Kent School - Kent Yearbook (Kent, CT)

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The term closed with more exams. and more amazing marks by Bob Vollicr. dean of the scholastic prestidigitators of the school. Little if tried to gain publicity by reviving the old gag CMM MOUSPI about throwing stuff into a suitcase and closing it. and cutting off whatever hung out. in the in- terests of appearance. No one paid the inventor any attention. and Little retired fiustered from the scene. The winter brought hockey to the third form with a vengeance. Three teams hit the ice, the first, and second form teams, composed of professi nials, and the W'allis Aggies, led by Mad Tom Wallis. president of the form. No one knows what happened to the first and second teams, but Tom's flashing six. playing a game that resembled golf more than hockey, went through an undefeated season. With the spring term of third form year came athletics, and in that field of extra- curricular aetivity we were only fair. Jerry Howe. he of the Neapolitan mane, made the first baseball team. The third form was represented in the annual crew regatta by two organizations which may have looked smooth elsewhere, but resembled an aggre- gation of hiccuping playboys on the river. We retired for the summer with good grace, to whistle over the German progress in France, and at girls as a matter of policy, we being on the verge of manhood. W'hen we came back for fourth form year, certain definite trends began to show themselves. W'e were quartered in the new library building, which we all considered great, under the guidance of Bassett, Brewster, Tapscott. Burnham, Klaus and fross. We had with us numerous Englishmen, including the honorable Vere Harmsworth, who was an English peer, and suffered therefor, and also Michael John deltougemout Richardson, who roomed with Symington, a cast-oft' from the class of 194-2 who had spent some time in St. Louis, trying to grow a normal head of hair. ln Fall Term of that year, the full genius of Janboy Harvey flowered into evil luxuriance. Every type of gambling game known to man fiourished in John's shaded little den on the first floor. Birdskin Caldwell, an enthusiastic roommate, was pressed into service as an assistant dealer. Even the great Hank Elser of the fifth form came down and played with us. At the center of the mad whirl sat Harvey, a green eyeshade over his face, his impas- sive tone sounding flatly over the room: Place yore bets, gentsf' However, Jan's roulette wheel and croupier's rake were confiscated by the authorities, and we stuck to poker, craps, and a game played by guessing numbers on a painted shirt cardboard. This game evidently did not have the odds fixed right, as Jan lost a goodly sum before revising MONKEY M AC them, whereupon we would no longer play with him. That fall the first football team was wearing

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river. The term ended with a re-incarnation of the Boyd Personal Attention Express Service, completely staffed by Scudder Boyd, who would carry any and all trunks on his back coolie fashion. On the last morning, an angelic third BUCK IESSF Bw' form, glorying in its new appellation, faced a similarly joyful sixth form, and repeated its litany. It was whispered that Luther had been seen with a halo around his head, but this was dismissed as being so improbable as to be impossible. At last, we were free. After a long period of utter laziness, during which the Germans started a war in Poland, we returned to Kent in the fall of 1939. We were a supercilious group on the train, and snubbed several incoming members of our own form, under the mis- taken impression that they were lowly second formers. Uur ranks had been swelled by twenty-five new members, and we were all quartered in the North Dorm, a building which we always maintained had at least the advantage of being fireproof. Our belief was put to the test shortly after at 4:30 ac emma, at which time the attic started smouldering and desperate cries of More Water rang up and down the halls. Before this, however, we made shift to acquaint ourselves with our new classmates. A wel- coming delegation, led by Bergamini, went in and attacked the newcomers with water bombs and insults. The peons of the lower hall replied in kind, and soon thereafter was fought the battle of Bergamini, which resulted in an investigation in Job As- sembly, in the course of which Dick Little was asked what he was throwing water with. With my mouth, sir, replied our Dick. and he brought down the house. The boys had a good audience, for the next man up, Windy Wierum, said the same thing, with the same result. During this fall term we gradually made friends with the newcomers, including Professor Stevens, who preferred Cartography to study, Fish Warren, who was rumored to be not yet in his teens, Lew Baldwin, Bob Derr and ltaving Dave Peake. Deeck the Greeck Jones also was the object of much attention at this time, and did not get along very well, as he was so small that he was thought an off- shoot of the town. The process of amelioration continued on the field of play. and we were enthusiastic juniors that year. After the Uhoate game, we retired into our end of term shell, to come out only for terrible water-fights and rough-houses. Brune Levering and newcomer Jack Deas evolved an interesting routine at the time, which went tdialogue only! roughly as follows: Deals, you a niggahf' Who say I'm a niggahf' I say you a niggahu and the fight was on. These exchanges sometimes occurred two or BIRD Ines .I1'xG1.1-1 .Im three times a day. depending on Brune's ability to recover after each encounter with the athletic Deas.

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f' when they came out on Alumni Field for the first game. They put up a great fight against the f blue and white jerseys, and two-tone grey pants 1 Union freshmen, and only lost because of a heart- breaking last-minute play in which Johnny Ash- b , v, f' vi rf J fb -ZEVE mun caught a pass and was declared out of the end zone. The rest of the season was successful, including revenge on Taft, and a tie with f'hoate. W'e had waited so long for a win in this game that we would have pulled a Doctor Faustus for the victory, f'.O.D. and no questions asked. That was the last game the school ever played with fhoate, and yet it was a merry group that piled into the busses and prepared for the annual Grit thar fustest with the mostestu on the stores lining the route to Kent. Graham W'aldo, who was later to kill the grass outside of his window with tobacco juice, and horrify Bill the Barber by swiping his cigarettes half-smoked, did himself proud on this occasion with three black Porto Rican cigars. He tired of these however, and smoked Salada tea the rest of the way back. Athletically, we had Jerry Howe, Tom W'allis, and Raving Dave Peake on Tote W'alker's undefeated second team. The lull after the football season was spent chopping wood, and playing poker with Richardson. who claimed he had never seen the game played before, but made enough to buy all his Vhristmas presents on the train trip to New York. Vollier was still crowding on the steam in the exams, and we were content to let our marks andhis average passing. Snow was lying deep in the valley, and Begin the Beguinen was being played in the Bell Tower, as the School filed across the bridge for Christmas vacation. The battle of Britain had been fought and won over the skies of England. General W'inter looked down from Algo on Laurie Hooper and Ted Bridgeman. playing on the first wrestling and basketball teams respectively. Laurie was soon dubbed the Super Hooperman after cracking every rib in sight. It was he who started the custom of carrying Kent's opponents back to the locker room when they couldn't walk. Ted Bridgeman looked. talked. and smelled of basketball all winter. He and Laurie were the form heroes for some time. Not to be outdone, President W'allis rallied his forces for the famous W'allis Aggies, which by now were synonymous with Murder Incorporated. Wallis and his pals. Vonnolly, Little. and liergamini, had evolved a new system of body-checking through the boards instead of over them. Another undefeated season was the result. There were exams at the end of the term. contrary to expectation, and the sur- prised brothers were forced to strive their utmost to pass. This term also saw Fido l'helan's term C iuaasrn Swat' essay effort. which involved getting up at ll :30 at night and working straight through until breakfast. Richardson was chortling happily WEEK s REX IEW