         

Family Style              

   with tables set with fine silver and cloth napkins. Civilized, but still bursting with mild mischief (think butter balls stuck to the ceiling thanks to a cloth napkin slingshot). Multiple courses served by pretty Irish waitresses and a “pigs” table, where students with poor table manners were banished for the remainder of the period. Such was school lunch (and breakfast and dinner!) at The Cathedral School in the 1940s, back when it was an all-boys, live-in choir school with about 40 students. Today, we are blessed with Chefs Michelle Whittle and Betty Bovell, their mac and cheese (amongst countless other favorites), and a beautifully-controlled chaos that allows students the opportunity to eat family-style—serving themselves and each other—all on their own. As Howard Nusbaum—current fourth grade teacher and father of Jeffrey (’00) and Eric (’02)—says, “When new teachers arrive here and people ask them what makes this place special, a lot of people say ‘lunch.’ Oftentimes, it’s about how good the lunch is. But it’s also often about how little supervision the kids need to have a peaceful, successful lunch.” Our less formal, more responsibility-required lunchtime calls for Lower School students to truly care for and assist their younger classmates. Each round

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DINING MEMORIES We sang a Latin grace before and after each meal (different verses before and after). —Jim Groton ’42

At the end of each term, class ranks were read out to the entire dining room so we all knew where we stood, grade-wise, and where we might need to improve. —Bob Marble ’50

At the head of each table was a teacher, and my favorite meal was a beef goulash with a mashed potato covering. Delicious! —John Reyes-Guerra ’79

C AT H E D R A L

WI NTER 201 4