the son of an American President, he could have avoided serving on the front lines.
Reflecting back on the class and his project, Caleb shared that he appreciated the opportunity to research a topic that he has a connection to, contributing to the historic record with original research, and impacting how Quentin Roosevelt is remembered. Reynolds reflected, “It’s always fun to see how interested students are in learning about the history of Episcopal. Our rich history, going back 186 years, provides great opportunities to dig into the history of a place they call home and love. My main goal is to encourage students to bring curiosity and an open mind to learning about a place they think they know so well. By uncovering stories from the past, students have the chance to do real archival research and challenge themselves to take their learning to a higher level, and we, the Episcopal community, are richer by having these oftentimes lost or understudied aspects of our story brought to light.”
