Pack Rat

Ted Dickson reflects on decades of mementos from Providence Day, unable to part with the memories they hold.

Written by Ted Dickson

History teachers seem to have a genetic marker or predisposition for becoming pack rats.

I grew up with that gene and lived in an old house where my grandfather had collected antiques. My dad added to the clutter and never threw anything out. In my case, nature and nurture combined, and here I am in an office filled with stuff.

Many of my treasures are keepsakes from my decades-old career teaching at Providence Day. I started in the fall of 1991, and not only did I teach, but I coached Middle School soccer and junior varsity boys basketball. I also coached 100-plus recreation teams that included a lot of Providence Day kids.

Every 10 years or so, I cull, discard, reorganize, and, in the process, rediscover all kinds of mementos. This time, I found basketball scorebooks, exams, and newspaper clippings, among other things.

The scorebooks, for example, are from JV basketball in the 1990s. They featured Providence Day players such as Clay Nunley (leading scorer and now D1 college coach), Kelly Dyer, William Jarjour, Tripp Cherry, Bill Monroe, Isaac Osabutey, Casey Field, Davius Miller, Tommy Cardo, Jeff Wilson, Brian Shambo, Andrew Stark, Lee Tappy, Trent Cherry, John Hollmeyer, Scott LeTourneau, Raj Naik, Daniel Knost, Ben Hovis, Matt Morrow, Jimmy Montague, Kyle Heasley, Zac Jordan Frankie Johnson, Scott Hinson, Tim Morrow, Connell Handford, Mike Spillars, James Park, and many more.

How can I let go of these books? I can’t. Just like I can’t let go of the rest of it. They’re all souvenirs for me.

The basketball coaching manuals I came across are from legendary Providence Day coaches Dave Price, David Carrier, and Brian Field. I also found Carrier’s 10 Commitments of Charger Basketball from the 1995-1996 season.

I have the notes from Providence Day parent Dr. Matthews’ fascinating presentation to the 60s class on his experiences as a radio operator for the Marines in Vietnam in 1966-1967.

A Roy Garrison and Ted Dickson First Semester (January 1992) and Second Semester (May 1992) Western Civilization exams included an excerpt from The Prince. These were typed on my original MacPlus desktop computer, which is still in my school office.

The rule and script for the Cash Cab skit I created for one of the last Faculty Follies performances is another find. Questions included: What is Dr. Creeden’s first name? Name two faculty members who played pro baseball. Name all of the third-grade teachers. How many members of the Field family are teaching at Providence Day? What graduating class donated the sign at the entrance to the school? What is Mr. Bibby’s first name?

The script I wrote for Providence Day’s MLK Day celebrations in the 1990s told the highlights of Dr. King’s life from Montgomery to Memphis. Patsy Steimer and I alternated reading from a script with slides projected as illustrations. Students took turns reading Dr. King’s words.

Is it possible I have Jett Steiger‘s first movie? One of my finds is a videotape that Steiger and Andy Grosso produced for their 11th-grade U.S. History class project on the Civil War. The critically acclaimed film received two thumbs up from esteemed film critic Phillip McEneny. It won multiple awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Today, Steiger is an award-winning producer and co-founder of the creative studio Ways & Means. His productions include the video for Pharrell William's “Happy.”

I have a copy of the famous Mark Fader, Chris Wallace, and Ted Dickson's 60s final exam, for which students needed glue sticks and scissors to write and illustrate their own history of the 1960s. And a copy of the National Geographic Magazine with a beautifully illustrated cover story on reimagining dinosaurs that Providence Day alumnus Michael Greshko wrote.

I kept a Boston Globe article from the COVID NBA playoffs: “Williams Held the Celtics Fate” about rookie Grant Williams, who attended Providence Day. Williams blocked a shot to win Game 7 against the Toronto Raptors. Consequently, Williams is back home with the Charlotte Hornets.

The moral of this story: all of this stuff is going back into a box to await the next 10-year cleanup. The memories are too important.