In 1948, The New York Yankees Professional Football Team held their annual training camp at Cheshire Academy. Little did Doug Rehor know at the time—as an AllAmerican star football player fresh out of Dickinson College—the very site of this camp would someday also be a home to him and his family. After being the first collegiate football player to throw for over 100 completions in a single season, serving as a U.S. Marine, and earning his master's of education from New York University, Doug and his wife, Angela, wished to finally settle down and start a life together. Looking for a quieter, more peaceful pace of life in a suburb as opposed to the hustle of New York City, Doug fondly recalled the time he spent training in the picturesque village of Cheshire, home of Cheshire Academy. Although he had only spent a short time on campus, he was always overtaken by the sense of community that the school offered, and he felt a strong conviction that this was where he and Angie should raise their family. Doug, a coach and teacher, and Angela, the Cheshire Academy nurse for several years,would spend 29 years together at the Academy. During this time, they had four children, three of whom would graduate from Cheshire Academy: Donna, Charlie '71, Doug Jr. '74, and Cheryl Rehor '77. Speaking with the Rehor family today, it is clear that Cheshire Academy meant much more to them than just a school. For Charlie Rehor '71, his life-long career as an Academy student began from the time he could walk. "I ate lunch and dinner with the students and faculty from the time I was three until I graduated!" he recalls. He and his brother, Doug Jr. '74, who hunted frequently with their father, recounted the days that they would head out to the fields to hunt game, hop in the car with their pheasants, and always head straight to Welles Dining Hall to eat dinner before returning to their home
on Maple Ave—one of many Rehor family traditions that included Cheshire Academy while growing up. Doug Jr. '74 –born on the same day his father began work at the Academy—also dreamed of becoming a Cheshire Academy student and football player from the earliest days he can remember. Having spent so much time on campus with his parents—watching varsity football games, eating in the dining hall with faculty and students and spending his weekends in the gym playing basketball with his siblings—he couldn't imagine himself anywhere but Cheshire. Proud to be a part of the Cheshire Academy family, he knew that the campus was always where he wanted to be; it was simply his home.
long history. Doug Rehor Sr. perfectly embodied the spirit of Cheshire Academy's philosophy of "bettering our students," a quality in teachers that continues to make Cheshire Academy not just a place of work, but a home. C A
So much a home was Cheshire Academy to the Rehors, in fact, that youngest sibling Cheryl, class of '77, recalled the time her father was offered the opportunity to teach at a nearby public high school, an incredibly tough decision at the time, since the public school offered an increase in salary. Considering what this might mean for his family, ultimately, Mr. Rehor just couldn't leave the dear old Academy. "My father was made to have his life at Cheshire Academy," she explains. "Clearly he had found his niche among students and faculty. He was so happy with his life, loved the small student body and most importantly loved being able to get to know each individual as more than just a student but as an important person in the world." A true Cheshire Academy family, the Rehors continue to be a special part of the Academy's
WINTER 2014
CHESHIRE ACADEMY MAGAZINE
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