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

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the faculty for leadership during the decade of the fifties. They chose Prescott Cleveland who had served as acting Headmaster after Alder s departure. Cleveland, who with his fellow English instructor Bill Cleim. had w ritten the school's English grammar text. Practical English sought to strengthen the School in its preparatory role through a broader curriculum that emphasized fundamentals He succeeded, for b I960 Blake ranked among the top ten preparatory schools in the country. A The Senior School and tin Field House during the 20's or 30's. Note Anderson Farm buildings — left, trolley tracks — right, the walk to the school from the trolley station — right, and the surrounding countryside. B .. . A view of Blake taken in 1974. Can you find the differences between photos A B JC Blake with its new addition going up. Note the farmhouse on the left D .. William Clenn. coauthor of Practical English and English teacher for 10 years. 14

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al changes took place — the lield house was limit and the M'parute Junior School at 22ml Co I lax ve was sold. Transportation up until I93-‘ hail been In three street cars running from laike and Hennepin out to Intcrluclicn Station at the corner of the sclinol proper! In 1933 the automobile was approval at long Iasi for use In Juniors and Seniors B 1912 busses had begun to replace tin trollc) as the most convenient form of transportation from both the lake area and the clt The idea of altering Bluke s purpose from bo s education to coeducation lirsl arose in 1939 when there was an attempt made to combine the lower schools ol Blake and Northrop The original idea w as to have grades one, tw o and three at Junior Blake and four. five, and six at Northrop, The proposed merger failed however due to the inubilil) of the joint committee to agree on a plan that was acceptable to both schools In 1910 Blake closed the intow n Junior School and moved it to the remodeled Mendelsohn farm house on the Hopkins cam pus Alder developed a school centered on a strong land t mong those he hired were Harold ModgKinsou. Bill Glenn. Harold l.iiiidliolui, Chief Wonson. Keller Pollock; Kobert Runkle. and others. Alder was 70 when he left Blake hi 194ft W hen he decided to retire. Prescott Cleveland, Noah Foss, and Harold l.undholm served as a triumvirate over the .school's future until B Ian Clapp, a retired naval commander, w as hired in Juiiuury. 19-17 Clapp's stay wa -short ahcl uneventful Feeling that he w as not qualified to In- an academic administrator. he resigned in I9” 2 alter getting a modem Junior School building const metcd next to the field bouse The Trustees turned to a respected member of 13

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In 1960'’Clcvc decidcd it was lime tort-tin and tin-Trustees hired James Henderson, Jr. as Blake s new I lead muster Henderson came to a Blake that was badly overcrowded lor its physical size Within two years, he and the Trustees launched an ambitious building and endowment program that added to the school a new hockey arena, a swimming pool, a new dining hull, us well as remodeled office and lulmrutory space “The Blueprint for Greatness program was u tremendous success iu increasing Blake s endowment as Blake rose to the top ranking w ith only Exeter and Andover ranking ahead. The departure ol Jim Henderson, Harold Hodgkinson. Harold l.un-dholm, and Bill Glenn at the end of the 1971 school year after a total ol 134 years of distinguished service symbolized the changes that were occurring outside tile Bloke community. On August I I. 1971. Blake decided to change w ith her surroundings as plans were drawn up for Blake to become a coeducational institution That community isuow a reality What the future will bring for this new educational concept is hidden from us at the present, but One can only hope that the new school, like Blake, w ill be’ urbiet orbi lumen — “a light onto the city of the world. 15 Blake From The Sky