125 Septembers: The Life of the Schools

Morristown-Beard School

125 Septembers The Life of the Schools

1891-2016 125TH Anniversary

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Morristown-Beard School

Board of Trustees Michael Ranger, President Paolo W. Cucchi, Vice President John F. Fay, Vice President Thompson D. Grant, Jr. ’69, Treasurer Judy Taggart, Secretary Peter J. Caldwell, Headmaster Bernadette Aiello Joseph B. Baker ’65 Mary-Ellen Campbell (Honorary)

Shane Connell Ronald DePoalo Wilfredo Fernandez David Ferry David Gately Abbie Shine Giordano Jeffrey Gronning Paul Hawkins ’85 David V. H. Hedley ’64 (Honorary)

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Allan P. Kirby, Jr. ’49 (Honorary) Gail Kurz ’86 Michael Mariano Joseph Robillard Gilbert Santaliz Roger Schwarz, Esq. ’66 Gerald Scully Katie Simon ’85 Elizabeth Warner Elizabeth Winterbottom

Morristown-Beard School

Director of Institutional Advancement Betsy Patterson Director of Development Joseph Locandro Associate Director of Alumni Relations Monya Taylor Davis ’88 News & Information Manager Steve Patchett

Mike Ranger

Board of Trustees, President Dear MBS Community,

Brand & Communications Manager Janet Burdorf Graphic Designer Sharon Cowen-Cain

As Morristown-Beard School marks its 125th anniversary, we have a unique opportunity to celebrate our storied past and honor those who have created the extraordinary School we know and love today.

Throughout its history, Morristown-Beard School has met the challenges and opportunities of each new decade, and responded to prepare our students for leadership. While staying true to its original values, MBS has actively transformed its facilities, its academic program, and its co-curricular programs to bring them to new levels of excellence and ensure that our education is as relevant as possible.

In the past decade alone, MBS has renovated every building on campus, installed turf on each athletic field, and constructed our spectacular performing arts center, Founders Hall. We have reformed our curriculum to emphasize critical thinking, problem solving, independent thought and intellectual risk taking. With vision and purpose, we have also expanded our global outreach programs and embraced the latest technology to meet the evolving needs of our students and faculty.

Today, it’s impossible to walk through campus without noticing the bustling construction site for the new Math & Science Building—a potent symbol of Morristown-Beard School’s institutional momentum and of our focus on the future. This project is just one of several campus initiatives now underway that will play an important role in positioning Morristown-Beard School as a leader in independent school education for years to come.

I am proud to be a part of this special anniversary at a moment when Morristown-Beard School is poised to achieve even greater success. With your continued support, I am confident that MBS will meet the challenges of the next 125 years.

Sincerely,

Website Manager Tiffany Zuber Archivist/Editor Dr. Alan Cooper Historian/Writer Carol Selman ’64

Michael W. Ranger President, MBS Board of Trustees

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Morristown-Beard School

Peter J. Caldwell Headmaster 2011-Present

Dear Friends of MBS, Happy birthday, Morristown-Beard School! I feel truly honored to serve as Headmaster of MBS during this milestone celebration.

Our 125th anniversary provides us with an opportunity to reflect on our rich history, share our vision for the future, and recognize the institution’s many accomplishments.

Over the past 125 years, thousands of students have passed through the doors of The Morristown School, The Beard School, and Morristown-Beard School. Our graduates have gone on to make positive contributions to their families, their careers, and their communities. Truly, we have much to celebrate.

While many aspects of School life have changed over the years, our values have remained steadfast, and our all-consuming goal has always been helping our students to become productive, responsible citizens in the larger world. Their continuing success — academic, personal and professional — is our reason for being.

I hope that you enjoy this special publication, 125 Septembers: The Life of the Schools, which highlights some of the milestones, people, places, and events that have contributed to the history of the three Schools. Throughout the year, we have been planning special events and initiatives designed to engage and unite the Morristown-Beard School community like never before.

You are encouraged to get involved by attending events on campus, supporting our historic Transforming Our Future capital campaign, and sharing your memories of your time at The Beard School, The Morristown School, or Morristown-Beard School with us.

By participating in the life of this institution, the MBS family is not only acknowledging the value of the Morristown-Beard School experience, but is encouraging this legacy for future generations.

Best wishes from campus,

Peter J. Caldwell Headmaster

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Morristown-Beard School

Dr. Alex Curtis Headmaster 2004-2011 What made your time at MBS so special?

The community. The MBS community, in short, is what made my tenure as Headmaster so special. Naturally, the largest and most important part of the community was our remarkable students. They chose Morristown-Beard because they knew an MBS education, moreover an MBS experience, would make a difference in their lives. And they were right. An immensely talented faculty, each of whom cared deeply about each student, went above and beyond to ensure a transformative experience for every student.

At the heart of a school, is its curriculum.

As such, it was a joy to work with John Mascaro, a leader in 21st century learning. Indeed, John had us having conversations in 2004 that many other schools are only having now.

Curricular innovations that were born of these conversations were executed by our inspirational teachers who made their successful implementation their priority.

Our growth, however, was not limited to the classroom; rather, it transcended campus.

Successful fundraising allowed us to support all aspects of the physical plant. The athletic fields, gymnasium, Alumni House, South Wing, and Wilkie Hall were all renovated to improve, enhance, or establish the programming of each of these important spaces. Most notably, however, were the projects that came with the Ahead with Confidence campaign: the renovation and expansion of the Middle School and the creation of Founders Hall.

Those were long-held dreams that became a reality, and it was truly special to be a part of the process that brought them to fruition.

The Trustees, administrators, faculty, and staff together with MBS alumni, and students worked together every single day to better

Morristown-Beard. The results of this collaboration were evident in exponential growth in admission numbers as well as growing respect in the greater community. MoBeard became Morristown-Beard, and I could not be more proud to have been a part of this wonderful School – and its community.

We dreamed. We set goals, and then met – and often exceeded – them. Then we asked ourselves “What next? How can we be even better next year?” And in seeking those answers, we began the cycle anew. We dreamed…

What are the lasting memories of your years at MBS? ■ School meetings – especially those in Founders Hall where we could finally all gather together. So many memories…group dances; CMW, play, and musical previews; Eddie Franz introducing Jimmy Valvano’s speech -- too many to mention, but they brought me so much joy!

■ Surf & Turf lunches in celebration of state championships.

■ Watching the boys win the Mennen Cup and the girls beat Lawrenceville on the ice… multiple times!

■ Outstanding, sold-out performances…like HELLO DOLLY! ■ Standing in my favorite point on campus: by the window in the stairwell of Founders Hall where I could simultaneously hear students downstairs making Founders their own and watch our athletic teams practice and compete.

■ The way our community came together… not only for celebratory moments, but also during difficult times when we needed to support each other.

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Morristown-Beard School

L. Laird Davis Headmaster 1998-2004

Morristown-Beard Thoughts There are many memories of my days as Headmaster of Mo-Beard. Clearly, one of the highlights was one late summer day of my first year as “interim” Head when I noticed that the buildings were looking pretty dull, old and in need of major repair. One only had to watch prospective students and their parents leaving the admissions office in the main building and see them look over their shoulders and shake their heads.. You knew that they would not be continuing their application.

I started to scrape and paint parts of the building myself only to be joined the next day by several faculty members. Soon, some trustees and parents and kids arrived to help and so “Spruce up day” began.

“Spruce up day” was soon to be a regular occasion on a Saturday just before school began in the Fall. Scraping and painting, planting, spreading mulch and many other clean up projects were accomplished with the added help of our grounds department and students. Basically, the entire Morristown-Beard community pitched in. The Development office supplied ice tea and sandwitches.

While the day originally was to “spruce up the campus”, it quickly evolved into a fun day for all of the community to spend time together in a non traditional school activity and a wonderful way to get to know each other… Trustee and teacher tossing mulch… students and school administrators painting buildings (inside and out) together.

Yes, the school looked a lot better but the real prize was the friendships that were formed and the realization that everyone had contributed to the betterment of the school.

The school did not have the money to hire outside folks to fix up a tired campus. We did, however have a “Can do” spirit that is a Mo-Beard hallmark.

Other fond memories center around Kim Foley interviewing me for the interim Head’s job and dropping a lens of his glasses in his soup; Peter Elder’s never ending positive thinking and acting; raising the money and rebuilding several buildings, redoing several of the athletic fields.

But my fondest memories have to do with the students. The look on their faces when something really great had just happened. in the classroom, the athletic field or on the stage. That’s why people devote their lives to education.

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Morristown-Beard School

Bill Mules Headmaster 1992-1998

Memories of MBS Dear Friends of MBS, The reputation for excellence that is cherished by the Morristown-Beard School community rests upon the shoulders of the many men and women who have, through dedication and perseverance, contributed so much to the School and to its students.

My years at MBS have provided ample examples of the various and remarkable people who were the School’s family.

Some of the names include: Anderson, Billings, Benediktsson, Dundas, Fagan, Foley, Franz, Kaugher, Newton, Penner, and Thayer.

The list goes on‌ it is long and replete with talent, loyalty, and enthusiasm.

Mixing humor with high standards, the faculty, staff, and trustees of Morristown-Beard School worked to open pathways for the young men and women in their charge. The alumni of today give evidence of the help and the hope that were in such generous supply on Whippany Road.

It is an honor to have worked among such dedicated, talented people.

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Morristown-Beard School

Philip L. Anderson Headmaster 1974-1992

Headmaster Philip L. Anderson, who passed away on July 26, 2016 at the age of 93, was a beloved figure on campus who guided the merger of the Schools and helped MBS thrive during his 18 years of service.

Philip L. Anderson devoted his life to service and education, both professionally for 44 years and also as a volunteer after retirement. During his tenure at Morristown-Beard School, Anderson secured the School’s financial footings, and enrollments nearly tripled, growing from 168 to 435 students. He significantly expanded the number of faculty and the School’s academic program. Under his leadership, the campus grew as well — both the Dining Hall/Science Center and the Athletic Center were built.

Mr. Anderson had a clear vision for Morristown-Beard School. He believed a school was not a corporation and should not be run like one. He was personally involved in admission and college counseling in addition to administration. Anderson met with every prospective student and family, and he interviewed every prospective faculty member. He had an extraordinary sixth sense about people; he knew what he wanted his community to be.

Under his leadership, a 7th and 8th grade Middle School was created in 1978; it was later expanded to include a 6th grade. In a 2008 interview, Mr. Anderson recalled, “We were seeing the process of establishing middle schools coming from public schools and recognized it was the right thing to do. We were very fortunate to have Leona Fagan and a team of teachers to explore this concept for MBS.” Dr. Fagan, one of his early recruits, became the first Head of Middle School.

Anderson worked to join the traditions of the Beard School and Morristown Schools after their somewhat uneasy 1971 merger. Morristown’s Old Main, the main campus building, was rededicated on October 12, 1974 as Beard Hall in honor of Beard founder Miss Lucie Beard.

He invited Edith Sutherland, long time Beard Headmis-

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tress, to deliver the Dedication Address.

“Heading MBS was a challenge, but I had a great team — great faculty, great coaches. We created opportunities for kids to flourish,” Anderson said. “The leader gets the credit, but credit should go to the entire team. I learned in the Marines, you can’t do it alone; I had a great staff, great people.”

Staff during the Anderson years recalled, “We knew that Phil would make all final decisions, but he sought and weighed input from everyone equally, including students.”

In a 2010 interview, Anderson recalled his coming to MBS: “In 1974, Tom Grant was retiring. I was president of the New Jersey Alliance of Independent Schools. Tom and I had been working together. I respected Tom and was honored to follow him. When Celeste and I arrived, we loved the beauty of the campus and the warmth of the people.”

Anderson was universally loved by the MBS family. Students in the 1987 Salmagundi wrote, in part, “As each of us became members of the MBS family, our attitude towards the School was already determined by your warmth and enthusiasm…Your dedication to the philosophy that success is defined as both individual achievement and contributions to our fellow man has given us a goal for which to strive and guidelines by which we can live.”

After his formal retirement, Anderson continued his lifelong devotion to service both with Kiwanis and the American Red Cross. He accepted an invitation from philanthropist Ray Chambers to work part-time on behalf of deserving young people in Newark, NJ. He also did fundraising for the P.G. Chambers School for Therapy and Learning in Cedar Knolls, helping young people with learning problems and disabilities.

Anderson always expressed gratitude for the joy of working with young people. During his retirement years, he said, “What I relish now is hearing former students telling me how much they loved MBS.”

Morristown-Beard School

From the Editor DR. ALAN H. COOPER, MBS former faculty, Archivist Give the task of clarifying and expanding on the life of our Schools to a retired archaeologist, one can be sure of several parallels. In both endeavors, one provides a proof of life or existence to those who would otherwise not have one and give more detail to their existence in the form of what the people had, made, did or thought.

In the selections below, historian and writer Carol Selman ’64 (Beard School) and I have provided that detail, sources for reminiscence for some and explanation of how we came to be this way to the younger generations. That is the impetus for 125 Septembers: Life of the Schools.

The superb work of Pamela Bloom and her collaborators in 100 Septembers left those who follow with a paradigm of excellence, so much so that to attempt any duplication of that effort would be pointless and futile. Thus, having the history in hand, it seemed most appropriate to enliven it, as it were, with stories of those who populated and created this history. The format, short interpretative essays with vignettes and other stories, was the concept of Betsy Patterson, Director of Institutional Advancement, allowing the reader to focus on discrete aspects of our histories and, it is hoped, learn from them or add their own examples.

The topics here are the result of a great number of participants, from the students who wrote letters home, who corresponded with the school, who wrote for the Morristown School News and its more recent incarnations, who gave interviews which added verve and spirit to the recitation of events, who wrote special material based on their expertise to those who advised and helped keep the editor on track. Some of these were: Roger Richard, MBS Director of Instrucion, Dr. Patrick Horan, MBS English Department, Greg Williams ’05, Assistant Director of Admissions, Steve Patchett, MBS News and Information Manager and Jill Brody ’90 (MBS). Special recognition is due to Dr. Scott Robertson ’99 (MBS) whose research has greatly enriched our understanding of the people and events, which have shaped us.

Carol Selman ’64 and I hope you enjoy this volume and perhaps renew or initiate your association with 100 Septembers. We would also be grateful for more recollections to enhance our Archives and make the next book, 150 Septembers perhaps, that much more illustrative of our extraordinary past and seemingly limitless future.

This is the Life of the Schools and we affirm, as Walt Whitman observed, for each of the generations of the communities of our Schools, “that you are here, that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you will contribute a verse.”

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Morristown-Beard School

Miss Beard’s School The Beard School

Forward to Life at Beard: An Affectionate Look Back

BY CAROL SELMAN ’64 Every Beard woman I have met, and I have met hundreds, cannot believe how many decades have passed since our collective years at Beard. Since 2000, Morristown-Beard School has given me the opportunity to add the rich memories of alumnae from the 1920s through the 1970s to my own. First as alumni field representative and subsequently as a feature and staff writer for Crimson Magazine, I have interviewed and profiled many remarkable Beard women as well as Morristown men and MBS graduates. There have been years of research, oral history, and Crimson Magazine features celebrating the history of the three Schools and related topics.

I decided to emphasize Beard life from the 1930s to the merger, Pamela Bloom and contributors having thoroughly covered Beard’s early years in the excellent 100 Septembers. I wanted to include many of the Beard voices and memories that I have been gathering these 16 years and add new ones. I winnowed my preliminary ideas to 15 topics, each prefaced by an interpretive essay—some history, some explanations, some personal observations—followed by alumnae memories. Each segment stands on its own, but all play back and forth with one another. It is hoped these essays are both an entertaining and meaningful recapturing of our Beard Days: While Beard style is of another time, Beard substance is part of the tradition of Morristown-Beard excellence.

I thank Director of Institutional Advancement Betsy Patterson, News and Information Manager Steven Patchett, and Project Editor and Morristown/MBS Schools Writer Dr. Alan Cooper, the MBS Archivist, for inviting me to write the Beard segments for 125 Septembers: Life of the Schools and for their support throughout this assignment. Alan has been a highly thoughtful and enthusiastic reader. Our conversations about our respective challenges and approaches have enriched my thinking and work. Writer Ellen Whitney Leroe ’67 played a valued role during the project’s early stages. Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61, Lori Wobbe Valverde ’63, and Ileana Saros ’68 generously shared their memories, acted as sounding boards, read final drafts, and deepened the joy of this project. My husband, Bob DeVos, asked the right questions and gave in-house tech support. I thank them and all the alumnae, alumni, MBS administrators, teachers, and staff who have supported my efforts for the School these many years. I thank the Beard teachers and administrators who gave all Beard alumnae our foundation. We hope the entire School community, both past and present, will enjoy the results.

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Morristown-Beard School

Table of Contents 13. Beard Timeline 14. Introduction: Life at Beard:

An Affectionate Look Backwards

16. The Rhythm of Our School Days 18. The Rhythm of the School Year 20. Boarders Remember: Of the Von Trapp

Family Singers and Spanish Swear Words

22. Getting There—Feet, Skis, Bikes, Trains,

Cars and the Occasional Family Limousine: Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat…

24. Academics: Ad Astra Per Aspera 26. And the Muses Smiled: Music, Dance, Art, Drama, Literature

28. Gym: The Why of Spartans and Athenians and More

30. Girls Having Fun 32. Students Governing Students: The Beard School Association & the Honor System

34. Of Pierced Ears, Headbands, and Headaches: Confessions of an Honor Council Chair

35. More on the Uniform: Origins and Alumnae Nays and Ayes

36. Girls Behaving Badly/Tales of the Not So

Dark Side: Undress Chicken, Tormenting Teachers, Cutting Class

38. Girl Power in a Man’s World 40. Saying Good Bye: Awards, Candlelight, and Commencement / “Once a Beard Girl, Always a Beard Girl” Reprised

42. Mother Athletes, by Darcy Cauldwell, MBS English Department

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Morristown-Beard School

Beard Timeline 1891 Miss Lucie C. Beard

establishes Miss Beard’s School at 25 Clarendon Place, Orange, NJ with a kindergarten class of 13 girls and boys; subsequent grades (girls only after first grade) added annually. Sisters Eliza (Miss Lizzie) Beard and soon, until her marriage, Henrietta (Miss Ettie) Beard play key roles.

1896 Both a forward-looking

Collegiate course of study and a post graduate program are adopted.

1898 After an interim move

to 405 Lincoln Avenue, School finds permanent home on Berkeley Avenue, Orange near Colgate estate. Boarding department opens with one student; will build to 80 girls in 1920s.

1903 Fine arts, music, dance

and theater continue as central to School mission: Initially, Miss Lizzie teaches art and Miss Ettie supervises dance.

The Lamentable Tragedy of Julius Caesar in Song and Verse is staged outdoors. First graduate, Amy Van Nostrand, matriculates at Vassar College.

Amy plants ivy and passes spade down to junior class.

First Tree Speech honors scholarship and spirit.

1904 First team sport, an

intramural basketball game.

1907 Expansion begins:

Completed campus will encompass Recitation House, the Cottage, Colonial House, Corner House, and Green Shutters plus playing field, two tennis courts, and gardens.

1913 Sports expand with

Athletic Association forming two subsidiary associations, the Spartans and Athenians, competing in basketball, hockey and tennis. Lacrosse follows; other athletics include

track, archery, and riding.

Varsity teams continue to compete with Dwight, Kent Place, Dearborn-Morgan and other girls schools until late1920s.

rigorous academic standards deepens.

1940s Boarding School

celebrates diversity with influx of foreign students from France, Holland and England during WWII, then from Latin America after the war.

1917 Establishment of

Beard’s Red Cross Chapter.

Focus is on rolling bandages and cutting gauze dressings for World War One wounded.

Students also knit clothing for the French.

1941 Active student

participation in the federal Schools-at-War Program with bond and scrap metal drives, a Victory Garden, a Victory Corps, plus volunteer Red Cross and summer farm work.

1912-1920 Many traditions

begin: Halloween Party, Christmas Dance, JuniorSenior Dance, and the Boarders Dance— the Fair is in the future. With music by a NYC band, a brave couple tries out two new dances, the Turkey Trot and Grizzly Bear.

1946 The school mourns

the death of Miss Beard on September 11, 1946, age 79.

1947-48 Reorganization of

School as the not for profit The Beard School is completed.

Edith M. Sutherland becomes Dean, then Assistant Headmistress and—on Miss Turner’s retirement— Headmistress.

1919 With Sidney M.

Colgate’s guidance, School incorporates under a board of directors easing financial responsibilities for Miss Beard and Miss Lizzie. S. Bayard Colgate will play key advisory role in the 1930s.

1947 Students in a tizzy as

grades for proper carriage; posture grades later adopted year-round.

stage and screen star Joan Caulfield ’39 and younger sister, actress Betty Caulfield ’42, visit their alma mater, pose for publicity shots, and sign autographs.

1920s-30s With strong

1948 School’s commitment

1929 First Posture Drive with

enrollments, division into Lower (K-6th) and Upper Schools (7th-12th). More field trips, activities and new traditions including Carnival, Christmas Pageant, and Dance Club are added.

School uniforms for older girls introduced.

to arts and NYC culture continues. Upper School newspaper, The Bugle, reports on student outings to Vladimir Horowitz concert at Mosque Theater, Lucia di Lammermoor at Metropolitan Opera, and study trip to Metropolitan Museum of Art.

1932 First Fathers Day, the

1950 Miss Sutherland brings

Father-Daughter Basketball Game is later added.

a Cum Laude Society Chapter to Beard: Five seniors plus select faculty and graduates are inducted as charter members. Miss Turner, in attendance, receives honorary membership.

1940 Death of beloved Miss Lizzie.

1941 50th Anniversary

celebrations. Miss Beard names Sara C. Turner as coheadmistress. Emphasis on

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1953 Fire devastates

Recitation House just prior

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to Thanksgiving break.

Classes resume at Hillside and St. Andrew’s churches the following Monday and continue there for a year and a half.

1953-end of 50s Trustees, key parents, and alumnae establish Emergency Building Fund and contribute generously; fundraising includes balls and raffling of a Morris-Minor Touring car.

1954 First graduate, Amy Van Nostrand Maghee (see 1903) does the groundbreaking for a new academic and administrative building.

The president of Princeton University lays cornerstone a few months later.

1955 Moving Day! Classes

resume on campus in new, white-washed brick building.

Design evokes Georgian colonial revival style of existing campus.

1964 High Academic

standards continue with expanded laboratories, curriculum changes, library improvements and introduction of Advanced Placement courses.

1964 Major Civil Rights leader

Rabbi Joachim Prinz delivers Commencement Address. First African-American students soon admitted.

1970 Changing times exert pressures on single gender schools. George C. Burr becomes first Headmaster in School history; Boarding Department closes; merger with Morristown School.

1971 Merger and move

to Morristown campus, shuttering of Beard’s Orange campus.

Morristown-Beard School

Life at Beard

INTRODUCTION

An Affectionate Look Back “Once a Beard Girl, Always a Beard Girl”

It wasn’t a simpler, nor a safer time—fathers, uncles, and brothers at wars; the H-bomb; assassinations; Civil Rights struggles—but in our memory it was simpler.

It was a more polite and orderly time with clear rules and standards of decorum. Maybe that is why when we were at Beard, we felt safe.

We alumnae welcome everyone to our lives at Beard.

We thrived in a now past world where we were called girls and expected to be young ladies. “Girls” will be the collective noun throughout these memories.

As with all of the past, our world at Beard is now a foreign land. Some preliminaries are needed before the visit.

First, a thumbnail history:

Miss Lucie Beard founded Miss Beard’s School in 1891 and led it until her death in 1946. Through the prosperous 1920s and the lean 1930s, the School grew in reputation and academic excellence with Miss Turner and Miss Sutherland later making invaluable contributions. While the School was established to educate the daughters (and preschool sons) of the wealthy elite, from the outset it embodied Miss Beard’s respect and concern for all.

In 1948 the School was reincorporated as a not for

profit and renamed The Beard School. Most of the contributors to Life at Beard graduated after 1948 and refer to the School as Beard, not the earlier Beard’s or Beards, so Beard will be the reference used in these pages.

Today, most of our Orange campus has been torn down; the white frame, green shuttered Georgian revival buildings exist only in memory and photographs. The academic building dedicated in 1955 remains at 560 Berkeley Avenue, now repurposed for the elderly.

Next, to understand our world, please take these steps:

Hide everything that starts with the letter “i” (pod, pad, phone) or involves streaming, urls, and followers.

Avoid using the word “I” in essays, in part because “the world doesn’t revolve around you” and, along that line, remember that “complaining doesn’t solve anything.”

Limit all viewing to a 14-inch television set (seven channels), films at a single screen cinema and, perhaps, 8mm home movies or slides. Photographs? Bring a roll of film to the drugstore for development.

To talk with a friend, walk or bicycle to their house or dial on the family rotary phone, hoping a brother isn’t listening on the extension. Mail a letter. Music?

Practice piano, put a long playing 33 rpm record or a 45 rpm disc on the family hi-fi or stereo, or turn on the radio. Sing, alone or with your friends.

Handwrite nightly school assignments and hunt and peck on a manual typewriter for summer reading reports and major papers.

One more request:

Understand that there is a forever young, evergreen place within every Beard girl where we are reciting 1 Corinthians 13 or changing from our green jumpers into our green gym clothes or agonizing over Latin translations or thinking “yuck” as we cut into our fetal frogs.

We alumnae now laugh at our young selves. Our readers should feel free to laugh, too. —CS ’64

“Miss Beard was spoken of in terms of absolute respect, not to be feared but revered. A visit to her office required a curtsey and backing out of her presence…During World War Two, my first grade class was marched down to a small seating area in the old School lobby to purchase our dime War Savings Bond stamps from Miss Beard herself. This was surely accompanied by an impressive talk on our patriotic duty. Yet, war seemed very far away within the comforting confines of the old wooden School….Later, our green-socked, green-jumpered, no-lipsticked 1950s Upper School days were relatively carefree.” —Barbara Newberry Lindsley ’56 “My adolescence played out against a background of war, yes, but inside the School walls was an alternate world of peace and the arts, filling me up, nourishing me for the hard-knock years ahead.” —Nancy Means Wright ’45 “I remember the original Miss Beard’s School and its founder Lucie Beard. I was awe-struck in the presence of Miss Beard. It was almost like being presented to the Queen of England. But she was a wonderful and gentle person.” —Roberta Rowland Bottaro ’51.

“The Beard atmosphere was nurturing, encouraging and supportive. I was made to feel that I could do and be anything in life that I desired. Recognition and reward were based upon merit and achievement. In a time when girls needed to be promoted, Beard was an oasis where girls were the focus in academics, School and class government, and sports. Without resorting to a formal teaching structure, qualities of ethics, compassion, character, and a sense of civic duty were instilled.” —Ileana Saros ‘67 “In addition to our academic studies, we learned values and good manners and common sense….Beard instilled good ethical values, self-discipline, and strong study habits. All have served us well throughout our lives.”

—Beard women, 1950s

“I went to Beard, I thought, because I needed to learn to be a young lady!

I learned a lot more than that: The education and grounding have been lasting. Literature, science, language, math, grammar were extensive, far superior to my children’s high school education.” —Mary Foster Orben ’55 “Remember The Honor System and the Report Boxes where you could report yourself or someone else for being out of uniform, wearing makeup or jewelry, or talking in line or in study hall or CHEATING!” —Lori Wobbe Valverde ‘63

“I remember dreaming away at my desk in Mrs. Grant’s study hall, feeling safe, which is an odd thing to think about at age 15. And I remember feeling satisfied as I neatly ticked off homework assignments in those little brown note pads.” —Beard woman, ’56 “No mention of underclass study hall would be complete without mention of Mrs. Grant, the elderly proctor. She was very stern, could hear a whisper anywhere in the room and could scold you with a stare, but she had a heart of gold and a lovely, sweet smile. I believe it was Mrs. Grant, an early Beard graduate, who always reminded us ‘Once a Beard Girl, Always a Beard Girl.’” —Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61 125TH Anniversary

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Morristown-Beard School

The Rhythm of Our School Days

From the start of classes in mid-September to the end of the School year in early June, our days followed much the same pattern. We didn’t find the pattern boring because in our era a regular schedule was the academic norm, and boredom was not allowed.

Both boarders and day students arrived in the academic building at about 8 a.m. and headed to their lockers and then to homeroom, one homeroom for each grade level. The class president led homeroom, overseen by the class faculty advisor. Elections for 7th-11th grade class presidents and officers were held each semester; the rotation maximized leadership opportunities.

Chapel followed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We lined up according to height in the School’s second floor hallway, Spartans on the west side, Athenians on the east. The gym teachers established the order; since we all wore regulation oxfords or brown and white saddle shoes, our heights didn’t vary from day to day.

Mindful of our posture, we filed into Chapel which was held in the Gym/Auditorium. (This account is for the 1955 academic building; a 1953 fire destroyed the earlier Recitation House.) The Headmistress led the service.

There were readings from the King James Bible, inspirational words, and prayer. The School musical director and Chapel Choir led our hymn singing. Regardless of religion or cultural background, everyone was expected to participate. Most Fridays, a 12th grader delivered her Senior Chapel Speech, a rite of passage. After the service, School announcements were made.

Classes followed. Classes were small — usually 6 to 16 girls—and tracked by ability and prior education. We sat in two or three horizontal rows, although progressive English teachers would allow us to form a circle for discussion. Science laboratory and studio art were other exceptions to the regimented rows.

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Midday we broke for lunch which was sort of a Tale of Two Lunch Rooms: Boarding students, faculty, and staff took formal lunch in the Dining Room, a world of white table linens, good china, and formal manners with a teacher or staff member seated at each table.

Day students could pay extra for Dining Room lunch either year round or on a given day. But most day students brought brown bag lunches, buying only half pint milk cartons at School.

Spring and fall we ate outdoors behind the School: Freedom! Winter, we crowded into basement rooms.

Free periods meant a proctored study hall or, if in good standing, the School library.

Seniors had their own self-proctored study hall, a privilege usually subject to high spirits and abuse.

Classes ran through 6th period; on Fridays, School then let out. Mondays through Thursdays, we had study hall or gym during 7th period, and we were required to take after-School 8th period gym at least once a week. We each carried home an armload of books. Backpacks were in the future. —CS ’64

Morristown-Beard School

“In the morning if we were early for homeroom and the door was locked, we would stack our binders and books along the wall, and Miss Sperry would come along and pretend to trip on them in order to teach us a lesson!...And, I remember playing the piano for Friday assemblies, sometime duets or trios with my sisters.”—Lori Wobbe Valverde ’63

“I remember the bustle of homeroom and calling out our names in alphabetical order.”—Beard woman, ’53 “Remember ‘uniform inspection’ as we stood lined up for Chapel in the upper hall?” What if your saddle shoes were not pristine white, or if you had on more than one scarab bracelet? I forgot my hymnal for Chapel one morning (You were not allowed to go to your locker after the bell), and I swear ‘Suds’ [Headmistress Miss Sutherland] stared at me the entire service!”… “Since we could not wear finger nail polish, we all polished our toenails. We wore outrageous underwear under our uniforms, which no one saw except when we changed for gym…

Miss Child (Gym) was always reminding us to watch our posture and tops: ‘Walk as if you are holding a large precious gem on your chest!’

We even had ‘Posture Week’ and made Posture Posters.” —Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61

“Miss Sutherland confided that each Senior’s hem would quiver while delivering her Senior Chapel talk”….We always sang ‘Awake My Soul, Stretch Every Nerve’ in Chapel at the beginning of exam week, a plan devised by Miss Sutherland as a little joke to relax us.”—Beard women, 1950s and 1960s.

“I remember playing the piano for morning Chapel and being so nervous that I stumbled through with wrong notes. I told Miss Stallnecht I couldn’t do it again and she insisted I should try. Next time I memorized ‘Dear Lord and Father of Mankind,’ and I got through it successfully. I appreciated her faith in me.”—Beard woman, ’56 “Oh, those green bloomers we had to wear for gym! I bet we were the last school in the world that had us wearing such vintage outfits.”—Barbara Newberry Lindsley ’56 “I remember the chocolate pudding in the dining room, all handmade back then.”--Beard woman, 1950s…“Lunch time--Who remembers the ice-cream machine (it dispensed ice-cream sandwiches for 50 cents) in the all purpose room? And what a to-do there was over getting it and setting up rules for its use after lunch and afterschool!”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ‘61 125TH Anniversary

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The Rhythm of the School Year While the rhythm of our School days little varied, the School Calendar rang in with seasonal accents and surprises. There were special trips for seniors, and Glee Club members enjoyed coveted concerts with boy schools. The whole School would take part in our annual events: Founders Day, the Fall Party, the Fair, Fathers and Mothers Days, the Pageant, Carnival, fall and spring dances, and Commencement Exercises. Many girls contributed to making each event a success, and everyone attended.

We worked eagerly, taking joy in the community created. Studio art students painted the backdrops for the living tableaux at the Christmas Pageant.

My graduating year, the inspirations were The Annunciation

by Tiepolo and Holy Night by Correggio. As juniors, we created the fun house at the Fall Party, transforming a basement corridor into a dark chamber of Halloween fright.

(In preparation, my class peeled grapes for hours, then we dipped underclass hands into bowls of the “eyeballs.”)

We made gifts to sell at the Fair, Beard’s major charitable fundraising event; Christmas boxes for children in Orange Valley Settlement Houses; painted the scenery for School plays; held skit nights and variety shows; decorated the gym for dances; and enthusiastically applauded student Dance Club performances.

Once a year, singly or pooling our money, we bid on members of the Senior Class; the senior would drive you and your pals to School,

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fix you all a lunch, and the money raised went for charity. (It was called a Slave Auction; the practice ended before the 1967 integration of the Upper School.)

Another fundraiser allowed us a day when we could wear our own clothes. Moms dictated that most of the girls were demure in Villager shirtwaist dresses and flats, but some of us upperclassmen took our fashion cue from Audrey Hepburn, our favorite actress. We swanned through the School day in sophisticated, sleeveless dresses, adding high heels for impact. (Our oxfords felt good the next day.)

To our absolute amazement, the faculty and staff donned School uniforms borrowed from the Beard resale shop. Miss Sutherland added both forbidden jewelry and make up to her ensemble: big drop earrings and heavy eye color.

Earlier that year, one of my friends had been called to her office for wearing eye shadow while in uniform. “But Miss Sutherland, my eyelids are naturally blue,” she had shamelessly protested.

We served our parents lunch during Mothers and Fathers Days. When our Dads came, we rooted for our classmates at the Father/Daughter Basketball challenge. We chose and admired the Carnival Queen and her court until an enlightened class of 1968 determined that crowning beauty was hopelessly of another era. —CS ’64

Morristown-Beard School

“An ‘Alice in Wonderland Fair,’ complete with the Mad Hatter’s Tea Room, highlighted the fall activities. For the first time, games, such as the Pool of Tears penny pitch and the White Rabbit bean-bag hole, were held for the younger visitors, and once again, pastel portraits and silhouettes drew many admirers. The annual fund-raising event provided monies for more than twenty-five community, national, and world agencies.”…“The Fall Dance was another highlight of our social calendar: The gym was transformed into a fairyland of multicolored balloons and crepe paper streamers…The dance, our first to combine the four upper grades, proved to be a smashing success.”—excerpts from the 1964 Clio, the Beard yearbook

ful time…. Remember rehearsing our classes for Fathers’ Day the next day? Everyone got 100 in every class that day.”—Beard woman, 1953

“Remember parent visitation days and fancy chicken salad lunches in the Dining Room to impress them?” [Tobi’s younger sister Lori Wobbe Valverde ’63 remembers Mothers’ Day and shepherd’s pie…]…Or, Mrs. Faber taking us on our Senior Trip to the United Nations? Wearing our uniforms with hats and white gloves and carrying our bag lunches, we overheard one visiting mother remark to her child ‘Look, Dear, at the girls from the orphanage!!’”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61

“I remember singing in ‘The Angel Choir’— me in the ‘Angel Choir’! We sang at Christmas Pageant on stage in front of a STEAMING radiator.”—Beard woman, 1953

“Remember all those cute guys in the Princeton Glee Club?”--Beard woman,1950s…

“I remember Glee Club Concerts with Lawrenceville and playing basketball against our fathers on Fathers’ Day.”—Jay Topping Campbell ’52 “I remember the Northfield Conferences: We were stretched spiritually and also had a wonder-

“I remember doing Dance Club shows at Carnival. It was great working with classmates on choreography.”— Beard woman, 1950s “Remember the Mother’s Day when our mothers astounded us all by coming to Beard dressed in our school uniforms?”—Beard woman, 1951 “Skit night our junior year brought out winning talent, including the ‘Mister Postman, Send Me a Dream’ Trio.”—Barbara Newberry Lindsley ’56

“We had tea dances in the old gym; boys were invited en masse from Pingry etc. We girls went upstairs in Green Shutters to leave our coats and comb our hair. I remember coming down the winding stairs to where the boys waited to be paired-off with us, and there stood Miss Bosch (The Director of Studies) with a pack of large safety pins. She would inspect your cleavage and if she found it too much, she simply grabbed your dress on either side and pinned the front shut up to your neck!!!”…“Once the dance began, she would wander around sticking a foot-long wooden ruler between couples to make sure they were not dancing too close together.”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61

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Boarders Remember:

Of the Von Trapp Family Singers and Spanish Swear Words Miss Beard’s first boarding student arrived in 1900 and was assigned a room in a house at the corner of Hillside and Berkeley Avenues. Soon more boarders were drawn to the School’s academic excellence, training in the arts, and frequent trips to New York City and Newark concert halls, opera houses, Broadway theaters, and museums. Some of the early era boarders were non-degree students or post graduates: The School was an alternative to college. By the 1920s there were 80 boarders in Colonial House, the School residential hall. Miss Beard, her sister Lizzie, future School heads, and the house mothers took seriously their in loco parentis roles.

The early boarders were an important part of School life.

They initiated the School Fair, a major charitable event that would remain a key date on the School calendar. They hosted day students and young college men at the Boarders Dance. In even numbered years the boarders held the Halloween Party; odd numbered years were led by the day girls. (The Halloween Party would evolve into our era’s Fall Party.)

In the 1940s, Beard’s Boarding School gained international flair with an influx of students from Europe during World War Two and Latin America after the war. The Latin American boarders were at Beard to perfect their English. Speaking Spanish with one another was forbidden or discouraged, a rule often flouted: Among the alumni memories is an account of decidedly unsanctioned Spanish to English language lessons.

During class room hours, boarders and day students led much the same lives, and through the 1950s, day students often boarded for a few weeks, especially during the winter months.

Boarders lives were fairly regimented with daily prayers, study halls, formal meals, Sunday Church, designated afternoons for hair washing, and early lights out. Still, in addition to cultural outings, boarders could horseback ride in South Mountain Reservation, and in the later 1960s a young faculty member would walk older boarders to a weekend lunch in downtown Orange or East Orange or drive them to more ambitious excursions.

Day student mothers would invite boarders for a weekend lunch or the Thanksgiving holiday. —CS ’64

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“There were sports every afternoon. My favorites were lacrosse and fencing, hardly standard offerings in the 1940s, but I also played field hockey, basketball and tennis and liked modern dance especially because we could wear leotards, not the awful green uniform bloomers. After sports, we boarders raced to Colonial House, picked up an apple from the tray by the door, took baths, changed into skirts and sweaters for study hall, then dinner, then more study hall, a relentless, and strangely soothing rhythm winding through the corridors, up stairs and down, that connected Colonial House to the dining room in Corner House, ran past Green Shutters where Aunts Lucie and Lizzie, the financial head of the school, lived, then connected Corner House to the Cottage, where Miss Turner, the academic head of the School lived, and finally emptied us all out into the main school building. All of these corridors had windows all along the walls on both sides so you could see what was going on in the streets and in the gardens and the playing fields beautifully maintained by James, the gardener.”—Priscilla Meyer Tucker ’48, Miss Beard’s great niece, a boarder during 7th and 8th grades.

“I boarded at Beard to take advantage of the musical education there. There was both a Steinway and a Baldwin grand piano in the Music Room in Colonial House, which allowed for recitals of the repertoire of music for two pianos.”…“We heard Rubenstein many times and Jascha Heifetz and Rudolf Serkin, and Beard sponsored and presented a local concert by the Trapp family singers. Afterwards, we all met the von Trapp family!”—Ann Blessing Hibler ’52 “We were allowed a half-hour of television each night (memories of Eddie Fisher, Dinah Shore and Your Show of Shows), we were chaperoned down the street to church each Sunday, and I spent a lot of lonely time taking the Hudson Tubes from Manhattan to Hoboken and then waiting for the train to Orange in that grimy, pre-gentrification station. But I was safe.”—Beard woman, 1956 “Remembrances: Early morning around the block walks—rain or shine, walks to church—flats only, endless study halls, must eat potatoes in order to get a dessert, Johnny Mathis music after lights out.”— Beard woman, 1961

“I was always getting into trouble for washing my hair. We could only wash our hair on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons, and I washed mine almost every day. I got caught frequently. That meant ‘privileges’ were taken away. Having ‘privileges’ meant you could walk down the hill with a chaperone to the Five & Dime store….We loved red licorice and hoarded boxes of it under our beds because we were not allowed to have food in our rooms.”—Nancy Jordan Lee ’61 “I thank all the classmates and their Mothers who got me out of Boarding School from time to time.”-Nancy Strouse Foster ’51…“I remember the upper class students who were our mentors and idols. Nancy Strouse, one of the only boarders then, used to walk me home in hopes that one of my brothers would be shooting hoops. She later married my brother Charles.”— Mary Foster Orben ’55

“I remember the Pingry boys ‘panty raid’ when I was a winter boarder.”—Beard woman, 1950s “I was a boarder because my home was in Puerto Rico. The Spanish girls loved to speak Spanish to each other, but this was not allowed because our families were paying a great deal of money so that we could speak English as perfectly as possible.”

—Beard woman, 1955

“I remember sneaking contraband (cookies!) into the Boarding School and eating hot fudge sundaes at a local parlor during our Sunday walks—a taboo!

Miss Richmond, the house mother, said never to show the top of your hands while sitting, only the palms.”—Beard woman, 1955

“Being a boarder in those strict times was not a lot of fun—although Martha Raye’s daughter was there, and a bunch of Spanish speaking gals from Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba and Puerto Rico—from whom I learned, and still remember, every Spanish swearword they knew!”—Beard woman, 1956

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Getting There—

Feet, Skis, Bikes, Trains, Cars and the Occasional Family Limousine: Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat…

In the early 1900s the School advertised that ‘‘stages run to different parts of the Oranges at a nominal price.” Whatever the romance of arriving at Beard by horse drawn carriage, day students soon had to find other means of getting there.

Complicating the transportation challenge was the School policy of essentially never canceling classes. In theory, the boarders didn’t have to step outside: The campus buildings were connected by corridors. But, practice mandated a pre-class, no-exceptions boarders’ walk around the long block housing our campus. Commuting faculty and older day students were also expected to take their cue from the inscription on the main New York City Post Office: Neither snow nor rain nor heat…

All of Orange, wide swathes of South Orange, nearer sections—nearer being within, say two, often very hilly miles—of East Orange and West Orange were considered walking distance.

Walk we did, usually starting out solo but then catching up with one another along Berkeley Avenue. Some Upper School girls (7th12th graders) rode their bicycles. Others hiked to their local Erie Lackawanna train station. Day girls caught the train from as far as Budd Lake to the west and Newark to the east. Girls from Maplewood or South Orange would join students already on board from Morristown or Short Hills before they all would disembark at Mountain or Highland Stations.

In spite of—or, perhaps, because of—the uniform, a commuting businessman might stare a little too long. We just put up with it as women did in mid 20th Century America.

Some years, there was a Beard station wagon that met the train, but most girls walked uphill the final leg of the commute. Some years, too, the station wagon did double duty, ferrying a few girls who lived on the steep hills of West Orange.

Newark and East Orange girls might take the #44 Public Service bus that stopped at the corner of Berkeley and Tremont Avenues. There was some parental car pooling. Older junior and senior girls were allowed to drive to campus. In a Senior Class twist on the games of sardines played as younger teens, four girls or five girls would squeeze into two seat, manual transmission sports cars.

Rides from boys were forbidden until the 1950s; then allowed but frowned upon.

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feur-driven limousine, never stopping even in frigid weather to give a ride to this bare-kneed daughter of the middle class whose parents valued education. I once asked a member of a Great Depression-World War Two era class if she walked or took the train from her home in South Orange. The question seemed to puzzle her.

Then she responded, “But of course the chauffeur drove me.” —CS ’64 “My father dropped off my two sisters and me on his way to work in Newark in the morning and my Mother usually picked us up. Occasionally we had to walk home, and then we literally ran through the Orange Valley--it was full of bars and a kind of scary tunnel under the railroad tracks. When it got dark early, we were not allowed to walk home because of the ‘Valley.’ On many snowy days, we would ski to the bottom of Forest Hill Road and then take off our skis and walk through the ‘Valley’ and on up to School.”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61, who lived near the crest of First Mountain in West Orange.

“A bus driver resembling Khrushchev drove my sister Jane and me to school every morning on the #44 Tremont. He’d sarcastically call us the ‘Commie kids’ because we would be going to School on days when the public schools were closed for certain holidays.”—Ellen Whitney Leroe ’67 “I remember our gathering together on the train and then walking the long trudge up the hill from Mountain Station…” —Beard woman, ’53 “I remember being in awe of both Miss Sutherland and Miss Bosch. When Hugh came into my life junior year and began picking me up occasionally (in his Mother’s white Chevy convertible!), Miss Bosch gave him the evil eye, and always had a scowl for me, too. I should have written her a few years later to say that I married him, and that it was true love, and she needn’t have worried.”—Sally Brooks Smith ’56 “I remember the Lackawanna train ride each morning, then car pooling the last 1 ½ years as we each passed our drivers test. My day was Thursday because that was my Mother’s painting day.”—Beard woman ’52 “One of my last memories of Beard was after our exams in June of senior year, walking all the way home from Orange to Maplewood! Maybe that’s how I came to be a runner.”—Beard woman ’54 “I remember riding to School senior year in Carin’s MG while I drilled Ann on valences for chemistry. Getting four of us in that MG--that meant true togetherness.”—Beard woman ’54 “There were the times when I was allowed to drive my brother’s 1938 Ford convertible to school, stuffed with Sue in the right hand front seat, holding my books and sometimes having to shift the four on the floor gears; Joyce and Judy in the rumble set; and Marcia, who usually had the privilege of lying on the ledge behind the front seat. Now, THAT was long distance car pooling. Today we would be hauled over by the police for every passenger safety violation, but wasn’t that fun?”—Mimi Hamilton Kugushev ’53 125TH Anniversary

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Academics: Ad Astra Per Aspera

Academics at Beard were demanding and excellent. While not every girl appreciated our classes as students, most realized the excellence upon matriculation: We entered college well versed in subject matter and wielding strong analytical, organizational, writing, and study skills. We mastered English grammatical rules through sentence diagramming, exercises in Warriner’s, and Latin. We read classic literature in both English and foreign languages and placed into advanced college literature, language, and history courses.

While our edition of Hamlet was expurgated of Shakespeare’s bawdier puns, the depth and breadth of our reading were strong. We wrote many papers and responded to challenging essay questions in our blue exam booklets.

Original thinking, creativity, and questioning were encouraged throughout the curriculum.

Discussions were deep and thoughtful. We were expected to know about our world. The mathematics offerings were limited to algebra and geometry, but proofs and problem solving abounded. Our biology and chemistry labs emphasized discovery and team work. There was no physics class; the School skewed towards the humanities and the arts.

The faculty was outstanding and dedicated to educating young women. Some teachers were highly educated exiles from World War Two Europe, bringing lessons of tolerance and humanitarianism that enhanced the Beard

ethos of service and understanding. To let one represent the many, history teacher Mrs. Faber arrived at Beard in 1924 after graduating from Barnard College. Widely read, idealistic, and enthusiastic, for over forty years she inspired Beard girls to be informed, active, and thinking citizens: Many of her girls would study and teach history or enter government service.

(Beard 50th Reunion Class gifts underwrote the naming of a MBS Beard Hall history classroom in her honor.) Mrs. Faber prepared us well for our 12th grade trips to the United Nations and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, taking pride in our questions during the visits’ programs.

Memorization was valued as an entry into the beauty and rhythm of language or for solace. It was also viewed as character building. We memorized and recited Miss Beard’s favorite Scripture passages, hymns, Shakespeare soliloquies, Wordsworth sonnets, irregular verbs, English vocabulary, and Greek and Latin language roots. Fifty plus years after chemistry class, Beard women can still chant the Miss Sperry Periodic Table Cheer: H Ag Li Na K,, H Ag Li Na K Cu Be Ca Fe, Pb Zn Mg Al Fe Bi Ni Cr, Al Fe Bi Ni Cr, Si C! Si C! Si C!

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—CS ’64

Morristown-Beard School

“One of my first memories of Beard’s was sitting in one of those college-style armchairs, not desks like public school, in 7th grade French class. The class, held in Corner House, was entirely in French, taught there from the first grade. Those of us who were new were just expected to catch on and up. Never any hedging on academic excellence at Miss Beard’s School.”—Priscilla Meyer Tucker ’48, Miss Beard’s great niece.

“Ms. Devlin taught me to write so well, that I was the ONLY one in my freshman class in college who got an ‘A’ in Freshman English!!”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61 “I went from an average student to a confident young woman able to cope with the rigors of a demanding college and life in general.”… “The preparation for college at Beard was invaluable.” …“I am thankful for the education Beard gave me; it enabled me to get a scholarship at Smith College.”… “Small classes and involved teachers made a big difference academically.”… “Each of us was able to experience our individuality and own our intellectual abilities.”— Beard Women, 1950s

“I remember the fantastic discussions in English and current event classes; we all participated.” —Beard woman, 1952

“In retrospect, the education I received was excellent.

I learned much from those classes in Latin, Ancient History and even a lesson on Early American furniture.

This foundation served to further my interest in many areas.”—Julie Bonanno ’56 “We were willing to memorize lots of stuff—no adolescent anger there.”—Beard woman, 1950s.

“Thank Heavens for Mlle. Sicot’s dictées. When I got to Connecticut my placement exam for French was

a dictée—the rest of the girls in that exam hall were stunned. Not me, it was easy.”—Beard woman, 1954 “The preparation for college I received at Beard was invaluable. I remember teachers—especially Mrs. Faber. It was because of her influence I majored in American Studies and went on to teach American History.”…” Mrs. Scarlett, Mrs. Crockett, Miss Elsmore, Mlle. Sicot and Miss Sutherland are all remembered.”….”Mrs. Faber influenced me in many ways, from a love of history to my college major...”…”The teachers—Mrs. Scarlett, Mlle. Sicot, Mrs. Faber, Mrs. Grant, Miss Child—how they got their subject across.”...”Mrs. Crockett was a terrific math teacher—she really made us think.”… Mrs. Duclos worked so hard to encourage me to become an actress.”…“I can still picture Mlle. Sicot with her beautiful French accent. One of our class mastered French and taught it for many years at the university level. Mlle. would be proud!”…”Most of the teachers were extremely caring, encouraging and inspirational.”-—Beard women, 1950s “The teachers, particularly Mrs. Scarlett and Mrs. Faber—I think of all the books we read then and all the books I’ve read since.”—Nancy Strouse Foster ’51 “It’s no doubt been romanticized in my mind, but my most vivid picture is Mrs. Faber holding onto mammoth pieces of colored chalk: She would write with gusto on the board in one colour, underline a point many times in another, rub the whole thing out with her fist, and (here’s where memory may invent) rub the dust off on her dress, then start in again…not a minute wasted in explaining one more point.…The study skills and habits we learned carried me all the way through university and report writing in later years. What a wonderful group of women at Beard; they offered the best teaching possible.”—Susan Brewer Williams ’53

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And the Muses Smiled: Music, Dance, Art, Drama, Literature

The arts, especially music, filled Beard. Sometimes there seemed to be a soundtrack to our life there, set to the rhythm of our School days and year: The hymns at Chapel, the School song at Spartan and Athenian games, the debut of each year’s Senior Class song, Glee Club and Chapel Choir rehearsing; the music inspiring Dance Club choreography— perhaps a Gershwin theme one year, world music another. There were carols and classical pieces at the Christmas Pageant; airs and traditional songs at Candlelight Service; and anthems, and “Ancient of Days”, and the “Triumphal March” from Aida each Commencement.

We must thank Miss Beard: She and her and her sisters made the arts integral to Beard. The nine muses smiled on the School: We studied Greek mythology and read the Iliad and the Odyssey. Our yearbook, the Clio, was named for the muse of history, and the School literary and art magazine came to be named for Calliope, the muse of heroic and lyric poetry. Throughout the School’s history there was outstanding instruction in studio art, drama, dance, instrumental music, choral singing, and voice. Our student activities and clubs echoed this instruction: In the 1920s and 30s there were Studio Club, Camera Club, Dramatic Club, Stagecraft Club, the Dance Group, and Scribblers Club. In the modern Beard era there were Chapel Choir, Glee Club (annually 40 girls strong in the 1960s plus a junior Glee Club for grades 7-9), Dance Club, Studio Club (the last two clubs also had junior editions), Literary Club, and concerts, performances, dramatic productions, art shows, and literary study and output throughout the year.

In the boarders’ resident hall there were both a Steinway and a Baldwin grand piano.

The art studio in the old School boasted a wall of high, north facing windows. Under Beard’s aegis, we went to the Metropolitan Opera, enjoyed tours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and heard concerts at Carnegie and Symphony Halls: Jan Paderewski, Arthur Schnabel, 125TH Anniversary

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Rudolph Serkin, Arthur Rubenstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Jascha Heifetz and many others. The girls in Dance Club attended performances by the Martha Graham Company.

If the talent and dedication were there, the music teachers gave students encouragement and opportunity to compose, arrange, and accompany. They set up New York City recitals and auditions. Students went from Beard to act and dance on Broadway, form theater companies and music programs, help found opera houses, publish books, become professional visual artists, arts educators, and more.

We loved in-School performances by our student singing groups—The Dateless Dozen, the Gay Nineties and the D-Naturals were among those in the 1960s.

Many Beard girls enjoyed private arts instruction, loved Broadway and Paper Mill Playhouse musical productions, and everyone listened to records. Seniors chose “Favorite Singers”—Artie Shaw and Irene Dunne in the 1940s, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald in the 1950s, with Ella still topping our chart in 1964, the final poll. But change was in the airwaves: We were discovering Soul and R&B (Sam Cooke, Ray Charles), we wanted to be Joan Baez, and three envied Junior Class girls had tickets to Shea Stadium and the Beatles first American concert. —CS ’64

Morristown-Beard School

“Mrs. Wright, the School choral director, and I worked together closely; I was president of Glee Club. She gave me my first voyage into choral arranging and accompaniment. I formed my first quartet at Beard. Beard launched me into a lifetime of music.”-- Ann Blessing Hibler ’52 “I loved the glee club and was introduced to much good music by Mr. Laubenstein, the director: Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes, modern composers like Randall Thompson, then unknown to me. I was inspired to sign up for summer school at Juilliard, got a voice teacher, and have studied and sung ever since.”—Dr. Marion Gedney ’49 “It makes me smile to think back at art class at Beard. The art room was large and had excellent lighting. Our teacher was Miss Rumph, a very encouraging woman. I did a large mural of two girls riding in a red convertible Packard. It was displayed until lost in the fire in 1953.”—Mildred Eisele Reynolds ’32

“Beard’s helped me to define myself as an artist for the rest of my life….Art teacher Alice Rumph encouraged me in every way; she let me use the studio at will and help myself to fresh watercolor paint taken from tubes in the supply closet. She taught me how to make block prints for The Clio.”—Joan Hadden Gedney ’42 “My childhood dream was to become a writer —and thanks, in part, to Beard’s, I’ve realized that goal. In eighth grade, plump, vibrant Mrs. Scarlett introduced us to Homer’s Odyssey—to me as thrilling as any modern day DaVinci Code. Homer, in turn, inspired my own Misadventures of Bertha, with its cast of boarding school sirens and the piercing-eyed Miss Beard – each Sunday I’d pen a new installment. Later, Miss Musser opened up a world of English playwrights and poets….There was music (Glee Club) and theater – plays like She Stoops to Conquer led to a lifetime of acting and directing amateur theater and influenced my writing. Now, creating scenes, I see my characters ‘on stage’; voices virtually dictate, as if from some deep well of the unconscious. That well was drilled into me at Beard’s.”—Nancy Means Wright ’45

and a beret. Her voice was memorable--one could hear her way down the corridor! (Projecting, as I later learned). Her favorite expression was ‘You’ve got to learn to speak!’ And so we did!”— Elizabeth Orton Davis ’57

“The first young adult novel I published was set at the Beard School…I never used Beard as a setting again, but the School’s spirit molded the many titles that followed….Our eighth grade homeroom teacher had us memorize and recite long passages of classic American and British poems. I can still conjure up vivid memories of walking to the #44 bus in the morning, reciting the rhythmic lines. This experience fostered a flow and rhythm in both my young adult novels and my shorter, rhymed board books….All the Beard English teachers did an excellent job of turning us into decent writers, spellers, and grammarians, but Mrs. Merrington stands apart. She demanded more from us and we rose to her expectations. She was a no-nonsense teacher; she was also fun, lively and made classic literature like Shakespeare’s plays and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey come alive. She had us take a passage from the Odyssey and adapt it to a new genre. I turned the homecoming of Odysseus into a Wild West farce set in ‘Penelope’s Golden Nugget Saloon’…Mrs. Merrington taught me that turning a classic on its head could also work for plotting novels, a lesson I’ve continued to use time and again in my writing.”—Ellen Whitney Leroe ’67

“Dramatic Arts teacher Evelyn Cole Duclos was a dynamic person with a lot of flare. She always wore a cape – black and white tweed 125TH Anniversary

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Gym: The Why of Spartans and Athenians and More From the early days of Miss Beard’s School and through all the Beard years, physical education—always called gym—and team competition deepened the Beard values of excellence, persistence, doing your best, and cooperation.

(Read more in Mother Athletes, a 125 Septembers article that explores athletics at Beard and honors a 70 year friendship forged on the Beard playing field.)

Here, we first disclose little known Beard athletic history and then share alumnae memories from both the athletically gifted and the less athletically gifted.

Through to about the mid-1920s, Beard girls competed extramurally with both girls schools that flourish today—Kent Place, Dwight (now Dwight-Englewood)—and others that folded in the Great Depression— South Orange, Dearborn-Morgan. In a 2000 interview, legendary Beard athlete Elsa Kingman Newberry ’27 (for 30 years, Elsa struck fear in Beard girls during Mother/daughter and alumnae/student field hockey games) shared her School days memories: “Competition with the rival girls schools was fierce,” Elsa said.

“Girls would slam your teeth into the water fountain while you drank.” After a mid-1920s incident, Miss Beard called a foul on extramural games. Thereafter, competition was restricted to the preexisting Beard intramural teams, the Spartans (blue) and Athenians (red).

The Spartans and Athenians had been formed about ten years earlier to allow the less athletic to have the experience of being on a team. All girls were assigned to one or the other side, but family tradition being strong at Beard, always to the same side as a grand-

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mother, mother, aunt, cousin, or sister. Beard was a small school, in mid-century averaging about 35 to 45 girls per grade, but in those years there were not only varsity teams in field hockey, girls basketball (half court: three forwards, three guards per team), and lacrosse, but also second, third and even fourth string teams.

Each girl’s team participation earned points for the Spartans or Athenians. There were also points for good posture, Dance Club, cheerleading, and tennis matches played on the clay courts at nearby Berkeley Tennis Club. Javelin, archery, and soccer completed the roster.

An individual girl’s points also brought her personal recognition in the form of “Little B”, “Big B” and the crowning “Old English Varsity B” patches to be sewn onto the blazer that was an optional part of the School uniform. Ten wearers of the “Old English B” were tapped as members of the prestigious Athletic Club, assisting the gym teachers as referees or giving one on one instruction to new or younger girls.

Some years, one of Beard’s star athletes was chosen to play on a NJ Field Hockey Asso-

Morristown-Beard School

ciation team. The resulting NJFHA patch inspired underclass awe of the kind usually reserved for Olympic Gold.

Some girls, especially those who transferred from public school as older students, didn’t bother to buy a blazer: The square dancing, rope climbing, softball, and relay races allowed to girls in public school gym class didn’t always translate into prowess cradling a lacrosse stick or dribbling a basketball. “Letter-less” girls sighed with relief when as seniors they could play badminton or take a modern dance class for gym.

At public school in those racially segregated days, I was the only white girl to master Double Dutch jump rope, but the best I could muster for the Athenians was good posture grades and high points for the headstand and handstand which I had spent hours perfecting at home. By then, the legendary Miss Child had retired, passing the physical education baton to our beloved Miss Daniels, who post merger kept strong the Beard tradition of girls athletics at MBS. I still remember that Tumbling Day when Miss Daniels smiled encouragement my way. —CS ’64 “At Beard, it was OK to be athletic—really athletic—horses, tennis, hockey, basketball.”— Beard woman, 1954

“The friendly rivalries of the Athenians and Spartans taught us much about sportsmanship.

I really liked all the sports and remember Miss Child and the drills she inflicted on us—it just makes me smile! Marching, tumbling, posture— you name it—she made her whistle impress us.”— Mary Foster Orben ’55

“I remember the joy of running down the hockey field on a crisp fall day.”… “Among my best

memories are our basketball games.”…“My fondest memories are not of studies, but of sports—hockey, basketball, lacrosse.”… “Oh, gymnastic day, we could get points for the Spartans or Athenians for each skill and for learning a dance; it was the Irish jig one year.”—Beard women, 1950s-1960s “Though I hated gym, I remember School spirit, team songs and Miss Child exhorting ‘play to the wings’—I panted up the hill as wing, praying, ‘no, not me!’”—Beard, 1955 “Adelaide and I always conspired to play wing.

We would deliberately hit a ball into the bushes bordering the playing field, and then spend most of the game pretending to search for it.”—Katherine Crowley Kelly ’42

“Best memories include varsity sports--Spartan vs. Athenian games, father-daughter basketball games, alumnae vs. varsity field hockey—I loved playing against my Mom!”—Beard woman, 1951 “I remember the sheer terror of hockey and lacrosse balls with Miss Childs! “…I remember ducking out of gym to Miss Child’s dismay.”— Beard women, 1950s

“I remember Miss Child’s fortitude and faith in us—she had a 9th-12th competition in running. I won the competition. She was very surprised. But in Puerto Rico, my brother and I were known for racing on the beach. From that moment of discovering my running skills, Miss Child did not let me skip gym or sit on the sidelines speaking Spanish. Then, senior year, I was honored to be the Spartan leader.”—Beard woman, 1955

“The athletic program introduced me to teamwork, sportsmanship and a healthy competitiveness.”—Beard woman, 1955

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Girls Having Fun Teenage brains are hardwired to seek fun, and for us Beard girls everything was new and exciting. Both in and out of School, we had rules and responsibility, but, oh, we had fun.

We mostly made our own fun: playing tennis, ice skating, skiing, singing, dancing, planning events, decorating the gym, putting on shows, piling into two seat sport cars, and—with moans and protestations—debating the fabric and skirt style for our Senior Class uniform. (Each year’s senior uniform was in the assigned class color from a fixed rotation of yellow, red, blue and purple.)

The socially connected had coming out parties and county club dances; the rest had Sweet Sixteen lunches; and we all had casual parties and sleepovers which meant pizza or Town Hall Sloppy Joes—a triple deck of roast beef, turkey, Swiss, cole slaw and Russian dressing on rye bread.

A weekend might find us at the nearest Erie Lackawanna train station waiting to board the third car and to meet up with friends from stations farther west. In our best coats, hats, and

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gloves, we rode the “weary Erie” to the Hudson Tubes, then New York City for the stage show and feature film at Radio City Music Hall and lunch at Schraft’s.

Ours was an era of girls sitting on the sidelines cheering boys. Not at Beard! We cheered for each other. With no boys around, we didn’t play comic book Betty batting her eyelashes at Archie. We didn’t hide our brains or athleticism, and we didn’t hide our wit, humor, and high spirits. We could be funny, silly, laugh out loud, behave a little badly, climb the lower School jungle jim, and play childhood games free of concerns over how we looked to a current heart crush.

Of course, the usual absence of boys heightened the fun of the rare presence of boys. And, what was more fun than laughing in the girls room about all-wrong blind dates or overly optimistic boarding school boys? —CS ’64

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“Popularity and good looks, priorities in public school, lost their importance at Beard. What a relief. But high spirits were rewarded—what a pleasure.”…“Our class was regarded as ‘energetic’ and ‘unique.’ Our sophomore show was terrific and we were spirited!”—Beard women, 1950s All the families kept us busy in our free time— that was our social life.”—Mary Foster Orben ’55 “All the laughing! Playing ‘sardines.’” [A spin on hide-and-seek where the successful seekers squeeze in with the hider.]…“I remember our playing ‘sardines’ at lunch time and all piling together in the closet”…“playing ‘sardines’ at lunchtime in the art room”… “We would say we had an art project to work on and play ‘sardines’ in the art studio. It had many cabinets and large drawers for art supplies that made excellent hiding places. We had great fun and kept getting louder and louder until Mrs. Crockett would come from her classroom and reprimand us, but she never sent us back to study hall, much to our delight.”—Beard women, 1950s “Do you remember the whole class having a slumber party after our big Beard dance? I remember sleeping really well in the bathtub on some coats.”…. “What fun at overnights and before school gab sessions.”… “Oh, the joy of Saturday night sleepovers with little or no sleep”…“fun at lunch”—Beard women, 1950s “In seventh grade, we hit our stride as a goofy group when we dared each other (and accomplished the deed!) to crawl under the gym in the dirt space beneath the floor.”… “Weekend fun included taking the Tremont Avenue Public Service bus down to Newark’s Penn Station to see who could go fastest up the down escalator!”

—Barbara Newberry Lindsley ’56

“I remember ‘slumber parties’ where we laughed and smoked but seldom slumbered and parties at a classmate’s after School and School dances where Miss Bosch made sure we weren’t dancing too close and cotillions with the Lester Lanin Band tossing out felt hats at the end of a fun evening.”—Beard woman, 1950s “Homemade ice cream at Gruning’s in South Orange Village or at the ‘Top’…”—Beard women, 1930s-1960s.

“A bunch of us went to a wooded area and chopped down wild dogwood trees to decorate the gym for Senior Prom. The gym looked great.

My Mother was appalled: ‘All those beautiful trees!’”…“Oh, the junior prom in the old gym with all the lights on and the teachers watching from chairs above to make sure no one was dancing too close!” —Beard women, 1950s “Glee Club concerts with Lawrenceville, Princeton freshmen, Pingry…“Saturday bridge parties”… “Taking off to Saturday Yankee baseball games, Dance Club performances, Glee Club concerts”…The excitement of being able to wear cotton colored jumpers in the spring: It was such a big deal!”—Beard women, 1950s “I remember one snowy day we arrived to find that the School actually was closed! We ended up at nearby friend’s house with most of the boarders that we had ‘liberated’. We had a great day” ….

“And, the excitement of choosing our own senior uniforms—the skirts, blazers, and shirtdresses!

Our class color was yellow, and we had a turtle as our mascot, so we had a little green pet turtle as a pet in Senior Homeroom/Study Hall. His was name was Wolley Eltrut (yellow turtle backwards- not very original!), and we kept him on the front desk. We also played the Dr. Seuss Yertle the Turtle stacking game in back of Senior Study Hall.”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61 “We celebrated Senior Week, basking on Jersey shore beaches or relaxing poolside in the early June sun. We were all together for one last time of good fun….We would never know again the special hilarity and uniqueness of those days that drew us close.”—Barbara Newberry Lindsley ’56

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Students Governing Students: The Beard School Association & the Honor System “Rules are often thought of as being gruesome things which one has to obey or else. But here at Beard’s we hope you will feel differently. There are not many rules and thus those you do keep are vitally necessary not only to your success in the school, but to the success of the school itself.”

The Beard School, New Students Handbook, 1947:

The Beard School Cooperative Government Association, the B.S.A, was established in the 1920s. All Upper School students in grades 7-12 were B.S.A. members. The B.S.A. Executive Board was the leading organization at Beard and its president was the School’s top student officer. The Executive Board was initially composed of B.S.A. officers and the presidents of the six classes and then expanded in the late 1930s to include the heads of a growing number of student organizations. The Board met weekly with the Headmistress and the faculty student advisor to consider “problems and policies affecting school life as are not reserved to the Administration.

To implement the concept of democracy, school situations which call for democratic action are provided and each girl is expected to assume responsibility for contributing her best to the common good.”

The B.S.A. worked within this hierarchy to fulfill its responsibilities. In the 1930s and 1940s, the School yearbook, The Clio, reported on B.S.A. activities: “furthering the interests of all recognized sports and social activities, 125TH Anniversary

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meeting with student government heads from neighboring schools, creating a senior study hall under student ‘self-direction’ and initiating a committee on colleges, fire drill wardens and class parties.” During World War Two, Beard was part of the Orange, New Jersey “Schools at War Program” and the B.S.A. oversaw School actions on behalf of the troops. During the 1950s and 1960s, the B.S.A. Executive Board meetings held weekly discussions of “school rules and policies and settling school problems.” School spirit was high on the B.S.A. agenda and school spirit was strong. After the 1953 fire destroyed the Beard’s main academic building, the B.S.A. organized student fundraising for a new building.

“I pledge that I have neither given nor received any help on this test/exam/report.”

The most significant achievement of the B.S.A. was the creation of the Honor Council to administer the School’s Honor System. In contrast with a proctor system, each Beard student was to honor School rules and report herself for infractions. Revamped in 1937-1938, student support grew during World War Two. By 1943, the first Vice-President of B.S.A. also served as Honor Council Chairman, presiding over both weekly meetings of council representatives from grades 7-12 and frequent all-school meetings: The Clio, 1944: “A real Honor System is not something to build up overnight. It will take the co-operation of every one.” The Clio, 1952: “Our B.S.A. and Honor

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Council leaders make us actually want to obey the rules, not from fear of punishment, but from a desire to keep school standards high.”

Beard student leaders attended the annual Northfield Conference examining issues of morality and ethics within both institutions and in our daily lives. Student government leaders were honored to serve and met their responsibilities. Conducting meetings in front of the entire School—administration, faculty, students—student leaders became effective public speakers. Acting on a small stage, we leaders were prepared for larger stages later in life. —CS ’64

SOME MEMORIES FROM THOSE WHO LED… “In 8th grade, I thought that if there was a good student idea and we all agreed, we could just do it! Miss Sutherland called me in to explain, ‘This is not a democracy.’ We learned early on about how power works, and that we needed to act within a framework of authority. But, looking back, within that framework, we had enormous responsibilities and we were honored to meet them.”—Loretta Porter James ’62, Senior Class President

land made me feel adult, reliable, and trusted.”

—Ileana N. Saros ’68, Honor Council Chair

“Beard was a small community that served as our early experience in navigating our way through structure and process, which is how society and government function. My whole experience there nurtured my passion for government and service.”—Dorcas Hardy Spagnolo ’64, Honor Council Representative

AND A MEMORY FROM ONE WHO RACKED UP HONOR COUNCIL INFRACTION POINTS… “In 9th and 10th grades about eight of us would get enough Honor Council points against us (about once a month) to have 1 hour of Saturday Morning Study Hall. We finished our homework, left our books, and ran to Highland Station to catch the train to Hoboken and then take the tubes to NYC. We then got to the last morning show (the cheapest) at Radio City Music Hall. Then we went to Schraft’s for lunch and the Paramount Theater where we sat in the balcony smoking while seeing another review and show. We would get home about 5 or 6 p.m.”— Beard woman, 1953

“I remember the covered shoe boxes where girls reported themselves for an infraction. If some of the infractions now, and even then, seemed trivial, what matters was the process— the honor system put responsibility for our conduct on us; it instilled honesty and moral responsibility and a sense of obligation to the greater good. In my professional work with foreign consulates, I was recognized as a person of honor; they trusted my word. When called to speak and answer questions from large groups of New York and New Jersey lawyers at Immigration Association conferences, I never had to prepare a speech or worry about public speaking; I did it at Beard.” —Lori Wobbe Valverde ’63, Honor Council Chair

“Becoming Honor Council Chair was a source of great pride. It cemented the foundation for my later seeking leadership roles. Beard’s honor system, with the Honor Council as its fulcrum, strengthened my sense of morality, character, and ethics. Being called to confer with Miss Suther125TH Anniversary

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Of Pierced Ears, Headbands, and Headaches: Confessions of an Honor Council Chair 1964: Much of the day-to-day of being Honor Council chair or representative was reminding students to report themselves for being “out of uniform.”

In 1964, the winter uniform was a regulation, dark green wool jumper, white short-sleeved shirt, and laced brown oxfords. In winter, we wore green knee socks plus a green blazer or a green cardigan sweater, but not both, no matter how cold. Alternate days in spring and fall, we could wear pink, yellow, blue or aqua regulation cotton jumpers. With the pastels, we could wear either brown and white saddle shoes or the brown oxfords, but we could never wear saddle shoes with the green jumpers except for yearbook photographs. It got confusing. A watch, one bracelet, and a class ring were allowed, but no make-up while in uniform—and no earrings.

Woe to us Honor Council chairs from about 1963 to 1968 when pierced ears and small, gold post earrings became the rage. Half the Junior and Senior Classes pierced their ears; the rest hoped to. Younger girls with indulgent parents pierced, too. You had to wear earrings until the piercing healed, and the whole point of piercing was to wear earrings. The earrings meant half the 11th and 12th grade girls were “out of uniform” everyday which meant their having to attend a special Saturday Study Hall every week. As Honor Council chair, I had to be there, too.

Miss Sutherland was not pleased. She called B.S.A. President Marty Blackwell and me to her office. I broached the medical risks of students removing the earrings too soon and concern for Latin American boarders who had worn earrings since childhood. The latter argument predated multiculturalism, but I was forward-thinking.

Unbelievably, that spring Miss Sutherland relented. With parental permission, girls could wear tiny gold post earrings until the piercing healed. The thought, “Everyone will claim the rest of the School year to heal,” crossed my mind, as did the counter-thought, “But by then, I’ll graduate.”

The other student rage was colored cotton knit

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headbands. We wore them all the time outside of School, and everyone wanted to wear headbands to School. Miss Sutherland summoned Marty and me to discuss girls wearing their hair to fall over one eye.

We left for School with a bobby pin holding our hair in place, which we removed when out of our Mothers’ sight: Only our Mothers liked the bobby pin-look.

Marty and I brought up the headbands as the solution. Miss Sutherland was skeptical, but charged us with determining costs and availability.

She added, “They will, of course, be brown.”

Marty and I spent days finding a supplier; this was decades before the internet. Buying in bulk, we could sell the headbands at the going retail price and net the School a profit for charity. Maybe the charity part was the dealmaker. Miss Sutherland agreed.

The headbands arrived, and an assembly of the entire School was called. We made our announcement.

There was a big cheer. We took out the headbands, which were sort of a brownish-maroon. The best you could say about the color was that it went with our brown oxfords and brown and white saddle shoes.

The assembled mood darkened to a brownish-maroon.The juniors accused Marty and me—our class color was purple—of a Senior Class pro-purple conspiracy. We managed to sell out the order. I don’t remember reordering. Marty and I learned a lot about trying to please all the people all the time. I waited until my junior year in college to get my ears pierced.

1968: The counter-cultural youthquake was in full swing: jeans, work shirts, tie dye, ethnic jewelry, Sgt. Peppers’ regalia and more. Hemlines on the street were shorter than the hemlines on Beard gym uniforms. Honor Council Chair Ileana Saros ’68 asked Miss Sutherland about legitimizing earrings.

“To my amazement, Miss Sutherland agreed – small stud earrings only, and I think they had to be gold,” Ileana said.

Not seismic, but Beard was inching towards the future. —CS ’64

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More on the Uniform: Origins and Alumnae Nays and Ayes Talk with any Beard woman about her School days and the uniform always comes up. Always. The nays usually outweigh the ayes; both viewpoints are represented here. But before some alumnae memories, here is a scoop on the origins and evolution of the Beard uniform.

Miss Beard’s School began as a kindergarten, adding a grade each year. It was some years before there were more than a handful of older students. These were the well dressed daughters of affluent, socially connected families. They wore their own middy blouses or shirt waists, mid-calf length skirts, and black stockings. The rising hemlines of the 1920s raised a few eyebrows, too. In a 2000 interview, Elsa Kingman Newberry ’27 recounted that Miss Beard then instituted a uniform—a secret relief for some, an affront for others. The latter had their family dressmakers make luxury versions of the outfit. This early uniform was stylish, rather Coco Chanel. It was also short lived.

The first sighting of our familiar dark green, veenecked jumper is in the 1929 School yearbook, worn with a long sleeve white shirt and thin, striped tie. The tie did not last long; the long sleeves would later be joined by a short sleeve option; and by the 1960s, short sleeves prevailed. The introductions of spring and fall pastel, cotton jumpers and Senior Class uniforms await further investigations.

As to the playing fields, a pull on gym bloomer with an elastic waist band that was given to failure, a blouse, sleeveless vest, and heavy black stockings held court until late in the 1950s when replaced with a nearly knee length, short sleeved, green cotton dress. Out went the stockings and in came athletic socks, but the elastic on the pull-on bloomers worn under the dress had the same propensity to fail. —CS ’64 “I hated the uniform; I’ve never worn green again. It had one saving grace: It was indestructible--If you spilled something and rubbed hard enough, the stain would disappear into the fabric.”—Katherine Crowley Kelly ’42.

“The 1930s were not easy years. We were in the middle of the Great Depression. I was only glad that we wore uniforms so that new clothes were not a problem.”—Dorothy K. Halsey ’36

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“Miss Beard marched up to me, rolled down the sleeves of my uniform and said, ‘A lady never exposes her limbs.’”—Virginia Wilson Thomson ’49 “The uniform freed the mind from costume concerns.”—

Beard woman, 1954

“Memories of yucky, dark green wool uniforms.”—Beard

woman, 1952

“I remember bloomers for sports with the elastic loosening and dropping down, and running down the field trying to pull them up!”—Beard woman, 1956 “We could wear pastel cotton jumpers in early fall and in spring. You could only wear one for a day and it needed to be washed and IRONED!”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61 “Those horrific uniforms, which we tried to make better by sneaking on lipstick as soon as we thought we wouldn’t get caught. (What hussies!)”—Mimi Hamilton Kugushev ’53 “I hated the oxfords. As I understood it, they were shoes that had ties. I bought some beautiful oxblood loafer-like shoes with one little bow. That was a tie. I’ll never forget Miss Sutherland stopping me in the hall and thundering, ‘What is that you have on your feet?’”—Beard woman, 1950s “My biggest hang-up at Beards was wearing a uniform!

Now I wish I had one for every day.”—Beard woman, 1954

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Girls Behaving Badly Tales of the Not So Dark Side: Undress Chicken, Tormenting Teachers, Cutting Class

Of course, there are stories of Beard girls misbehaving and misbehaving badly. Legendary among alumnae of the 1940s is the debutante boarder who shimmied down bed sheets from her second story dorm room to the fast car and presumably faster arms of notorious international playboy Porifirio Rubirosa. She did not return. And, in spite of strict sexual codes of conduct, sex happened: A 1930s Beard graduate confided that “One or two girls had ‘appendectomies,’ sometimes more than once.”

Some years, there were girls who were not asked back or even asked to leave midterm, but these expulsions were hushed up affairs.

The great majority of Beard girls maintained the buttoned up codes of the day. What usually racked up Honor Council infraction points was talking in Study Hall or Chapel line or cutting out from the rigors of the academic or boarders’ schedules. Lipstick or smoking off campus while in uniform was an issue, and many years an innocent-looking boy smuggled liquor past the phalanx of chaperones at our School dances. And, then, as always, students were known to torment teachers in ways both subtle and not so subtle. —CS ’64 “If we broke a rule it ‘will go on your college record.’ They certainly held us captive with that one!”—Beard woman, 1954 “We learned that if we braided our hair and put on a cute smocked dress, then we could fly to Florida for a child’s fare!”—Mary Foster Orben ’55 “Mademoiselle Bauer--Remember her Barbie-doll, cantilevered form? Lin and I used to sit in the back of her classroom and play a game of ‘undress chicken’ where we’d see how far we could go in taking our clothes off. I think we always kept the jumper on but shoes, socks, pettipants, and even blouses would get inched off whenever she’d turn around to look at the blackboard… I remember one of the boarders who arrived for

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senior year only—She passed off a desiccated hot dog with dried mustard and ketchup that she had hanging around her neck on a string as an ancient artifact to good ol’ Mrs. Walker, our Bible Studies teacher, who appeared to take her seriously! Said boarder was probably the wickedest among us. But we weren’t ever mean, and we didn’t really wish Mrs. Hutchinson any ill when we’d inch our chairs up closer to the blackboard every time she’d turn around. Does anyone remember if she ever noticed?”—Julie Glover ’64 ““I remember ‘M’ cutting my hair quite often in Study Hall.”…”We must have been a wild bunch—I remember when ‘M’ hit Mrs. Fisher in the back with an eraser in eighth grade. She was expelled for a week or two. It was scary.”—Beard women, 1950s

“One time, we snuck out of Mrs. Grant’s Study Hall to listen on radio to the World Series game (Yankees were playing) down in a garage behind school. I can’t remember if we got caught.

I think so.”—Beard woman, 1953 “When I was in 8th or 9th grade my parents were constantly called to school, and I was almost expelled. I would listen to the radio show, 2000Plus and come to school and retell the outer space stories of Martians and rocket ships going to the moon with people walking on the moon.”—Beard woman, 1954

“…Cutting the last Spanish Class before final

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exams to sunbathe on the roof of the church where we had classes after the fire and then having to deal with Miss Sutherland.”

—Beard woman, 1954

“I remember Diane and me learning to smoke together on the curb at Forest Hill Road, but never in uniform! I guess we changed first.”— Beard woman, 1951

“I got a zero one day in April 1951 because my Dad took me to see living history at the General Douglas MacArthur ticker tape parade in New York City.”— Hope Harrison Lampe ’51 “I went shopping in Newark with a classmate, after my Mother told me I couldn’t, and I bought a new dress for a dance. All was fine until my photo appeared in the newspaper, and my Mother wanted to know where the dress came from!”—Beard woman, 1950s “I went to Beard, I thought, because I was too wild in elementary school…The fire had a big impact on our class—we were seniors and displaced.

We probably had more freedom than previous seniors. I remember trips to Gruning’s during School time and a few other ‘field trips’—even got stopped once by the police!”—Mary Foster Orben ’55 “I am probably best remembered for being a rebel, pushing the limits of the dress code, trying out a variety of shades of hair color, or getting suspended for smoking.”—Julie Bonanno ’56 “I had been to a wedding before our annual Athletic Association meeting, and we had a lot of champagne…I think I kissed Miss Sutherland at the head table!”—Beard woman, 1950s “As Miss Beard’s great niece, I stopped to see her every morning in her house, Green Shutters, and was, I later realized, expected to behave. I remember being caught sneaking out my dorm window to climb on the roofs at night and can

still feel the day when a group of eighth graders who had done something wrong were called into Aunt Lucie’s office, dressed down, and read the 13th Chapter of 1st Corinthians, her touchstone.

At the time it seemed hilarious, but through the crises of life, it’s the hymns from weekday prayers for boarders and the unyielding moral compass insisted on at Beard’s that has come back again and again.”—Priscilla Meyer Tucker ’48.

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Girl Power in a Man’s World Our era told girls “Don’t let a boy know how smart you are” and “College is for earning your Mrs. Degree.” Beard told girls “Develop your minds and abilities” and “Always do your best.” In our day, boys claimed leadership positions as their birthright.

But at Beard, we girls ran everything: We were the School and class officers, athletic association presidents, yearbook and literary magazine editors, business managers, club presidents, musical accompanists, stage crew, and exchange students. Long before Title IX brought girls teams to public schools, we had teams in field hockey, lacrosse, basketball and more. Younger Beard girls looked up to the Spartan and Athenian captains, not the local football hero.

While the term “role models” was in the future, we had them: Our Headmistresses--Miss Beard, Miss Turner, Miss Sutherland-- were strong women: Under their leadership, Beard persisted through two World Wars, the Great Depression, and a major School fire. (George G. Burr was the sole male Headmaster, leading the School for one year before the 1971 merger.) Our faculty and staff were all women.

They held high personal, academic, and moral standards for us to follow.

Our guiding principle was “from whom much is given, much is expected.” We were to give back to our families, our communities and the larger society.

We would make a difference in government, the arts, medicine, education, broadcasting, publishing, academia, and more.

Beard alumnae would run businesses, be judges and attorneys, write books, found theater companies, sit on boards of trustees, make marks in finance, pilot planes, establish an orphanage in Rwanda, volunteer actively, crusade for reform, and be forces in the League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood, and some in the National Organization for Women.

If we soon learned how much of a man’s world we had been born into, our lessons in perseverance, overcoming hardships, and hard work would never leave us. Ad Astra Per Aspera —CS ’64 125TH Anniversary

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“Lucie Beard was indeed a modern woman. I now realize that she was a successful businesswoman and educator. She fully recognized that it was a man’s world, but she achieved much in spite of it!— Yes, we can and yes, she did.”—Katherine Crowley Kelly ’42 “First lesson at Beard and most valuable: ‘Don’t wait until the last minute to do what is expected.’”…“Beard’s small classes and interest groups, the opportunities for leadership, and high academic standards gave me the opportunity to explore my potential.”…“Beard gave me purpose, confidence, support to do what I wanted and also encouragement.”… “I remember how we were inspired to study hard because if we prepared for our futures, wonderful things were awaiting us.”—Beard women, 1950s “I often think that one of the main lessons from Beard was that girls could do it all: A girl was the head of the Beard School Association, the Honor Council, the Calliope, the Spartans, the Athenians, the Field Hockey team, the Lacrosse team and on and on. In coed schools (public or private) it is generally the boy who is class president and a girl the vice or secretary, etc. I never felt that I had to take backseat to a man or defer to a man’s decisions.”—Lori Wobbe Valverde ’63 “Certainly being raised and educated in atmospheres where – ‘work hard and you can be anything you want to be’ - I was not prepared to be told, after arriving at NBC as a secretary ( fall 1961), and spending several years learning about the position of Unit Manager, that I could not be considered for a Unit Manager’s position. It was a man’s job! Well it finally did happen…. but it was an uphill battle in the late 1960s and early 70s.”—Elizabeth Orton Davis ’57 “The ‘Appreciations’ in the 1958 Clio includes one to staff member Mrs. Richard B. Grant (Gladys Faber Grant). Part of it says, “To class after class of students she has been the shining example of all that is best in a graduate.”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61 “Throughout my years on Broadway stages, I always heeded Miss Lucie Beard’s dictum: ‘Be On Time, Be Honest, Be Your Best at All Times.’”—Betty Williams Hendrich ‘43 “Perhaps my defining moment was when Miss Sutherland delivered a Chapel reading from Isaiah 30:21: ‘Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ There’s nothing more important to a writer than finding her unique voice. I honored the power of my own by sending in articles, poems, and novels to publishers after graduating.

After 32 years of an active, ongoing writing career, in which I’ve published more than 30 children’s books, young adult novels, nonfiction articles, and poetry, that sense of power from a Chapel reading in the 1960s still propels me forward in a competitive writing field today.”—Ellen Whitney Leroe ’67 “I remember my ‘icebreaker’ speech at the Chapel talk required for seniors—a ‘springboard’ for my future public speaking duties.”—Penny Probert Boorman ’51 “When my parents first told me their decision to send my sisters and me to Beard, I was horrified!

I was 13 and madly in love with a different fellow every few months--How could I leave boys behind?

I agreed to try it for a year. Needless to say I LOVED it and the opportunities to be myself and to be a leader without male competition or pre-conceived male/female roles is why I went on from Beard to an all-girl College.”—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61 “Small classes and involved teachers made a big difference academically. Going to an all girls school allowed us to feel—as women—that we could do anything. It wasn’t until we hit the work world that reality hit. I am grateful to Beard for confidence to meet challenges, and I am also glad that many issues have changed for women today.”—Beard woman, 1955 125TH Anniversary

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Saying Goodbye: Awards, Candlelight, and Commencement “Once a Beard Girl, Always a Beard Girl” Reprised Our saying goodbye to Beard started with Senior Week which meant memorizing hymns and anthems and long rehearsals for graduation but also meant lunches, early June pool parties, yearbook signings, and excursions to the Jersey Shore.

The formal ceremonies transforming us from seniors to graduates were the first or second weekend in June. The weekend began on Saturday morning with Close of School Exercises and the induction of the most academically accomplished girls into Cum Laude Society; honors given by each School department; the Nancy Hoyer Award and the Dickinson Cup for character, growth, and service; and the surprise announcement of the Senior with the Highest Academic Achievement.

That Saturday evening there was a formal dinner at the School for the seniors and their parents. With twilight came Candlelight Ceremony. We filed into the Beard garden singing a traditional song—perhaps Greensleeves or The Ash Grove. Junior Class girls followed us, and one by one, we passed our lit candles to a member of the incoming Senior Class. Tree Planting followed, carrying forward a tradition from 1903 and the first Beard graduate.

Graduation was at 4:30p.m. on Sunday and was called Commencement Exercises, a work–a-day term for a beautiful ceremony that felt both elegiac and joyful. Every Upper School girl attended, wearing white. Then the processional began: First came two class marshals, carrying white shepherd’s crooks. We seniors followed two by two, holding identical bouquets and singing all six verses of “Ancient of Days”. We took the stage to the “Triumphal March” from Aida. Our white dresses were

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identical: elegant and understated in the 1930s, pretty and puffy after World War Two, “A”line cotton pique in the 1960s. We purchased our dresses at Doop’s, an exclusive woman’s dress shop on Central Avenue in East Orange, and we felt grown-up.

The rector of an area church offered a prayer and the Commencement Address followed.

The speakers came from different fields: a United States Presidential candidate, a judge, a college president, an editor of a New York City newspaper, a member of clergy. You could feel the changes in America my graduation year; the eminent Civil Rights leader Rabbi Joachim Prinz spoke: One year earlier he had addressed the world during the March on Washington.

Glee Club and Chapel Choir sang a classical anthem, the Headmistress and an officer of the Board of Trustees presented our diplomas, another anthem followed, then a spoken and a choral Benediction, the singing of the class song, and, finally, the recessional to the Coronation March from Le Prophete by Meyerbeer.

Congratulations followed on the lawn with a formal class photograph and tears for some and smiles for others, and that night a parent hosted a dinner and party for all the graduates.

Some of us were eager to spread our wings; others would have liked a little more time in the nest—you could never really predict who would feel what. Most of us probably felt both.

—CS ’64

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“Every year we memorized all the words to all verses of several hymns to be sung at the Baccalaureate and graduation. Each girl sat at Mrs. Grant’s desk and recited all those words and was checked off the list…I remember our class singing the Lord’s Prayer on stage and looking out to see my father’s tears of pride and joy. He had seen me get a wonderful education, and I came through and was ready for the next step.”—Beard woman, 1953 “There was a rhythm, a flow to Senior Week that placed us on a flight to the next phase of our lives. It brought a mixed sense of excitement and eagerness for that next stage and of sadness that the wonderfully supportive and maturing Beard years were being brought to a close. And, there was a majesty to Commencement, too.”—Ileana Saros ’68 “At Graduation we felt many emotions, and solemn tradition and ceremony swirled about us.”—Lori Wobbe Valverde ’63 “I remember having to summon up all my will in order to march into graduation, as I realized I was going to have to leave the School I loved so much…The values I learned at Beard— the sense of fair play, of sharing, of concern for others—have been part of my being all my life.”— Beard woman, 1952

“Senior year, just before graduation, there was a fancy dinner for the graduating class and parents, and we were actually offered a glass of sherry at the pre-dinner reception!!”

“I remember Senior Week, our Senior Dance, and even after all these years, when I hear the “Triumphal March” from Aida, I have the urge to get up and march!”—Beard woman, 1952 “We had a good education and were sheltered in many ways. I think that made us able to go out into the world as a complete person”…”Beard gave me the strength to go through difficult times throughout my life”… “Beard brought me up, formed my intellect, gave me whatever self discipline I have and a sense of who I am”…”What was most valued was kindness.”…Beard taught me to stand up for my beliefs in life and treasure true friendships…”Beard gave me dear life-long friends—we can always pick up where we left off and laugh. We’ve been through births, deaths, weddings, good visits and talk at least once a week...”—Beard Women, 1950s MISS SUTHERLAND CLOSES THESE AFFECTIONATE MEMORIES OF OUR LIVES AT BEARD: “May you develop the capacity to meet courageously the contest between the forces of stability and change; may you maintain your individuality with dignity; may you retain your joy in living with serenity and a sense of responsibility to others as well as to yourselves. May you live your lives with faith and love.”—Edith Sutherland, Headmistress, writing in 1964

—Tobi Wobbe Graham ’61

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Mother Athletes An Interview With Two Women Who Paved the Way

By Darcy Caldwell, MBS English Department One of the great misconceptions that has plagued youth sports for several decades is the notion that it is only through specialization that a high school athlete can achieve excellence in sports. In truth, college coaches actively look for multiple-sport athletes because they know playing different sports develops crossover skills, guards against injury, prevents single-sport burnout, and makes the change of seasons a lot of fun. Certainly one can find testimony of the value of multiple sports in the 2015 World Champion U. S. women’s soccer team. Most of the team grew up playing multiple sports. Says back-up central defender Whitney Engen: “It is really unfortunate seeing how things are going with some kids these days. It is easy to fixate on those 10,000 hours but sport is such a subtle thing. You might not realize that what you’re doing in volleyball is improving your spatial awareness and communication, but in reality maybe it is.”

A skeptic of the pressure put on children to specialize, Darcy Caldwell was interested to hear of two Beard women who raised multiple multi-sport collegiate athletes, thumbing their noses at the whole concept of specialization. The athletic success of Nancy Tasman Brower ’47, a.k.a “Taz,” and Penny Probert Boorman ’51 is phenomenal. They grew up

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in an era when women generally did not play sports.

They transcended the barriers against women, and then as mothers they transcended the pressure to specialize. Married to men they describe as decent one-sport athletes (Bailey Brower played ice hockey and Dean Boorman played tennis), these two multisport fireballs raised seven children combined, five of whom were highly successful Division I athletes in a variety of sports.

When asked how they raised such athletic children, both women looked blank and asked for clarification. For them, the answer was the most obvious and simple thing in the world. They described playing sports with their children in the backyard or in the local parks. Later, they both formally and informally coached their children in multiple sports, and they believe one of the most important things they passed along to their children was a simple love for sports, all sports.

One look at these women makes their love for sports not surprising; they exude mental and physical health. Now 86 and 82, respectively, they emanate an unrelenting vigor that transforms a room. Taz is still Aquatics Director and teaches Red Cross lifeguard training and swimming at the Noe Pond Club, which she and Bailey started 60 years ago. Penny still teaches swimming at Montclair YMCA and continues to swim for the Garden State Masters Swim Team. Her 75 & over relay team has held several national records, including 2 national records which were set in the MBS pool. Likewise, Taz continues to coach lacrosse—if only from behind the University of Pennsylvania bench as she watches daughter number four, Karin, guide her Penn team to another victory.

Even during this interview, Coach Brower Corbett called her mother’s phone twice, undoubtedly seeking tips from Taz for her upcoming fall ball tournament against the likes of UNC and Stanford.

Of the four children that Taz raised with Bailey, three were double-sport varsity athletes at the Division I level. Kris played field hockey and lacrosse at Princeton University. These days she is a veteran field

Morristown-Beard School

hockey and lacrosse coach at Lawrenceville School. Kim ‘86, after earning Outstanding Athlete at MBS her senior year, played four years of varsity field hockey and lacrosse at Lehigh University and was captain of both teams her senior year. In 1992 she was inducted into the MBS Hall of Fame. Karin, the youngest, played field hockey and lacrosse at College of William and Mary and, like Kim, was captain of both teams her senior year. Karin is now in her 17th year as head lacrosse coach at University of Pennsylvania and is one of the most successful Division I coaches in the nation. The oldest child, Kate, the supposed non-athlete of the family, played field hockey and lacrosse through high school and now stays active as an animal communicator in Denver, Colorado.

A remarkable athlete in her own right, Taz played field hockey, basketball, and lacrosse at Vassar College. After graduating in 1951, Taz became girls’ athletic director at The Peck School. Although she had applied for an academic position, Headmaster Philip Hesseltine took one look at her and said, “You will be director of athletics” despite the fact that she had not applied for the job. It was a match made in heaven. Taz enjoyed incredible success at Peck, doing for the children what The Beard School had done for her: helping them realize their athletic potential. She worked at Peck until a week or two before her first child was born in May of 1958. She returned in 1960 and coached lacrosse until 1984. Beyond her career at Peck, Taz is also responsible for starting three high school lacrosse programs, including the one at MBS. In 1986 Taz became the first female member of The Crimson Club, and in 1989 she was inducted into the MBS Hall of Fame.

Despite these impressive achievements and

accolades, Taz’s greatest source of athletic pleasure came from her role as captain of the Athenians 1946-7 at The Beard School. Assigned to one of two teams, every Beard student grades 7-12 competed year-round in every sport imaginable. In an impressive way, the administration thought of creative ways for each team to win points. In her last two years at Beard, the Spartans beat the Athenians. “They were stacked with athletes,” Taz shrugged. “Almost every good athlete in the school was a Spartan.”

Nevertheless, Taz had aspired to be the Athenian captain since her sophomore year, and one cannot listen to Taz describe her memories of her role as Athenian captain and not feel the power of the experience.

She emanates her love for the School and all it gave her.

Diminutive in size, Penny Probert Boorman ’51 hardly appears to be a person who stock- piled medals leading up to the 1959 Pan Am Games, but she did, winning gold in 200 meter backstroke and 100 meter butterfly and silver in the 400 meter medley relay.

When teasingly asked how on earth she made it into the Morristown-Beard Hall of Fame with such a shabby record, Penny, with a serious look on her face said “Oh, it wasn’t my swimming that got me into the MBS Hall of Fame. It was my equestrian ability!”

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Mother Athletes At The Beard School, Penny made the varsity field hockey and lacrosse teams, and outside of school she trained in hunter seat, a form of riding based on the tradition of fox hunting over fences. She rode at Hood College all four years. Her love for horses continued into her adult life, and as a young mother she kept her hand in the sport when she exercised Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s horses at The Essex Hunt Club.

Along with riding throughout her years at The Beard School, Penny managed to keep swimming in her life, too, training in the evenings with Olympic Coach Mickey Vogt at the Newark Athletic Club. Although Penny did not compete in swimming at Hood College, she did train with a Washington D.C. club team, and after college she trained with the Rocky Mountain Swim Team, paving the way for her success in the Pan Am Games.

Like Taz’s children, Penny’s progeny have made similar contributions to their respective schools and communities. As a swimmer and equestrian, Penny’s youngest child, Sally, followed in her mother’s footsteps, riding with Girls Mounted Troop in Montclair, swimming for the Montclair YMCA Marlins, and later swimming for the Colorado Buffalos at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Now a mother herself, Sally rides in Rancho Santa Fe, California with daughter Lexie. Number one son, Jim, joined the Orangemen, playing lacrosse at powerhouse Syracuse University.

While the second child, Bob, did not play organized collegiate sports, he is an athlete in his own right and contributes to adventure sports around the world. During his younger years, Bob was on the ski patrol at Alta and Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah; now he is a rock climbing instructor and member of the mountain rescue team at Yosemite Park, not an endeavor for the faint-hearted sport lover. To further fuel his passion for extreme sports, Bob is a worldclass surfer, braving the waves on some of the most dangerous beaches in the world including Hawaii and Indonesia.

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Matriarchs of athleticism, Penny and Taz exude a spirit that takes over the room. What’s their secret? A pure love of life and each other. Growing up near one another in South Orange, they met on Penny’s first day of school when Penny was in eighth grade and Taz was in eleventh. Penny describes walking onto the field hockey field in the fall of 1946 and saying to Eunice Child (coach at The Beard School), “I don’t know how to play.” Eunice turned to Penny and commanded: “Get in line. You’ll learn.“ As Penny watched one of the more experienced players dribbling the ball, Eunice said: “Taz will show you how it’s done.” That was the first time Penny laid eyes on Taz, and they haven’t looked back. Their friendship has continued for over sixty years; Reverend Eric Tasman, Taz’s father, presided over Penny and Dean’s wedding and baptized all of Penny’s children. Their connection was further strengthened when they married husbands who were 1949 classmates at Princeton University.

When asked how they coped with the adverse athletic conditions of The Beard School, Penny asked, “What adverse conditions?” and Taz chimed in “We did not have any adverse conditions,” and she added with a chuckle, “Well, maybe our uniforms held us back.”

Penny wholeheartedly agreed: “It took us longer to get into the uniforms than to play the game!” In the 40s, the athletic uniform for The Beard School girls included serge wool bloomers with tight elastic around the waist and leg and black cotton stockings held in place by a garter belt. While the white blouse and sleeveless vest did not seem to pose much of a problem, the women described the cotton stockings as hot as blazes in the fall and spring.

“But the worse part,” said Penny, “was losing your stockings. I remember running down the field, garters popping, and tripping over my stockings as they fell around my ankles.” “The worst part for me,” included Taz, “was dealing with the holes and runs. We had to sew our own stockings. You can imagine how many runs and holes we would get!” Taz remembered going to Miss Turner (headmistress)

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and asking her to do away with the required stockings. “Yes,” said Penny, “I think we were the last school in the whole country to still be wearing those black stockings.” Miss Turner reported that Miss Beard felt that girls’ legs were ugly and needed to be covered. However, ultimately, Miss Turner relented. Thanks to Taz, beginning in 1946 Beard girls were allowed to compete without the thick cotton stockings during the hot weeks in the fall and spring.

The purity of athletic competition when Taz and Penny attended Beard is something to admire: 100% participation. Wide-ranging contests. Hardly any fans. While there were several coaches during these years, the one that Taz and Penny remember best is Eunice Child.

In response to the query: “Where did Coach Child learn to play?” Taz said “God only knows where Eunice played. All I know is she loved sports, and boy, did she know what she was doing.” Penny agreed, “She was a good teacher. I liked her.” With the advent of the MBS Athletic Hall of Fame, Coach Child was on the original Induction Committee. Later, in 1990 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Athletics at Miss Beard’s began in a co-ed kindergarten class of 13 students in 1891, and one can only imagine the athletic endeavors of those first students. In the twenty-five years following the School’s conception, attention to athletics increased as the School expanded its scope and became an all-girls college preparatory school. By 1913, the girls were permanently assigned to one of two athletic teams, the Athenians or the Spartans. The girls were given almost daily score reports of the year-long competition between the two teams.

By the 1940s, the School had both asphalt and wooden platforms for year-around athletics. In the winter, one of the three tennis courts was flooded and became an ice rink. While the School began with three sports: basketball, tennis, and field hockey, by the ‘40s the girls formally competed in track, javelin, field hockey, soccer, basketball, and lacrosse, but athletic

opportunities seemed to know no bounds. The School offered modern dance class, tumbling class, fencing, and “Marching in Formation” in gym class. Penny’s previous experience in diving was a great asset to the tumbling team, and Taz remembered with pride the girls’ ability to march in a quarter wheel “just like they do in the service,” said Taz. “If you were an athlete, you dabbled in almost everything.”

With Field Day, interclass championships, and Father/Daughter competitions, the girls found ways to fuel their hunger for competition both in school and out of school. Taz rode her bike to school almost every day, pumping up the Montrose Avenue hill in South Orange and waiting at the top for her friend Isabel, who could not keep up with her.

This writer’s favorite moment in the interview was when she asked these athletic dynamos how they gauged their individual performance and improvement. “What do you mean?” they exclaimed. A second attempt to clarify the question: “How did you keep track of your individual improvement?”

“You don’t understand,” they cried. “The competition between the Athenians and the Spartans was not about individuals. It was about the team. It was about team spirit and team winning. Individual improvement was entirely irrelevant. It’s not like sports today where you pick a sport for life. Everybody did everything for the team, and we loved it. Of course, there were some girls who did not like sports, and maybe you should interview them because they will have a different story to tell.”

In the end, what did their experience at The Beard School add up to?

“We loved it. Beard School was where we discovered our love for sports. The School allowed us to define ourselves as athletes, and that very much developed our sense of self and carried into our adult lives. Beard School was everything to us. ”

Sources Brower, Nancy. Interview. October 2011, August 2015.

Boorman, Penny. Interview. October 2011, August 2015. http://www.coachad.com/news/multi-sport-participation-key-for-womens-world-cup-champs/

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Table of Contents 48. Timelines 50. St. Bartholomew’s School 52. The Gymnasia 54. Look! Up in the Sky… 55. The More Things Change…

56. Lectures and Assemblies/

84. Self Help 85. The Preps 86. Prize Day Awards 88. Oliver Croom-Johnson 89. Computers 90. Technology Michael Dorizas 92. Columns 58. Gus Gaebel and his Store 94. Glee Club 59. Seal and Motto 96. Curriculum 60. George Tilghman and the 98. Schedule 1933 Ice Hockey Trip to 100. Visual Arts Europe 102. Performing Arts 62. Chapel Vignettes 104. Activities (part 1) 64. Rivalries – Football v Hackley 106. Activities (part 2) 66. Rivalries – Ice Hockey v 108. School Spirit Kent 110. 25 Years of Athletic 67. Charles Mortimer Accomplishments 68. WW II Lead In 112. Service 70. Halloween 114. Traditions 72. Dress Code 116. Of Laptops, iPads and Beyond 74. John Reed 118. Humanities 76. Dorm Life 120. Writing MBS 78. Social Action 122. Theory Into Practice 79. Paul Kreutz 126. Then & Now 80. Political Action 132. A Future That Knows 82. Epidemics No Bounds

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St. Bartholomew’s/Morristown/ Morristown-Beard School Timeline

St. Bartholomew’s 1891 The founder was Henry

Lee Higginson (not attributed), so the Episcopal Church is credited and the school was located in the Normadie (sic) Park area. The Headmaster was Rev. F. E. Edwards (Harvard Class of 1891).

1896 After a major fund

raising effort, new buildings were built at current campus in only three months.

1898 The School closed

under dubious circumstances but it appears Rev. Edwards left the school with the School treasury, left the ministry, served in the SpanishAmerican War and eventually arrived in Southern California in the real estate business.

Morristown School 1898 Three St. Bartholomew’s

teachers, Arthur P. Butler, Thomas Q. Browne and Francis C. Woodman, all Harvard Class of 1888, instituted needed reforms, changed the School name to The Morristown School for Boys and served as co-headmasters, working with financial institutions to finance the School until tuitions began to accrue.

1898 The Morristonian, a

news and literary magazine, began publication and continued until it was assumed by the Morristown School News in 1928.

Late 19th century A

faculty residence was built behind the main buildings.

Besides housing, the building was used as an infirmary, and later as the Learning Center and Math Building (1979).

1911 The chronic need for

a gym, noticed at least by 1906, was resolved in 1911.

Funding came from student

contributions and significant donations from the Board of Trustees.

1916 Epidemics of infectious

diseases resulted in the school being quarantined, with the school closed entirely or with school remaining open but with no one allowed off of school grounds. In a couple of cases, the school year was truncated since the time lost could not be made up.

There were epidemics of polio (1916), scarlet fever (1921) and the flu (1918 and 1920), among others.

1916-1918 During WW I, the boys contributed to various charities for soldiers but their most significant contribution was an ambulance donated to the American Field Service in France, for which the school received a Certificate of Service and a brass plate which was on the ambulance.

1916-1920 The Catlin/

Langdon property, directly across Whippany Road, was deeded to the school and was used for the new Lower School and eventually a pond for ice hockey. This was the beginning of the on-again/ off-again relationship with that property.

1918 With the addition of the Lower School, the enrollment grew to 110.

1918 With the purchase of

the Washer Farm, between the school and the Whippany River, the size of MS was increased to 113 acres.

1921 As at Miss Beard’s

School, the students were divided into two groups, Shongums and Whippanies, for intramural contests and other activities.

1922 The Crane Library,

named for the donors who

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were school parents, was dedicated. The intent, besides storage for books, was to provide a quiet and comfortable space for study and reflection. The library also became a prime gathering space for small group meetings.

1925 Saturday night at the

movies commenced with the donation of a movie projector and eventually a sound system synchronized with the film.

1926 Faculty member and old

boy, George Tilghman (MS ’15) appointed as Headmaster. He immediately instituted the SelfHelp program, borrowed from the Kent School, to defray costs by having the boys doing such tasks as cleaning their areas and waiting tables.

1927 The Morristown School News began publication. A feature common to each new year was the publication of Rules and Privileges, such as dress codes and door usage.

1927 Charles Lindbergh flew over the campus, witnessed by many boys, while on his way from St. Louis to Long Island and then, eight days later, to France.

1929 Although originally

planned as a separate building on the Langdon property, the Chapel was renovated and dedicated to WW I fallen and renamed Memorial Chapel.

1930ff The Great Depression,

declining enrollment and a polio epidemic nearly closed the school, but Mr. Tilghman, with cost-saving measures and various financial arrangements besides donations from alumni and parents, kept the school open with fewer than 50 students.

One casualty was the Langdon property which was sold to the Desiderio family.

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1933 Despite the financial

difficulties, Mr. Tilghman, who it seems had previewed the idea a few years before, led the MS Ice Hockey team to Europe, receiving recognition from President Roosevelt and Gustavus Kirby, past-president of the American Olympic Association.

1936 Mr. Tilghman introduced a non-college curriculum with vocational guidance, no doubt trusting this would enhance enrollment, and established a Hobby House where boys and faculty could practice such trades as woodworking and electronics.

1936 Mr. Tilghman envisioned an expanded curriculum to encompass boys of more varied talents and career goals and such innovations as allowance for independent study.

1939 As WW II approached,

Mr. Tilghman although seeing some service in WW I, enlisted, along with several faculty. This began another difficult time for the school, with two short-term Headmasters, the Rev. James Fair, head of the Somerset Hills School where the MS Lower School was sent, and in 1940 faculty member Earl Evans assumed the duties but opened the year with 37 boys.

1942 With the school close to closing because of declining enrollment and the resulting financial weakness, the Board hired Valleau Wilkie as Headmaster, who renovated with his own and boys’ labor much of the campus while increasing enrollment (14 in 1942) to cover expenses. The school was once again saved through hard work, dedication and a belief in all that MS represented.

1950 The gym burned in

1950, the result perhaps of arson according to rumors at the time. But, as with the first gym, students donated part of their allowances and the Board raised more and a new gym was completed in 1953.

1956 Val Wilkie retired in

1956 and was succeeded

by Thompson Grant as Headmaster. His goals built on the foundation of Wilkie’s saving of the school through curriculum revision and expansion, a greater awareness of the new world around us and continued refurbishing of a campus, beautiful but showing its age.

1961 To accommodate

the increasing enrollment, a new classroom building (now Middle School) was constructed which included faculty housing.

1963

The Chapel, last renovated in 1929, was again remodeled, including a new organ.

1964 and 1967 To increase

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Offices and in 2007 the Arts and Learning Center

1971 The newly merged

1990ff The introduction of

Schools combined the talents of the two Headmasters, Grant and Burr, while managing the transition from a single-sex to a co-ed campus.

1972 First Ecology Action

1971 Gus Gaebel’s store

(begun in 1915) which fed generations of MS students closes.

1971 But even with these

improvements, Morristown School and the rest of the country were entering a new age with new concepts on freedom, individuality and questioning of older assumptions. With The Beard School facing similar problems, the schools determined that to save both, a merger was mandatory and thus two glorious histories created a new vision.

1998-2004 L. Laird Davis as Headmaster

2000-2002 The renovation

of Beard and Grant Halls was undertaken. For three years, departments moved to classroom trailers on the tennis courts, thus becoming the center of campus. As work was completed, Grant Hall, the colonnade with Library and then Beard Hall, departments moved back to their new classrooms and a new Student Center.

1975 The former Langdon

property, now owned by Allied Chemical, is sold back to MBS.

1986 William McBride

long-sought, Wilkie Hall was constructed to hold classrooms and a larger space (ca. 350) to hold plays and eventually morning meetings.

(In 2011, it was renovated as the Technology Center).

stripped of its earlier pews and was renovated as the first Technology Center. Many students and faculty had their initial instruction there, especially after the introduction of lap top computers for the entire faculty.

well-along, both Grant and Burr retired and the Board appointed Philip Anderson as Headmaster (1974-1992) to offer the School a new vision in a modern time. Besides the curricular programs already begun and the fitting of the School and the new Headmaster to each other, a clear priority remained to enhance the physical structure to fit with the energy and novelty of the interior.

1968 Realizing a goal

2010 Morristown-Beard

1997 The Chapel was

1974 After the merger was

ca. 1985 The Langdon

1992-1998 Dr. William Mules as Headmaster

club was formed, to be followed by the Environmental Action Committee (ca. 1987)

further faculty housing, three houses facing destruction were bought and moved to campus.

new technologies necessitated a wiring of the campus with space for instruction and other work on computers.

the student body to meet, as well as having Fine Arts classrooms and space for major theatrical productions.

Students had met first in Wilkie Hall auditorium but outgrew that to have morning meetings in the old gym.

property is sold again to help with fund-raising for the construction to come.

2004-2011 Dr. Alex Curtis as Headmaster

(faculty) and David Hedley (’87) organize the Halley’s Comet time capsule.

2005-2007 With the

generosity of donors, turf athletic fields replaced the grass of former times.

1986 Although the renovation of Beard Hall was to be the first such job, because of the many functions there, it became the last to allow for other construction and placement of departments.

The first job was the gym which needed expansion, and so the Simon Athletic Center and Rooke pool were completed.

2007 When the Headmaster chose to live off-campus for the first time in the school’s history, the house became the Alumni and Development Office, and the site of the school’s archive.

2008 To meet the needs of

Science Center, which had been in the basement of Grant Hall, were placed in a new building which replaced maintenance garages.

an expanding enrollment, the Classroom Building (1961) was remodeled and reopened as the Middle School. To it was attached an additional set of classrooms, which further attached to the new Founders Hall.

1990 The South Wing, site

2009 Realizing a dream

1988 The Dining Hall and

of the former dining hall, was renovated to include the Development and Alumni

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from as far back as Philip Anderson’s in 1990, the school finally had a venue for

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School becomes one of the first schools in the country to integrate the Apple iPad into its curriculum.

2011 MBS embraces the

new 21st Century paradigm for secondary education focusing on developing skills over memorizing content, on critical and creative thinking, on critical reading and writing in all disciplines, and a “growth” as opposed to a “fixed” mindset.

2011 Morristown-Beard

School becomes the first high school in the nation to administer annually the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to its graduating seniors. Used by more than 1,000 colleges and universities, NSSE is typically administered to college freshmen and seniors to evaluate their experiences and level of engagement.

2016 The varsity baseball

team receives national recognition for academics in addition to winning a state award for sportsmanship and capturing the School’s first Morris County title in any sport.

2011-present Peter

Caldwell as Headmaster

2011 With Wilkie Hall now

freed of its morning meeting duties, the building was completely renovated as an up to date Technology Center.

2013 Kirby Chapel, which

had undergone so many changes, became a meeting place and may soon become a repository for aspects of school history.

2017 (proposed) The new Math and Science Building constructed.

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St. Bartholomew’s School

Origin stories can be uplifting and help establish a people’s place in the universe.

Others might be more mundane, offering perhaps an acknowledgement of uncertainty or apathy, while others might be initially rather tawdry but with a very happy outcome.

Such is the case of St. Bartholomew’s School and then Morristown School.

“For St. Bartholomew the first six years were prosperous ones, and in 1896 property on Whippany Road was purchased and an entire new group of buildings constructed, ‘having every modern convenience for school life, and built on strictly sanitary principles. The buildings are arranged for fifty boys.’ John D. Collins, a builder from Ireland, ‘built the celebrated St. Bartholomew School near Morristown completing the entire work in the brief period of ninety days.’”

As a biography of Herbert Claiborne Pell, who attended St. Bartholomew’s before transferring to Pomfret School, said,

It should be noted at the outset that fact-checking of much of this material is no longer possible with sources lost and memories faded. However, the information to be presented is the most authoritative at hand.

The School was founded by Henry Lee Higginson, also a founder of the Boston Symphony, but he requested his name not be circulated. The Episcopal Church was credited and the Rev. F. E. Edwards (Harvard 1891) became the Headmaster. As Headmaster Thompson Grant wrote:

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“(Pell’s) parents first sent him to St. Bartholomew’s School in rural Morristown, NJ. The Headmaster there induced wealthy parents like the Pells into donating for a large building endowment. He promptly forgot the building plans and led a life of luxury which included a stable.

After the headmaster spent the entire endowment, he disappeared.”

But, the buildings were indeed constructed.

Grant continued: “The first term in the new location began on September 30, 1897 under the Headmastership of Reverend Edwards with 42 boys enrolled.”

“The School reopened on September 29, 1898, again under the leadership of Reverend Edwards with an enrollment of 44 boys… It was during this year that the School failed due to financial mismanagement and the Reverend F.E. Edwards disappears from the scene, his going cloaked in mystery and veiled by the passage of time and inadequate records carelessly kept.”

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Some of those records, however, can be found. A student (MS 1913) wrote to Grant in 1976, saying: “Your letter raised the lid on a most hideous stench pot of School history between 1891 and 1896. The man you mention as headmaster at the time took advantage of bad boys to make them worse, until someone blabbed and the whole property came up for sale minus the headmaster.”

Further inquiry revealed, with as much certainty as can be attributed, that Rev. Edwards fought in the Spanish-American War in Puerto Rico in 1898, perhaps to escape the law, and then left the ministry on October 8, 1899. We next encounter him in Los Angeles, where the Harvard Graduates Magazine recorded,

A few tidbits of information about the School survived, although considering the published and perhaps unpublished reasons for the closure, there seemed to be little enthusiasm for the new Morristown School to say much of anything about the circumstances of the founding.

One notable visitor to the School was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1894-1895, who stayed on the second floor of the current Beard Hall in the old Art room and now part of the History Department.

Thus, the demise of St. Bartholomew’s may be a bit clearer, but it is hoped more research will reveal more details of this tawdry, perhaps, but ultimately enlightening and enlivening tale.

“Natt Head has gone into the real estate business with Frank Edwards, ‘91, under the firm name of Edwards & Head, at 211 Consolidated Realty Bldg., Los Angeles, Cal.; home address, University Club, Los Angeles.”

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The Gymnasia The school gym is an integral part of any campus and an essential aspect of education offered to students. And so, in 1896 (it is assumed), along with the School buildings, a wooden gym with laundry was constructed behind the main building. One School paper account mentions: “In 1903 when he (Gus Gaebel, q.v.) first came to School the gymnasium was located in the building now used for a laundry, the present (1910) gymnasium not yet having been built.” (MS News 2.2 (10/1927)) But all which took place there may not have been strictly athletic, according to a 1910 graduate: “In old gym…on the sort of mezzanine floor made by the ceiling of the locker room, go through an entrance made possible by a loose plank in the vertical partition wall and you will find a comfortable refuge, upholstered with a wrestling mat ‘liberated’ from the gym and an electric light neatly tapped into the lines that fed the living quarters of the laundry. It was one hell of a struggle getting that mat in there.”

But soon thereafter, the School realized the need for a larger and more comprehensive athletic facility, and so began the drive to build one. Spearheaded originally by two members of the Class of 1906, Frank Damrosch (later MS School chaplain) and John Reed (q.v.), a fund was created from donations from the students who allocated a portion of their weekly allowances to the building fund. This effort was recorded in media of the time, Boston Evening Transcript (9/18/1911), “On An Endowment Basis: An Important Change Effected in the Administration of the Morristown School.”

The students also raised funds through summer work and organizing plays. Major contributors included School Board of Trustees members William Boulton in honor of his son and Grinnell Willis in honor of his wife, with numerous other gifts from parents and alumni. The gym was completed in 1911 and served the School until 1950.

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One interesting item about the gym was that it was hit by lightening (7/1945 and reported 12/1945): “The Anson Hard Boulton Gymnasium was struck by lightening. A great deal of damage was done to the cupola and the floor was covered by rubble. Although repairs were extensive, necessitating the erection of a large scaffolding they were made quickly and the gym is again in good shape.”

On 5/8/1950, a fire destroyed the gym and there was some question about the origin of the fire, for instance smoking, electrical problems, or even arson: “A volunteer fireman discovered that the old gym was burned down in 1950 by the Collinsville FD. The firehouse was threatened to be closed down and the crew got tipsy one night and decided to create a fire. The firemen served a total of 22 years in jail for their crime.”

No other record of this has been found but there was also talk about a Saturday Night arsonist who was responsible for at least three fires in the area. Even without a gym, however, the boys persevered in their athletics, using the cleared basement for a locker room with a tarp for a ceiling and setting up an outdoor basketball court with lights.

Whatever the cause of the fire, the boys again banded together to raise funds and with contributions by many, the new gym was opened in 1953, followed in 1986 by the William Simon Athletic Center and Rooke Pool which enclosed and expanded the 1953 building. This was the beginning of a renovation of the entire campus which is on-going.

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Look!

Up in the Sky…

Aircraft over and on the MS campus Charles Lindbergh The flight of the Spirit of St. Louis continues to inspire us but it has a very personal niche in the history of Morristown. As Frehan Odenheimer (MS Class of 1927) records, “On the morning of May 12 the handsome airline pilot “Slim” Lindbergh left St. Louis for New York.

Morristown is on a direct line between the two cities and all the boys were bursting with anticipation that the Spirit of St. Louis would fly right over us. That afternoon during baseball practice many a ball was fluffed while the outfield watched the sky. At last, the Spirit of St. Louis, at a fairly low altitude, flew right over us while we waved and shouted. Because of the Ryan monoplane’s unique construction, there was no doubt about it.”

This flight was eight days before his flight across the Atlantic.

Alumnus Arrives in Plane “Just before the conclusion of the Baccalaureate Service in the Chapel, a yellow one-seater airplane swooped down out of the sky, over the School football field. Landing just inside the track, the machine taxied across the field up to the embankment in front of the main School building. As the plane came to a halt, the spatted ankles of the pilot were extended through the door, followed by the owner, clad in afternoon clothes and a top-hat, carrying a cane. Jack Philip, of the Class of 1925, had come to attend the commencement exercises before dashing off to a wedding at Red Bank.” (MS News 9.17 (6/10/1936))

Zeppelin Hindenburg “The giant zeppelin Hindenburg thrilled the whole School by flying over the grounds on Friday the 11th early in the morning.

The main purpose of this unexpected flight was to look for an airfield for planes and zeppelins near Morristown. If the prospected airport is built, Morristown will see the Hindenburg on every trip.

The Hindenburg is now going to Frankfort to be put up for the winter.” (MS News 10.2 (10/21/1936)) Faculty note: A former faculty member’s mother, sitting on her porch several miles away, saw the flash from the explosion of the Hindenburg at Lakehurst Naval Air Station on May 6, 1937.

A further note: Could the Hindenburg have been scouting locations in the New York City area as part of the German effort to collect as much information as possible should a war break out?

The More Things Change…

The Sixties are glamorized and vilified as a time of profound changes in thought, in basic assumptions about one’s life and that of others and in the interrelationships which bind us, however imperfectly. But, if one delves into the history of education and that of Morristown in particular, one may see that the turmoil was well underway long before the events which common thought characterizes as that age. And, the reaction could be as vitriolic as any which accompanied anti-war marches, civil rights gatherings or even Woodstock.

To be presented are a School paper editorial from 1960, a reaction from a 1905 student at the School and a modern perspective, thus covering over 100 years of thought on the issues described.

The April, 1960, edition of the MS News included an editorial, “Weak Links or a Weak Chain,” which offered seemingly radical ideas for the restructuring of high school education. Among them were the abolition of a lock-step system of grades to allow students to move at their own pace, the replacement of marks with more meaningful assessments of learning and the setting of an age for leaving school altogether. The writer concluded, “A large number of students remain in school until their sixteenth birthday at which time they may legally leave school and enter the adult world with a child’s brain. This attitude of indifference greatly lowers the educational standard in the United States…By the same token a school is as good as its poorest student.

This is why a person attends a private secondary school to get better facilities, better teachers and, above all, a better education.”

The impetus for such change was in part the result of the launching of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957. Among the many initiatives which were in the works but were liberated by the real or imagined lag of the USA in science and technology, much needed innovative approaches to primary and secondary education became hot topics, including the Arthur Trace book, What Ivan Knows That Johnny Doesn’t, published in 1961 and excerpted in magazines of the time.

The forces for change, then, arrived early at Morristown School and herein began the argument so reminiscent of those to come. An immediate reaction came from a former student who attended Morristown in 1905-6, leaving because of transferable credits from his former school. He wrote,

“The effects of Sputnik on education did not diminish in the twilight of the Twentieth Century and dawn of the Twenty-First. The perceived inferiority of the US in science and math not only influenced the race for space but spawned a fixation on standardized testing to determine the weaknesses in the system and, through state and federal funding, make the US more competitive. Federal programs such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core reflect a business model approach to education that fosters the belief that all learning is quantifiable and can be standardized. Educational reformers have vigorously attacked that philosophy.

“Sir Ken Robinson and Tony Wagner have put much more of an emphasis upon creativity, individualization and view education as an organic process- ideas embraced by MBS. In his book Finding Your Element, Robinson rejects the cookie-cutter approach to education and deplores the fact that modern education continues to be organized around the 19th Century industrial model- something alluded to by the 1960 MBS editorial. The influences of Tony Wagner’s redefinition of rigor and Seven Survival Skills are profound. The MBS Statement of Curricular Philosophy emphasizes the development of habits of mind and academic skills that are carefully sequenced and gives students more control over their own education.

“The writer of the 1960 editorial and the former student would have to agree that MBS is not the same School it was back in the 1960s. The rich traditions have served as a foundation upon which a professional faculty has built a student-centered, skills-based program that not only produces stronger links but a strong chain as well.”

“I imagine that this was written by some smug, disturbed, upside-down thinking person like John Reed. The tone is subversive and extremely stupid.”

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political views are recorded in other letters, in which he considered the presence of John Reed (MS 1906, author of Ten Days That Shook The World and who is buried in the Kremlin in Moscow) a stain upon the reputation of the School, as also with Jack Bouvier (MS 1910), the father of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, wife of President John Kennedy. One may say that the writer’s thinking was already evident in 1905 and was thus held throughout his life.

A modern perspective on the topics given above are provided by Mr. Roger Richard, currently Director of Instruction at MBS:

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Lectures and Assemblies Michael Dorizas

Schools bring the world to students. In the modern age, the proliferation of media has lessened the need for providing information in favor of the interpretation of the many perspectives possible on any one facet of material one may study. And, the focus of this attention may be geared more toward the life well lived than the strictly informational.

In the earlier days of the past century, however, speakers enlivened and expanded the worldview of students into areas which they might never otherwise encounter.

Even a brief summary of the topics presented to students underscores the effort put by the School into providing the world. In the 1920s and 1930s, the students heard and saw (with lantern slides and film strips): the search for the white rhino; Headmaster Tilghman on the structure of the atom; noted aviators from WW I; Venetian glass blowers with a demonstration; Prohibition reform; several speeches on disarmament; tiger hunting; mountain climbing; the Byrd expedition to Antarctica; and Rudyard Kipling’s visit to the Catlin estate across Whippany Road from the School.

In the 1940s, there were: travelogues with films taken from the air; visits to Alaska; the European educational system and the formation of the Seeing Eye. The Chapel also provided a venue for such informational sessions. Although mostly led by religious leaders, sermons could provide information on a variety of topics..

A frequent visitor to Morristown School was Michael Dorizas, variously noted as a graduate of Penn, a teacher of Geography at Princeton and Penn, and a correspondent. He presented slide and film talks on the geography, peoples and customs of countries around the world, including: Norway and Lapland; Brazil, Chile and Patagonia; Algeria, Tunisia 125TH Anniversary

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and Morocco; and the Dutch East Indies. But, two of his talks deserve special mention. In the early 1930s, he traveled to the new USSR and described conditions in the country and the difficulties which travelers and local people faced. His most telling observation was that the Russians had to pay foreign experts to manufacture and repair machinery. This was and still is a very interesting on the scene commentary on the conditions in Stalin’s USSR. But, by far the most interesting talk, especially to us now with clear hindsight, was his travel to Nazi Germany in 1933. Portions of his thoughts include: “Hitler today has united Germany more than any other man who has had any control in that nation. He is the idol of all, particularly the youth. Everything is Heil Hitler. It is a revolution of youth to put Germany back on her feet. It is Germany for the Germans, rugged nationalism and patriotism, not 100% but 300%.”

“A man who can raise himself from a corporal in the Austrian army in 1920 to Chancellor of a united Germany in 1933 has brains that can be used effectively. Although Hitler is looked upon as radical he is not nearly so radical as some of his opponents. He himself is a very conservative young man and well-fitted to be the idol of his country.”

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“Germany is like an armed camp and … how militaristic even the school children are. It is a gigantic machine that moves like clockwork with one man controlling the power, but can he keep the machine in control?”

“Germany is very powerful in every respect, and although her mills can be converted to munition works literally overnight, it is known fact that war would mean ruin for her. The next war will be a chemical war and Germany is foremost in chemistry. Her chemists are not restricted, in fact, cannot be restricted.”

“Germany is potentially the most powerful and the wealthiest nation in Europe today and a nation to be respected.”

Mr. Dorizas concluded his remarks on the treatment of the Jewish population even at that time and unfortunately he appeared to share these anti-Semitic views.

By 1939, Dorizas had modified his opinion a bit but still praised what Hitler had accomplished. He then concluded with his feelings on the impending conflict,

their respective colleges next year.”

Assemblies and special talks are a continuing part of the Morristown and MBS experience, presenting to students the chance to see and hear aspects of our world hitherto unknown. There is no doubt that this aspect of the School’s mission will continue to inspire and inform.

FA C T O I D : D E C E M B E R 7

The MS News 38.3 (12/1964) reported,

“A tradition in recent years has been the celebration

of December 7 in certain senior classes. This year the seniors marched into the appropriate classroom

and hung the appropriate banner.” The question,

however, is whether this was a real or fake “celebration” and none of the alumni from the time who were asked about it remembered it happening.

“Probably there will always be trouble in Europe. Everybody hates and fears everyone else. Right now the smaller countries are being gobbled up and soon the bigger ones will tangle.

But whatever they do, we should stay on our own side of the Atlantic.”

Assemblies after the war and up to the present altered their focus somewhat to such topics as safe driving and drug or alcohol abuse, with frequent discussions following. As one student wrote (1990): “In the past, other people have come to MBS to speak to students on drugs and alcohol, but Lenny Mondlick was different. He explained, from personal experience, what an addiction feels like and what a craving for a drug, whether it is alcohol or another substance, means to a person.

After the assembly, the seniors broke into small groups for further discussion, since many probably don’t know what to expect when greeted at 125TH Anniversary

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Gus Gaebel & his store

A fixture of private schools everywhere is the campus legend, sometimes cited as a relic or fossil, a faculty or other staff member who appears to have been around since creation (of the school) and is a continuing and living history of the school and the perhaps thousands of students who attended it, in whatever setting. One such Morristown School legend who didn’t quite make it to the advent of MBS, was Gus Gaebel. Born ca.1880, he was a part-time employee in the early days of the School and the owner of a store, located about where the Exxon station is now, adjacent to Rt. 24. There was also a pond behind the store which figured in the history of the MS ice hockey team.

Gus retired in 1971 and the MS News gave him a tribute,

“After Sunday, November 28 (1971), it just won’t be the same. It’s been around since March 1915. It’s not very pretty, just an old building that’s in the way of automation. Out in front is a big sign that reads, ‘Gaebel’s.’ Everyone who has been at Morristown since 1915 or before has known Gus Gaebel and most have appreciated him. Mr. Gaebel was an athletic trainer and custodian for twenty years, and the supplier of everything from bubblegum to hamburgers. But now a super highway is going to end it all after 56 years… Gus is now 91 and has been a part of Morristown longer than anyone around. Did you know that the hockey team played games on a pond in his back yard? That there were dorms across the street from his store and that he cooked hamburgers for them? That the store was on Park Avenue until 1921 when he moved to be closer to the boys.”

Adding to this tribute are other references from students and the School newspaper. From a 1910 graduate of Morristown, we read, “(Gus) as a young man was the beau of the local countryside and the life of the party at strawberry festivals, etc.” From the News in 1927, “Up until 1923 Gus worked in the gymnasium and took care of the athletic fields…. In 1915 Gus was the trainer of the School soccer team which won the state championship and was captained by George Tilghman, now Headmaster.”

It was the store which was the focus of students’ attention and, apparently, affection. The Morristonian printed a poem about the school day which included this reference (1921), “As soon as that thing’s over/to our big gym we run/and there while playing basketball/we’re sure to have some fun.//After

all have been to Gus’s/to the study hall we come/and there we will start the next day’s Finally, the pond behind Gus’s store work/which shortly will be done.” was a secondary ice hockey practice site.

During the War of the Worlds panic The tennis courts were fitted with wooden borders and flooded, but occasionally in 1938, the News wrote, the weather didn’t cooperate. From “Things seen and heard during the re- 1928, “During vacation the weather was cent invasion-drama panic: ‘Hamburger, too warm to flood the rink and conGus, and don’t spare the onions’….Lippet sequently the pond has been used for was seen hurrying toward Gus’s mutterpractice. Lately, however, the weather ing: ‘One more coke before I get gassed… has been colder and the rink is now in One more coke before…” good condition.”

So the store continued to feed Gus was an integral official and hungry students for many years, despite unofficial part of Morristown School reports of its demise (1963), history for about sixty years. He and his store are one of the most cherished “The School recently installed a snack bar in the basement of the main building, memories graduates have of their time at the School. and Gus’s store is now off-bounds to all boarders… Due to the restlessness of a few boarders plus the uncertainty of the snack bar’s future, the old custom may well come back into practice.”

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“In designing the new seal, Judge Parker sought the advice and experience of Dr. Harold Bowditch who has made a long study of heraldry. Following Dr. Bowditch’s suggestion, the old shield was abandoned in favor of a shield combining the lion and roundels of the old coat of arms of (Lewis) Morris from whom the town of Morristown gets its name, and the plow on

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“Judge Charles Parker, President of the Board of Trustees, after conducting exhaustive researches in the field of heraldry, has given the School a new seal. Those who remember the old shield with a white M on a red field and a red S on a white field, may have a tinge of regret at the passing of the traditional emblem, but they are sure to see the improvement in the new design.”

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When Judge Charles Parker became President of the Board of Trustees, he determined it was time for a seal which would reflect the multiple heritages of the School. And so, as the Morristown School News reported:

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“As long ago as 1910, attempts were made to improve the old shield…. Kenneth Hale Adams (MS 1913) won a prize with a seal incorporating the old shield and the motto ‘civitas’ on a scroll across the shield face. This new seal was used for a time but gradually disappeared from School printed matter and by the time Judge Parker became President of the Board, (ca.

1929) it was completely obsolete.”

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The original School seal, from St. Bartholomew’s School, was a shield with a white St. on a red background and a red B on a white background with a diagonal (backslash) between the sections. Morristown School adopted the same seal, substituting M on the top section and S on the bottom. But very early on, change was in the wind,

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the coat of arms of the State of New Jersey. The motto “Orbis Aratro Pendet” was taken from the New Jersey seal and means “The World Depends on the Plow” which translated into modern thought means that all worthwhile achievements are based on hard work. In the original design, the lion and plow are yellow on red fields and the roundels are red on a white band.

The background of the shield is yellow fleur-de-lis and the enveloping band is blue gray.”

Unfortunately, there were a couple errors in the reporting and the following issue of the News printed corrections: “The seal was an anonymous donation made by a member of the Board of Trustees. Judge Parker gave the design for the seal jointly with Dr. Bowditch.”

Contrary to popular thought at the time, the motto, “Orbis Aratro Pendet,” is nowhere to be found on the state coat of arms and indeed, “The motto was Judge Parker’s own idea and was suggested to him by the motto of Phillips Exeter Academy ‘Finis Origine Pendet’ which means, “The end depends on the beginning.” The figurative meaning is unchanged.

Finally, a plaque of the seal was hung in the dining room and shortly thereafter, “The School Seal was put on the new china that was bought during the summer to replace breakages. The new seal, which was only adopted last year, makes an attractive decoration on the dishes and will be used from now on.”

It is fondly hoped that somewhere on campus now there is a sample or picture of the dishes. That would be a tradition to renew.

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George Tilghman and The 1933 was not a happy time for America or for the Morristown School. For America, the formerly open hand, reaching out as the beacon of liberty, was closing into a fist of isolation and restriction, feelings exacerbated by the Great Depression. At the Morristown School, Headmaster George Tilghman (MS ’15) faced a hardly favorable future with declining enrollments amid the pervasive financial uncertainty. Such times call for extraordinary vision, whether arranging for financing to continue the School or showing the strength of character that the School will carry on its mission despite these and any other obstacle. Such were the considerations and factors which resulted in the trip taken by the Ice Hockey team, with Headmaster Tilghman as coach, over the Christmas break in 1933.

The trip was, in hindsight, quite predictable when one reflects on Mr. Tilghman’s background and beliefs. He was born in Johannesburg, S.A., the son of a mining engineer working there and attended the Sillig School in Switzerland (1907-1912) before finally returning to the states and entering Morristown School from which he graduated in 1915.

His college career at Harvard was interrupted

by WW I and although he enlisted, he never saw action before the war ended. Returning to Morristown School, he taught Chemistry before becoming Headmaster in 1926 and remained so until he resigned in 1939 (as he wrote, “rather exhausted with the financial problems”) to enter the Navy. While at Morristown, he understood that young people would benefit from the lessons to be learned beyond those presented in the classroom. This fit in perfectly with the early versions of Morning Meeting, at which faculty and students would discuss world affairs. For these reasons, then, if the world couldn’t come to America as it had, then America, or at least one School from it, could go to the world.

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The forthcoming Ice Hockey trip to Europe was probably in the works in 1928, when Tilghman and: “Several boys visited Sillig’s School in Vevey, Switzerland, where our boys had the opportunity to see how a foreign school is run… The School is ideally situated on Lake Geneva with the Swiss Alps towering in the background.”

In 1933, he, as Ice Hockey coach, arranged the trip for the team to Europe, with games scheduled in France, England and Switzerland.

At that time, such a trip was quite rare, so much so that a congratulatory telegram from President Franklin Roosevelt was received, reading in part: “The President sends (the team) his best wishes for their success in this new field of competition, and wishes them to know of his conviction that they will live up to the best traditions of American sportsmen.”

Mr. Tilghman believed that this was the first such trip made by a scholastic hockey team.

The team traveled on the Berengaria, leaving from New York on December 15. Playing eight games in seven days against club teams, Morristown compiled a 3-5 record, with Mr. Tilghman and other adults on the trip often participating. They arrived home on the Aquitania on January 9, 1934.

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1933 Ice Hockey Trip to Europe

Upon returning, the team received a letter from Gustavus Kirby, past-president and treasurer of the American Olympic Association: “It is from contests and contacts of this kind that come better understanding of sport for sport’s sake, of peaceful international relations, and happy world friendships. All too frequently it is said that trips away from home are unwise, in that they necessarily invoke a period of cessation from scholastic work and academic activities, but the answer is obvious; Education should not be confined to book learning.

Knowledge is not to be found merely in the classroom.”

The benefits of a global perspective in education are by now evident but one can only be amazed by the sheer audacity of undertaking such a trip eighty years ago. Mr. Tilghman was ahead of his time and lived the ideals of internationalism, as shown by his joining the Committee to Defend America. This was a pro-intervention organization founded in 1940 and disbanded after Pearl 125TH Anniversary

Harbor. Realizing that war was imminent and believing his duty lay in offering his services to the country, and despite being married with children he sought and received a commission in the Navy and became the commander of the Carrier Aircraft Service Unit. He died in an accident on Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands on January 3, 1944.

His legacy, as he wrote early in the war, reflected the vision he had brought to the School: “My hope for the future when the Axis is licked is an intelligent American and world wide policy which will deter future global wars and if when it is over I have the chance to do so, to work in some way to this end. I hope for a country which in time of peace as well as in war is led by citizens who put their country first – and that is a lot to hope for.”

Let us reflect on Mr. Tilghman’s hopes and, when attending a MBS Ice Hockey game, remember in how many ways what that sport has meant to the School.

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Chapel Vignettes A Chapel is both a specific location and an idea. On the one hand, it is the locus of religious experiences; on the other, it is by nature the repository of traditions, the embodiment of what an institution considers and holds sacred. Indeed, it defines the sense of the sacred for an institution, the history, the people considered of importance, the significant events and the memorials to those who have passed. The chapel becomes the nexus of history and this sense of both our fleeting time at the School and our recognition of those who have gone before and whose lives the School seeks to immortalize.

However, Morristown was a high school and as such subject to the vagaries of fate as any portion of the campus, or as one alma mater says, it contains, “secrets grave, amusing and profound.”

Here are some tales from the Chapel.

A Morristown School graduate (Class of 1910) wrote, “The chapel was involved in some larceny in 1903 when the School bookkeeper set fires in the chapel and bowling alley to cover his theft of School funds.” The fires could not have been severe but the outcome for the bookkeeper is not known.

Another graduate (MS 1910) wrote to his mother that Headmaster Butler kept the temperature in School buildings at 66 degrees, but that the heat was on only a few hours each day. He bemoaned the challenge of going to the morning chapel service, saying, “It seems perfectly absurd to have to go into chapel where it is so cold that when we sing you can see everybody’s breath.”

Certainly the most intense experience occurred in the early years of the School and by the grace of God, no one was injured. This could have turned out much differently. “ (Headmaster) Arthur Butler, the maintenance demon, had all the hollow brass knobs removed from the beds one summer. The next fall we found a box full of them in a dim corner of the carpenter shop and put them to use as bombs (diagram showing tissue paper and candle

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wax seal around fuse). They were very effective for depth bombing suckers in the mighty Whippany River. One Sunday evening (when the Morristown boys were in chapel), after they had returned from Mass in Morristown, some of the Catholic boys decided to relieve their boredom and one raided my magazine but not knowing my code markings got ahold of one which had been reinforced heavily with home made but very emphatic gun cotton. They put this infernal machine on the fire escape grating just outside the chancel window of the chapel, lit the fuse and took cover and it let go in the midst of one of Mr. Vanderpool’s (School Chaplin) far from inspiring sermons. Luckily the window drapes kept flying glass and similar shrapnel from wounding the congregation. It seemed to us all that the Chaplin put much more feeling into his final prayer than usual. As far as I know this is the first time that the mystery has been explained. It put Chesty (Woodman) in a terrible tizzy. He had deep and justified suspicions but no proof. He was sold on the theory that the explosion was that of a firecracker brought from town, not realizing that no firecracker of that date had any such power. The thing had a punch equal to the present day GI grenade but being made of soft brass there was no fragmentation.”

A moneymaking opportunity was not to

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be missed. There was, “some hair-raising data about the uses of the chapel during our formal dances, and a somewhat profitable racket in connection with it.”

Headmaster Thompson Grant (1970) stated the principle behind Chapel services, “Morristown School believes in the JudeoChristian principles and regular attendance at all Chapel services is required of all students. We assume that in enrolling in the School you and your parents accept our Chapel policy.”

While that policy no doubt inspired many, it could have the opposite effect; from an early School graduate, “As to the chapel, after compulsory chapel daily and twice on Sunday for seven years I have kept my resolution made 50 years ago never again to enter a church voluntarily. I had hoped that by this time (1963) compulsory chapel had gone the way of the dodo…. I hailed the recent Supreme Court decision as a step toward the 4th freedom, freedom from religion.”

But, as a sign that the Chapel could indeed fulfill its promise when need arose, in 1973, after compulsory attendance was over and services were few, we read, “The announcement of the Vietnamese ceasefire generated much enthusiasm and rejoicing throughout the world. Members of the MBS community exhibited their relief and joy by holding a Chapel service. The service hoped…to commemorate the lives of two alumni lost, Robert Bruce Tufts and Justin Rice Whiting, both of the Class of 1961.” The service included the singing of Blowin’ in the Wind, a reading from Khalil Gibran, and as a finale the singing of Get Together (“Come on, people now; smile on your brother/ everybody get together try to love one another, right now”).

The Chapel concluded this aspect of its existence in the most meaningful way possible, celebrating peace and remembering the fallen.

The spirit lived on.

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Football v Hackley

What would a school, any school, be without its nemesis, its perennial foe, the team which must be beaten no matter the season record. Nothing brings out the spirit and passion which a game against such an opponent produces.

But, it is important to remember that these are games, and even within the most heated rivalries, exemplars of true sportsmanship can emerge.

Although Morristown School played Hackley, in Tarrytown, NY, in every sport, the football game was an annual tradition of unparalleled excitement, with actual schooling taking a distant back seat to the game. Begun in 1898 or perhaps earlier, the football game, if Morristown won, featured a bonfire on campus and general carousing and singing around the fire. One 1910 graduate wrote to his mother in 1906 that there was, “a bonfire after a Hackley game,” so the tradition was indeed established very early. In 1927, the News reported,

“We have completed one of the best basketball and hockey seasons the School has ever had. Both teams beat Hackley by substantial margins, which gives us a record of five straight victories over Hackley including the 1925 football game and last year’s baseball game.”

So the feeling extended beyond football but one sees official pictures of the football team posing with the score on the ball.

The 1928 News reported, “Hackley, our foremost traditional rival, was defeated here this afternoon in the thirtieth annual Morristown-Hackley contest… It was a hard-cheered as well as a hard fought battle.”

The reference to cheering and spirit will be addressed in another section but it is illustrative that “hard cheering” deserved special mention. To underscore the emotion such a victory could generate is the following from the News that year, “The student body gave a demonstration of their feelings in accordance with the 16-0 victory over Hackley. Early in the afternoon one could discern those unfortunates who had hours, plus many willing volunteers, bringing all sorts of inflammable objects…At eight o’clock pandemonium broke loose as the crowd swarmed from the Study Hall where Haggerty was starting the fire.”

There followed speeches and much cheering.

“After much merry-making and many organized cheers the crowd left for their respective dormitories. The squad and coaches, however, were invited to a party at Mr. and Mrs. Tilghman’s.

Here ice cream was served aplenty with dainty cakes to satisfy our palates.”

Special treatment for the team indeed!

In case anyone missed the importance of any

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game against Hackley, the News (1928) summarized it: “For over a quarter of a century, Hackley and Morristown have been big rivals in the field of athletics. The last and most important game of the season in almost every sport is the Hackley-Morristown game. The success or failure of the season is based on the result of this one contest. Special titles and insignia are awarded to players who take part in the final game and of all the trophies awarded at School these are the most valued. After every Hackley-Morristown game either a Hackley or a Morristown team celebrates the victory with a bonfire, fireworks and a general evening of merriment…No School rivalry could be stronger yet it is always in the best spirit and good will toward the opponent.”

In case one should think this hyperbole is one-sided, from the Hackley Dial (1928) comes this, “Today practically every Hackley student is going to Morristown to support the team for the last and most important game of the season. Mingled with the friendly spirit between the two Schools is a keen rivalry in athletics.”

Regretfully, the rivalry appeared to end in the late 1920s. In a letter from 1935, a 1914 graduate of Morristown remarked that he had,

“the football from the 1912 game (MS – 22; Hackley - 14) and he was donating it to the School for the Common Room trophy cabinet.”

“What I would like our Alumni to do is join me in expressing a strong desire that Hackley and Morristown get back to the old final game standard of rivalry…I claim that our Hackley rivalry is a plus value on the clean sportsmanship learned by the boys at the two Schools… Let’s get alumni suggestions and do something about reestablishing the Hackley game in every sport.”

It is noteworthy that games against Hackley resumed in the past few years but not with the level of general intensity which the original contests exhibited.

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Rivalries

Ice Hockey v Kent

Note: The Editor gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Katy Armstrong, Kent School Archivist, in providing the photos of the window.

The Morristown-Kent (Ct) rivalry in Ice hockey is woven into several facets of the Schools, and especially in the relationship between Headmaster George Tilghman and Father Frederick Sill. And, as with Hackley, sportsmanship was a notable feature of the games. In the Kent chapel, there was, “a small window with the Morristown coat of arms, given by the boys and masters of Morristown. It is a simple, sincere tribute of one school to another.” (MS News 1932)

In some cases, the weather played a critical role in the annual game (1927): “The Hockey team in the best and hardest fought game it has played this year went down to defeat before the Kent School by a score of 4-2. The game was played on ice which slowly melted as the morning advanced and became badly cut up and pitted with holes by the time the final whistle blew. A feature of the game was the good sportsmanship shown by both players and spectators.”

The quality of the ice was a perennial problem (1938): “The Morristown sextet was defeated in a close game by the Kent School team at an outdoor rink set up on a lake near South Kent. It was the first time since the Hockey team’s European trip five years ago that the School team has played on a rink with the rink-boards as low as ten inches off the ground. At times it handicapped the players and made body checking a difficult matter. Also the boards were frequently knocked down and the game had to be stopped while they were repaired.”

And to show the importance of the game and again dealing with the weather, “Since classes were postponed the student body turned out en masse promptly after chapel and at 9:15 the game was underway.”

There was, however, one extraordinary aspect of the Morristown-Kent games. From 1928 through 1932, a game was played in Madison Square Garden and was reported in the New York Times. There are several aspects to this rare honor.

“The game at the Garden was made possible through Col. John Hammond, father of a Kent graduate and former manager of the large arena. After one game had been played which was won by Morristown, Col. 125TH Anniversary

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and Mrs. Hammond donated the Ranger Trophy to be played for each year until it had been won three times by one School when it was to become theirs permanently.”

The MSG connection arose while Col. Hammond’s son, Orson, attended Kent and played Ice Hockey. Hammond was also the founder of the NY Rangers Hockey team. Thus, the Ranger Trophy, as it was named, was originally intended to be awarded to the team which won three consecutive games, but later (1933) that was changed to being given to the winner of that year’s contest so it could be passed between the Schools. As a sidelight, the Cup was valued at $675 in 1929 which would be over $9000 today.

And, Hammond let the teams play rent-free to help raise the scholarship money.

Another aspect of the game, perhaps indicating the persuasive abilities of Father Sill of Kent, was that the proceeds would be donated to the International Schoolboy Fund, part of the English Speaking Union, which funded the travel and education of British schoolboys in American private schools for a year (see Oliver Croom-Johnson).

One game during those years was played at Madison Square Garden and frequently the other would be played at West Point or at either School. From 1936: “Forty boys at the School arose at six o’clock to drive to West Point in order to see the game (MS v Kent) at the USMA rink. Chartered bus, parents drove but team lost 8-0. Hope to recapture trophy following year.”

Perhaps suspended during WW II, the next reference to the game was from 1947 and none after that. With the passing of George Tilghman in the war, a true devotee of Father Sill and his values as an educator (see Self-Help) passed into history and seemingly did the close interaction between Morristown and Kent.

Morristown-Beard School

Charles Mortimer Charles Mortimer introduced himself to MBS in the first Shivaree (School newspaper) (1971),

No doubt Mr. Mortimer’s most acclaimed work came in 1975:

“I have been in the television programming business for 23 year, producing, directing and developing programs for television. I have also functioned as a director of the oldest chartered dramatic organization in the country, the Montclair Dramatic Club and for the past five years have devoted my efforts to forming a Young People’s Drama Group consisting of high school and prep school age students seriously interested in drama.”

“ Death Be Not Proud a special two-hour TV film about the tragic illness and death of the son of author John Gunther was shown over the ABC affiliates.

Critically acclaimed for its sensitivity and effectiveness, the play’s proud executive producer is Charles Mortimer, MBS trustee and drama coach.”

Mr. Mortimer’s accomplishments became more evident in the later 1970s, yet for a time he directed the MBS Drama Group, with help from his children, and also produced movies for television and one which premiered at Radio City.

In 1972: “The Drama Group came through with a smash performance of The Impossible Years. … The play was good in all respects but attendance. It was disheartening to see so many empty seats. The presentation, while not as enthralling as The Brady Bunch that many of you stayed home to watch, was worth coming to even if only to see the set which was excellent.”

And continuing the following year: “The MBS Drama Group proudly announces that it will perform The Desperate Hours during the spring of 1973…The group is eager to present benefits for outside organizations. The cast will schedule a performance but the organization is responsible for selling tickets and will receive all the profits, minus the necessary expenses.”

And to add to the family at the School: “A special course, ‘Introduction to Theater,’ is being taught by Miss Bonnie Mortimer to interested students this trimester. All aspects of theatrical producing are being examined in detail.”

The success of the Drama Group was evidenced by the following from 1975: “A trip to Atlantic City and Bucks County is contemplated for the spring. In the last two years, the Drama group has received many awards at the Bucks County Annual Secondary School Drama Festival. The group also hopes to perform again for the NJ Association of Hospital Auxiliaries.”

Mr. Mortimer also had two Graduation Awards in his name, The Mortimer Award for Group Leadership and The Mortimer Award for Acting Talent. They were given in 1974 and 1975 only. MBS was indeed fortunate to have a producer of such distinction on its faculty and Board of Trustees.

FA C T O I D : A Q U I E T H E R O

Note the element of Service (q.v.) in the announcement.

From 1973 and note also the attention given to his outside achievements:

In the summer of 1928, Headmaster Tilghman and

Mr. Thomas Buffum (faculty) escorted a trip to Sillig’s

“The project for this year’s performance is going to be Barefoot in the Park and never before in the history of the group has there been such interest. The group has attracted about 30 students this year. Mr. Charles Mortimer is the producer and director for the productions. The school is very lucky to have him on the staff since this is his vocation. He has many, many successes to his name, including The Miracle Worker, The Girls in 509, The Impossible Years, and The Desperate Hours.

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School in Switzerland. “In Paris the students took in an

extremely interesting aeroplane exposition, probably the first of its kind, a show symbolic of the advancement

of aviation. This exposition was especially interesting

to Mr. Buffum who attended it with the members of the

Lafayette Escadrille with whom he had flown during the war and who were having a reunion at this time.”

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WWII Lead In

The euphoria at the illusory conclusion of WW I quickly led to small and great economic downturns while people watched the growing militarism in Europe and Asia. It is no wonder, then, that Morristown School brought the coming conflict to the campus in the form of speakers espousing differing points of view while trying to maintain the economic viability of the School itself. Headmaster George Tilghman helped shepherd the School through this time but then answered a call he had previously heard and finally paid the ultimate price for his devotion to duty.

The first seemingly innocuous reference to what was to be came from the MS News Literary Supplement in 1928 on the German Youth Movement: “The younger generation began to realize that their elders were not so perfect after all. They wanted to get away from the old customs and traditions which had been set down for them…After the war the feeling of nationalism was very low. In the misery and poverty that followed, all love of country was being crushed out and would have been if it wasn’t for these young people reviving the old songs and discarding the old militaristic ideas of the past. The sentiment, ‘Deutschland uber Alles,’ was forgotten and a new nation on a higher plain has been found since the war by the youth of Germany.”

But, in hindsight, we know where that movement eventually led, where the “misery and poverty,” the patriotism would be impetus for the elevation of the Nazis.

The debate concerning the role of the USA in Europe and Asia, and the political situation in those areas, were the foci of attention for the students at Morristown School in the 1930s. Isolation, engagement and pacifism competed for attention, but surprisingly, in the School materials,

the Great Depression, although very much on the mind of the administration, hardly merited a mention.

Mrs. Franklin of the League of Women Votes spoke on disarmament, including the London Naval Conference and the Kellogg Peace Pact (1930). “She stated that it was up to the on-coming generation to keep up the fight for disarmament and world peace.” And Dr. Brookman of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church spoke on the question of what to do about war. We need international common sense and that includes the isolationism of the USA. “We can’t keep away and not help others just because we’ve got plenty.”

Meanwhile, Headmaster Tilghman spoke in Chapel on the situation in Europe from 1919 to present. “Confidence has now reached a new low and the peoples of this world are quite disquieted.

In the center of Europe matters are about where they were before the war with the tables turned.”

But another speaker opined that France was strengthening while Great Britain was badly hurt by the depression.

As early as 1932, the School started a discussion group for students on world affairs and the MS

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News reported, “We think that by discussing important events which affect the world at present, the boys will develop a wider, clearer and more thorough understanding of all the complex problems which will be presented to them in the future.” This last line is a recurring theme in the News, that although the country and the School might be preparing for war, we need to look beyond to the future which the students will enter and one day lead. The School’s mission, then, becomes education with the necessary critical thinking skills needed for the world as it will be.

In the midst of this, Tilghman and the Ice Hockey team traveled to Europe (q.v.) in 1933 and earned the praise of Gustavus Kirby on their example of peaceful international relations and friendship.

The MS News (1935) offered a lengthy editorial on the state of affairs in Europe and Asia, focusing on the build up of armies and weapons and then on the pitiable state of the US armed forces and a congress which until recently refused to supply the funding needed. “Now that the last hope of all the nations, the USA, has started on an increase of armament policy, surely it is high

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time that something be done to put an end this futile purpose, the worldwide race to power and to the end and destruction of civilization.”

The next month, the News continued its opposition to the idea of war while decrying the pacifism exhibited by others.

“Recently 125,000 college and high school students joined together in a protest against war. Meetings were held over the entire length and breadth of the country at which, ‘war, fascism, imperialism, and all the forces of reactionary power’ were subject to disapproval. Most of the meetings confined themselves to speeches which pointed out the international unrest and the reciting of the Oxford Oath which states, ‘We refuse to bear arms for our country in time of war.’ Those groups which met in Chicago and Los Angeles became engaged in brawls with hecklers….To me and to other patriotic Americans, a vow like the Oxford Oath seems to threaten to undermine some of the basic foundations upon which our government is stabilized…. We personally do not approve of this nation becoming embroiled in European affairs; we do not believe in aggressive warfare. But we do think that a nation, once attacked, not before, should do all in its power to assure itself of safety in the future by punishing the aggressor to the utmost.”

The News continued its stance the following month, “Today the threat of German rearmament is a reality…The cause of all the (European) consternation is preparedness against Germany who is rapidly rearming, despite the treaty binding her never to do so…. It is only a question of time before the next European war and may we keep our hands

clean and stay out of it when it comes.”

Richard Leach (MS faculty) wrote a lengthy essay on the Ethiopian Crisis for the students in which he advocated engagement for our survival (1935), “No one in his right mind will pretend that American economics, institutions and ideals are not in the balance. It is further held that the present neutrality measures of this country are of little value, if not positively dangerous.”

He also felt the USA with its power might vindicate the League of Nations and ensure its continuation, concluding, “It is now on trial for its life.” And unfortunately we know the outcome of that trial.

The News in 1936 ran a series of editorials covering all aspects of the possible war and the combatants, concluding with a call to prepare, unlike our situation in 1917, “We must prepare, we must be formidable enough to discourage prospective enemies, we must be strong enough to win our wars, else our country and its great ideals perish.”

An optimistic note, crying in the wilderness as it were, was provided by the MS News in 1938, “Despite the failure of the League of Nations and the naval pacts, the world has come a long way on the road toward peace. Events which in the days before 1914 would have precipitated war are now only newspaper headlines. Today, however, people in all countries have become more conscious of peace.” If only…

But despite that hope, Mr. Tilghman, as he had done previously, gave a series of talks in Chapel on

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the history and current events in Europe, as well as the prospects for war (1938). Finally, a NY Times reporter lectured the students, “focusing on the aggressor nations of Germany and Italy, and on Japan which he believed could not win a war since China is rising against them and Russia is lurking in the wings. He felt Germany and Italy were bluffing and yet they were taking smaller countries and their resources since there was no one to stop them. He concluded, ‘Our two best friends are the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean which separate us from petty foreign squabbles. We should adhere to the Monroe Doctrine, have no foreign entangling alliances and mind our own business. It is our duty to be a good neighbor but not a policeman.

There is no reason to send the youth of America over to the slaughterhouse of Europe to settle the problems of others. We should stay out.’”

As a postscript, from the School paper in 1942 come ads for War Bonds and the militarization of the School athletic program, “The new program would extend the time for afternoon calisthenics so that there would be time for the new military training, which has been put in at the request of the government. The requirements of the program consist of a quarter-hour of marching, a quarter-hour of calisthenics and at least a half-hour of contact work (athletic team sports or weight room workout).”

All the debate could not forestall the predestined outcome and the effect it would have on the School, including the death of George Tilghman and the near demise of the School itself.

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Halloween Halloween may bring out interesting aspects of human behavior, from the creative to the bizarre, but most of the time it’s a time for fun and even making a fool of oneself. At Morristown and MBS, all of these possibilities were realized. Take a look at all the ways Halloween was celebrated over the years.

From the very early years of Morristown School (1906) comes this description: “ We had a great time here last night for it was Halloween. Miss Lynn really got up the entertainment though Mr. Butler and some of the older boys helped. Mr. Butler chose Davenport and Dudley Hale, the grandson of Edward Hale, who is really quite funny, Kimbal, Moore, Bishop, Hopkins and myself to be in a cake walk.

I was a girl and I had on an old hat of Mrs. Butler’s and a dress that was much too short.

Hopkins was my partner and I guess we made quite a show but Hale and Kimbal got the cake.

Hardly anybody knew me when I made up my face and went waltzing around in a funny style.

Oh yes, another thing of dress that I had was a huge ring with an imitation diamond on it as big as a horse chestnut which Mr. Butler made for me.”

Many activities were held in the gym, for instance, in 1929 there was an apple-eating contest, a peanut hunt in the dark, dressing races and potato races, followed by cider and doughnuts. Costumes were of course part of the festivities, for instance Mr. and Mrs. Richard Leach (faculty) came dressed in elaborate Russian costumes.

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faculty might also put on a skit or pantomime. A particularly interesting selection of costumes occurred in 1933, when Headmaster George Tilghman came dressed as a baby and Richard Leach as Herr Hitler with his wife as Alice in Wonderland, and a group of boys carrying a wounded football player to a cardboard ambulance.

By 1937, student costumes had become quite elaborate, including an electrified bogeyman, a heavily made up “woman,” cave men and cave women, Tarzan and Jane and a “minister” trying to work with several “drunks.” This was followed by the usual games.

Times and entertainments do change, and a few years later the prime attraction was a dance held in a barn in Mendham with girls from Miss Gill’s School. During WW II, there is scant evidence for any such frivolity but after the war, the celebration included a hot dog roast and lots of food with a few games, followed by a movie in the Study Hall. Some of the films shown were “The Immortal Sergeant,” “Laura” and “The Fallen Sparrow.”

The two School teams, Shongums and Whippanies, held a scavenger hunt and students often performed on their guitars and other instruments.

Dances became the main celebration in the late 1950s on until the merger. Since there was no boarding, a Halloween assembly was held with costumes judged and prizes awarded.

Most times students had to dress normally after the assembly but occasionally, “To promote spirit and support for the Drama program, members were allowed to wear their costumes throughout the day.”

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FA C T O I D : A S E N I O R P R A N K FOR THE AGES

FA C T O I D : GENERATIONS—W IN T E R AND ROB MEAD Top row second from right: Winter Mead

Look in the 1970 Salmagundi and find the senior

named Carl Gerstein. Note that he was at MS for

one year as a day student, had a few activities and participated in sports (but if one looks at the team photos, he isn’t shown or mentioned) and yet he

is in the school’s data base for alumni but with no

information listed. The reason? He never existed.

Delevan Barrett, Steve Alexis (editor of the yearbook) and a few others were thinking about a good senior prank and Del had the idea. With Steve, the group persuaded a friend of Del’s from Madison High to

come in, have his picture taken and then took him around to other places on campus where he was

photographed and even met faculty. At the Senior

Banquet when yearbooks were distributed, Carl was

apparently absent but several students began speaking about him, telling stories and ostensibly wondering why others appeared not to know him. Now the

truth has come out and the Schools can congratulate the Morristown Class of 1970 on a prank which is

now immortalized as long as the Salmagundi lives.

Winter Mead taught Latin at Morristown School in 19261928. He also was the Debate team coach. In one item

from the MS News in 1927, we read, “Mr. Mead read to the school in the Crane Library. This custom of Sunday night

readings was started recently by Mr. Tilghman. Mr. Mead read Tarkington’s Monsieur Beaucaire in a very delightful manner.” Later issues say he resigned from teaching to enter the real estate field in 1928, but was soon elected Treasurer of the School Board of Trustees.

Rob Mead, long-time teacher in the MBS Middle School,

said of his grandfather, “I didn’t know my grandfather since

he died several years before I was born and my father didn’t speak about him often. My cousins, however, held him in

very high regard and still talk about him to this day. Indeed,

Winter really must have been a larger than life character as a young man. A stand-out athlete, he was captain and stroke of the Yale varsity eight, and was captain and heavyweight of the Yale wrestling team. A member of Skull and Bones, he wrote about one “secret” of the society which may be

found on line (search for “Winter Mead Skull and Bones”).

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Dress Code

Mention the topic of Dress Code during a faculty meeting in the past several years and one would be met with groans and cries of, “Again?” The subject has seemingly been perennial but in actuality it is of fairly recent vintage.

A 1910 graduate of Morristown School provided a list of the clothing needed: • 4 suits underclothes (light) • 4 suits underclothes (heavy) • 1 dark suit for evening and Sunday • 2 knockabout suits • 8 pairs of stockings (long and short) • 8 shirts of various kinds • 3 suits of night clothes • 1 pair of patent leather shoes • 2 pairs of boots • 1 pair of rubbers • 1 pair of slippers • 1 heavy overcoat • 1 light overcoat • 2 pairs of gloves • 1 hat, cap, toque • 1 sweater • 1 gymnasium suit He also mentioned in one letter home, “I have tried to get permission to put up the shoe rack but have not succeeded so far. Mr. Butler says that it is too unsanitary to black my shoes in my room. It seems to me rather absurd, but then he is a boss so I guess I will have to go as he says. By the way I really need a few more collars I have only those three new ones that are good. May I buy a dozen?”

And later he says that, “the collars have arrived and have been OKd by the whole dormitory. Baines has swopped two with me already.”

A more telling account of what

one should wear was given by Charles Morton (MS 1916) in his book, It Has Its Charms, “The School was especially strict about what we wore. Going without a necktie would have been unthinkable; for dinner the requirement was a dark suit, white shirt, and starched collar, which really necessitated a complete change from daytime wear.”

This strictness was evident in the Traditions which were published frequently in the Morristown School News.

For instance, after a list of senior privileges, there were these (1927): “New boys are not to wear School ties, scarfs, etc. until after Christmas. White flannels are not to be worn in the Spring until the Sixth Form sets the example.

Shirt sleeves are always bad form. Either take the coat and vest off or have them both on.”

But there could be emendations (1929): “This year instead of the usual blue suits and stiff collars which have been worn to Sunday evening chapel, the boys will wear blue coats and grey flannel trousers. These clothes will also be worn regularly to dinner every night and are not permitted at any other time. In order to give the boys time to change into their clothes after study hall, the dinner hour

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has been changed from 6:30 to 6:45.”

The following from 1948 foreshadowed the changing times to come: “It has been decided to return, in some degree at least, to the old School dress regulations, incorporating a School uniform comprised of a School blazer and grey flannel pants. It was also agreed that a Crimson blazer would be a well-recommended addition to the wardrobe of any of next term’s Seniors and Juniors.

For the first time since the pre-war days, Brooks Brothers has indicated that such a jacket with characteristic seal and piping could be furnished. This move was made in conjunction with the current policy of tightening the dress regulations to present a more neat appearance around the campus.”

The 1950s were times of change which would not ease up, “It is expected that every student wear a coat and tie during School hours and at all meals. At dinner, a dress shirt is required and no khakis. Shoes and general appearance are expected to be neat.”

And then came the 1960s. From Headmaster Grant’s Bulletin from 1964: “Regular slacks, shirts, ties and jackets are required for class; chinos may not be worn to class.”…Although the current fashion among teenager males seems to favor the “long-hair” look, there is a point beyond which we as a School refuse to go. Boys with excessively long hair or who are obviously long overdue at the barbers will be requested to remedy the situation forthwith even if this means temporary suspension.”

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As expected, students might not agree with that, asking a question often repeated at the time (1968): “When asked if they agreed on the current dress code and hair length regulations, 80% of the students were opposed to it. Most students questioned how neat and clean hair, while slightly longer than is traditional, would impair the educational process.”

And then there was the merger, beginning discussions which have not ended. From the Shivaree (1972): “There has been much controversy this year concerning the girls’ dress code. Everyone agreed that the present regulations were unacceptable, but further agreement concerning new standards was difficult.

Finally in December a new dress code was created. I am ashamed to say that

the pants privilege lasted only two weeks.

The code had been drawn up loosely in the hopes that the girls would realize the freedom and enjoy it. Instead, a few girls observed the loopholes and used them.

Next year’s uniform is being established now. There should be some provision for pants, but such freedom as was given this past January will not be included.”

The saga continues, for instance over boys’ hair color, dress for graduation, turtlenecks for boys and girls’ apparel.

No doubt 150 Septembers will address this topic also.

As a final example but by no means a finale, is this from the Crimson Sun (2015): “At first glance, it would appear to a visitor that most of the boys work in a lumberyard… While the administration wants students to look presentable and well dressed, their case against sneakers is out-ofdate, contradictory and unsafe… While the administration has gradually relaxed their stringency on girls’ dress code, rules on dress shoes for boys have not budged.”

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John Reed John Reed is the most polarizing figure in our Schools’ histories.

As a student at Morristown, 1904-1906, he was a figure of debate and his reputation at Harvard and after became even more controversial. The School news gave a brief biography (1936):

FA C T O I D : A N IC E HOCKEY P L AY E R F R O M C A . 1 9 08

“When I got a stick that suited my style, I didn’t like to change so that stick had been sealed sailor fashion with about #20 gauge iron wire, from handle to blade tip and the armor plate concealed under a couple of layers of fabric tape painted MS Crimson. As one sarcastic master remarked, ‘To keep the blood from showing, I suppose.’” …

Referencing a patched up hole in a basement door, the student explained, “A lower school brat after the use of ‘insulting and/ or provocative words and gestures’ thought that he had found safety behind (the basement door). He came out in a state of semi-shock, his hair full of splinters and a wild look in his eyes” when a puck when through the door, barely missing the boy.

“The name of John Reed has been familiar to many but the story and significance of his remarkable life have not been generally known until recently… Born in Portland, Oregon, Reed came to Morristown in 1904 when he was seventeen.

While at School he held a position on the NEWS, and played on the football team. At this stage he had already developed a talent for writing. With a native cleverness he founded a comic paper but the publication was soon suppressed because of it irreverence. His rebellious nature showed itself early at Morristown where he was noted for his persistent and ingenious defiance of the rules. With his fellow students the boisterous Reed was very popular and with his rangy, broad-shouldered, muscular body gained the respect and admiration that gave him a certain self-confidence destined to make him a notable figure.”

to MS! He was ‘nutty’ enough at Morristown and he grew even worse when he went to Harvard, where he espoused all sorts of radical causes, and did the strangest things…. After Harvard he went to live in Greenwich Village NYC where his radicalism increased. Finally, he completely espoused the cause of communism and in that field of thought migrated to Russia. It wasn’t long however after that before the truth began to dawn.

Disillusionment and disappointment came to him in ever increasing amounts until he finally died there in the midst of humiliating and disheartening circumstances. The communists, however, honored him by burying his remains in the Kremlin, not too far from Lenin’s tomb.”

Former faculty member the late Arthur James summarized the general feeling about Reed:

His later adventures notwithstanding, Reed had a true appreciation for helping others in times of need, including the School itself. For instance, as the news reported in 1951, at the cornerstone ceremony for the gym, which had been destroyed in a fire (see Gymnasia):

“Probably for leading a midnight dorm party down the drain pipe and into town, John was not invited to one of the School dances. He retaliated, however, by removing the helmet of the School mascot, Oscar, an impressive suit of armor, and replacing it with a chamber pot. He was subsequently disciplined for embarrassing the ladies.”

“The Reverend Frank Damrosch (MS 1906) ( former School Chaplain) gave the main address of the day. He and John Reed, also of the class of 1906, initiated the movement for a fund to build the original gymnasium when they were students at Morristown. The student movement culminated in a drive among alumni and parents which resulted in the building of the first gym in 1911.”

But Arthur James continued, “We at Morristown are proud of his spirit: he championed the plight of the underprivileged and the oppressed, he portrayed the suffering of the soldiers on both sides of a war and he sacrificed his life covering global controversy.”

Another side was provided by a Morristown graduate about the same time as Reed:

And, the archives contain a photo of Reed as a choirboy.

A peer gave this assessment in 1960: “I used to see him occasionally when I was there and his brother was a contemporary of mine also at MS. As I look back, I think Jack Reed can now be classified as the biggest ‘crackpot’ that ever went 125TH Anniversary

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“John Reed whom I considered an ass, but he was a ‘king-of-the-kids’ and a great favorite of (Headmaster) ‘Chesty’ Woodman who had the brains of a beetle. The great Jack Reed is now buried in the Kremlin to the disgrace of all who had anything to do with him or his bringing up.”

Reed himself, however, thought the world

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of Morristown and said so in an autobiographical sketch for “The New Republic:” “Boarding School meant more to me than anything in my boyhood. Among these strange boys I came as a stranger, and I soon found out they were willing to accept me at my own value.

The ordered life of the community interested me: I was impressed by its traditional customs and dignities and School patriotism…My stories and verses were published in the School paper; I played football and ran the quarter mile, with good average success; I had a fight or two and stuck it out. There were perilous adventures too when a few of us stole down the fire escapes at night and went to country dances, slipping back to bed in the dormitory at dawn. With the School butterflies, I ‘fussed’ girls in the town and was not laughed at. Busy, happy with lots of friends, I expanded into self-confidence. So without trying I found myself; and since then I have never been very much afraid of men.”

The School News continually supported Reed in its editorials. As it stated in response to an alumnus who considered him a “dangerous radical and socialist and while his record may be worth keeping he was quite generally regarded as a discredit to the School,” “Although we appreciate and respect the concern of alumni, we must also go on record as respecting Mr. Reed. It is our feeling that Mr. Reed displayed a difficult kind of courage in stating his beliefs and following them, although they were against the accepted beliefs of the majority of his countrymen. This act of courage makes him one of our more distinguished alumni. Despite the fact his non-conformity was frowned upon by his peers, he did have the character to stand by his beliefs, as radical as they might have been. As Henry Van Dyke once so adequately stated, ‘Individuality is the salt of common life. You may have to live in a crowd but you do not have to live like it, nor subsist on its food.”’

The legacy continued, however, to the detriment of his friends and relatives at the School.

As a peer wrote: “Nathaniel French who is now the headmaster of our local private North Shore Country Day, tells me that his father who taught me physics when I was at Morristown, was fired from his position there because of his association and tie-in

with Jack Reed. That was news to me, in fact, I didn’t know they were friends or indeed had any common viewpoints.”

And, from Reed’s grand niece: “My grandfather Harry Reed followed his older brother Jack to the Morristown School in New Jersey and then to Harvard. Shortly after Harry arrived at Morristown he committed some infraction of the School rules. As punishment, his teacher assigned him one hour of detention. As he was dressing him down, the teacher stared hard at Harry and said, ‘Say, you’re not by any chance related to Jack Reed are you?’ My grandfather replied that, yes, in fact he was Jack Reed’s younger brother. ‘Well then,’ the teacher responded, ‘make that two hours of detention.’ As the story shows, Uncle Jack always provoked a strong reaction from people, whether they were his teachers, his classmates, his fellow journalists or the U.S. government. He rarely made a neutral impression-it was either positive or negative, and it was always strong.”

As a conclusion, former faculty member Anthony Daur, with Arthur James, led School trips to the USSR and met with Soviet officials, presenting them with letters and other realia from Reed and his time at Morristown. Even in the USSR (now Russia) and certainly here at MBS, the Reed legacy is strong.

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Lenin from the frontispiece of Ten Days That Shook The World

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Dorm Life

Students are the heart and soul of the school, and while academics are in part the raison d’etre of schooling, the building of social relationships and the ability to live with others constitute a significant part of the learning done in school. The dormitories, then, are the petri dish of these relationships and a microcosm of the larger world the students will enter. Bringing young people together in close quarters serves to create the sense of harmony and togetherness so important for all aspects of their lives to come, as well as dealing with problems and other types of people.

Research on dorm life was not easy since few wrote about it and the School paper had few comments on it. But, enough remains to give a glimpse of what life was like. A graduate from 1910 mentioned the dorm in several letters home. In one, he complains,

“The dormitories are so cold that I have caught a little cold and I guess that is what caused my fever. I told Mrs. Francis (School nurse) what you said about cold in the lungs and inherited consumption and she said it was very wise to be careful about such things.”

“I think I may get my room changed or something because there is so much rough-housing in this dormitory that at night I can’t sleep and such things as throwing a pitcher of water on my bed when I am asleep get rather wearisome after awhile. The rough-housing is always because of two boys and maybe they will go before me. I am not the only one getting tired of it.”

“I have been having a slight cold lately, particularly a sore throat, just from staying in too cold rooms. They try to economize on heat here and they do it pretty well for the rooms. I can only turn the heat up in my room at 7 o’clock in the morning and 6:30 at night. Between these my room is too cold.”

But, there were other distractions, Referring to the temperature, as was mentioned in “The other night Mr. York, our dormitory master, was the Chapel where one could see one’s breath in the away and so Winslow went up and asked Mr. Hill to morning, he said, come down and join a boxing match with him. We were all very much surprised but Mr. Hill was game and soon showed up with the boxing gloves. It was a great scrap and I guess it came out about even for both got winded at the same time.”

One student wrote that a master came into the dorm “drunk as Casey’s goat.”

Unfortunately, there were other problems, with the boy sick with the grippe,

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“In my absence of 2 days in the hospital somebody borrowed (a favorite MS expression for stole) my pumps and I can’t find them anywhere. I shall set Mr. Butler (Headmaster) on their track today.

Why, I verily believe people would steal the clothes off your back if they weren’t buttoned on.”

Another well-known alumnus, John Reed, needed help from classmates after he went to Harvard, “Please send me the light gray overcoat on the stretcher in my alcove in Columbia Dormitory and my safety razor on the shelf over my bowl in the Columbia wash room.”

senioritis once swept through this very School. Periodically, certain seniors would remove their victim, usually an absolutely defenseless lower schooler, to some secluded room and they would then proceed to beat him with belts and such until he assented to address the demanding seniors as ‘Sir’ or to do whatever bit of subservience that he had refused to do previously.”

“This is a warning to those people who are involved in such a case for we believe there is enough common decency in the School and a sufficient desire to see justice

So we decided to take this skunk back to the School and we went into the boiler room downstairs because it was warm in there and there was a nail and we hooked it to the feet and we skinned it using penknives and we cut into one of the sacs which has the scent in it and got it on us but by then we didn’t smell it anymore (the nose has a defense mechanism). So after we skinned the skunk we were upstairs over the dining room in the lower house and behind the chimney was a space where we hid hard cider so we put the skunk in there behind the chimney. The next morning it was late

Dormitories were named for colleges, such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia and later were also as Upper and Lower House. About this time, other houses across what is now Hanover Avenue, called Washer Farm, housed students who frequented Gus Gaebel’s store across Whippany Avenue.

Bells were the primary method of communicating School times, whether in the dorm or during the School day. One may easily imagine, however, the attitude of the boys to those bells, “The usual early morning procedure is as follows: the first bell rings at 6:45 and no one gets up; the second bell rings at 7:00 and no one gets up; then out of a clear sky for no reason whatsoever the third bell rings at 7:12. This leaves us all of three minutes to get up, wash, dress, and scurry over to the dining room…

Starting on May 18th, 1937, there will be a special course in calisthenics every morning at 7:00 on the senior circle. This is for those late to breakfast the day before.”

Other aspects of dorm life were not as pleasant (ca. 1950): “The seniors, obsessed with their own power and blinded by their own ‘light’ pick on the problem children of the lower classes merely for the sake of exhibiting their authority rather than to correct any wrong done. A rather violent plague of

done so that if the persecution continues, an ultimatum will be put into operation to stop, once and for all, persecution here at Morristown.”

Concluding on a happier note, a member of the Class of 1954 told this tale: “As a boarder I can recall that money was tight in those days so a couple of fellows were running trap lines down in the meadows for muskrat ($3 for a muskrat). A friend and I walked into town on Saturday night to the movies and walked back, saving money (it cost 12 cents to get into the movie if you were a child). On our way back about 9 pm we found a dead skunk and it was a very valuable pelt since it had very little white on it, it was mostly black.

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for Sunday morning breakfast, so we went into the dining room and immediately they knew who brought the skunk to the School because we still smelled like skunk and we gave ourselves away (we weren’t aware of it). So there were complaints immediately but Mr. Wilkie wasn’t there, he never came down for Sunday breakfast, but they complained to him and that night we were called to his office and he chewed us out but he couldn’t keep a straight face because the faculty wives were really giving him trouble on it and he, I guess, knew what boys’ pranks were, he appreciated boys and their pranks, so we got chewed out and told not to do it again but you could see his eyes twinkling and the smile on his face. This was a new one, the skinned skunk in the boiler room. “

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Social Action

Awareness of issues facing the School, the nation and the world and the opportunity to make a difference, as with Service, are hallmarks of the School’s educational mission. The realization that we do not live in a bubble but are actors in an enormous drama cause us to investigate the problems we face and, rather than leave them to others, act on them ourselves and get others to participate. These are some of the issues we have faced and while not citing all the details of the debate, we can show the involvement of the Morristown and MBS communities.

Environmental and societal concerns, often juxtaposed to military needs, were noted as early as 1936, “In line with the recent actions in many states and the national government toward a more vigorous program for conservation on natural resources, a plan has been proposed by a member of the faculty which calls for the reforestation of unused parts of the School grounds…The main value of this project is providing an extra-curricular activity in the planting of and caring for the young forest.”

A student several years later who had taken an interest in wildlife in particular wrote in the MS News, “In the few years that I have been interested in wildlife, what has concerned me most about the subject is the protection and propagation of this country’s game animals. This animal life is disappearing so fast that there is only two percent of the game now that existed here fifty years ago.

Something has to be done to prevent our forests, once rich in wild life from becoming lifeless deserts…The slaughtering of the wild animals of this country is not only the fault of the man who goes out and shoots them but the fault of everyone who passes conservation by as unimportant.”

A more generalized environmental consciousness arose later, in keeping with the establishment of Earth Day and other such celebrations and cautions on the natural world.

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One such symposium was held at Hunter College in 1970 which several students attended.

“Richard Ottinger spoke on the 20 square mile ‘dead zone’ off New Jersey where skippers park their boats to clean the barnacles off the bottoms of the boats. This is a result of a lack of oxygen to support marine life. He also indicated that the government’s policy on pollution is a fraud since it doesn’t provide nearly enough money for the effective control of pollution. We should be more worried about our survival and control of pollution than we are about killing Vietnamese and developing ABMs.” The debate over spending money on the military or on people or on the environment wasn’t new then and certainly even today is quite vigorous (MS News 1971): “We have entered a new year but it seems that our problems and frustrations are very old. It seems our government is more concerned with building an ineffective ABM system than it is with erasing poverty. It seems it is more concerned with building an SST and staying first in aviation than it is with keeping our atmosphere clean. It also seems that it cares more about sending arms to a foreign country than it does about sending food and clothing to starving people in our own country.”

The merger did nothing to quell the energy for change. From 1972, the Shivaree noted,

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“The ecology problems that confront us today are real and a great cause for concern. Much has been said over the years about the ecological problem, but little has been done…See the trash, the filth, the hazy air, the polluted streams, ponds and lakes; see how few trees are left – the buildings, developments and asphalt that have taken their place. Realize that our environment is dying and that there is no way out unless you become involved...Get angry; become involved, become active and help preserve what is left of our earth.”

MBS also presented assemblies on the issue, including a Bell Labs film and lecture on the uses of our natural resources and ways to help stop pollution. At School, the Ecology Club was formed in 1972, followed by the Environmental Action Committee in 1987 and in 1990 the celebration of Earth Day with workshops, films and music. The late Arthur James arranged for every student to receive a seedling pine tree to plant at their homes, “The students at MBS held their first Earth Day. Classes were cancelled in the afternoon and students went around with their advisor groups attending different activities.

There were workshops on reforestation, waste disposal, ocean dumping, and air or water pollution. Others were music selections put together to help one think about the world around them. Banners hung around the School, out of windows and blowing in the breeze to enhance the feeling that the earth needs our protection.”

The first step to correction is information and the Schools have provided that for most, if not all, of their histories.

Paul Kreutz Note: The Editor gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Fr. Benet Caffrey, OSB, St. Mary’s Abbey, and Mr. Daniel Whalen, Athletic Director, Delbarton School.

Among the great rivalries in athletics MS and MBS have had and still continue is that with Delbarton. The football game of 1964, which MS unexpectedly won 19-14, the first victory in sixteen years, is reverently recalled by alumni to this day. But, between those two wins came an unexpected and universally praised moment of true sportsmanship.

Paul Kreutz, a junior and excellent basketball player at Delbarton in 1957, drowned in the summer before his senior year. Although the exact circumstances are not known, his death greatly affected the Morristown School basketball team. The following passages reflect the School’s feelings.

“One of the simplest and finest things we’ve run across in the sports business is the trophy the Morristown School basketball team gave Delbarton in memory of the latter’s Paul Kreutz, lost in the surf last summer. There are no strings attached.

Each year some Delbarton boy wins this honor from a vote of teammates and Morristown School – a rival – paid for it…When you read of all the trouble youngsters are giving this world today, read these letters again and you get the idea there are youngsters with some pretty good thoughts.” (Daily Record 1/31/1958) From the MS News (1958): “Captain Glen Nelson on behalf of the basketball team presented a trophy to Delbarton School’s basketball team in memory of Paul Kreutz. Kreutz, who drowned last August, was an outstanding player of last year’s team and as a senior this year would surely have been a leading scorer in the county. The trophy, accepted by Delbarton’s captain Gerry Scott, will be awarded annually to the basketball player voted most outstanding by his teammates at Delbarton.”

And continuing, in a letter from the MS Basketball team: “It was with deep felt sympathy that we learned of the death of Paul Kreutz.

We did not know Paul personally only as a fine athlete in the best tradition of your school. We hope this small token of our feeling will help to keep Paul alive as a spirit to inspire some boy, who in the depths of despair and discouragement, may regain hope and faith and with God’s help may gain some measure of success.”

Finally, in a letter from the headmaster of Delbarton: “Your letter was inspiring, arriving while Dr. and Mrs. Kreutz were on campus. I showed it and the trophy to them first. They were visibly moved by its sentiments. Neither you nor I will ever be able to assess adequately the value to them of your kind deed.”

This may serve as a reminder, even within the most heated of school rivalries and contests, that we share a common humanity and, as these notes express, a common decency.

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Political Action The feeling of unease or outright objection to a current state of affairs, as with Social Action, may lead to discussions which seek to resolve issues while instructing all participants in the differing sides of them. The schools were no exception, with arguments and protests, usually in student publications, taking the place of inappropriate action. However, for the students, this was their opportunity to learn about issues, both local and global, and to note how such issues might be resolved, how best to achieve some redress.

One cannot write on issues without reference to John Reed (q.v.) (MS 1906), although his future radicalism was indicated only by irreverent publications and his leadership of escapes from the campus to visit friends in town.

For adults in the School, however, friendship with Reed caused difficulties. Nathaniel French’s father who taught at Morristown School was fired for his association with Reed. And, although the exact circumstances are not clear, Charles Hoff, another faculty member, was fired in 1907 for inciting to riot. This comes from a MS 1910 graduate who wrote many years later and no corroboration could be located. However, more recent examples are numerous.

Chapel and compulsory attendance received a good deal of attention in the late 1950s up to the merger.

From 1958 MS News: “Compulsory Chapel?” (two views) – “There are boys who go to chapel every morning and feel that it is an actual place of worship; there are students who, on the other hand, are very reverent and feel just a little closer to God when they step into our chapel every morning. Is chapel necessary to make these young men think of God? Someone once said, “It is not by going to church that we show our love for God but by our everyday acts…. If chapel is to have an air of reverence about it, those boys who do not wish to attend chapel…should be able to abstain from these morning services.”

“Chapel has always been a tradition followed and respected by the boys here at Morristown…The sermons or talks given by our headmaster are spoken simply to interest and relax the student before the difficult duties of the day begin.”

By 1970, “The result of a meeting between Headmaster Grant and student representatives resulted in having chapel one day per week and the elimination of Sunday evening services.”

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Prep had mandatory chapel. The practice was discontinued because of lack of interest but has appeared anew on a voluntary basis. The first such service was a Christmas Chapel, including a number of favorite carols…A Chapel Committee has been formed to discuss and organize services which will assume whatever form the committee wishes, including organ, guitar, recorded or vocal music, appropriate readings, meditation and prayer. The ceremony may often take the form of a joyful celebration rather that a solemn formality. It is the hope of the committee to discourage the idea of ceremonial rite and encourage the innovative, vivacious aspect of joyful service and worship.”

If further validation of the purpose of the Chapel were needed, a special service was held in 1973 with the announcement of a cease-fire in Vietnam (see Chapel).

Dress codes (q.v.) have been continually debated. New styles of clothing and hair, for instance, take time to be integrated into the prevailing culture of the School. The Beatles inspired one student to write this poem in 1965: “It has often been stated by those who are rated as tops in our modern society/that the music we play in our homes every day shows remarkable lack of propriety/that the lyrics are lewd, the melody crude and the writers completely insane/the general effect being that of a wreck between two Model As and a train. But let’s get down to brass tacks have a look at the facts which in this case are pretty alarming/consider starvation and race segregation, war, famine, and nuclear arming/so let’s make replies to all of these guys who are raising a horrible ruction/that the Beatles, et al., in spite of their gall, bring no threat of world destruction.”

In 1968, these topics were on the agenda, “There is a refreshingly new attitude among the student body. A prime example may be seen in the recent controversy over ‘bell-bottom’ trousers. The furor over this ‘hippie inspired’ movement was activated to peak when the student council voted on the matter and the result was a unanimous ‘yes,’ provided that the trousers were cleaned and pressed.”

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Editorial “A Call for Logic” – “Prejudiced persons relate long hair to hippies since they have most popularized the trend and then hastily conclude that all those who wear long hair are hippies. The illogic of it all is evident in the fact that they are attempting to support an improper syllogism. If these irrational people considered a person’s value by factors other than his appearance they would undoubtedly be surprised, let alone enlightened.”

OTHER TOPICS INCLUDED THE BLACK PANTHERS (1970):

“The Black Panthers is a controversial topic subject since their objectives are not clearly defined. Although their basic objective is to give black Americans full pride and dignity, only through self-defense are they supposed to commit violence. Lately, however, several battles between the Panthers and police have invoked confusion and distortion in the opinion of many observers.”

MIGRANT LABOR (1971):

The News printed a lengthy article on the problems of migrant workers, citing their low pay, long hours of work and seedy living conditions. Children especially suffer since there are no educational facilities and health clinics. Although some progress has been made to alleviate some of these problems, the local, state and federal governments have to step in for those who cannot speak for themselves, or as one senator remarked, ‘The capacity of our society to mangle people who lack the power to stand up for themselves is virtually limitless.”

THE DRAFT (1971):

“The draft today is one of the most controversial issues that directly affects American youth…With the winding down of the war there is a general feeling that the country should stop the draft completely. This opinion culminated during the two and one-half month period when the nation was without a draft due to the resistance of anti-war senators… The consensus is that the present draft procedure caters to the rich at the expense of the poor…The congress must improve the inequities in the draft.”

THE WAR IN VIETNAM, FROM THE GOLDEN FLEECE (1968):

“ We have a real problem in Vietnam with no easy solution. Our military have said we should never get ourselves committed to a large-scale war in Asia. Many today agree and feel a military victory in Vietnam is not possible. Pulling out of Vietnam looks politically 125TH Anniversary

impossible. I would argue that doing whatever we can which will give the best promise for peace talks at this time is our best strategy.” Note this was five years before the actual peace was forged.

THE MERGER (1971):

“Is there really a Morristown-Beard School? … In order to merge the School, the students and faculty have got to stop making distinctions between the boys and girls.

There should be no difference in the rules pertaining to boys and girls… If a wedge is kept between the boys and girls, as is happening right now, there is no hope of a complete merger this year.”

UNIVERSAL MEDICAL CARE (1963):

“The Debating team has been formed for the first time at Morristown (note: there was a team in the late 1920s through the 1930s) and plans to debate other schools in the area. The topic for this year is, ‘Should the United States provide complete health care for all citizens at public cost?’

LETTUCE BOYCOTT (1973):

“A general assembly was held in Wilkie Hall to bring to the attention of the student body the problems of the United Farm Workers Union…A representative of the union explained the depressing conditions under which the workers live and showed a film about the labor and the very low wages paid. After the film the UFWU showed how families could help the workers by boycotting grapes and lettuce. This would attract the attention of big corporations which would then agree to give the laborers fairer wages and hopefully reduce prices in our supermarkets.”

Finally, after a fruitless debate over senior privileges in 1972, students did what had happened at many schools and colleges, “During September and early October, the seniors spoke with Mr. Grant, petitioned the faculty, and finally conducted a sit-in strike during third period. Much of this was in vain since the School is being run on a much tighter basis than before.”

The point of this review should be evident. The Schools did all they could, offering assemblies, allowing for pointed articles in the School papers, and no doubt fueling debates in and out of classes. That is education in its truest sense, not spreading a party line but offering various ideas for discussion. This is one origin for the critical thinking which has become so much a part of the heritage of the Schools today.

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Epidemics

Schools are marvelous breeding grounds for learning, critical thinking, social relationships, novel interests and, unfortunately, diseases. With a group of young people living in close quarters, it is no wonder that Morristown School and MBS were involved in a number of epidemics which were happening at the local, national and international levels. The results might be closing of the Schools with attendant adjustments to the School calendar, quarantine of boarders at Morristown School, restrictions of outsiders from coming on campus. Most sadly, there were some deaths of students.

The earliest record of such a death was Anson Hard Boulton who died perhaps of pneumonia about 1904. In his honor, his father made a significant donation to the building of the School gym in 1911 and had the distinction of naming the gym after his late son. He also named several graduation awards in his son’s honor which lasted to the merger.

John Reed’s father wrote to the School in 1906 in response to a letter sent to all parents

by Headmaster Butler concerning a scarlet fever outbreak: “Taking up your circular letter of April 24th, I beg to state that I should regret very much indeed to have you disperse the School, and I propose to leave Jack with you until you consider it necessary to make other arrangements. In Jack’s letter, received since the date of this circular letter, he has made no reference to any trouble with scarlet fever and I presume you have had none.”

During another scarlet fever outbreak, a 1910 graduate of Morristown School wrote to his mother in 1908: “I shall have to put off buying my other collars as there are a great many cases of scarlet fever in Morristown and none of the boys are allowed to go down town.”

Polio was the most feared disease at the time since the results could be horrendous and even fatal. Precautions had to be taken by everyone.

As early as 1916, Headmaster Grant wrote: “The summer had witnessed a rather severe

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polio epidemic and many private schools delayed their fall openings including Morristown which didn’t open until October 4.” This epidemic was repeated in 1922.

Then, in 1918, the world-wide flu epidemic, as Grant wrote, “An influenza epidemic in the fall of 1918…forced the School to close from October 1 to November 4.” And shortly thereafter, “The School was closed from January 30 to February 18 (1920) on the recommendation of Dr. Haven (School physician) because of another flu epidemic. Train travel and movie attendance were also restricted and the annual School play cancelled because of the time lost.”

Although the cause was not provided, in 1929, the MS News reported, “On account of the recent epidemic the School has been on bounds since the beginning of the winter term.

It is hoped the restrictions will soon be raised.”

In 1931, the School experienced another polio outbreak, according to a letter sent to parents by Headmaster Tilghman, and five boarders contracted it with one boy dying.

Mr. Tilghman assured parents that the dorms would be fumigated. The MS News reported on the outbreak and the aftermath: “The School has been closed since October 5th on account of the outbreak of polio. The quarantine is to end October 25th when all boarders are required to report in time for dinner Sunday evening at 7 pm. Day boys are to report Monday morning at 8:30 am.”

Morristown-Beard School

“Because of the recent quarantine the football team was forced to forego its entire schedule. In order to have some physical exercise at School, touch football was introduced. Eight league teams were selected with all boys physically able to take part. The plan was received with great enthusiasm by the boys since it provides for plenty of competition and at the same time gives everyone an opportunity to get in shape for the hockey and basketball seasons.”

The epidemics continued, as the older among us would remember. In many towns, “Quarantine” signs would be posted on houses afflicted and neighbors would help by providing food and necessities until the local health officials could rescind the restriction. From the MS News in 1945, showing the effects of such a quarantine at a boarding School: “The Morristown School boys were isolated and the School shut down to small dimensions early in October when a sophomore was found to have come down with a case of polio. Although the case was discovered while the student was home on a weekend and Headmaster Wilkie notified all parents, most of the student body chose to return to School. However, the Morristown Board of Health decided that the boys should be isolated as a precautionary measure.

Consequently, all boys remaining at School were confined to the grounds for ten days, while all day students and boarders who chose to go home were similarly restricted at their place of residence.

Luckily, the student’s case was very mild. He remained under his doctor’s care until Thanksgiving and then returned to School. Meanwhile, for students who remained at School, short morning classes and long afternoons of touch football and basketball provided enough activity. School work was resumed as usual with the entire student body returning on October 19th, the end of the ten-day stretch.”

Of much less severity but still incapacitating for a few days was the grippe, a mild flu. This was mentioned in a student’s letter from ca.

1908 and was no doubt a relatively frequent

occurrence, especially in a dormitory environment. From 1947: “During the week of January 12, Morristown was mildly besieged by the well-known 24-hour grippe. The first cases were discovered Sunday night. Monday everyone was cautioned to stay away from grippe-stricken individuals and to guard himself from cold. But the siege continued.

By Thursday, when the spell came to an abrupt halt, it was found that over a quarter of the boarding students had come in contact with the germ and had been sick during the fateful week.

The pain was lessened considerably by the School medical staff who managed to keep us alive using a plentiful supply of Alka-Seltzer and aspirin.”

Polio, however, was always a threat to the world and the School’s portion of it. At last, the Salk vaccine spelled relief from the sometimes palpable fear which the mention of polio could cause. One former faculty member recalled that, in 1954-55, “he was part of the wide-scale human testing of the Salk vaccine when he was in 2nd grade.

Imagine a large group of little kids lined up to get a shot and the line slowly moving until the moment it was your turn. As it turned out, the doctor administering the shot who of course didn’t know whether he was giving the vaccine or a placebo (double blind) later learned that we had received the vaccine. Although too young to appreciate the significance of this testing, the faculty member does feel a certain pride at having gone through the testing and how we all contributed to the potential eradication of this awful disease, which had crippled his grandfather.”

The threat of wide spread disease remains and as late as ca. 1985, a sudden five-day weekend was declared because of the annual flu outbreak and at that time over half the students, many of the faculty and most of the substitutes were sick. The School had no choice but to close and then reopen to a recovered student body and faculty.

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FA C T O I D :

MS N E W S 9. 12 ( 4/1936) E D I TOR IA L—

“ TH E TEACHE R S ’ OATH:”

“In several states, in-

cluding Massachusetts, there has been passed

a law requiring that the teachers of the state swear to uphold the

Constitution, not ques-

tion it in the classroom,

or else give up their jobs.

It seems to be part of a surge of patriotism on the part of the politi-

cians, accompanied, as

it is, by other movements such as a flag placed by law in each classroom and even such absurd

innovations as painting all schools red, white and blue.”

“We have seen what

similar small beginnings have had in Italy and

Germany. We should

not like our youth trained by government agents, hopelessly propagandized and fed with all

sorts of twisted facts.”

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Self Help

The relationship between Father Frederick Sill of the Kent School and Headmaster George Tilghman of Morristown was clearly one of mutual respect and friendship. Beginning soon after he became headmaster, Tilghman visited Kent often and brought back ideas which he could adapt to the circumstances of Morristown. One of those was the Self Help system in which boys cleaned their rooms, waited tables and did other chores around the School.

FA C T O I D : A D M IT TA NCE O F B L A CK STUDENTS IN T H E 1 9 1 0s:

Morristown School was apparently a

trailblazer in admitting black students in the early part of the 20th

Century. Black sculptor

Nathaniel Choate graduated from Morristown School in 1918 before earning his bachelor’s

Prior to the system, there were maids and professional waiters to do these tasks. A 1910 graduate gives a glimpse of their work,

mational campaign, usually using the School newspaper, to ease the transition to Self Help (1927):

“The maid who takes care of my room in Harvard dormitory has worked very faithfully since Christmas time and I think I ought to give her a dollar if possible because nobody ever says anything to her if the work is done well but everybody kicks at her when it is poorly done.

And she has very steadily and conscientiously tended to my room. I think she ought to have some recompense.”

“The introduction of Self Help last year was not brought about primarily to aid the School financially or to make the boys do more manual work than before but for the purpose of giving the students experience in the actual operation of the School. In addition to this more responsibility was placed upon each boy. Not only was each boy to carry out his assigned job faithfully but he was also to execute the cleaning of his room and the waiting on the dining tables with promptness and regularity.”

The Kent School had received some notice for the system, as reported in the Hartford Courant in 1927, “Where Boys Wash Dishes to Win Diploma.” The article said the system was pioneered by Kent and then adopted by Morristown.

Headmaster Tilghman launched an infor-

Besides these routine chores, others might be assigned as part of the disciplinary system during the daily Job Assembly. These quotes from the MS News in 1928 provide the scope of the program: “Two factors were necessary for its success: first, careful study based on an adaption of the Kent system to our School; and second the cooperation and interest of the boys…Our special problem was to adapt the Self-Help plan to a School partly boarding and partly day. The presence of day boys complicated the actual working schedule. Certain jobs were therefore assigned to the day boys alone and certain others to the boarding boys; and the job assembly, at which all jobs were reported was put at 8:40 am to allow the day boys time to do their routine jobs.”

degree at Harvard

University in 1922.

“Daily boys make their own rooms, sweep the Study Hall, Common Room, Library, Chapel and all halls and stairways and serve all meals.

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by laps around the track but by hours of work consisting of both indoor and outdoor jobs. From January to June last year the overhead expenses of the School were reduced by almost $2000 through Self Help. The greatest benefit of the system has been its effect on the individual boy and his attitude towards his School. Appreciating Morristown the more he has learned to work harder towards its development and as he is now so much a part of its progress he has a finer School spirit, one which is not confined only to athletics but which extends to studies and every other phase of School life.”

Other aspects of the program were the mitigation of differences between boys from families of varying wealth since with Self Help everyone did the same chores. In terms of character building, School morale and spirit and equality, the Self Help program was entirely successful. As it happened, the financial savings would help greatly during the depression years to come (MS News 1933): “As a result of enormous expenditures in the years previous to 1926, Mr. Tilghman introduced what is known as Self Help, making the boys responsible for nearly everything in the School but the teaching and the business connected therewith… Every so often, Mr. Tilghman visits Kent and brings back new ideas for the student council and for the School in general. As a result of this, the tuition of the School has been noticeably reduced.”

From 1935, the News reported on a significant event: “Though many don’t believe it, Mr. Tilghman has been to Kent without getting new ideas.”

The system was eventually ended c. 1964 when the size of the School increased to the point that too many boys had too little to do and when the economy changed and Saturday was no longer a School day for working off hours. New disciplinary systems were introduced and Self Help became a memory of a time of cooperation and School effort and enthusiasm.

The Preps

Morristown School has a discontinuous tradition of a school band or orchestra. The number of School productions which incorporated music, such as Dramatic Club plays or the Glee Club and many other school events, gave students many opportunities to hone their skills, an aspect of their education still quite active to the present.

The School orchestra, cited as the Morristones or the Morristonians, was already active in the 1920s and one would assume prior to that also. But besides the more formal orchestra, the School needed music for dances, Sports Nights and other activities.

As early as 1935, the need was clear: “There is being organized in the school a dance orchestra. No one seems to know just what this assemblage of talent intends to do, but it has been suggested that they play at the post-hockey and basketball tea dances.

The sudden revival in things musical here at school is certainly a surprise to us, for after a lapse of several years, we see blossoming before us a dance orchestra, a school band, and several quartets, both vocal and impromptu.”

Little more was heard about this group although one would assume it continued for some time, but by the late 1950s, the need and enthusiasm again arose, “A student dance band by the name of The Preps has very recently been formed at school. Although this group contains members of the school band, it is a completely separate organization. A few musically inclined students supplied the nucleus around which the group was built. The dance band meets every Wednesday night in the gym… The Preps made their debut on Sport’s Night and were enthusiastically applauded by the crowd.

At this time they displayed their crimson banner. The band will make their next public appearance at the lower school Valentine Dance. The proceeds of the dance will be used to finance the purchasing of 45 musical scores to be used by the band.”

A further mention is from 1962: “The annual Spring Concert was held in the gym, featuring the School Band, the Preps, the Morristones and the Fairlanes, a combo which hopes to play at dances and hops.”

Finally, looking closely at the picture of the Preps, one might see a slightly older member who bears a striking resemblance to a certain Headmaster Thompson Grant.

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Prize Day Awards

Prize Day, previously held on Friday night, was Graduation for the Morristown School. The typical ceremony consisted of an Invocation, usually by the School Chaplain, the presentation of athletic awards, presentation of School prizes, a speech often by an outside speaker, the selection of the next year’s Senior Prefect, the awarding of diplomas, the singing of the School song and then a Benediction.

In 1935, for instance, the Rev. Frank Damrosch (MS 1906) was School Chaplain and gave the Invocation and Benediction, while Father Frederick Sill of Kent School was to give the speech but had to cancel and Headmaster George Tilghman gave a review of the year instead. Tilghman referred to the frequency of rain on Prize Day and complimented the boys and staff for shifting the program inside from Senior Circle. The ceremony was usually preceded by a luncheon. This pattern was the norm for the School until the merger.

Morristown School gave a total of 52 awards at Prize Day, some for one year, several for seemingly the entire history of the School. The list was generated from issues of the MS News and as such there are lacunae in coverage. However, it is illustrative to note the titles of awards, what was being honored and other interesting aspects of the awards. As was once stated, “Schools are known by what they honor.”

Note: The MS News began publication in 1927 and there are no records found prior to that date, so the dating of awards could be much older than those given.

The most frequently cited name for awards was George W. H. Allen (MS 1909). While there is no information on why he was so revered, the French, Spanish and later German awards were named for him, as was the American History award and even the prize for the Best Football Player. All of those awards can be traced from 1927 to the merger.

The second most acknowledged name was already quite familiar, Anson Hard Boulton.

He was a member of the class of ca. 1910 but died in ca. 1904. His father was a School trustee and donated a sizeable sum for the gym which was completed in 1911 and named for his son. Besides the gym, Boulton’s name was first attached to the award for the top student

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in the third and sixth form and eventually all forms and for the Latin award. The longest standing award is the Caldwell Cup for volunteer service to the School. This was given from 1927 on but there is some confusion over the spelling of the name and thus whether the prize was the same over the years and on to MBS. Finally, there is the Baker Prize in Mathematics. Originally (1927ff.) named the Todd Prize, it became the Baker around 1961 and has remained that up to the present.

Other prizes of long duration are the Bausch and Lomb from about 1953 and the Rensselaer from the same time. The Hillas Citizenship also began in 1953 and is still given. The Gustat (Salmagundi Editor) was first presented about 1960 and the Founders Cup (School newspaper) began in the 1930s and was named for an early editor, Frehan Odenheimer (MS 1927).

Some awards were presented only briefly and for others the prize itself was intriguing. There was the Boissevain Prize for Reading Aloud (1927-1928); the Catlin Prize for original poetry (1927-1928), perhaps given by the Catlin family who once owned the land across Whippany Road; the School Prize for Public Speaking (1927-1929); an award for caring for the trophy cases (1935); another award for managing the stationary room (1935-1936); the Best Carpentry Project (1935-1936); the Best Electrical Work (1936); and the Best Studio Art Project (19351936), for which the award was an ashtray.

In Athletics, the names for several awards changed frequently while others remained constant. The George W. H. Allen Prize for the Best Football Player was mentioned and spanned the history of Morristown School; the Kennard Cup for Highest Batting Average also was given from 1927 on as was the Dealey Cup for the Best Athlete, the Reynolds Cup for the Best Basketball Player, and, from 1935 on, the Bodansky Prize in Ice Hockey. The Decathlon Prize was given in 1935 and was renamed for Headmaster Valleau Wilkie ca. 1948. Finally, several awards were initiated or taken over by

the Varsity ‘M’ Club of varsity athletes.

MBS had a new set of awards which combined those from Beard and Morristown. A total of 32 awards were given at one time or another.

The Nancy Hoyer and Dickenson Richards were brought from Beard while most of the others were Morristown but the names were changed or eliminated. A couple were of short duration.

The Unger Dramatic Arts award began in the early 1950s but was superseded by the Mortimer Prize for Group Leadership and for Acting Talent (1974-1975), provided by Charles Mortimer (see Performing Arts). A separate Theater Arts award was established later.

Athletic awards were not named but were given in all sports for variations of Most Outstanding, Most Valuable and Most Improved.

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Oliver Croom-Johnson The story of Oliver Croom-Johnson weaves several topics from this volume together in a tragic yet certainly heroic manner and Morristown School is due a share of that reflected glory because of what the School meant to him.

Headmaster George Tilghman and Father Frederick Sill of Kent School had a lasting friendship. Mr. Tilghman frequently visited Kent and often returned with novel ideas to be adapted to Morristown, such as Self Help (q.v.). Father Sill also visited Morristown as the News reported, usually with an athletic team but occasionally for seemingly social reasons. But, for a time the most significant event in the intense but friendly rivalry between the schools was on the ice.

The annual Morristown-Kent Ice Hockey game (q.v.), for a few years played at Madison Square Garden, besides a thrilling experience for the boys and their schools, was actually a fund raising event for the International Schoolboy Fund, part of the English Speaking Union. From the MS News (1930): “A group of English schoolboys are in the United States under the auspices of the English Speaking Union to take up scholarships in American schools. The scholarship scheme was initiated by the Reverend F. H. Sill, Headmaster of the Kent School.

Certain of the best known American schools have offered to educate a number of English boys with a view to promoting good will and understanding between Great Britain and the United States.”

Oliver Croom-Johnson from 125TH Anniversary

the Stowe School was a recipient of the scholarship along with over twenty other boys and he came to Morristown. His yearbook page attests to the impression he made in his year at School, including references to athletics and participation in the School play that year, Treasure Island. Oliver completed the year and graduated with the Class of 1931.

The following year, Father Sill, at a speech given at Morristown as part of a series of dinners on the state of secondary education and Morristown School in particular, commented, “I wish I could express to you what the parents of Oliver Croom-Johnson, the English boy who was at Morristown last year, feel their boy gained by his contact with American boys under Mr. Tilghman’s direction and help. It is a wonderful tribute to the school.”

But, the next time the School heard about him was in 1940, in a clipping from the London Times which included his resume after Morristown: “On his return to England in 1931 he engaged in commerce and worked in London, Leeds, Amsterdam and in Liverpool. He was called up for training with the Auxiliary Air Force in July 1939, and remained in the Air Force until

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the end. The second son of the Hon. Mr. Justice and Lady Croom-Johnson…he achieved a reputation for keenness and resolution in all that he ever undertook, and had a wide circle of young and old friends. He was an experienced airman.”

Oliver had died in the Battle of Britain. His father expressed his, his wife’s and Oliver’s sentiments about the School: “I am writing to tell you and any members of the Faculty that may remember him for the death of my dear son Oliver Powell Croom-Johnson of the Class of 1931. He met his death flying for the RAF. Oliver spent a very happy year at the school from September 1930 and made a number of great friends: he always looked back on his time there as one of the happiest in his life. One of his proudest possessions was his ‘letter’ which was given to him for baseball and his red jersey went with him and was found among his belongings at his Aerodrome when I went to retrieve them after his funeral…

His School ring which he always wore was buried with him. His mother and I have reason to thank you for what you did to turn the Englishboy of 1930 into the fine man of 1940 who sacrificed career, wife and life itself for those things in which all at Morristown believed.”

A wonderful tribute to Oliver and to our School.

Morristown-Beard School

Computers

one has in a modern-day cell-phone. The novelty, realization of potential in the future, and sheer fun playing with this device must have been a highlight for the Morristown School physics students!”

About ten years later, a more sophisticated system was available and in use. From the Shivaree (1973);

As early as 1961, before most people had heard about computers or what they could do, Morristown School formed a Computer Club and soon thereafter obtained a working model. From the MS News (1962):

“At MBS, Bob Lee and Cory Trapp are creating ‘Star Trek’ episodes of their own with the aid of computers… In the computer room is a teletype which looks like a typewriter surrounded by metal boxes covered with knobs and filled with wires… Since approximately 98% of the school population know nothing about computers, here is a layman’s explanation of how the game was created and is played. You type different maneuvers and numbers that represent each separate maneuver onto the teletype which relays the information over telephone wires to the computer at Fairleigh Dickenson University. The information is recorded on the computer’s records.

To play, one types the number of the maneuver and if you are successful with your attack, bells start ringing wildly from inside the teletype and the readout is automatically typed out, stating what you have accomplished. The creators charged other students to play, to defray costs, and are hoping for a patent.”

“Bell Labs recently donated an analog transistorized computer to the Physics department. The computer was without many components when given, which are to be replaced by students. When completed, the ANOTEC will be an electronic slide-rule capable of computing missile trajectories, multiplication, division, addition and subtraction problems with speed and accuracy.”

Dr. Jack Bartholomew, former Chair of the Science Department, commented on this: “The article hints at the machine being more than just an analog computer—calling it an ‘analog transistorized computer’. Transistors give a way of carrying out digital logic, invented at Bell in 1947. I surmise that the device the eager Morristown School students gleefully played with was an admixture between a fully analog and fully digital system.

And later, the late Paul Furrer’s computer programming class provided a real-world example for using the computer (Shivaree, Winter 1974). Many remember the gasoline shortages of the mid-1970s.

The article mentions how students were to be involved in some assembly of the device, which undoubtedly gave them a hands-on experience and understanding.

The device gives “slide-rule” capability. The then state-of-the-art for calculations was the side-rule, enabling multiplication and division using two parallel sliding scales on logarithmic scales: addition and subtraction of logs corresponds to multiplication and division. Generations of engineering students learned to use the slide-rule before the advent of the computer: to be able to have a machine produce high-precision results quickly, without carefully viewing the slide-rule, was considered a major advance.

The ANOTEC had a fraction of the computing power

“The class was assigned to take a survey that covers the surrounding townships of MBS, pertaining to the current gasoline crisis here in New Jersey. Each student was assigned twenty-five random numbers to call in the town in which he lives. These numbers were not just dreamed up: our computer helped by using the random number function built into the memory bank of the computer and was commanded to list a given amount of four digit numbers with the student supplying the local exchange…The results will be tabulated by the computer and will be announced to the MBS community.”

The Monitor (1985) provided a glimpse of what would become routine for us today: “A home computer with a budget program can handle bookkeeping more quickly and efficiently; a tax program saves money on accountants; programs can keep track of messages and reminders. If you add a modem, you can hook up with your bank through the phone and do most of your banking at home. With a printer and word processor, you can half the time for term papers and essays. And, there are many games to help with spare time.”

This was all preliminary to what would become a revolution in our thinking and entire way of life.

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Technology

Just as the world is today, this topic will be obsolete about an hour after it is written. But, it is interesting to note the technologies of years past, if only to imagine how wonderful they were at the time, as we feel today, and then imagine what is to come. Here are some examples of that earlier technology, with more recent developments given toward the end of the book.

Has anyone seen a stereopticon lately?

From a letter written in 1908,

en-fingered pianists who had appropriate music for lovers, villains, clowns and heroes.”

“The School at present owns a rotten stereopticon, old-fashioned and run by gas. However, I should think it might be sold for at least $20.

Now taking the allowance of the entire School for 2 weeks or ½ of them for a month, we could raise about $70 from allowances alone. With this and the $20 extra we could get a fine combination moving picture and stationary picture electric lantern. I am going to write today to some stereopticon people to inquire about this.”

He also referenced the sinking of the Titanic and the issues of women working and then voting.

The radio was a recent invention, in the commercial sense, in the early 1930s and the boys were quick to adopt them,

Note the reference to contributions from the boys’ allowances. Two years before, John Reed and Frank Damrosch (both MS 1906) came up with this idea to help fund the building of a gym.

For an overview of the world about that time, a Class of 1912 graduate gave a Prize Day speech in 1941, pointing out the world as it was, “When I was a (Senior) and sat in a back row desk of Morristown Study Hall (a coveted senior privilege) I had never seen an airplane.

The radio was merely a telegraphic gadget which sounded like an angry bee in a bottle and was used mainly for communication between shore and ships. Possession of an automobile was then a fading index of prosperity and swank. A trip over the road to Boston was more unusual and far more venturesome than to the Pacific Coast today. Great things were predicted for the motor car – a revolutionary device called a self-starter was just on the market. Still a few families on Normandy Heights resisted the auto and each morning their off-spring was delivered at Morristown School in horse-drawn, leather coated station wagons driven by coachmen in dust-colored whipcord. The movies were galloping peep shows, generally exhibited in vacant stores, and spectators’ emotions were whipped up by lead125TH Anniversary

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“The boys have discovered that a department store in Morristown is selling small crystal radio sets for only 89 cents. There has naturally been a rush to install aerials from nearly every window in the School.” Comments on this mention that reception was terrible and only one station could be picked up, and then there were problems with the amount of electricity being consumed.

But, there were educational uses for them also (MS News 1936): “The French VI class listened to a broadcast of the play, Cyrano de Bergerac, received over the master’s radio…The uses of radio as an aid to classroom work will probably be extended as the broadcasting companies put on more educational features.”

There was a radio in the Common Room, controlled by seniors of course, and the School did try to control their possession and use, with little effect. During the furor over the “War of the Worlds” broadcast, “Mr. Tilghman was mildly surprised at the number of fellows who had evidently heard the broadcast. Curious, considering that there are no radios in the School other than in the common room.”

An historical note: a former faculty member remembers in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis that as soon as his School dismissed for the day, students gathered in the library to

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hear the latest news on their transistor radios, although radios were supposedly banned there also. A sorrowful repeat of that incident were the radios suddenly appearing during the last period of the day on November 22, 1963.

There were no objections.

Movies, a Saturday night staple at the School, likewise were upgraded by the addition of better sound (1931): “The School has finally obtained a fine and complete talking picture booth. The apparatus includes besides the projection machine proper, a synchronous arrangement turntable for dialogue and music of the cinema, and a non-synchronous arrangement for music during the change of reels.

There is also a loud speaker enabling the operator to hear the sound in the booth and thus keep track of faulty synchronization.”

By 1962, electronics had progressed to the point that students could work with them easily, and the School was ready to help, “Facilities for a School radio station have been built in a room located across from the Chemistry lab in the basement of (Grant Hall before renovation). The Radio Club has been formed to operate the station.”

Shortly thereafter: “The staff of WMSR, Wireless Morristown School Radio, held its official opening at 7:00 pm, with the night’s program consisting of the Commencement, Acknowledgments, and Staff introductions. For the remainder of the program music was broadcast until 8:00. WMSR at 640 on the dial broadcasts from 6:30-8 pm after dinner and from 9:30-10:30 after study hall.”

The station was active for a few years.

The Middle States Evaluation of the School in 1966 required the listing of all A-V equipment which consisted of, “two record players, two slide projectors, two 16mm sound projectors, two overhead projectors, one opaque projector, and a portable TV with a classroom monitor.” A faculty member was in charge of this equipment and had a group of students to assist.”

The advances in computers, beginning in 1962 at Morristown School, are continued in the Computers section above and Ipads below.

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Columns

The School makes a vivid impression from the moment one enters the drive. The grandeur of the columns and the embracing of the flanking buildings invite one to participate in the great adventure within. In his valedictory address in 1963, Donald Goble gave his impression of the meaning of this entrance, specifically the columns of the porte- cochere. One might ask rhetorically, what do the columns mean for you? Here is one magnificent response, albeit shortened.

PRIZE DAY, 1963 VALEDICTORY ADDRESS

Today marks the termination of four years’ hard work. It marks the end of our foundations for higher learning while actually beginning our search for this goal. From this point on, we must work with devoted efforts toward our one goal in life, To Live Successfully.

Have you ever passed the School at night and seen the white colonial columns as they stand silhouetted against the darkness by the lights which shine upon them from Senior Circle? These columns, beyond anything else, will be the one thing I remember most about Morristown School. To me, each of these six columns represents a benefit we have all received from this School.

KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge, the reward for so many years of hard work, was the chief goal we were all seeking when we first came to Morristown.

It is the basis for all living. Without it, we cannot express ourselves and make our way through the hub-bub of everyday living. We have learned not only through the most common teacher, experience, but also through hard work and study and this is, to me, knowledge, to learn both by experience and research; the ability to grasp all you have been taught, assemble it systematically, and discover new worlds unfolding before you.

SPORTSMANSHIP

Sportsmanship can be among the most beneficial attributes which any of us could possess.

Without it, we cannot live happily. We have 125TH Anniversary

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learned to be good losers; to be able to lose and be almost proud of it, knowing you have given your best in a losing cause. But, sportsmanship should be applied not only to sports but to everything we attempt. It is the ability to come back up fighting and to appreciate the fall from which you are recovering.

REVERENCE

Chapel every morning and the hour boarders spend together every Sunday evening are the most obvious sources of Reverence at School.

What we carry out of each of these services will be our guiding light for the days to come.

Perhaps chapel is the place where we first begin to judge ourselves. In these quiet moments of meditation, we hesitantly look back or forward on the day’s events and thus we are able to live with a clearer conscience.

tition; the annual operettas and sports night; the Senior Prom and sock hops; the Upper and Lower Houses and the frequent raids between them that broke the nocturnal silence of Senior Circle; the annual jaunt across the street for a midnight swim. But most especially we remember the traditions which color our daily lives, the best of all the Senior Door which stands so significantly between the columns. As one alumnus has said, ‘Morristown is a place where we tarried for truth and found, beyond anything else…Memories.’

CHARACTER

Character, a composite of all those before, is formed slowly and requires a great deal of guidance in self-reliance. You can easily notice it about a person when you first see him. The way he carries himself, his manners, the way he speaks, or the way he acts. One may not know how to define it, but, as I believe, every man who graduates from Morristown possesses it.

Behind the four front columns stand two others, closer to the School building and closest to the heart of our graduates.

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship thrives in the atmosphere developed here. It is the atmosphere which makes it so easy to adapt to the School and its traditions when you first arrive. Perhaps these warm relationships with classmates and teachers will be the one thing we will remember most.

MEMORIES

There are a great number of things we will remember after our departure from here today.

The first day you arrived and the day you felt a part of the School; your first athletic compe125TH Anniversary

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Glee Club

The Glee Club at Morristown School had a history going back to the earliest days of the School. It functioned as an integral part of dramatic productions and as an independent singing group, performing at School functions throughout the year. For instance, the MS News (1929) noted; from the school and train them to the point where they could carry parts in harmony. The Glee Club was an outstanding feature of the Christmas Banquet and at the last Dramatic Club performance in Summit it reached a new peak of performance.”

At seemingly every major School event, the Glee Club was heard. This was the case for the dedication of the School Chapel as Memorial Chapel in 1929:

“The Dramatic Club presented its annual play, The Gypsy Trail. The excellent Glee Club and the Orchestra, the Morristonians, added greatly to its success. The play was presented at St. Peter’s Parish House in Morristown where school plays have been given for a number of years. An overflow audience of almost 500 taxed the seating capacity of the house… Much credit is due to those who constructed the lighting and staging which was unusually artistic and well designed.”

“With the dedication of Memorial Chapel and the new organ close at hand, thoughts naturally turn to the part the Glee Club is to take in the services on November 10th. Trials were held and rehearsals started this past week…The hymns and chants are to be done by the entire school, boys in the Lower School taking the soprano and alto parts and the Glee Club the tenor and bass, a new departure in the music for the chapel.”

Throughout the years, the Glee Club continued the traditions (from 1935):

The News went on to commend the club:

“We sense that this year, as no other, presents material for a really good Glee Club and we like the idea of using the regular periods during the day, simply because the day boys will form an integral part.”

“One of the most outstanding achievements of the year has been the organization of the Glee Club. In a remarkably short time, Mr. Shepardson has been able to select voices at random

The section on Schedule hints at this same problem, when to schedule rehearsal times.

The note goes on to bemoan the lack of interest in the Dramatic Club and the need for a school

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orchestra, which had phased in and out of favor with the boys.

The apparent high point of the Glee Club came after the disruptions of WW II. First we read (1946), “The Glee Club performs at all large functions here at school, mainly, Sports Night, Christmas Service and Prize Day.” And then (1947):

their talents to the development of a pseudo-female chorus. A new stage, suitable for use in the gym, has been specially constructed.”

“After much consideration, the Glee Club and the Drama Club have combined to start work on a male version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s great operetta, H.M.S. Pinafore. Under the direction of Mr. Ralph Wallace and Mr. Robert Simmons, the two-act musical is the culmination of Mr. Wallace’s efforts to channel interests along this line.”

“The time of year has arrived in which, annually, Mr. Wallace ages five years. It is the time of loud shouts, bangings on the piano, and a frenzied rush to hide whenever Mr. Wallace appears on the scene. The operetta season has arrived!”

This began the eleven-year run of presenting a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta annually. The preparations often began with a trip to New York to see a professional production of the operetta and the noting of staging and other technical issues. From 1948: “Following a visit to the Century Theater to observe Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore as done by the D’Oyly Carte Opera company, preparations for our own inimitable version of the same show have been in full swing and all indications point to a very entertaining show.

Efforts have been made to copy the D’Oyly Carte style, even to the stage setting. Mr. Wallace has been rehearsing several groups since the beginning of the term and although, the version we are presenting has provision for male voices only, some of the younger boys have consented to lend

A partial list of the operettas presented includes The Mikado, The Gondoliers, Pirates of Penzance, and Iolanthe. The News also informed us about the condition of the faculty director, Ralph Wallace:

After Wallace retired, there was a void for a few years until 1962: “Mr. Arthur James is reviving the Glee Club this year. The group plans to make its first appearance in the school show in December. They will also appear in March at Gill School for a concert and dance.”

But the tradition of Gilbert and Sullivan was maintained, at least once (1964): “The Glee Club, rehearsing this year during activity period under the direction of Mr. James, is preparing to participate in the Gilbert and Sullivan Revue to be given in December in conjunction with the Band and the Lower School Glee Club.”

As an independent group or as a part of other dramatic productions, the Glee Club had a tradition of excellence, bringing quality music to the School and community.

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FA C T O I D :

MS NEWS 38.6 ( 5/1 965)—

CHIVA R E E

( A P R E CURSO R TO C M W):

“A new tradition was

very likely born with the presentation of the

Chivaree in the gym.

A joint effort with the Gill

School, the show offered guitar-vocal solos,

a piano solo, singers accompanied by

guitars, and group performances by

the Glee Clubs of Gill and Morristown.”

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Curriculum

The curriculum, what a school offers to students, and the schedule, the units of time in which that curriculum occurs, are constantly shifting and changing to reflect changes in educational theories and the mundane needs of schools.

The Morristown School and MBS reflect this dynamic process of bringing the world to students while allowing for the ever-expanding demands on the limited time available in which to present them.

This topic is encyclopedic in its scope but a few snapshots from the archives may present the trends at selected times in the Schools’ histories.

One of the few tidbits of information from St. Bartholomew’s School is the following from the School catalogue (ca. 1895-96); “ While the curriculum is arranged primarily for college preparation, the aim of the School is to educate boys in the broad sense of the word.

French and German are not only part of the regular course but are spoken in the School. Music, drawing and dancing are regularly provided for. All religious services are held in the chapel.

Examinations are held monthly, the report of which is sent to parents. Saturday afternoon is a half-holiday when parents and friends of the boys are welcome.

It is evident that this remained largely unchanged at the transition to Morristown School, considering the founders were faculty at St. Bartholomew’s. Many years later, the structure had changed little, except for opportunities for some expansion depending on the needs of individual students: In 1936, the curriculum for all boys included Math, English, language, history, science and Civics and Government but would allow for independent and advanced studies. This was well before AP level, Independent Studies and the Senior Project of later years.

Headmaster George Tilghman, however, initiated a unique program in the School at this time, a non-college program. Perhaps the program had the additional feature of adding students and their tuitions to a School already hard pressed by the depression (MS News 1934): 125TH Anniversary

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“Beginning with the sessions of 1934-35, Morristown will institute a new course of study, unique in the field of American secondary education. This new addition will be known as the Non-College Course. Heretofore there were two courses open for boys who were not going to college. They were either obliged to go directly to work for which they were badly prepared or to a technical or commercial school for one or two years where they did not receive the benefits of the Social and Cultural influences which they should have to prepare them properly for taking their places in the communities in which they planned to live.”

“The course is sufficiently flexible to be tailored to the individual and at the same time rigid enough to give the essential cultural background and necessary training.” The course involves research, trips to industries and financial institutions, accounting training, business administration and advertising, to mention a few of the topics covered.

Thirty years later, the Middle States Evaluation conducted in 1966, combined with the responses of Headmaster Grant, give an overview of the state of the School at that time.

The School did well on the evaluation criteria, with the instructional staff and administration, the organization of the program of studies and the Worship and Service components leading the rest. Among the recommendations made by the visiting committee were: adjustments to the course load of the faculty; the need for more electives in English and Social Studies (with specific mention of anthropology and psychology); the need for courses in the fine arts; the addition

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of Spanish in Foreign Languages (Latin, French and German were offered); the need for course work in music, since the Glee Club and Band didn’t include many boys; the need for PE in the academic day, rather than relying solely on team sports after School; the need for integration of course materials, such as English and History (presaging the 2013ff Humanities); and the need to enhance the annual giving program (begun in 1966).

Headmaster Grant pointed out in the 1970 Interim Report that many of these recommendations were being considered but money was the primary limiting factor. Other points made included: offering four languages to less than 200 students was problematic; Science was indeed in desperate need of new facilities although a couple of classroom were refitted to accommodate labs (fully remedied by the 1988 construction of the Dining Hall and Science Center); music, art and drama would be offered as courses when space permitted (remedied in part by the construction of Wilkie Hall in 1969); and PE would become part of the academic day for those not involved in team sports.

One specific recommendation was, “Attention should be given to opportunities to foster appropriate behavior patterns in the dining room, corridors and throughout the School.” Headmaster Grant’s response, “I thought this was a low blow. We feel our boys display reasonably good behavior throughout the School.” Amen.

Another early innovation were mini-courses (Shivaree 1972):

take three courses to get one credit. The purpose of these courses is to give the students a variety of subjects with no necessary sequence.” Courses include “Poetry of Rock,” “National Politics,” “Existentialism,” “British Drama,” and “Computer Programming.” There were also full-year electives in such fields as Anthropology, Afro-Asian History and the arts. The vocational segment included mechanical drawing, accounting and keyboarding.

These classes presaged the trimester and semester classes which are integral aspects of the current curriculum With the merger came a wealth of new ideas, among them the vision of Headmaster Philip Anderson. He later (1990) reiterated the School’s commitment to the three track system and the concurrent commitment to C track, meaning to students of a wide variety of ability levels with instruction appropriate to each.

The curriculum of MBS has changed with the times to include novel methods of teaching and learning. Some examples are the Humanities program which coordinates learning in History and English, the use of iPads in all classes for texts and written work and the ever-evolving uses of technology around the campus. Students with special interests may take supervised independent studies and faculty may offer electives in their areas of interest.

With Bloom’s Taxonomy and more modern versions of it as a guide, MBS seeks to provide opportunities for critical thinking and reasoning, skills needed for any future.

“A mini-course is a trimester subject which is approximately twelve weeks. The student must 125TH Anniversary

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Schedule Having the time to present all a school would like for its students has always been problematic. It is indeed a surfeit of riches, of all the wonderful possibilities, which are given priority and which have to await educational and cultural change. The instances presented show that scheduling problems revolved around a balance of a number of curricular and theoretical priorities.

Note: If this appears confusing to read, think what it was like to live with the many changes. The lacunae in the MS News or other sources prevent all such changes from being mentioned but what there is, is sufficient for the purpose. And, see the Activities sections for further references.

The News in 1955 presented the daily routine from 1905:

“Fifty years ago at Morristown, a boarding student woke up, observed the same rituals we do nowadays, and went to breakfast. After grace, he sat down and waited for the waiter to bring the first course. The only difference here is that these waiters were professionals. The students had their relaxation period and then went to chapel. They then went to classes. The Lower School attended a somewhat different version at the mansion across the street. During classes, the School chambermaids came around and took care of each boy’s room completely. When afternoon rolled around, some of the boys went riding on the School’s stable horses. Believe it or not, there were no stable boys. For the boys who stayed over the weekends, there was never a laundry problem. Morristown’s own laundry provided ‘speedy and excellent service.’”

Note that this was prior to Self Help with the mention of waiters and maids. The stables were probably located at the rear of the campus near where the Dining Hall and Science Center currently is. A photo from 1915 shows the maintenance area which included the stables. Were they the stables originally belonging to Rev. Edwards of St. Bartholomew’s?

The next reference comes from 1935 and there is an interesting parallel to the schedule now in use:

“The fifty-five minute period has been instituted. One faculty member said, ‘It sacrifices that element in the seventy-minute period which this 125TH Anniversary

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period was organized to develop, an elasticity of classroom technique which would give scope for the development of individual differences and for excursions into interesting side area.”

The block schedule of the 1990s up to the present features periods of about 70 minutes, having changed from about 50. This also means with longer periods, all classes don’t meet each day. The philosophical argument mentioned also parallels the discussions at MBS over the change.

The following year, 1936, another alteration was reported:

“This year a new schedule of six periods a day has been inaugurated, a change over last year’s five. This new schedule is supposed to allow the masters to get an unbroken series of periods throughout the week. The new periods are forty minutes long with a twenty-minute recess between the third and fourth periods. A year ago last spring, the periods were shortened from seventy to fifty-five minutes. This change caused no little comment, with the Upper School thinking the longer periods a great asset. Now the students must accept a new schedule whereby each class comes five times a week which consequently means more homework for the already overburdened student.”

Again, similar arguments but one may imagine the consternation of all concerned, cutting times for class meetings by almost half within a year and then resuming meeting all classes each day.

Two years later, note what happened:

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“The daily chapel services which last year were held in the evening are being held at recess. During recess there is also milk lunch (milk and crackers served in the dining room). The classes this year run on a five-day schedule, that is, no regular classes on Saturday, as last year. In place of this there are seven periods a day, six coming before lunch and one after. The weekends are granted on a system of ‘Unsatisfactory’, the working off of which is an art in itself. If a boy has been doing satisfactory work all week and is checked off by all his masters, he is free to leave School, providing the working off of hours (disciplinary) doesn’t stop him.”

The time for Chapel, recess, the beginnings of Saturdays as free days for those who earned the privilege, all indicate the problem as was once used for a commercial, how “to get eight great tomatoes in a little bitty can!” And it will only become more acute.

The following year, 1940, more concerns tried to be addressed, such as the Job Assembly for duties and punishments, and Saturday classes:

“The six day week was put into effect for the winter term. The daily schedule of courses had to be changed. There are now only six classes per day as compared with seven before. Job Assembly, which had been after last class, is now after lunch following a twenty-minute job period. Saturday classes of a corrective nature now run on the regular weekday schedule but attendance is compulsory only for those with unsatisfactory scholastic records for the week.”

The next problem was the increasing need for time for Activities which had grown in size over the preceding years.

From the MS News 1956,

“This year an Activities Period was initiated into the School curriculum on Monday through Thursday from 2:153. The students attend the regular Job

Assembly on Friday and an abbreviated one on Tuesday.”

The next mention of the problem from 1962 shows the reaction to Activities period and its use and misuse:

“Once upon a time part of every Thursday afternoon was devoted to activities. Last year, although technically this plan was still being followed, a grand total of two activity periods were held. This year, we have an activity period every day. At the opportunity to pursue our interests on School time we should have been overjoyed. As it turned out, we have been overjoyed but only because the activity period takes up School time. Many of us have used the time to dress early for athletics, others to do homework and still others to wander listlessly about or catch up on sleep. The faculty are considering dropping the activity period. Scratch another tradition.”

Another shifting of times two years later tried to alleviate the problems noted above but it produced other difficulties, including the elusive notion of social relationships as an essential aspect of schooling.

“The new schedule’s purposes (addition of an activity period at the end of the School day by shortening lunch periods) are to cut out the extra time following each lunch period and to end the problem of students leaving class early for athletic events. The addition of an activity period is a minor consideration…. The idea of leaving lunch, perhaps unfinished, to rush to class is repulsive. The student is deprived of the most relaxing and enjoyable time of the day, a time for camaraderie, to renew old friendships and make new ones… The faculty’s view, however, is that it was important to eliminate this ‘purposeless time’ while shortening the time athletes would miss by leaving class early.

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The argument over unstructured student time is perennial, as is the dismissal of athletes for practice and away games.

After the merger, the schedule was again revised with the problems given above evident (1972):

“The biggest change was in the new schedule. As in the past, five major subjects are required. The one drawback to this is the limitations of the courses. A student is not allowed to drop a course without picking up another from the various electives. These courses are, perhaps, not chosen because of genuine interest, but because many students feel that little work is required for a decent grade.”

“Another device to keep students in check is a ninth period study hall. This is not so much to create a study period for the students but to make the academic day seem longer to the parents.

Because athletes are excused from this, many students feel this an unfair class.”

Finally for this topic but certainly not the last word on a problem whose parameters keep shifting is this note from 1986:

“For the second time in three years the schedule has been drastically overhauled. When the Middle States Evaluation team visited the School they recommended longer periods since the 37 and 40 minute classes weren’t long enough for PE and Fine Arts, considering the time needed for changing or collecting supplies. Longer periods are beneficial, as are the four lunch periods which increases their efficiency.

However, the longer periods and longer School day tax even the most dedicated student.”

For those who have lived through these continual changes, all one may say is, “and the beat goes on.” What period is next?

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Visual Arts

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Performing Arts

with Dr. Susan Speidel

FOUNDERS HALL

The opening of Founders Hall in 2008 brought a whole new world of technical theater possibilities to Morristown-Beard School. The building serves as not only the hub of performing arts activities at MBS, but as a gathering place for the entire community in morning meetings and other events. While many quality shows had been produced in Wilkie Hall and other spaces on campus, the Theater at Founders Hall brought the MBS Theater Program into the 21st Century. State of the art sound and lighting systems were installed in the new building, as well as a half fly tower above the stage which allows for scenery and backdrops to be flown in and out. In addition, a designated scenic shop for the building of sets and props provided the faculty and students with the room required for large scale productions.

MBS INTERNATIONAL THESPIAN TROUPE

The renaissance of interest in theater activities brought about the reactivation of the MBS Chapter of the International Thespian Honor Society Troupe 3538. The mission of the organization is to honor student excellence in the theater arts. A Thespian troupe existed at MBS in the past, but activities had been suspended in 1983. However, with the opening of the Theater at Founders 125TH Anniversary

Hall, theater activity on campus increased and students began to demonstrate renewed interest in participating in a Thespian troupe.

STANJ THEATER FESTIVAL/ MONTCLAIR STATE THEATER NIGHT

The Annual Speech/Theater Association of NJ Competition and Festival has been a regular part of the Theater Program activities since 2008. Held on the campus of Rutgers University, students from all across NJ compete in various monologue and scene categories. MBS has been well respresented at the festival, garnering numerous awards in such categories as Dramatic Pairs, Improvisation and Comedic Monologue.

At the annual Montclair State Theater Night, the MBS program has produced many awards in the acting, directing and technical theater areas.

CURRICULAR INNOVATIONS

The additional classroom spaces of Founders Hall have led directly to an expansion in the MBS Performing Arts Curriculum. Technical Theater, Stagecraft, Theater Dance and Musical Theater Performance have been added to the roster of pre-existing theater classes, while Music Appreciation and Theory classes have joined the Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Woodwind Choir and Chorus

in the area of music. Perhaps the most notable expansion has been the re-introduction of a String Program. While violin, viola, and cello were part of the music curriculum for a time in the 1980s and 90s, interest had waned and the classes had been discontinued. However, with the arrival of Headmaster Peter Caldwell, an accomplished cellist himself, there was a resurgence of interest in stringed instruments. In 2013, Julliard-trained David Gold joined the faculty and began to lay the foundation for an MBS string program. The Instrumental program can boast of many awards, such as All-State recognition and Student of the Month from the Mayo Center.

VOCAL MUSIC

The MBS Middle School Chorus has participated in the Oak Knoll School Middle School Choral Consortium for eight consecutive years. The MBS Upper School Chorus hosted the first MBS Upper School Choral Consortium at MBS in 2015. That same year the Upper School Chorus joined with ensembles from Pingry and Oak Knoll School for a joint choral concert. A number of students have been cited for their excellence by being selected for All-State recognition and as Vocal Student of the Month from the Mayo Center for the Performing Arts.

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FIELD TRIPS AND BEYOND

The MBS Performing Arts Department has been on the move. Students and faculty have made two trips to London to take in cultural sights and theatrical performances. In the early 2000s, the MBS Chorus performed at Lincoln Center, and makes annual appearances during the holidays at the nearby Bickford Theater. In 2013, they also traveled to Disney World where they performed at the Riverside and took part in a vocal performance workshop conducted by members of the Disney Corporation musical and recording departments.

The Founders Keepers Club (the Upper School Theater Club founded in 2011) has taken trips to Broadway shows such as Memphis and Aladdin (where they met with cast member and MBS alumna Kathryn Allison after the show), as well as taking in performances at Paper Mill Playhouse and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Broadway artists have also come to MBS to conduct workshops for theater students including actors Jared Gertner, Kevin Chamberlain and Rob McClure, dancer/ choreographer Daisy Hobbs and fight choreographer Rick Sordelet.

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Activities

(part 1)

Morristown School and MBS have always adhered to the axiom that student interest is all which is needed to form a club or organization. That means that clubs can come and go, only to be reformed in later years, or some can blossom and then fade away. Some could be for a single purpose or could take on multiple roles over time. The possibilities are endless as this section will show, with some very interesting examples besides the more mundane, but the one overarching reality of clubs and their success or failure was a time for meeting.

The Schedule section refers to this repeatedly and this section will show it more clearly. To have a club is one thing; to have the opportunity to meet, plan and carry out its activities can be quite another.

Joining clubs was an indicator of School spirit (q.v.), as was participating in athletics or just cheering on a team. It could even mean a diploma: “I went to college in the fall of 1904, graduating from the Morristown School, but without diploma.

My marks had been good, although not particularly distinguished, but I was not given my diploma because of ‘lack of School spirit, and untidiness’. So I went up to college without the diploma.”

From the School news in 1928: “The greatest benefit of the system (Self Help) has been its effect on the individual boy and his attitude towards his School. Appreciating Morristown the more he has learned to work harder towards its development and as he is now so much a part of its progress he has a finer School spirit, one which is not confined only to athletics but which extends to studies and every other phase of School life.”

Some early examples of clubs come from the resume of John Reed (MS 1906): “(John Reed) played on the varsity football team and was editor of the Rooster (the School “funny paper”). He had a fine voice and sang in the choir. In his Senior year, 1905-06, Reed was editor-in-chief of the Morristonian, a monthly review of the Morristown School; editor of the Salmagundi; member of the Dance Committee; VP of the Athletic Association; manager of the football team, baseball team and relay team; one of the Committee of Seven in the spring of 1906; and he belonged to the Pool club and the Choir.”

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One will see some of these groups repeated throughout the years.

A letter from an alumnus asked a question which can no longer be answered but it makes for fun reading: “Most of our schoolmates have probably never heard of the Larue Holmes Nature Lovers’ League, which was once a thriving activity here at Morristown but which has been somehow inactive on our campus ever since the club’s faculty advisor fumbled his magic lantern slides and smashed the entire collection during the last meeting of this organization in 1907.” Did it really exist?

If anyone has heard of this League, please contact the editor.

The Catlin-Langdon property across Whippany Road, which shifted ownership several times over the years, in 1915 was the scene of activity which would hardly be legal now. As Headmaster Grant recorded: “In 1915 it was decided to construct a hockey rink on (the Langdon) property, hockey having grown to be a major sport, albeit hampered by the inconvenience of not having a School rink….

The spot now selected was a piece of low ground through which ran a small brook supplying Catlin Pond. A student Forestry Club was formed and much of the winter was spent clearing trees and underbrush….The Forestry Club having completed its work, a student Powder Gang was formed under the personal supervision of Mr. Butler to

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blow out the stumps and loosen the earth for excavation.”

Imagine “Powder Gang” on a resume!

By the mid to late 1930s, the School had grown sufficiently to offer more opportunities for participation.

“A photographic darkroom has been completed in the Hobby House and it is expected that a Photographic Club will be formed in the School.”

“The Gun Club held its first unofficial meeting. Five or six devotes of the sport turned out armed mainly with shotguns. No casualties have been reported.”

Morristown School News. Anyone may become a member of the News by attending the first meeting. For the businessmen, there is the circulation staff and the Business Manager position. Having organized the final dance last year, the Dance Committee is a well-organized group. Those boys selected for the Chapel Committee have to keep the chapel clean, and do other work associated with it.

As stated earlier, a group will be formed whenever there is sufficient interest to warrant it. Among various groups under consideration are a Radio Club, Photography Club, as well as the Glee Club.”

Gun Club

“A Riding Club has been organized which will meet twice per week at the Watnong Riding Academy.”

At the same time came an early note on the Glee Club, whose history and performances became legendary: “Baron Nardelli who gave a concert here last year, is the new musical director of the School. He will, during the course of the year, build up a band and Glee Club from those boys who are musically inclined. In collaboration with the formation of a Glee Club, Mr. Tilghman has suggested that every Friday night there be a song session at which everyone joins in the singing of many popular songs, both old and new. This will be an opportunity for those boys talented in playing the piano and other instruments to ‘swing it.’ With the new radio-phonograph in the Upper School common room in almost constant use, many of the boys have taken more interest in music.”

With the dark room, the Photography Club was formed in 1937: “The Photography Club met for the first time this year. There is a well-equipped dark room over the School shop. The club will meet twice a week to take pictures, develop and print films, and enlarge photographs.”

Even during the distractions and uncertainties caused by WW II, the School kept up its promotion of activities: “Besides outdoor sports, the School has many other activities. One of the chief among them is the

Time to meet was given some attention but it seemed to fluctuate within and between School years as more and more demands on time continued to hamper the establishment of a period given for activities. From 1944: “The Activities Period has been revived again from last spring. Interests ranging Band to Student Council have been giving almost everyone something constructive to do during the week.

Among the most interesting groups besides those above are the News Board, the Glee Club, the Band and the Photography Club.”

Other clubs of the time were the MS News; the Glee Club which performed at all large functions at the School, such as Sports Night, the Christmas Service and Prize Day; the Dance Committee; Radio Club and Shop Club.

(See Activities, pt. 2)

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“The Gun Club held its first unofficial meeting. Five or six devotes of the sport turned out armed mainly with shotguns.

No casualties have been reported.”

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Activities

(part 2)

There is often a question of how long an idea or practice has to be in place before it can be called a Tradition. This could be asked of the Activity period from the 1940s onward. The MS News reported on the status of an Activity period frequently, how one was being inaugurated and then eliminated.

Note how many times that has occurred in these two sections.

By 1951, the Activity period was again established, “Every afternoon the half hour from 2:30 to 3 is devoted to activities. Most of the boys spend this time in the Glee Club rehearsing ‘The Gondoliers.’

For the other boys, there is the Science Club for doing experiments in physics and chemistry to get the student acquainted with equipment and procedures. Modeled on the same principle is the Radio Club in which members discuss the elements of radio mechanics and build a simple radio set.

There is also a Camera Club where boys practice the mechanics and uses of a camera.”

Two years later, there was a new alteration since winter athletics were not as all-encom-

passing, in terms of numbers, as the fall: “During the winter term there is an afternoon period added. This extra time is devoted entirely to activities. One of the primary functions of this period is to give extra time which the Glee Club needs to rehearse for the annual operetta. In conjunction with that is the stage crew which makes the props and scenery. The Radio Club took over an old room, remodeled it and built up a good supply of radio parts. Also there is the Science Club, the Photography Club, the Art Club, the Hobby Club and the Model Plane Club.”

Another reason given is time for the Glee Club which for at least eleven straight years put on a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and thus needed rehearsal and set building time.

But, just three years later (1956), we read in the News: “This year an Activities Period was initiated into the School curriculum on Monday through Thursday from 2:15-3. The students attend the regular job assembly on Friday and an abbreviated one on Tuesday. Last year, Activities such as the News, the Debating Team, and the Salmagundi held meetings when possible. This year clubs have specified days for meetings. Clubs include the Chemical Society, Drivers Education, Hobby, Varsity ‘M,’ Shop, Radio, Typing, Astronomy, First Aid and Field and Stream. The Glee Club and Physics and Chemistry Labs are held at this time also.”

Note the expansion of clubs but the apparent lapse of the Activity period in the previous couple of years. Also, we can see the use of labs during this period, representing an academic encroachment into it. Still by 1960, the problem remained, “Because of the many extra-curricular activ-

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ities, a serious problem of finding enough time for sufficient student participation arose. Student Council, the News, Varsity ‘M’ and Poster Committee vied with the Band, Glee Club and Typing classes for free time during the week.”

Fortunately, in 1961, “A daily Activity Period has been inaugurated, allowing students to pursue extra-curriculars under faculty supervision. Those not attending an activity go to study hall. The activities are: Art Club, Debating Society, Instrumental Music, the News, Publicity Committee, Singing, Student Council, Varsity ‘M,” and Salmagundi.”

That was the last time the News recorded anything on an Activity period, and the expansion of clubs indicated the success of this program. From 1967, “This year at Prep, a varied extracurricular program was put into effect. This is the second year of the program but many more clubs have been added to the list this year. The clubs include: Advanced Chemistry, Chess, Debating, Glee, Literary/Creative Writing, Math Review, Music, the News, Photography, Skiing and Flying and the Salmagundi.”

And from 1971, “A list of clubs includes the Ecology, Science, Chess, Drama, Photography, Skiing, A-V, Music Appreciation, besides the News and Salmagundi.”

The expansion of clubs was evident and continued, with extra periods for meetings being arranged and thus more time for novelty, “By 1973, Clubs and Activities had taken on a significant role in the educational process at MBS. At that time, clubs were divided in two groups which met at the same period, so a student could choose a club from each group. Some examples were an Art group which made signs and banners for events, a Dance club, Meteorology, Needlecraft, Science, Cooking, Music, Auto-Motorcycle which rebuilt engines, Chess, and the newspaper and yearbook.”

Some later examples were the Hot Food Club, which had as its centerpiece activity a visit from a local chef whose cable TV show

was, “Biker Billy Cooks With Fire.” We also had a Science Fiction club, various ecology or environmental clubs and the new Philosophy Club. The list was and is endless and relies only on interest to bring ideas to life.

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School Spirit

The nebulous notion of “School spirit” always has and always will spark debate concerning whether or not the School has any or enough and what exactly “spirit” is and how it might be expressed. Morristown School was no exception to this perennial problem and the debate was already underway when the sources bring it up, usually in the form of MS News editorials or feature articles.

A graduate from the Class of 1913 wrote, “But the cost of maintaining the School in the manner to which it had become accustomed in the gilded Nineties, put the squeeze on teachers’ salaries, and “School Spirit,” about which there was a good deal of haranguing, began to slump. I arrived in the First Form in the autumn of 1906 at the age of ten in time to watch the football team get more and more hopeless, and the School to hit its low point pretty much in step with

collapsing prices on the NYSE.” Much of the discussion on “spirit” centered on definitions. The MS News in 1927 gave a most cogent set of ideas, “The majority of boys have only a vague conception of ‘School spirit.’ To them it is exemplified only by those representing athletics. The fundamental of spirit is loyalty to the School, loyalty not only in and around school but wherever one may be. In other words, a boy may show his spirit away from School by

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expressing his appreciation for the School and its benefits to him.”

“Studying and keeping a good standing scholastically is very important for if some member of a team is deficient in his studies, and thus is forced to remain at School, this will handicap his team by his absence.

Punishment for petty offenses also impedes the work of the squad, for ‘hours’ prevent practice and if a team cannot practice regularly together it cannot be expected to make a credible showing.”

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The regard in which these thoughts were held was indicated by the number of times this editorial or a summary of it was reprinted in the News to a new generation of students.

For instance, later that same year, “Spirit should not be left on the field of battle as soon as the game is over. Carry it with you into your work and classes, as it is needed there just as much as on the baseball diamond, basketball court or hockey rink.”

That global nature of “spirit” became a hallmark of the School and in particular the Self Help system (q.v.) instituted

by Headmaster Tilghman in 1926-27.

“The greatest benefit of the system has been its effect on the individual boy and his attitude towards his School.

Appreciating Morristown the more he has learned to work harder towards its development and as he is now so much a part of its progress he has a finer School spirit, one which is not confined only to athletics but which extends to studies and every other phase of School life.”

It was that inclusive nature of “spirit” which informed the discussion for years to come. From 1938, “To our mind, too high a percentage of students, in this School as well as many others, are laboring under a false conception of School spirit…The interpretation most often given is that it is the duty of the student body to attend athletic contests and cheer the team on to victory…All this is true but it is not the primary requisite for real School spirit, nor is it the foundation on which School morale is based.

This question involves a far greater scope.

It involves such seemingly petty habits as neatness in dress and appearance, promptness to meals and classes, and courtesy not only to the masters but to your fellow students.” The editorial goes on to suggest that students conduct a self-inventory on their attitude, friendliness, respect for traditions, giving one’s best in School work and obeying the rules.

Two more such opinions, from the mid-1940s, further exemplify the need for “spirit.”

“One who merely obeys the rules is not doing everything he can. But the person who strives to accomplish the little extra things in life, one who will do a little extra something, whether it is hard or easy, has real spirit.”

“School spirit must always exist. It is absolutely necessary for every school to have this basic enthusiasm if the graduates are going to have what it takes to be leading citizens. School spirit is the fundamental of team spirit, and if the student has interest in his studies and athletics, plus friendliness toward his classmates, it is more likely that he will excel in the business world.”

Note the reference to the business world. This was post-war America and the opportunities were seemingly endless.

Of course, “spirit” could not remain on a high note forever and sometimes it took a disaster to restart the process.

Shortly after the fire which destroyed the 1911 gym, the News stated, “Evidently it takes a catastrophe to turn the ebbing tide of School spirit. We must all, reluctantly perhaps, admit that in the past year or two, the student body has been wide open to criticism along these lines.” Examples included missing weekend activities to attend games or the lack of volunteers for odd jobs on campus.

“In the past few years, little has been heard from the alumni. They had the argument that there was no reason to help the School if the boys were not helping themselves.

Spirit is a difficult thing to acquire and too easy a thing to let slip through our grasp.”

But, students and parents helped with equipment to complete seasons; donations came from outsiders and otherwise lost alumni; a campaign was established to obtain funds for a new building.

“We may have begun to regain the most priceless possession of any school: loyalty

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and spirit. Perhaps the fire was a blessing in disguise.”

There will be times, however, when a swift kick may be necessary, as one editor wrote in 1962, “A mediocre record was turned in on the gridiron by a highly talented team.

Why? There was no spirit or desire on the team. You heard about players being dropped right and left or breaking training or disobeying rules throughout the season.

Also, why did a ‘potentially great’ team during the winter turn in a 4-10 record and not really ‘give a damn?’ They had no incentive to win. What happened to the hopes of a strong hitting team last spring?

They went down the drain because there was no patience or cooperation between some of the players and the coach.”

“We have a fine group of athletes in the School and with a lot of spirit and a lot of noise, they’ll really show you how to win. Let’s bring spirit and pride back to Morristown School to stay.”

As is to be expected, the discussion never stops. Similar calls have been made throughout the years and will continue. Students railed against the schedule which didn’t permit attendance at games on occasion, against other students who harassed teams which lost, against the students who seemingly didn’t care about anything.

But as Headmaster Grant said and the Board of Trustees affirmed later, “The philosophy of Morristown-Beard School is one devoted to establishing an educational atmosphere in which the spirit of cooperation is such that it gains the whole-hearted support of all students in the belief that then, and only then, will they be eager to achieve success, not only in their studies but in all phases of their growth and development; that the key to this achievement is cooperation between student and teacher.”

That is as true today as it was fifty years ago, cooperation is the essence of true “Spirit.”

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MBS Athletic

Accomplishments

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Boys Cross Country

Boys Basketball

Baseball

NJISAA Prep Champions- ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’85, ’86, ’87, ’88

NJISAA Prep Champions- ’02, ’03 NJISAA Prep Conference Champions’01, ’02, ’03, ’11 NJAC Conference Champions- ’11, ’12, ’16 NJSIAA State Semifinalist- ’11

NJISAA Champions-’90, ’96, ’97, ’99, ’07, ’08 NJSIAA State Tournament Semifinalist- ’01, ’06 NJSIAA Sectional State Champions’05, ’10 MCT Semifinalist- ’95, ’11, ’12 Prep B Conference Champions- ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’08 NJAC Conference Champions- ’12, ’13, ’14

Girls Cross Country NJAC Liberty Division Conference Champions-2011

Field Hockey NJISAA Prep Champions-’75, ’79, ’80, ’88, ’89, ’95, ’96, ’97, 2009, 2011 NJSIAA State Tournament Semifinalist-2013

Football NJISAA Prep Champions-’72, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’95, ’98, ’99, ’00 NJSIAA State Tournament Semifinalist-’00 NJSIAA State Tournament Sectional Finalist-’07 Giants Stadium

Boys Soccer NJISAA Prep Champions-’74, ’75, ’96 NJSIAA State Tournament Semifinalist-2001, 2011 NJSIAA State Tournament Finalist-2014

Girls Soccer NJISAA Prep Champions-’91, ’92, 2003, 2004, 2013 NJAC Conference Champions-2015 1st time NJSIAA State Tournament Semifinalist-2013 NJSIAA State Tournament Finalist-2014

Girls Basketball NJSIAA Tournament Semifinalist-’10 NJAC Conference Champions-’14

Boys Hockey Mennen Cup Champions-’80, ’82, ’83, ’94, ’06, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’14. ’15, ’16 NJISAA Champions-’74, ’75, ’80, ’82, ’83, ’84, ’91, ’97, ’05, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’12, ’13, ’15 NJSIAA Tournament Champions-’14 Prudential Center

Girls Hockey WIHLMA Champions-’04, ’07, ’08, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14

Ski Team Individual State Semifinalist-’13, ’14, ’15, ’16 Individual State Champion-’14, ’15, ’16 Conference Champion- ’16

Swim Team Boys Swim Prep Champions-’85, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’94 Girls Swim Prep Champions-’85, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’99 NJSIAA State Tournament Qualifier-’08, ’12, ’13, 14, ’15, ’16

Girls Tennis

Indoor Track

NJISAA Prep Champions-’83, ’84, ’88, ’89, ’92, 2011 NJAC Conference Champions-2011, 2012

NJSIAA State Tournament Qualifier’16

Softball NJISAA State Champions- ’79, ’82, ’83, ’86, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’94 NJISAA State Semifinalist- ’14 NJISAA Tournament Finalist- ’98

Golf NJISAA Champions- ’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’09 Colonial Hills Conference Champions- ’89 NJAC Conference Champions- ’10, ’13, ’14 NJSIAA Tournament Individual Qualifier- ’05, ’13, ’14

Boys Lacrosse NJISAA Champions-’98, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’08 MCT Finalist- ’14 NJSIAA Tournament Finalist-’14 NJAC Conference Champions-’14 NJILL Conference Champions-’14

Girls Lacrosse NJISAA Champions- ’92, ’09, ’10, ’14 NJGILL Conference Champions- ’13

Boys Tennis NJISAA State Champions-’98 MCT Third Place-’05 NJAC Conference Champions-’11

Track and Field

Volleyball

NJSIAA State Individual Champions’12, ’13, ’14

NJISAA Prep Champions-’80, ’81, ’83, ’84, ’86, ’88, ’89, ’91

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Service

Being of service to others has been a hallmark of the Schools since their inception. While specifics are few from the earlier days of Morristown School, it was evident that the students were quite aware of their responsibilities to the School, community and nation and tried to help in a number of ways.

The first recorded instance of service was the fund begun by Frank Damrosch and John Reed in 1906 to have students contribute part of their weekly allowance to a building fund for the proposed Boulton gym, which was built in 1911. A similar idea at the same time was espoused, but unfortunately rejected by the administration, to fund the purchase of a new stereopticon.

The first major project undertaken by the students was funding an ambulance for use in WW I. As Headmaster Grant noted in his History of Morristown School, “Much of the boys’ extracurricular time was taken up with activities concerned with the war effort…

There were, for instance, Liberty Loan fund drives, War Relief work, War Savings Stamp sales, Red Cross committee work and military drills.”

“During the winter of 1917, through a series of Sunday evening lectures, the boys were able to complete their ambulance fund thus enabling them to purchase and equip a “Morristown School Ambulance” which was presented in May, 1917, to the American Ambulance Service for use in France.”

Acknowledgement of this effort

came in 1920: “In April, 1920, the School received from the Headquarters of the American Field Service in France an illuminated certificate describing the work of the ambulance which had been given by the boys and friends of the School in 1917.”

The students were frequently reminded of their obligations to others, for instance in Chapel (MS News 1929): “Success may mean that a person has helped other people and asked no reward for what he has done. The reward is seeing what good you have done for others.”

One instance found was the following, from a letter from the Family Service of Morris County on the gift of the Christmas Chapel collection (1960): “The board of Family Services appreciates very much the gift which the boys of your School have given to us.

It’s only through the generosity and thoughtfulness of our friends that our group can continue to function.”

And later, from Headmaster Grant’s Christmas letter of 1966, “It is important that we here and now resolve that in this coming year

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we shall try to fulfill the most worthy of our aspirations and expectations: to be a friend in deed as well as in need, that no opportunity to be of service to friends, neighbors or community go unattended, that no chance to say a word of praise of encouragement be overlooked and that we see with clearer vision our own golden opportunity to give meaning to our own lives.”

There are clear echoes of the Self Help program and the values it hoped to instill in these sentiments.

There is a photo of the Glee Club (1966) rehearsing in the Chapel for “concerts to be given at Church homes and charitable institutions.”

After the merger, the School papers and other sources record a great deal of service opportunities for students. In the early 1970s, the School worked with the Glen Kirk School and its special students, “The Glen Kirk School project is a new occurrence for both MBS and the School itself. The School, run by the Unitarian church in Morristown, deals with children from kindergarten to age twelve with neurological brain damage and/or those who are emotionally disturbed… Student volunteers help the teachers of the

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School while they work in such programs as drama, arts and crafts, and athletics, each of which teaches aspects of self-improvement such as cooperation, following rules, building a sense of accomplishment and sportsmanship.

The goal for some would be to return to the regular School environment.”

This was by no means an easy job, “The acceptance by students at Glen Kirk to the volunteers varies. Some of the children scream and shout at our assistance, some love us to be there, while others don’t even notice that we’re there… The job itself is very tiring and it normally ends up to become a one-on-one basis of one of the volunteers and one of the more disturbed students working alone together. One finds that patience and brute force are essential, depending on the child. All in all, the project has turned out to be tiring, sometimes very rewarding and sometimes very depressing.”

Another article details how those involved chose Senior Projects and/ or summer jobs working with the handicapped and a couple were going to study Special Education in college.

The Beard School tradition of service, combined with Morristown’s, found leadership and a renewed sense of duty: “Rose Koch ( former Beard and MBS faculty) had sown the seeds for what was to evolve into today’s (1993) Community Service Program. From her vantage point as Director of Student Activities, she was able to nurture a number of programs aimed at heightening students’ awareness of their responsibility to their communities.”

“The Beard School tradition of service involvement through its student government served as an effective vehicle for its continuance in the newly-merged School. All clubs and classes were asked to develop a service project as part of their normal function.”

A necessary component of this effort was student involvement and leadership, The 1986 Service Committee selected, “Matheny School, a School/ hospital for individuals with cerebral palsy and spinal bifida that assists its student residents in gaining greater independence. Starting in 1988, a small group of students ventured to Matheny every week to participate in its recreational therapy program” and this eventually led to joint talent shows and plays.

Other classes and clubs continued the volunteer program, including the football and cheerleading teams to the VA in Lyons, and other groups forming a Peace Corps program and the Class Assistant Program, visiting the Morris View Nursing Home, and hosting Special Olympic events.

Student reaction clearly shows the depth of their commitment, even in the face of encountering people so different from themselves: “I learned that not all poor are lazy; some are victims of circumstance.

Community Service was not just School; it was the real world where real people were helping real people.”

(MBS ’92).

Another MBS graduate created Safe Walk at her college to escort students late at night. “We have pairs

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of walkers who patrol the campus wearing bright orange clothing and carrying beepers so that our dispatchers can alert them when someone needs help.” (MBS ’91) “Having Tony Daur, ( former MBS faculty) one of the most sincere, most compassionate people I have ever met, as the coordinator of the Service Committee was also a great experience. He taught me what community service is all about, helping others, caring for them, developing bonds with them and giving of yourself.”

The commitment to service has touched every member of the MBS community and continues to do so with the compulsory service requirement. An annual assembly acknowledges the achievements of students, some earning hundreds of hours of service in many differing areas, such as one student’s experiences in the Peruvian Andes: “We slept in tents, in below freezing weather, then hiked to the sites. Our only rest was the planting of the trees, and that was not much of a rest. We had to pick axe the ground, dig out the dirt, plant the tree and push all the dirt back in. It was beyond rewarding.”

The spirit, however, is as old as the Schools: “Character, education, volunteering and the MBS core values were linked from the start. The School holds that true knowledge is out in the world. The essential questions are how to bridge the classroom and the world and how to bring the larger community back to the classroom.” (Rose Koch)

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Traditions

“Here at Morristown, as in all other schools, we have traditions, which have been passed on to us. They are more or less kept, but not as they should be. Once in a while, they are broken by someone who wants to be ‘wise,’ new boys think they are foolish, and in general not a great deal of regard is given to them…. There is such a thing as the kind of traditions that give a School an atmosphere of its own and brings out its character and ideals.”

FA C T O I D : K IP P ’ S MUL E

For the past 12 years, Kipp’s Mule has stood stoically outside the MBS Bookstore, celebrating the memory of a remarkable Morristown-Beard School graduate, Kipp Sujet ’94. Kipp died from leukemia less than a year after graduating from MBS, yet his artistic achievements live on in the form of a full-sized fiberglass mule that is covered from head to hoof in his artwork. To help take his mind off the debilitating chemotherapy treatments, Kipp turned to his art, and in his final months, created a series of distinctive graphic drawings comprised of sprawling linear landscapes, populated by contemplative pipe-smoking figures. Based on whether Kipp was responding well or poorly to his treatments, the lines would either be crisply drawn or shaky and labored. The finished product was, without fail, a marvelous and poignant artistic achievement. Kipp’s Mule was part of “Miles For Mules,” a large community public art project, and his work was lovingly recreated on the mule by Frenchtown artist Barry Sharplin. “His work is quite amazing,” said Sharplin.

“When you study his paintings, you can see a level of richness and feeling. I feel that I have come to learn about Kipp through his art.”

This passage from the MS News in 1927 sets the stage for the traditions to follow, for the changes which times demand and for the numerous encomia on their maintenance. The original set of traditions from that time were: • “No boys except Sixth Formers may use the front door and the Sixth Form Hall.

• Only Sixth Formers may go on the circle in front of the School.

• The back door and porch of the School Room are for Fifth and Sixth Formers only.

• Masters and older boys shall always be given precedence in entering the dining room.

• Only ‘Lettermen’ may use the front door and Boiler Room of the gym.

• New boys are not to wear School ties, scarfs, etc. until after Christmas.

• White flannels are not to be worn in the spring until the Sixth Form sets the example.

• Shirt sleeves are always bad form.

Either take both the coat and vest off or have them both on.

• Attendance is compulsory for everyone at any athletic game played by the First team on home grounds.

• The School Room is to be quiet at all times.”

Traditions did change over time, for instance (1930) these were added: • Only Sixth Formers may sit at the head of tables unoccupied by masters.

• The upper tennis courts are for the mas-

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ters, Sixth Formers, and Tennis team only.

• White clothes and sneakers must be worn on the tennis courts.

• The back seats in the Study Hall are to be occupied only by Sixth Formers.

Note the rules on clothing also.

There were frequent editorials on this subject and they consisted of either telling younger students to adhere to the stated traditions or asking sixth formers to enforce them more diligently. Some examples: “The boy who breaks the traditions, thinking his indifference passes unnoticed, will find that on the contrary his actions are quite apparent and that he is making himself very unpopular.” (1928) Threats might work (1930): “Not so very long ago when School life was intended for only the hardiest stock, awful indeed was the fate of any young culprit found guilty of even an excusable infraction of any other laws or rights of the upper classmen.

Today, it is forbidden by law to settle these matters in the old fashioned way, but special pressure will have to be put on those boys who habitually offend.” But note Dorm Life – Senioritis.

“Most of us have felt at earlier times in our life at Morristown, both physically and mentally, that the upperclassmen were a little harsh. But after all, when a boy has gone through all you are now going through, he should have some reward… Lately there has been a tendency to let down the bars and run wild. This cannot and will not be tolerated.

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FA C T O I D :

F R OM TH E GO LDE N F L E E CE (1968)

COMES T HI S PROVOCAT I V E STATEME NT W HICH HAS ECHOES E V E N TODAY:

“The Riot Commission’s

The first time it may be an accident but to violate these rules again and again is similar to hanging a sign on oneself saying, ‘I want to be spanked.’”

(1939) On the other hand, sixth formers have to do their part: “In any School the seniors are considered high and mighty, and supposedly underclassmen look up to them and respect their little privileges. However, our privileges are half-heartedly respected but no longer mean much. The blame can be squarely placed on the shoulders of the seniors themselves. Underclassmen are not given much to look up to or much of an example to follow. Our seniors no longer care much about being respected or serving as an example to follow.” (1962) The consequences of allowing traditions to fade were awful indeed (1959): “During the latter half of this year School traditions have sunk into a state of forgotten and abused lethargy. Students either no longer respect and obey our established traditions or they constantly and intentionally ignore them altogether. Tradition is an important and vital component of our School’s foundation. As tradition weakens and deteriorates so does the School. Tradition forms character in both upper and lower classmen and when the student body of a School declines so does everything about the School.”

With changing times came novel rules, such as, “Sixth Formers have the exclusive right to turn on the radio in the Upper School Com-

mon Room.” In 1955, the Traditions were revised somewhat but the essence remained: • Senior Circle is for seniors only.

• The front door and hall may be used only

by Seniors.

• The platform in front of Study Hall is for Sixth Formers only.

• The benches in the rear of the Study Hall may be used only by Seniors during School hours.

• The door at the rear of the Study Hall is to be used only by Seniors and Juniors.

• The front door of the gym may only be used by varsity lettermen.

• Underclassmen are expected to hold doors for upperclassmen.

• Upperclassmen have seating preferences at the dining table.

By the time of the merger, affairs had changed greatly (1972): “The Seniors were asked to protect their front hall, door and circle since these are their only privileges.”

“The senior privilege is an 80 average with no grades below 80 to get out of study hall and dismissal at 2:30.”

Some traditions remain at least in name, Senior Circle for instance, but even that has lost its luster with the rearrangement of the campus. What traditions may evolve in the future will be exciting to see and compare to their predecessors.

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report of ‘two societies’ developing in America

was given validity by the events of the last few

days. ‘Dr. King had been the bridge between the two societies and now

that he is dead there is

no one who can take his place, no one who will

reach and influence so many (African-Ameri-

cans).’ Has non-violence died with the death of

Dr. King? The answer

would seem to be yes

as (African-Americans)

refuse to listen to preachers of non-violence such as Whitney Young and Roy Wilkins and turn

to militants like H. Rap Brown and Stokeley

Carmichael, who has

said, ‘White America has declared war on Black

America.’ As rioting and

looting expanded to forty cities, the facts seem to

foreshadow an even more violent summer. But as Adlai Stevenson once

said, ‘Civil wrongs don’t make civil rights.’

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Of Laptops, iPads and Beyond

with Darren Burns, MBS Head of the Upper School Barbara Napholtz, MBS Information Systems Manager Caitlin Skobo-Trought, MBS Learning Systems Manager

It began with wires. They seemed to breed on weekends when the School was closed or somehow appear where none had been. No office or classroom was safe. In the mid-1990s, MBS joined the world in having these new machines, called computers, in offices and classrooms and then in homes and businesses and soon everywhere else. It was a revolution in how we lived and worked, how we thought and behaved, how we assimilated a new, hardly understood and potentially frightening, technology into our private worlds and made those worlds apparently infinite.

The School joined, and even influenced, the course of that profound change while maintaining its traditions and values.

Earlier, this new technology came first to the Math Department, as Barbara Napholtz recalls: “In the summer of 1980 the Math Department had the only computer lab on campus and that consisted of TSR-80 computers which had no storage, so programs had to be backed up on tape cassettes. There was an AP Computer Science at that time which used rudimentary computers for designs and games.”

But soon, the wiring began. By the mid-1990s, computers were in offices and soon the School, recognizing the direction the world was taking and education with it, provided computers to the faculty. Training, for instance, was held in the renovated Chapel and the basement of Grant Hall. It was, according to a former faculty member, a time of excitement and terror.

Any hesitancy about this new feature in the School dissolved when faculty and administration saw the benefits of efficient communication through email and then through the computerized forms and other school work which cut production times greatly, not to mention making word processing easier than using white-out or erasable typing paper.

By 2001, as Barbara Napholtz says; “There were many computers at MBS and the 125TH Anniversary

School was using both Windows and Mac platforms.

Eventually the School phased out Windows but at that time there was a Windows computer lab in the Math Department and a Mac lab in Science, but within a few years (ca. 2005) the School invested in carts of iBook computers for use in classes.”

The carts, holding about 15 laptop computers, were rolled into classrooms for particular assignments and then returned to the department office, hopefully to be recharged for the next class using them.

It was at this crossroad that the School made a decision which brought it national and international recognition. As Darren Burns recounts: “The next milestone came in 2010, when Alex Curtis, John Mascaro, Caitlin Trought and myself went to Apple Headquarters in California just prior to the launch of the iPad and looked for ways to infuse technology seamlessly into the curriculum. Using their management style and creative outlets, we discussed how we could use this technology on campus.”

Continuing, Burns noted how exceptional this program might become: “We knew we were at the forefront of the effort since the iPad had yet to be announced. But, that gave us the energy and motivation to pilot the iPad program. Sixty students across four classes were given iPads and otherwise left alone to search for uses for the classroom. At first it was a technology consumption device for showing movies or reading a chapter in a book.”

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Barbara Napholtz agreed: “The iPad rolled out in 2010 with sixty students and four classes. At first, select English and History classes, as well as Alex Curtis’ Art History seminar, used the iPads. He had an on line database of artwork, and I wrote an app for his class so the students could tap into the database.”

With the advent of iPads, in particular the second generation which allowed for the creation of content, laptops were relegated to a subordinate position although, depending on the work to be done, they could still be needed. As Barbara Napholtz mentioned: “In some classes, the use of a laptop computer is mandatory since one must have continual access to construct apps in a particular environment which an iPad would not have. Other classes would not have such restrictions and the question of device becomes more and more moot.

Many students have a laptop, iPhone and iPad every day anyway. Students enjoy loading their own apps onto their iPhones because of their portability and the ability to test or show off the app there.”

It is this sense of creation which most typifies the use of computer technology. Students can find applications which enhance their own and others’ understanding in a particular class. In teaching, iPads and laptops revolutionized classrooms. Caitlin Skobo-Trought says: “We put an Apple TV and projector in every classroom and this was another huge step in our evolution.

Every classroom has the capability of wireless projection for showing movies, using digital videos from the school video library…. Now the teacher can stand in front of a class and call on a student to put his/her project directly on the screen. The teacher can resume control while checking the student’s work. All devices may now be wirelessly projected in this way.”

Darren Burns gives a broad context to these developments: “Several faculty mentioned that students would take pictures of the notes on the board and that produced the idea of having notes available on line, thus obviating the need to take notes and listen at the same time. The academic experience of the students could then be customized to the individual. That was a major tipping point once the student could see the device embedded into his/her own life, their world and the fit was seamless. It allowed for communication and collaboration on an unprecedented scale.”

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Faculty may also, for instance, “flip” the class, as Caitlin Skobo-Trought explains: “Some teachers are ‘flipping’ the classroom by filming themselves teaching, the students watch it at home and then come in and do the ‘homework’ in school where they can collaborate with each other and work with the teacher, or receive further instruction. Rather than being stuck at home with no help, they can receive help from peers or teachers.”

Learning is now a global enterprise, in which students may take college courses on line, try new interests, speak French with a peer in Paris, and devise innovative ways of learning for those with differences. As Darren Burns says, “They can discover their passion.”

While maintaining the core values of freedom and responsibility, which in part means students own their devices, and the traditional aspects of the classroom, the School is already moving on. In the new Math and Science Building, Darren Burns envisions: “The concept of the ‘Maker Space,’ in which students can tinker with projects in such areas as mechanical and design engineering, application design and 3D printing. The idea is to take traditional problems (the better mousetrap) and have an area to do the designing, construction and manufacturing of a product. One may have designers, engineers, architects and programmers working on the same problem and perhaps eventually a marketing specialist. Imagine what having a patent or two on a resume would do for college admissions!

The continual development of technology and its uses in the School are evidenced by Wilkie Hall, the new Technology Center, where, as Caitlin Skobo-Trought notes, “We have a green screen, recording facilities for music and interviews, the ability to digitize artwork and a great deal of technical help always available. There are always students in this building; it’s buzzing with activity. Students can express themselves through our technology.”

The School is justly proud of its leadership and continual development in the education of its students; it always has, at Beard and Morristown and now at MBS, and the future is as promising as the past has been fulfilling.

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Humanities

with Darren Lovelock, MBS English Department

FA C T O I D : M E M OR ABL E M O R N IN G M EET I NG

For many years, the school day began with a Morning Meeting. The first recorded instance was from 1898 at the foundation of Morristown School and the avowed purpose was to keep students informed on world events and news. The function changed over time, seemingly subsumed by the daily Chapel service, until the merger, at which time Morning Meeting was held three days per week with the other two days for Advisor Groups. Under several headmasters, after the singing of a patriotic song, the first event was a reading. This might be a thought for the day, a poem, a bit of news or humor. But, from the myriad of readings given, one stood out for its horror and forceful presentation.

Dr. Harry Zuger (former faculty in History) was in the American infantry in WW II and recounted for the students and faculty his experiences in Germany, entering a death camp within a couple of days of its liberation. The prisoners were gone, living then in tent cities under very careful monitoring and medical care, but all remained as it was. Dr. Zuger recounted the silence of the soldiers and described the barracks, the ovens and the ubiquitous ash and then centered on a massive pile of shoes from infants through adult.

Needless to say, this was the quietest meeting ever to that time, and one which must never be forgotten.

On every classroom wall at MBS one may see a poster proudly displaying the seven key values that our School espouses. Two of these values in particular— connectedness and cooperation—have been integral in the creation and development of the Humanities program since 2010.

Born from a desire to connect the disciplines of English and History—such obvious bedfellows but so long and so firmly estranged in most high schools— the MBS humanities program now encompasses Grades 9 through 11, culminating in an interdisciplinary capstone project at the end of junior year. Perhaps the most obvious bridge between the two disciplines is our common thematic approach, a three-year sequence of twelve themes that English and History teachers simultaneously explore. In the first quarter of sophomore year, for instance, our theme is Rebels & Tyrants. Students in English may study how Shakespeare presents rebellion and tyranny in Macbeth, while in history, students may examine the causes and consequences of Napoleon’s rise and fall. In discussion, teachers encourage students to compare and contrast across the disciplines on a regular basis with the aim of reaching a deeper understanding of the nature of tyranny and rebellion—in literature, in history, and in the news. “If we’re doing it right,” says Ricky Kamil, Humanities history teacher, “everything gets amplified.”

Dr. Brian Crowe, Humanities English teacher, avers: “While we maintain the tried and true methods of our disciplines, their resonance can only emerge for students when we allow (or occasionally force!) them to connect

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to subjects outside of our fields. Lord of the Flies, for example, means more to them if they can relate Jack’s imperiousness and bloodlust to the totalitarian regimes of the mid-20th century and other horrors of history. Not that history is only full of horror, of course…”

In addition to shared themes, other bridges between English and history abound. In the ninth-grade, for instance, three pairs of humanities teachers, one from each discipline, collaborate and discuss on almost a daily basis—often over lunch— about students, content, and goals. Dr. Gretchen Atwater, Humanities history teacher, explains: “Because collaborating pairs share the same group of students, they are able to craft lessons that emphasize the same skills using similar terminology. This approach allows students to grasp concepts more quickly and thoroughly. For example, Dr. Boynton and I use the phrase, ‘Let language lead,’ as a mantra to guide student thinking and writing. The resulting synergy is exciting for teacher and student alike.”

Humanities history teacher Zoe Jameson concurs: “Teaching partners must interweave their different disciplinary approaches into each lesson to model the humanities method for their students. This effort results in a far more successful intellectual experience for all.”

And it’s not just English and history teachers who collaborate in the humanities program at MBS. Last fall, dance teacher Andrea Deventer joined in a number of sophomore classes as they explored the theme of Bonds & Boundaries. Ms. Deventer helped students see how

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FA C T O I D : S T U D Y H A L L

the theme related to a dance she had recently choreographed that portrayed friendship and isolation in high school social life. Art teacher Ms. Washington joined a couple of humanities classes last year, encouraging students who were investigating the theme Traditions and Transformation to evaluate their own habits of seeing.

Athletics teacher KateAlderman also led a ninthgrade Humanities English class on the role leadership plays in sport—just before students began their own analyses of power structures in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.

Like their teachers, MBS humanities students collaborate frequently, most visibly during our symposia—regular grade-wide gatherings in which groups of students tackle a task inspired by the quarter theme. One very successful symposium on The Machine & Society saw cohorts of sophomores design, refine, and advertise a technological innovation that would solve a current common problem. Another recent symposium asked ninth-grade students to submit captions for a satirical caption contest, demonstrating how art and words can work as weapons against abuses of power. The winning group received an MBS breakfast!

As the MBS humanities program continues steadily to broaden and deepen, its teachers know that connectedness and cooperation within and between departments will remain key. Our goal is lofty but important. History department chair Tim Hannigan sums it up thus: “The MBS Humanities curriculum goes beyond content and classroom walls, honing skills and awareness that students can use to benefit the world beyond.”

MS News 12.5 (1/1939) description of Study Hall (excerpts only): “‘Sit down or get out,’ growls the prefect in charge. Mechanically

obeying that time worn phrase, the various boys in the room begin to quiet down as they await third bell. Then, after a lull, comes a mad

rush for permissions. Everyone is quiet five minutes later when a large juicy wad of semi-digested paper whizzes through space, only to miss its aim and splatter of the edge of a desk…Another lull and then a

faint humming sets in, quietly at first, but gaining in audibility until it is

suddenly squelched when the entire study hall has been threatened with two hours. Now everyone is studying ardently, trying to think of something else to do. One hands a piece of paper to another who reads for a minute and bursts into laughter. The secret stimulation or raucous

amusement next proceeds on a broken course through the room, leaving

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destruction of all peace in its wake…”

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Writing At MBS

with John Mascaro, PH.D., Dean of Faculty

“Putting our current challenges into historical context, it is obvious that if today’s youngsters cannot read with understanding, think about and analyze what they’ve read, and then write clearly and effectively about what they’ve learned and what they think, then they may never be able to do justice to their talents and their potential.”

Writing Next: Effective Strategies To Improve Writing Of Adolescents In Middle And High Schools, Carnegie Corporation, 2007.

“If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, if students are to learn, they must write.”

National Commission on Writing Report, July 2005.

Study after study and commission after commission aiming to understand and address the state of education in contemporary America converge on one key point: the single greatest skill a student can acquire by the end of secondary school is the ability to write well. Starting from this point of understanding the Morristown-Beard Writing Program has over the past five years steadily developed a comprehensive, co-curricular, approach to academic writing that is grounded in cognitive research and informed by knowledge of how our graduates will need to write in college and beyond. The MBS Writing Program is modeled on the types of writing programs found in almost every college and university in the country, but still rarely encountered at the grade 6-12 levels, and it is a clear example of Morristown-Beard’s forward thinking academic program. Following the college-based model, the program is not a department in the traditional sense, since “writing” is not a subject in the traditional sense. In fact, writing can be thought of, not as a “subject,” but as a crossroads where all subjects meet. That is the main reason colleges and universities have for the past several decades moved the oversight of writing instruction out of English departments where it was traditionally housed, and have created separate administrative structures specifically charged with developing and maintaining an academic writing curriculum. MBS has followed that model 125TH Anniversary

and so our Center for Academic Writing is a standalone administrative entity that is nonetheless deeply intertwined with all of the traditional departmental units.

Among its key initiatives, the Center brings teachers together for in-depth discussion and analysis of both the differences and the commonalities of writing in different subjects. At a recent workshop conducted by Allison Postma, Director of Academic Writing at MBS, teachers from our Wellness, Science, Math, Advanced Seminars and World Language departments—all of whom are integrating academic writing into their courses—analyzed and discussed different methods of constructing topics for essay assignments. In such a cross-disciplinary setting, teachers can learn from each other and transcend the traditional “silo” model where the invisible walls of institutional bureaucracy tend to separate and isolate different academic subjects. Instead, a science teacher and math teacher discussed what the word “proof ” means in their respective disciplines, and all present learned how a simple and seemingly obvious word can have very different meanings in different contexts. Such cross-curricular dialogues are a powerful means of helping to create an organic and unified curriculum (as in the MBS Humanities Program), where students making connections between different areas of knowledge is an intentional and purposeful element of course design, an aspect of curriculum that is largely overlooked in the traditional model of grade 6-12 education.

In addition to workshops for faculty, the Center also runs multiple programs for students, either those seeking writing assistance on their own, or with full classes overseen by the course teacher. Ms. Postma also teaches an advanced writing course that trains students to become peer-tutors who work with their classmates on a multitude of writing tasks.

One stigma from “the old days” of educational

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thinking that the Center for Academic Writing has successfully overcome is the misguided stereotype that such focused instruction in writing is somehow “remedial,” or only appropriate for weaker students.

In fact the opposite may be true and there is solid research showing that strong students benefit as much or more from intensive work on their writing.

The simple truth is that everyone grows as a thinker by spending time becoming a better writer. Composition Studies as a field of academic expertise really came into its own in the mid-late 1970s. It grew steadily through the next couple of decades and has by now reached the status of a fully legitimized field of scholarship. It developed hand-in-hand with the growth of research in the cognitive sciences and gained credibility by steadily accumulating research results showing that the map of writing and the map of learning are amazingly similar. The stages of the “Writing Process” model that came out of composition research are almost identical to the stages of cognitive growth a person undergoes when learning a new subject or material. In both areas, the focus is on the process of learning (or writing) not merely on the finished product of that learning (or writing).

And it is paying off. Now that the Center is in its fifth year of operation, we have had the chance to see a generation of students come through our writing-enriched academic program, students who find themselves upon entering college well ahead of their peers in being ready to tackle the demands and expectations of advanced education. Unlike standardized tests which have long dominated so much of the high school intellectual landscape, but which have been shown to have very low predictive value when it comes to future success, a solid set of writing skills turns out actually to be a good predictor of success, in college and beyond.

Academic Writing Program at MBS is when I’m sitting with a student asking a series of critical questions, ‘Why this phrase? Why do you follow this idea with that one?

What links these two ideas together?’ I ask critical questions meant to challenge students to dig deeply into their own thinking processes. Suddenly they light up, they ‘get it.’ And it just transforms them. Now they are actually eager to continue the writing, because now they have something to say.”

“Writing well is not just an option for young people,” as the Carnegie Report quoted above observes, “it is a necessity. Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy.”

Yet another recent graduate contacted his senior year English teacher to share an experience “about my first English class at Yale. I wanted to thank you for preparing me so well!”

These and other reports show that committing to high level and comprehensive writing instruction, across all subject areas, is one of the best investments a secondary school can make on behalf of its students.

The strength of the MBS Writing Program bodes well for the future, and shows why we can, with confidence, make the claim that an MBS education “powerfully prepares our students for learning and for life.”

Learning how to write well at a young age can be a life changing experience. Ms. Postma captures the “Eureka” moment that often occurs when a student is pondering a writing task and has a sudden breakthrough. In her words, “The most gratifying thing about overseeing the

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Although MBS plans to undertake a systematic survey of our graduates to assess how well prepared they are for college, anecdotal information coming back in the form of unsolicited testimonials has been inspirational. A 2015 graduate in his first year at Villanova University, wrote to one of his senior teachers, “I met with my Ancient Philosophy teacher during office hours for the first time today to discuss an essay I wrote. He went out of his way to compliment my writing—he said it was far superior to the level of work that freshmen usually produce. In fact, his exact words were ‘I have no idea where you went to high school, but I can already tell it gave you an excellent education.’ MBS gave me that education, so I want to thank you (and MBS) for that!”

Another 2015 graduate in her first year at Bennington, similarly reported on her experience as a college writer: “Writing in college is different for sure than writing in high school, but Morristown-Beard has prepared me as well as I could imagine for the task I now face. . . . I am today a writer [with] my own voice. And I am doing more cross-curricular writing here than I ever thought I would. I have a paper due in Geology this Friday and am writing a paper that connects my Anthropology class with my Lit class coming up, as well as many critical summaries for Anthropology alone. And none of these different types of papers in different styles daunts me because I have experience with them.”

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Theory into Practice: Learning, Change and the Curricular Philosophy of Morristown-Beard School

By John Mascaro, Ph.D., Dean of Faculty, Parent ’03

Why do we say with such confidence that Morristown-Beard School is an exceptional learning environment?

There are many reasons. The starting point is that we know ourselves and we study ourselves. For much of the past decade we have been engaged in a systematic review and reform of every aspect of our curriculum as well as much of our physical plant. Our commitment throughout has been to bring our facilities, academic programs and co- and extra-curricular programs to new levels of excellence for the benefit of our students as well as our extended community.

We are also confident in our claim of excellence because, as is proper for a school, we do our homework. Our vision, our thinking and our decisions are informed by current research on learning and by being aware of the larger world our students inhabit and will someday help to shape. A new consensus is steadily emerging about education in the 21st century, a new model or paradigm based on more than a generation’s worth of solid research into learning and cognition. As described in two of our foundational documents—our Curricular Philosophy Statement and our Values Statement—Morristown-Beard School’s academic vision moves away from the content-driven model of previous generations toward a more skills-based, student-centered model that is designed to allow each student to pursue his or her individual pathway to academic and life success. In keeping with the new academic consensus, we define academic rigor not primarily by standardized test scores (which have little educational value), but by the expectation that all students will engage in critical and creative thinking, will produce effective academic writing, will be good public speakers, and will master the technologies that define our age.

O

ur Curricular and Values statements are complementary, because the curriculum and the culture of a great school are inextricably bound together, and are mutually supportive. The principles they articulate have helped guide us through the challenging yet immensely rewarding task of turning ideas into substance, of forging a clearly defined and workable academic program that will take our students through middle and high school while preparing them for university and, finally, life beyond school.

While every aspect of our academic program is being studied and, where necessary, re-calibrated to be in step with this new model of learning, three recent and powerful developments might deserve a special mention as demonstrating the ways MBS is evolving to meet the needs of today’s students. One clear example of our commitment to being genuinely student-centered is our Earned Honors model. Drawing upon cognitive research and led by such thinkers as Carol Dweck, Tony Wagner, Ken Robinson and others, we are putting the “growth mindset” vision for our students into action. The notion of growth mindset contrasts with the traditional view

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We have also rethought our science curriculum to take account of the very different ways students learn, and to challenge the old assumption that a mathematical approach to science at the high school level is somehow inherently more difficult and more “advanced” than an idea- or concept-driven approach. We now have two parallel sequences of courses for our students as they make their way through the three lab-based subjects of physics, chemistry and biology. In this model, students can take either physics or math physics in 9th grade, chemistry or quantitative chemistry in 10th grade, and biology or experimental biology in 11th grade. In one arm of this sequence, the courses rely more explicitly on mathematical modeling and analysis; in the other branch, the focus is more on the ideas and concepts that drive these subjects. The key is that either set of courses is understood to be equal in rigor and challenge to the other set. And our earned honors mechanism allows students in either sequence to earn honors credit based on the quality of their work.

that intelligence is a fixed quantity, and that students should be “tracked” in ways that define the limits of their educational experience (Ken Robinson refers to this older model as “The Factory Model” of education). Instead, growth mindset thinking embodies the view that the research points toward: intelligence is fluid and flexible; people can continue to learn new things and grasp new concepts throughout their lives; a teacher’s perspective on a student—either positive or negative—exerts a powerful influence on how students view themselves and hence on what they can accomplish. Students in our Earned Honors courses are not pre-selected and slotted as either “Honors” or “Regular,” but are placed together in classes that provide opportunities for the students to regulate for themselves the level of depth and mastery they feel they can achieve. Major assessments in these courses are “scaled” to different levels of complexity and conceptual rigor, and students choose the level of assessment they wish to undertake. Honors credit “emerges” out of the actual work students produce, and at the end of the course those students who fulfilled the honors criteria are given honors credit for the course on their transcripts. We currently have a cluster of courses, mostly at the 9th and 10th grade level where students are developmentally at their most flexible, that deploy this model.

Critical Thinking

Risk Taking

Writing

In a similar way we have gone through a deep and systematic review of our math curriculum and have tried to address some of the generationsold stereotypes about math in the middle and high school curriculum.

These stereotypes (with which those of us of a certain age are all too familiar) lead to the idea that there are “math people” and “non-math” people, that only some people can do math and that the faster one learns it the smarter one is. These stereotypes about math do not hold up under scrutiny, it turns out, and a new model of math education is now taking hold in response to that scrutiny. Here we are drawing upon the research of, among others, Professor Jo Boaler of Stanford University, and upon the pedagogical ideas of Henry Picciotto, an internationally recognized leader in math curriculum development who has worked closely with MBS math faculty to redesign our math curriculum under the umbrella title of “Integrated Math.” This model moves away from the traditional “ladder” view of math curriculum that separated math ideas into narrow slots with little apparent logical sequence (why, for example, does Geometry follow Algebra 1 but precede Algebra 2? Where does trigonometry fit into the sequence?).

Assessment

Connections

Homework

Professional Awareness

Curricular Philosophy The Morristown-Beard curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, problem solving, independent thought, and intellectual risk taking.

It supports cross-disciplinary connections and a holistic view of knowledge. It encourages integration of habits of intentional speaking and writing so that students may develop articulate their ideas.

125THand Anniversary The curriculum is process-oriented, and teachers’ assessment of

student work reflects the means by which a student creates and learns in addition to final product. The curriculum at MorristownBeard esteems the qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions of learning and supports students making connections to other areas of Morristown-Beard intellectual thought and the larger world.

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Our Values While every communication, every decision, every action taken by an institution speaks to the values it either openly or tacitly embraces, it is particularly important for an educational institution to be as clear as possible about its vision for School culture, both academically and socially.

We continue to honor our longstanding Core Values and hereby incorporate them into a more expansive, updated statement of our ethical and social vision.

The bedrock of our academic program is to provide a foundation in the Liberal Arts. Our most fundamental goal is to help train and guide our students so that they may ultimately contribute to making the world a better place, and we believe that all members of the MBS community should cultivate a life guided by moral principles.

signs of success. At MBS we have embraced these facts and have been carefully managing the institutional forces required to turn theory into practice, moving from the realm of ideas into real, welldefined and well-executed academic programs. We are not afraid to change when evidence strongly indicates that such change is in the best interests of our students, even when we have to challenge some long-held assumptions about education. Our cultural values and our academic program together define a vision of a bold and vibrant learning community, committed to our mission of powerfully preparing all of our students, today’s students and tomorrow’s, both for higher education and for life.

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he sweeping sea-change in education is underway; there is no holding it back. The research is just too persuasive and the emerging practices it leads to are yielding powerful

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The above examples are just some of the many ways MBS is rising to the challenges posed by our rapidly changing culture, by our rapidly evolving students and by the profound implications of cognitive work on how students actually learn. Yet despite the fact that there are mountains of serious research supporting the new paradigm, despite the fact that a new consensus really has established itself among the most innovative and forward thinking educators and researchers, many schools are still resisting or are unable to make the changes necessary to create an academic program in line with the new vision. It’s not for lack of understanding, or will; every good school will have its share of forward thinking faculty and administrators, its people with vision who clearly see the need for change. Overly simple as it might sound, it’s mostly because institutional change is hard. Institutions tend to act like organisms in times of stress and act reflexively to ward off anything that might seem to threaten the status quo. Change, especially fundamental, systemic change, tends to increase institutional stress. The more bureaucratic the institution, the more it is driven by technocratic processes and systems instead of the people who create and inhabit those systems, the more resistant it is to change. And I think that is what really marks Morristown-Beard School as different, and why our claim of excellence is not a boast, but a promise. Ultimately I think MBS’s greatest strength is that we model, as an institution, the same precepts and principles we try to impart to our students. And that means we learn and grow.

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As mentioned, research on math has pretty much debunked the old notion that some people can learn math and some can’t. Boaler argues that this view, which is most deeply embedded inside the field of math itself, has unfortunate long-term consequences. “When students get the idea they cannot do math,” she writes in her latest book Mathematical Mindsets, “they often maintain a negative relationship with mathematics throughout the rest of their lives.” Yet, as Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, notes in the foreword to Boaler’s book, “When we see evidence that most students (and maybe almost all students) are capable of excelling in and enjoying math . . . it is no longer acceptable that so many students fail at and hate math.” Our Math Department has taken such views seriously, and is responding with a program that will greatly increase the odds for any MBS student to master math, as well as feel something of its beauty and power.

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One key aspect of this newly emerging “integrated” math model, which has been strongly endorsed by the Math Association of America’s National Committee on Mathematical Requirements, is the emphasis on conceptual understanding over rote memorization at all levels of the curriculum. The MBS program introduces algebraic concepts and ways of thinking as early as sixth grade, and blends algebraic, geometric and trigonometric concepts at all levels of the curriculum; it “spirals” back to these various sub-fields at steadily increasing levels of complexity.

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As Morristown-Beard School celebrates its 125th anniversary, we hope you enjoy this photo essay that illustrates how far we’ve come and the many changes that have taken place over the years. At the same time, we see how many important aspects of School life—especially our traditions and our values— have endured across the generations.

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By Steve Patchett

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TECHNOLOGY

The technology boom began in earnest at MBS in the late 1970s when the Math Department acquired a small collection of boxy TRS-80 computers. By the mid-1990s, computers had spread to offices and classrooms across campus, and training was held in the renovated Chapel and basement of Grant Hall.

In the early 2000s, it was common to see computer carts being rolled into classrooms for assignments.

In 2010, MBS gained national and international recognition as one of the first schools in the nation to incorporate iPads into the curriculum.

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COMMENCEMENT

Today’s Morristown-Beard School Commencement ceremony is rich in the traditions of both The Beard School and The Morristown School—from the formal class photograph on the lawn to the Valedictorian’s address to the award presentations for character, growth and service. The graduates’ attire remains the most striking tradition, particularly the girls’ white dresses, which recall the earliest days of The Beard School.

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DRESS CODE

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The Morristown School’s crimson blazer and The Beard School’s dark green wool uniforms are the stuff of legend. Talk with any Beard or Morristown graduate about their school days, and the uniform will always come up. Today’s students enjoy more freedom in the Dress Code, although jackets, ties, and dresses make regular appearances during Dress Up Days throughout the year.

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ATHLETICS

Athletics have always been a central part of the MBS experience. The Morristown boys boasted regular success in ice hockey, baseball, and football from the turn of the century. Although The Beard School abandoned athletic competitions with other schools in the mid-1920s, their physical education program featured intramural competitions between the Spartans and Athenians with an emphasis on teamwork, sportsmanship, and a healthy competitiveness. Since 1971, Morristown-Beard School has excelled in a multitude of sports, posting championships in everything from boys and girls soccer to lacrosse, baseball, and field hockey. Recently, the boys ice hockey team captured a State Championship in 2014 at The Prudential Center.

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WORLD TRAVEL

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Helping students gain global competency has always been a vital part of the mission of the Schools.

As far back as 1933, The Morristown School sent its ice hockey team to Europe to “help students benefit from lessons to be learned beyond those presented in the classrooms.” In the 1980s and 1990s, Morristown-Beard School sponsored exciting trips to Russia and India. More recently, MBS has sponsored student trips to Cuba, Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Italy, Greece, Peru, and Thailand.

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Morristown-Beard School’s very own knight in shining armor, “Oscar,” dates back to the first days of The Morristown School, and was frequently included in the yearbook as a member of the Senior Class.

Renovated in 2006 by Barry Corrigan ’54 and his son, Barry Jr., “Oscar” now proudly stands guard near the entrance of Anderson Library.

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Creativity has been flowing on the stage and in the art studio throughout the 125-year history of the Schools. Beard and Morristown students enjoyed an array of artistic opportunities—from Glee Club, band, orchestra, and dramatic productions, to a full range of visual arts offerings. Today’s MBS experience continues this legacy while adding exciting offerings in digital arts, filmmaking, music recording, and more. Recently, the opening of Founders Hall and the renovation of Wilkie Hall brought a whole new world of possibilities to the arts at Morristown-Beard School.

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MUSICAL HEADMASTERS

Students aren’t the only talented members of the community to take center stage.

Several Headmasters—particularly Thompson D. Grant (saxophone) in the 1950s and Peter J. Caldwell (cello) today—have performed alongside students.

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In the early 1900s, The Beard School advertised that horsedrawn carriages “run to different parts of the Oranges at a nominal price.” Commuting to campus has certainly evolved over the years! Whether you arrived in a Studebaker in the 1950s, a VW bus in the 60s, an IROC-Z in the 1980s—or even a big yellow school bus—getting here could be half the fun!

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A FUTURE THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDS

By Betsy Patterson, Director of Institutional Advancement, Parent ’14, ’16

Transforming Our Future

MI L L I ON With its rich academic and extracurricular programs, commitment to the arts and athletics, dedication to its students’ intellectual development, and exceptional faculty and staff, Morristown-Beard School represents what a top-tier independent school can achieve. As MBS proudly celebrates 125 years of powerfully preparing students for success in learning and in life, the School is proud to unveil an ambitious five-year, $20 million comprehensive campaign named Transforming Our Future. This historic campaign—

The Campaign for Morristown-Beard School

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Exterior rendering of the new math and science building

the largest in the School’s 125-year history— will propel Morristown-Beard School to the forefront of independent school education.

comprehensive campaign will raise funds for a state-ofthe-art math and science building as well as renovations to the Simon Athletic Center, Rooke Pool, and other capital projects. The campaign will also seek support The Transforming Our Future campaign will help further for scholarship and endowment, two priorities that are distinguish Morristown-Beard School as an institution integral to the School’s long-term success. Finally, MBS of excellence through which its students, its faculty, its will continue its community-wide efforts to sustain and alumni and its community will continue to thrive. With build the Morristown-Beard Fund—the School’s annual the leadership of Headmaster Peter J. Caldwell, the fund—at the $1 million mark annually.

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Interior rendering of the first floor commons area

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Over a decade of growth 2003

Turf Field for Football, Field Hockey and Outdoor Track

Renovation of Beard Hall, Grant Hall and Anderson Library

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Turf Softball Field

Building a 21st Century Campus An unprecedented decade of philanthropic support and physical improvements to the campus has enabled MBS to provide a rich learning environment that is academically rigorous for its students. Over the past 14 years, MBS has dedicated over $40 million to 15 major building and renovation projects that have been transformative to its 22-acre campus, enhancing its beauty and functionality. From the construction of a 630-seat Performing Arts Center and Middle School to the complete renovation of a state-of-the-art Technology Center, MBS continues to honor its unwavering commitment to its students and faculty: to provide them with the very best environment and tools for learning, growth and unparalleled success.

To ensure that Morristown-Beard School remains competitive in the marketplace, the School recognized the need for a new, innovative math and science facility that will provide the tools and environment needed by students to study a world dramatically transformed by globalization, scientific advancement, and technology. A feasibility study conducted in the fall of 2014 enthusiastically supported the School’s vision to move forward with such a project along with elevating the math and science curriculum.

The Foundation for the Future– A New Math and Science Building The new math and science building—a critical component of the School’s strategic plan—is the cornerstone of the campaign and the final jewel in the crown that is the MBS campus. With input from math and science faculty, the $12.6 million building features a flexible and adaptable design. “As we continue to grow in reputation as an academically rigorous institution with a heart—a school that

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Renovation of South Wing

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challenges the brightest students and supports those who are discovering their academic potential – this exceptional math and science facility will reaffirm our commitment to academic excellence,” states Headmaster Peter J. Caldwell.

With over 25,000 square feet of newly constructed space, the stateof-the-art building will boast eight science laboratories/classrooms, independent research labs and prep rooms, an environmental lab, eight mathematics classrooms, a dynamic math studio and small group study areas. In addition to a beautiful and open common space where students and faculty will gather and collaborate, the building will feature a secure gallery space where student, faculty and visitors can exhibit their artwork.

According to Math Department Chair Thomas Corbo, “the new building, along with exciting curricular initiatives, will ensure that we are able to provide an educational experience that is second to none.”

Traditional campus designs typically constrain educators in their implementation of math and science curricula due to the inherent inflexibility of current classrooms and labs and the physical separation of the departments. With highly interconnected, interdisciplinary teaching spaces that support 21st century learning, bringing math and science together in the same building is intended to enhance collaboration between the two departments. “Just being physically closer will promote discussion between the teachers and will generate meaningful

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Renovation of the William E. Simon Athletic Center

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opportunities for students to engage in interdisciplinary risk-taking in a cutting-edge facility,” explained Science Department Chair Scott McCormick.

The Future Begins Now From the construction and renovation of campus facilities to the addition of new faculty with distinguished credentials and innovative approaches to teaching, Morristown-Beard School is well positioned to meet the evolving needs of the future. Since the quiet phase of the campaign started in December 2014, over $10.6 million has been raised from 48 donors towards our capital projects. This figure includes a $2 million anonymous gift towards renovations to the Simon Athletic Center. Thanks to the visionary leadership of Board President Michael Ranger and the exceptional support of the Board of Trustees, MBS has experienced extraordinary success in the quiet phase of the campaign. With overwhelming support from a wide variety of donors including current and former parents, alumni, trustees and former trustees, grandparents, and friends, MBS remains confident moving forward with the public phase of the campaign.

As the MBS community celebrates its 125th anniversary, the School is proud to unveil the public phase of the Transforming Our Future campaign.

During this time, the MBS community must join together to raise the additional $9.4 million needed to fulfill the School’s bold initiatives. To educate the community about campaign progress and priorities, the School will be implementing a comprehensive campaign communications program. This program will include social gatherings, periodic written and electronic campaign communications, and personal conversations about supporting this historic campaign.

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Site plan showing location of the new math and science building

It is incumbent upon our community—each and every one of us—to build upon the legacy of our School’s founders whose forward-thinking ideas about education and character positioned the School among the most visionary of its time. Only with your dedicated support will we achieve our ambitious vision for a future that knows no bounds.

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-PETER J. CALDWELL, Headmaster

Wilkie Technology Center Founders Hall

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Turf Baseball Field

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