Blake School - Reflections / Call O Pan Yearbook (Hopkins, MN)

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Air view of Blake in 1920's Fieldhouse before driveway was paved in foreground BLAKE'S NEW HOM “The trials of that first year at 1803 were countless. The class rooms were inadequate and draughty, the four young male teachers shared quarters in the school building and knew no privacy during school hours, a certain vendor of |x j corn anti ice cream cones made a habit of enriching himself at recess hour at the expense of innumerable digestions. “Interest and faith in the school grew, anti the trustees determined to delay no further in taking steps toward securing a suitable site and building. After careful consideration, it was decided to adopt the “country day school idea, the success of which Mr. Newton had observed in several cities in the cast. With this in mind, a careful canvass of possible locations near the city was made, convenient transportation and healthful surroundings being prime requisites. A suitable site bctw-ccn the Intcrlachcn Club and Hopkins on the Minnetonka Trolley Line was secured, and early in the spring of 1912 work was started on the first section of the building. This section extended as far as the present Trophy Room. The second year of The Blake School l cgan September 25, 1912, in its beautiful new home. The senior department doubled its numbers, anil the capacity of the new building was taxed from the day of opening. The Junior School continued at 1803 Hennepin Avenue, as it was felt that the young boys should not spend the entire day away from home. “It was in 1912 that Mrs. M. B. Koon, Mrs. C. C. Bovey, and Mrs. C. I). Vclic, in memory of the late Judge Koon, donated a sufficient amount of money to give the school a good working library. The chapel in those days was held in the room which we now use as a library, with the library of that period just back of it and separated from it by a screen which ran the full length of the platform.

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■ “Several patrons became deeply interested in the possibility of a well equipped, well manned school in Minneapolis which might help relieve the congestion of the public schools and make possible the preparation of boys for eastern universities without a long | eriod of boarding school life. Such a school, they felt, with high scholastic standards, and the splendid op| ortunities for development it might offer, would be a benefit, not only to their own sons, but to the sons of many other Minneapolis families. “Accordingly, in the winter of 1911, steps were taken under the leadership of Mr. Charles C. Bovey to bring together a group of public spirited men, and, after careful consideration, it was decided to incorpor-ate the Blake School under a board of fifteen members. The new corporation was legally created under the laws of Minnesota on May 5, 1911. The school, thus First unit, constructed in 1912. includes present library West House, Junior School 1940-48 and Junior High until 1951 incorporated, was to Ik, in the truest sense, a public service cor|x)ration, eventually self-supporting, but never an organization for |Krsonal profit. The newly formed corporation at once took steps to push forward the enterprise. Arrangements were made to take over the school from Mr. Blake and give him a position of dignity in the new Blake School. A guarantee fund was raised, looking toward the erection of a building, and a new headmaster was chosen—Mr. Charles Bertram Newton. “Mr. Newton brought with him to Minncajxdis four young men who formed the nucleus of a new anti departmentalized faculty. Tracy Hale took charge of English and football; Charles Hadden divided his time between instruction in German and baseball, slighting neither and endearing himself to all who came within Shop class in Junior School the range of his talents in the classroom and on the diamond. John Thompson devoted himself to teaching the young the intricacies of square roots and how, when, and what to let X equal,” while Elmer Ira McPhie was charged with the responsibilities of chemistry and history. “This is not the place for an account of Mr. Newton's accomplishments but no account of Blake’s early days would be complete without at least a passing tribute to his ideals and ambitions for the school and the energy and devotion he expended to sjKcd the realization. Mr. Newton took hold of an unorganized, under-staffed, badly equipped institution, brought order out of chaos, raised scholastic standards and accomplishments to enviably high levels and, perhaps most important of all, succeeded in implanting in the boys the seeds of a fine, living school spirit which, once started, grew spontaneously and embodied the fundamental ideals on which the school was built and by which it is governed today. It goes without saying that Mr. Newton’s work was not accomplished single handed. The greater credit is due him for his ability to win the confidence and support of his trustees and for his skill in building up an esprit de corps among the able assistants with which he surrounded himself in the faculty.

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5 BUILT AND ACULTY ORGANIZED Autumn at Blake before the science wing was added One of the new additions to the faculty that year was no less a person than Noah Foss, who retired early in the 1950’s after nearly forty years of teaching at Blake. Noah discovered early in the game that students had found it so easy to divert kindly Mr. Blake from the subject in hand that they absorbed during classes more information about skunks and other denizens of the north woods (Mr. Blake’s specialty) than they had about irregular verbs. He set about teaching Latin so that it would stay taught—and made a very g xxl job of it. Frank Smoycr and Bob Blanpicd joined up at the same time and as long as they were on the faculty, students argued as to whose was the more cutting sarcasm. It was in this year that the school colors were changed from blue and gold to brown and white and the school divided against itself for intramural competition. Through these doors 856 graduate have walked Junior School in early 19J0’s.