Governors Academy - Milestone Yearbook (Byfield, MA)

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X , -- - 5 -x ,ix -an XX ,X X X -Xe I X 1' I 1 f 11,1 If i-1' ff, , ' - 'xg -QX XX N ' 1. ' 4' f 'r jf 4-4 ' l,-A V S , , V '4 ,x .4 B 1 . . . f ' - , ' r 1- X :fr X YN. N - , . f L E' uqsfjiy. f- ,KX5 ' lu I . EDITORS' FUREWGRD -msg. Ky--. v . 3.:13p:Tf .1-.fi-Jaffa S42 THE most outstanding event in the school during the current year was the completion of the new shop building. The feature article departs, therefore, from the traditional historical note to one of a practical nature which that acquisition demands. Considering the opportunities offered to develop interest in tech- nical and mechanical fields, the editors are proud to present an account of the new machine shop as the feature article of the current MILESTONE. , J-'u ., ..,.f, -1.5-':':' Y' ..,f4 '.',2f.: V ,,':-'-.-jfil-A-.'.f.:5 F-':.',j.'i d, , , M My e ' A .c .f.'.'fl'4 -, '11 wi: if 2 -Y gA A-:'.g.'f-pl'1,-1'--,y-'Q j-+2-5 Vs.. ,- I , 7

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X L-B-Q lg' i708 . i e, xx , 5 X -.,4,! I , !,' 7, X e e se .xy uf. l ' , . , W 3 , X-?s4 - + 4-Q if 1 '. - v e '- , -X x Q ' Ks X Q' ' New . ' if ffi '44 , .4 'qu ? . Y A 'f 5' i e NX ' V ,- 1' f , I , The Machine Shop For the original idea of the machine shop at Governor Dunnner, one must look to the Oundle School in England, where under the leadership of Headmaster Sanderson the machine shops grew to be an integral part of the school educational policy. There, they were used as laboratories where boys learned practical mathe- matics and science and where the interest of indifferent students, stimulated by practical problems of construction and design, might be developed and extended to include related fields. At Oundle every boy was required by Dr. Sanderson to spend several hours a day in the shopsg and the equipment was increased until at the time of the World War it was sufficient to permit the production of shell cases and other military supplies. At Governor Dummer there is no intention that the shop shall ever be more than its name implies, a place where a limited number of boys may cultivate their interest in mechanical problems. In a school whose primary purpose is to prepare boys to make the most of their opportunities in college, the boys' schedule is already too full to permit them to spend hours each day in the machine shop or to engage in the manufacture of munitions. But there are boys wh o are preparing for engineer- ing colleges and who should not be without the opportunity to develop those interests which have led them to choose engineering as a profession. And there are others who may not be planning to be engineers but who would nevertheless prefer to spend their spare time in making things, or in learning to make things. It is for such boys that the Governor Dummer machine shop is intended. Although the Oundle School shop obviously could not be fitted into the schedule of an American preparatory school, Mr. Sanderson's experiment there definitely proved that me- chanically-minded boys who have an opportunity to exercise their talents not only develop them but also become more proficient in unrelated academic pursuits. The acquisition of the Noyes farm and buildings by gift and purchase in the summer of 1937, for the first time made possible the development of the shop pro- gram which the headmaster and trustees had in mind. As soon as the possibility was definitely established, the plan was placed before the student body. It was explained to the boys that the funds available must be reserved for the purchase of materials and that the boys themselves would have to supply most of the labor. The response was enthusiasticg nearly half the boys in school volunteered to assist. Thirty-five volunteers were accepted, and the work of remodelling the old cattle barn began. The first stage of the work consisted of removing the interior structures in order to secure unobstructed floor area. After the stanchions, pens, and concrete feed troughs had been removed, the floor was found to be in an unsafe condition. With used planks from demolished buildings in Newburyport, a sturdy and durable un- derflooring was constructed by the boys at a fraction of the cost of new flooring. La- ter. a hard pine top was laid over the planking, and additional supports were placed -f-- -1 . 9