Kent School - Kent Yearbook (Kent, CT)

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history of tfje Class; of 1926 A WARM and sunny September afternoon was the good omen that welcomed to Kent the “brats of five years ago. Thirteen of us who were the “brats”, together with the later additions are about to graduate this Prize Day, taking with us the memory of those intervening years, whose trials and travail, gaiety and gladness, have taught us much and made us the class of 1926. In those distant days of 1921 and 1922 we were little more than the objects of the indifference, censure, or pity of those higher up. But we had, nevertheless, as all brats do, our own suppressed interests. Our trials were then, we beg to remark, great and, no doubt, beneficial. Being humble knights, we bore on our escutcheons a broom and dustpan rampant on a field of dirt. The burden of punctuality oppressed us. But in these, as in other matters, we had not as yet attained originality. We indulged in our soap-throwing, bed-dumping and other youthful sports in the orthodox manner. Our president of that year. Walker, among others, strove manfully with those embryo bandits, Foster, Neely, and Lewis, lest they should carry these illicit pursuits beyond the bounds of good taste and wisdom. Mills, a Third Former in our midst, held the undisputed championship of the dorm by a knockout, while Murehie of the same class attracted our interest by his artistic ability and predilection for aboriginal pursuits. True to our orthodoxy we endeavored to be respectful to our elders. Occasional assaults on the exclusive North Dorm furnished the necessary relaxation. Among these toughening experiences were the football and hockey leagues and the pursuit of learning, in the last of which, let it be noted, we already showed some small ability. One Winter night the bridge was destroyed by the ice and we, the youngest and most impressionable of the School, watched from Mr. Evans’ study window as the mangled remains ground their way down the gray and crashing ice-flow. A story has been circulated of a certain master, who, on the following morning, surmounted the barrier of ice between the School and town by crossing, hand over hand, on a telephone cable to his Latin and (ireek classes, intending to prove, doubtless, that his claim to fame was based on good solid muscle. The day previous to our Faster vacation a temporary bridge was completed and saved us from an enforced postponement of our departure. The early part of our first Spring Term is memorable as being wet. Remnants of the flood backed up by the departing ice gave our first Smith ample scope for his budding piscatorial art. We had much to occupy us. A mysterious aerial railway on the slopes of Algo busied several of our members. Certain eminent fun-lovers, deprived of former stamping-grounds at the old barns, pursued their game far afield. A newly inaugurated crew could be seen every afternoon swinging around the bend of the river, flashing by under the Study Hall windows, or floating peacefully out of sight in the distance. Baseball, including the leagues on which several of us played, was active and we realized how rightly Spring term is 19

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called the best. The election of council-members and appointment of prefects and inspectors on May first gave us a working knowledge of the Kent System hitherto taken for granted. The climax of the term, despite Prize Day, was the day on which we embarked on our summer vacation. We returned in the Autumn unencumbered by the Foster Contingent and with the addition of Allen, Bachellcr, Cheney, Colmore, Gam mack, Gott, Grandin, C. Harris, Grant, Griffin, Hatfield, P. Moore. Rumsey, Leverett Smith and G. Whitney. Among many improvements in the School plant were the new barns. Work was progressing on the new Infirmary. After assimilating these facts we elected Frothingham our president and started our various occupations. From our positions on the leagues we watched Ballard lead his team, coached by Mr. Bartlett, through a championship season. After Christmas we saw Jack Frey’s undefeated hockey team make a name for Kent. During that winter the Alumni House became noted for mysterious events, stairway catastrophes, trunk mysteries and window tapping, punctuated by the wailing of innocent victims. But the authorities, on the trail of a minor offense, encountered these phenomena and put a stop to them. The same dormitory later distinguished itself by its mystic rites to a certain Housatonic divinity, whose name, resurrected from the past, takes the form of Hankus. Our Spring term surpassed even that of the previous year. Benjamin Cheney and I.everett Smith became our first council members. Our Form crew and several men on the baseball squad made us feel somewhat important. The Prize Day report increased the feeling for we had seven of our members on the honor roll and in ranking were preceded only by the then, and, we hope, still brilliant class of 1947. The Fall of 1928 saw Cheney as our President and our Form numbering only thirty-four. The additions were: Baker, F. Harris, Nazro, Tewksbury, Yoorhees, Wainwright, Thompson and Yeomans. When we saw our members, except Cheney, still on the leagues, we realized that we had less claim to brawn than brain. Time flew quickly. After a moderately successful football season and very good hockey results, we came to the Spring term that was to bring us our first importance in the School. Colmore as cox of the crew was our first letter man and Ben Cheney turned in a second letter from his position on the baseball team. Bent, Nazro, Whitney and Frothingham played on the squad while Yeomans and Tewksbury won their tennis numerals. A junior four-oared crew was chosen from our Form to represent the School against Choate at Wallingford. Notable events of the term were the defeat of Pawling in baseball for the first time, and the breaking of ground for a new dining hall. We stayed after Prize Day for our first Board Examinations, drank tea, swam and had a good time generally. In the Fall Boughton, Brainard, Farnum and Muldaur were new-comers. I.everett Smith and Bent were our council-members, Bent our president. A successful football team, beaten only by Hoben of Hotchkiss, had Muldaur and 21