IN MEMORIAM…
PAST HEADMASTER, FACULTY, ALUMNUS DAVID C. TWICHELL CdeP 1936 David Cushman Twichell died at peace on the morning of April 24, 2013, after farewells from his family. He was 95. Born in New York City and raised in New Haven, Dave attended Thacher before graduating from Williams College. As a faculty child, student, teacher, and eventually headmaster, David Twichell had an intimate connection to the values of Thacher and a love of the Ojai Valley. His parents, Katharine Pratt and Burton Twichell, met in Ojai, and Burton taught Latin at Thacher for many years. When David attended Thacher in the mid-30s, he enjoyed playing baseball, soccer, tennis, and even acted in a few plays. His real loves, however, were camping, horses, and the great outdoors. After serving as a Navy pilot during the Second Word War, he returned to Thacher to teach science for two years, followed by earning an MS in education and zoology from Yale University before heading to Pomfret School in Connecticut to teach science and serve as headmaster from 1951 to 1961. The family then moved to Ojai in 1962, where Dave once again taught science at Thacher before serving as headmaster for five years. His legacy at both schools was to instill in students a love of learning through trust, exciting teachers and curricula, supportive communities, and exposure to arts, sports, current and world events, and ideas. As headmaster, he was keen to preserve Thacher’s long tradition of outdoor programs and environmental stewardship. Though his vision for Thacher’s future led to expansion in a multitude of directions, including faculty enrichment, social integration, community service, and long-term planning, Twichell never lost sight of the School’s keystone features. Recognizing Thacher’s longstanding tradition with horses as a valuable asset, he appreciated the unique possibilities for self-education and self-reliance learned through exposure to the horse and the outdoors. With this in mind, he canceled Saturday morning classes and extended Extra-Day Trips from four days to five, therefore permitting longer and more educational camping trips. Jack Huyler captured Twichell’s love of camping fondly in the following passage:
David Twichell’s enthusiasm for Thacher’s Outdoor Program helped the School secure Golden Trout Camp.
Twichell, himself a fine camper, outdoorsman, and a Spartan, scorned such comforts [as tents]. Most of us hunch our shoulders and endure when the storms blow in; DCT became ever more cheerful and enthusiastic. He was at his best in camp. His campsites were always snug and tidy. With shovel, ax, and pack covers he built shelters as effective as tents. He improvised swings from lash ropes and pack cinches and slung them from lofty limbs. It was a delight to see him, enveloped in happy laughter, his own and his boys’, pushing some youngster out over a draw on the end of a 40-foot swing. He read to his charges around the Forest Service stove at night. ’Twas a memorable sight to see them huddled about the stove and Coleman lantern while the wind soughed through the pines above them and the headmaster’s voice made O. Henry’s characters live yet again. In 1966, helped by Ike Livermore, Twichell expanded the Outdoor Program, leading the School to raise funds and negotiate a lease for a parcel of land in the High Sierra, currently known as Golden Trout Camp, completing a series of progressive changes at Thacher. Moving to Belmont in 1968, Dave taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, working on a program for in-career training of Boston teachers. Starting in 1971, he taught biology at Browne & Nichols School, later serving as head of the middle school at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols until 1976. Looking to change direction, Dave attended the New England School of Photography. This led to a wonderful and satisfying period in his life in which he combined his science, arts, and management skills, and enthusiastic energy, and love of travel and teaching while helping the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences track and research the Red Knot. In his final active years, he put his woodworking skills to use building toys, aids, and other interactive devices for children at the Perkins School for the Blind, in Watertown. Dave is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ethel “Smoke” Rowley Twichell; his five children: Joe, David CdeP 1969, Tess, Anne, and Phoebe CdeP 1982, and 13 much-loved and admired grandchildren.