Governors Academy - Milestone Yearbook (Byfield, MA)

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5 '53 7'-' N B 1,0 59? ' 'A W 8, A . . ' , f ' - a ' ' ' -at 4 , W , . V -. A N V A sundial marks the passing ofthe sun, which has shone on the little red school- house for close on two centuries. One might almost expect to find the dial worn by l the passing shadows marking so many hours. The lettering is quaint, the hour of four is marked with IIII instead of TY. A sixteenth-century panelled Bible-box with iron-bound corners, rests upcm a contemporary table, which may be changed from a half to a whole circle by swing- ing a turned gate-leg. School began with Bible reading daily. On the box rests a Bible which was given by one of the oldest living graduates of the Academy, Mr. George William Adams, one of six generations in direct descent who have graduated here. YYhat other school in America can match that record? His family has provided three trustees and two headmasters. Seventy-four of his blood and name had been enrolled here before the present century began. In Mr. Adams' home, The High- I Fields, a college preparatory school was held before 1760, of which we have a good Q record. It was then the home of Captain Samuel Adams. Joshua Noyes, Jr. was the A teacher of that private school, under the direction of three trustees, the Reverend Moses Parsons, John Adams, and Richard Dummer, cousin of the Governor. The I 2 cf--a .. 'F-11 ri ,. I 1 ' - f .2 it ' N9 , -B-. l l Ei ii 'I t. - i l DUNCE STOOL, TABLE, AND DESK This seventeenth-century desk contains twelve secret drawers for concealing gold coins and valuables. .'e A ,Ja-r -. t, f 'H' , .. 5 'lj if XRM xxx K II

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533 3.5, ,, 1708 . -3 'A Xi X x t X tx Xi 7 f X , , f, I Y X. 1 x. X S x,X3 ' N V te 3 1 B txtt Hy. I f X f 7 l z f X , f 1 1 I 'f 1 -E ' aa X- ' f X s X '- . M 1 f f f , , ' ' iv 1 - -' 'e ' . 1' ' '- x' Q 'X ' -'V f L' ' ' - Z k sb - . gb X, . x -e is .6 2 X. X . ' I . I A , I Y 1: Q , 1 , A , . , Y Y - X. ,F -X 3 - A ., 1 . , ---, -M ' v X-, E Q 4- A ff I f f ' i'1 l,, f ,. 'X .- e 'o.. if X . s, 'fi 4 '- ' 'wif ' 4 ' A T W ' x s- , x c f I - - 1 w We enter a narrow hallway with rows of wooden pegs for the boys' hats and coats and there is a bootjack to remove their heavy boots so necessary in the old colonial days of deep mud and snow. On each side is a schoolroom. A stone chimney in the center of the west side gives a corner fireplace ofold-time brick in each room. The twenty-eight boys of 1763 sat on long, backless forms and used simple desks, each accommodating two or three pupils. On the desks, old pewter ink pots and quill pens offer means of writing. Of course, sand-shakers are there instead of blotters. ln one room is a high desk at which the master might stand or sit on a high stool. ln the other is a seventeenth-century desk, which conceals twelve secret drawers, and which has on one side a long box for quill pens. Standing in a corner is a dunce stool, with a pointed cap for any boy whose naughtiness required him to be pilloried. A tall clock marks the time, but with only the hour hand, so one must guess the minutes. In its front door is an old bull's-eye glass, as though the clock were keep- ing watch on how one spends one's time. For the very small boy, a hornbook is provided to teach him how to read. The small boy's boots with heavy tops and copper toes are drying near the fireplace. A portable foot-warmer long enough to accommodate three pairs offeet stands near-by. Upon the wall hangs an oil portrait of King George II. The painter was John Wollaston, who came to America and made quite a reputation as a portrait painter about 1758, painting the mother of George Washington, Washington's stepchild- ren, George Whitefield, and numerous others. King George III was then prayed for every day by his faithful subjects in the school. This was an English school, and here is the old English flag for the boys to salute, as we salute the Stars and Stripes today. Even the English Hag has changed, this one bears the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew for England and Scotland and preceded the union with Ireland and the cross of St. Patrick. The English Hag is here, as it was in 1763. Today we love the Stars and Stripes. An American flag is given at each Com- mencement and, after it has fiown over our school for a year, it is presented as one of the most coveted and honored prizes to the student then graduating whose record at the school is considered by the faculty most creditable. It is called the Morse Flag in memory of Anthony Morse, a first settler of Newbury in 1635. So we honor our Hag. But in 1763 there were no Stars and Stripes nor any United States ofAmerica. George Washington was then a young officer in the English army, lighting against the French for England and King George. Governor Dummer Academy is older even than our nation. This should cause us to appreciate our school's great age and to value its traditions. The school has witnessed the birth of our nation and its growth. A swinging bell hangs above the end ofthe gabled roof, and its sweet tones peal far and wide to call the school together. This old bell came from Boston. Vile had the opportunity to obtain a bell made by Paul Revere, but that was too late for us. What a little school it was on that windy March day, one hundred and seventy- five years ago when Master Moody called his twenty-eight boys to assemble and to start the sessions that have continued as Governor Dummer Academy! - 1 5, . ,V I Jirflml I c ,- L-RQNLVX. A . ,i., ,A h, ,wif g, F ,nltvv te.: V' ' ' '--YLJLTL1 .ll Il 1. . . sg, NA , IO

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533 ' ff' J f 1,11 . gf ' , , ' ' 1 . , ' X ?-B--e a -e ra' , - el708, '- ' e rx rx if , I ., Z 1, , . Q: N f . gifs , 3 f,A', , . , Q ' .qw 7, 1 'gel 1 x I W I schoolroom was the further bedroom from which a door opened into another room ofequal size, both having fireplaces. The woodwork ofone fireplace was decor- ated with initials cut by those pupils. Probably the Governor's cousin told him that Captain Adams' further bedroom was not suitable for a school of twenty boys, and he may have suggested the need of better provision and may have sowed the seed which ripened into the bequest which founded the Academy. The records of the school show seven named Adams, three Parsons, two XYoodman, and one each Hale, Stickney, Frazer, Longfellow, Dummer, Chute, Thurlow, and Noyes. Some of these must have been in the school opened in the little red schoolhouse in 1763. An eighteenth-century Bible coming from the Adams family is very acceptable and, since we are all descendants of Adam, we can have a family feeling for the old Adams Bible. From the old Adams house have also come the large hearth-stone bricks used in the restoration. Another gift is a pair of scales which belonged to Master Moodyg with them he weighed the coins paid for tuition. In the cover to their case is a table showingjust ' ' 5 -7-'TW-if Vi. s 'ifsfw xfi., r T .- . ' 4. TJ, , nf! 53.-e 1 v-N .0 1 AX 'Q X . X' - , six . -Q...-.g-i Tm-. 1. BIBLE-BOX, FOOT-WARMER, STUDENTS DESK, AND FORM U The Bible-box on the table at the left dates from the sixteenth century. The corners are bound with wrought iron. - ' -,.,, , -1 Y ffl il' - . .. .xt 1 , '. - . 'H i Y, V ,.,V,v xv. Q j 07, i - - rd-ff as .- fe.. if .f I2