Spring 2010 Commemorative edition Fall 2009

Transcription

SPRING 2010
Commemorative Edition in Honor of Our 140th Year
1
THE
OFFICIAL
MAGAZINE
OF
MANLIUS
PEBBLE
HILL
SCHOOL
M
ANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL has been
named the recipient of a $2 million endowment
grant from the Colorado-based Malone Family
Foundation. The grant will be used exclusively to provide
scholarships to top students with financial need.
MPH is the first and only school in New York State
ever to receive a grant from the Malone Family
Foundation, whose mission is to improve access to quality
education for “gifted students who lack the financial
resources to best develop their talents.”
Manlius
Pebble Hill
Awarded
$2 Million
Endowment
Grant!
Through its national Malone Scholars Program, the
foundation annually awards endowment grants to no
more than three independent schools in the country. The
recipients, according to the foundation, “are selected on
the basis of their academic caliber; the quality of their
staff; excellent accommodations for gifted and talented
students; strong AP and enrichment programs; attention
to the individual student’s needs, interests, and talents;
financial strength and stability; a commitment to financial
aid; and an economically, culturally, ethnically, and
socially diverse population.”
MPH will award its first Malone scholarship next fall!
The number of scholarships will grow in succeeding years
and will be distributed among students in grades seven
through 12. The scholarships will fund tuition and schoolrelated expenses (e.g., book fees and computers) for
highly capable students in the top five percent of their
class with demonstrated financial need. The Malone
scholarships will continue throughout the students’
enrollment at MPH.
Head of School Baxter Ball said, “We are very pleased
that our academic excellence has received this national
recognition, but even more pleased that, with this grant,
we now will be able to bring even greater numbers of
motivated and talented students into our school.”
More than 40 percent of MPH students are currently
receiving financial assistance through tuition grants and
the Crosby merit scholarship program.
“Although we are already providing more than
$700,000 in merit scholarships for the next academic year
and over $1 million in need-based tuition grants, many
more exceptional students with limited financial resources
are unable to attend MPH,” Mr. Ball said. “With the
addition of the Malone scholarship funds, a growing
number of them will be able to benefit from an MPH
education.”
Editor
LETTERS TO THE
Dear Mr. Ball:
As a Manlius “Old Boy,” I appreciate your
commentary in the Final Word article in the
recent MPH Reflections. Having many years’
experience as the head of two private
schools, I am in complete agreement with
your remarks about the importance and
pleasure of the printed word.
Years ago, I visited Cushing Academy when
my Citadel friend, Dr. Joseph Curry, was
headmaster. Joe was a forward thinking,
distinguished head of school, and the
library he created in the side of a hill was
most impressive and infinitely inviting…it
would be interesting to know how he
regards this move at Cushing.
Table of Contents
From the Board President
4
MPH – 140 Years Strong
5
Our School’s Proud Heritage
10
Now and Then – Snapshots of Our School through the Years
19
Building Memories
22
Student Life & School Traditions
35
Coaches and Athletics Memories
53
Faculty-Academic Memories
66
Military Memories
85
A History of Goodyear-Burlingame School
93
Commencement 2010 Speaker
95
Alumni Scrapbook
96
The Final Word
Reflections is published twice a year for the alumni and friends of
Manlius Pebble Hill School, 5300 Jamesville Road, DeWitt, NY 13214,
Phone: 315/446-2452, Fax: 315/446-7359, E-mail: [email protected],
Web: www.mph.net.
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Baxter F. Ball
Best wishes and thank you for your
leadership of MPH.
Sincerely,
Harrison Kimbrell ’51A
Dear Mr. Ball:
I enjoyed your thoughts on the role and
future of books in this so called “Digital
Age.” (The Final Word, MPH Reflections,
Fall 2009). I agree with you 100%. F.Y.I.
here’s a related article I hope you enjoy
(attached to original letter). In the second
paragraph I mention Latin IV but what I
didn’t say was that it was in a classroom at
MPH nearly 40 years ago (1970) and Mr.
James Lawrence was my teacher. Hope you
enjoy it!
Regards,
Pete Mires ’71
106
EDITORS
Maureen Anderson,
director of alumni relations
Nancy Gallery,
advancement associate
Susan Gullo,
director of communications
Susan Leahey,
director of annual giving
Tina Morgan,
director of development
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
George S. Urist, president
Peter G. Manolakos, president emeritus
Paul C. Sack, vice president
Josh Wells ’89, vice president
Jennifer L. Hicks, treasurer
Janis Hampton, secretary
Baxter F. Ball, head of school
Frederick B. Benedict ’58A
James F. Bright
Peter D. Carmen
Jayne R. Charlamb ’87
Nancy L. Dock
William A. Futera
Gary Grossman
M. Gail Hamner
Gloria Hooper-Rasberry
Daniel S. Jonas
Mary Lerner
Melissa Montgomery
Gary R. Slutzky
Jamie Sutphen
Russell Andrews ’64, alumni association
representative
Jennifer L. Reece-Barnes, parents’
association representative
THE ALUMNI
ASSOCIATION BOARD
Josh Wells ’89, president
Russ Andrews ’64, president emeritus
Bob Theis ’67B, vice president
Marna (Suarez) Redding ’96, secretary
Jim Amodio ’65
Rolly Anderson ’66B
Steve Burchesky ’66C
Al Cicci ’60C
Doug Craig ’89
Tom Denton ’65
Stuart Grossman ’56
Dan Klemperer ’02
Bryan Manolakos ’97
Claire Myers-Usiatynski ’72
Tom Potter ’67B
Nat Reidel ’65
Sondra Roberts ’91
Eric Spevak ’77
David Temes ’97
Wendy (Harwood) Van Der Bogart ’74
Hilary Yeager ’95
MPH REFLECTIONS 2010
3
From the President
of the Board of Trustees
W
HEN REFERRING TO MANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL, the Rev. Suzi Bahner Hariff,
daughter of a former Manlius School teacher, uses the metaphor of a “tapestry.” It is an apt
description. Throughout its 140-year evolution, MPH has held tight to all that was best in St. John’s School, The Manlius
School, Goodyear Burlingame, and Pebble Hill School, weaving their ideals and standards into the fabric of today’s MPH,
which honors and celebrates the rich traditions and memories of those earlier schools.
Honoring the heritage of Manlius Pebble Hill is important. Today’s students should know about those who came before them;
and those who came before need an anchor. Without MPH, there would be no place for the “Old Boys” to come back to or
for Pebble Hill and MPH students to reminisce together. So many alumni have told us it is comforting to know that memories
and names will live on for friends, family, and current and future students.
The generosity of those who continue to feel connected to MPH has spurred the growth of both our campus and our
endowment. Those donors recognize that, even as we pay tribute to our past, what we do here now is so important and
valuable that the School must be sustained for generations to come. Tomorrow’s students, too, deserve the opportunity to
experience the “magic of MPH.”
George Urist
President
Board of Trustees
Celebrating 140 Years
A
LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS AGO, I sent an e-mail asking alumni for their suggestions for faculty
members to profile in upcoming Reflections issues. I was pleasantly surprised when hundreds of
alumni responded. Clearly alumni had passion for the men and women who molded their education.
I wondered, “How can we capture and share that passion?”
Then, an idea began to form…what if we honored MPH’s 140th year, by providing a forum for alumni to share their school
memories? These are stories that deserve to be told and remembered.
With our Head of School’s support and the Alumni Office fully behind the effort, we began asking alumni, faculty, and former
faculty for their favorite “Manlius,” “Pebble Hill,” or “Manlius Pebble Hill” memories. And the memories came flooding into
our office. Some are hilarious, others more poignant, but all convey a sense of who we were and who we are. It is our hope
that by combining these memories with historical facts and current information about our school, we can give readers a
snapshot of our 2010 MPH community.
On a personal note, I have truly enjoyed the countless conversations and e-mails that these memories have triggered. Thank
you for sharing your stories with MPH. I look forward to continuing the dialog.
Happy reading!
Tina Morgan
Director of Development
4
m a n l i u s
P e b b l e
H i l l
140 Years Strong
Certainly much has changed in the
140 years of our School’s history.
Clothing styles, lingo, haircuts,
even the number of states in our
union have changed dramatically.
Who We Are
HI STORY AND
SO CIAL STUDIES
Despite these changes, however,
many things remain the same. Still
true to the ideals of our founders,
MPH endeavors to provide students
with the tools they need to succeed
and to make a difference in the
world we share.
The following are snapshots of our
academic departments in the year
2010. While the accoutrements
may differ from your school days,
the thread of academic excellence
remains strong and unbroken.
Whether you are a graduate of the
1930s or an alumnus/a of the new
millennium, you will recognize in
today’s School the same spirit that
permeated your own education.
After you read about MPH now,
take a look back with us and
remember times gone by, reflect on
what has changed, and discover
what has remained the same. In
the words of the great William
Shakespeare, “What’s past is
prologue.”
We hope you enjoy this
commemorative issue of Reflections
as much as we enjoyed putting it
together. Here’s to the next 140
years!
The Editors
How does a history teacher engage
youth who seem obsessed by the
“here and now” and make them care
about events that happened long
before they were born? At MPH, one
teacher placed the American flag
across the classroom entrance on the
first day of his constitutional law
class, challenging students to make a
decision: step on the flag or jump
over it. The discussion that followed
about the choice each student made
set the stage for a semester-long
dialogue on the power of symbols.
Another instructor regularly challenges his students to define the term
“modernity” and to present an argument as to when the “modern world”
began. This discussion unwinds over
the course of the entire year.
Beyond these deceptively simple yet
powerful approaches, the History and
Societal Studies Department addresses
major topic areas, stressing the
importance of social, ethnic, and
cultural variety throughout history.
The department is devoted to
analyzing how humankind has
structured its societies over time,
thereby giving students the chance to
understand humans and the world
they have created. The curriculum
encourages open-minded and creative
thinking and helps students develop a
sense of respect and understanding
for a variety of views, values, and
traditions, while simultaneously
giving students the tools to articulate
and defend their beliefs.
The department accomplishes this
broad agenda by employing a range of
learning approaches to help students
assimilate information effectively and
to critically appraise diverse ideas
from the sweep of human history.
Combining tried and true practices
with new experiences, the department
continually refreshes its approach to
curriculum. The faculty always looks
for new and exciting ways to “spice
up” the curriculum. New courses
appear frequently, reflecting the
intellectual flexibility of the faculty, as
well as its deep commitment to
challenging inquiring young minds.
In addition to purely academic
approaches, our exchange program
with the Soroe Academy in Denmark
offers our students the opportunity to
experience firsthand the family and
school life of their counterparts in an
independent school in Europe.
Finally, our History Club affords
motivated students the chance to
deepen their knowledge of select
fields by tapping into the wealth of
faculty expertise, as well as the
chance to publish their own work in a
nationally recognized journal, The
Concord Review.
M ATHEM ATICS
Over the past eight years, 50 percent
of our Seniors (on average) have
successfully completed AP Calculus
before graduating from MPH. At
MPH, math classes are multi-age,
allowing every student to complete
the required three-year sequence of
5
college preparatory mathematics
while providing the flexibility for
gifted students to progress at a different pace. (Over 80 percent of our
students complete five years of math
study.) Whenever possible, we utilize
a five-point approach to presenting
material: numerically, algebraically,
graphically, verbally (descriptively)
and concretely (through an activity or
with a picture).
Most students also pursue a variety of
elective courses, including those in
advanced mathematics (such as
Calculus III, AP Calculus and AP
Statistics) and/or independent studies
with faculty members. Our precalculus curriculum is associated with
Dr. Helen Doerr at Syracuse University, whose program/research MPH
helped pilot a number of years ago.
Teachers blend the best of traditional
pedagogy with proven contemporary
teaching practices, including frequent
collaborative projects and open-ended
investigative activities. Faculty members encourage students to take
intellectual risks by raising questions
and formulating conjectures using
mathematical argument. Interactive
computer software, graphing calculators, and the Calculator-Based Lab
(CBL) are used in courses when
appropriate. As part of the School’s
“Writing for Life” initiative, students
are required in their math courses to
express mathematical concepts in
clear, coherent prose.
MPH students actually enjoy participating in math and many choose to
spend their free time testing and
sharpening the math skills they have
acquired. Our Math League team is a
popular extracurricular activity and
consistently places first among
similarly sized schools in Onondaga
County. Last year, more than 80
students signed up to take the Upper
School American Competition Exam
(AMC), even though it was not
required and had no bearing on their
class grade.
6
ENGLISH
“To have a sense of creative
activity is the greatest happiness
of being alive.”
MATTHEW ARNOLD
The MPH English Department recognizes the creative tension generated
by the pull of the utile against that of
the gratuitously beautiful; it is as
necessary to have literate engineers as
it is literary geniuses. We seek to
balance these two energies, inculcating basic literacy while wistfully
agreeing with Vico that “ …in the
world’s childhood, men were by
nature sublime poets.” To that end,
the standard survey courses are
enhanced by AP and elective offerings, access to which any Upper
School student may be granted upon
receiving permission from the
teacher. These courses explore a
culturally diverse range of fiction,
non-fiction, and poetry, as well as art,
film, and music. To give some idea of
the range of these offerings, recent
students may have read and discussed
works by authors as diverse as
Nelson Mandela, Milan Kundera,
Stuart Dybek, and Karl Marx; discussed the uses of cinematography in
Psycho and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari;
examined the role of gender in 20th
century literature; and written
original scripts in a playwriting
course. Our students assume increasing responsibility for their learning as
they make choices, design projects,
work collaboratively, evaluate their
work, and reflect on the connections
between classroom experiences and
their own lives. We believe that precision of expression leads to
complexity of thought, which in turn
leads to empathy and engagement. To
learn to express a thought efficiently
is to gain access to ones better nature,
and empowers one to move
confidently and compassionately in
the greater community.
MPH’s student literacy magazine, The
Windmill, is an example of the
English’s department philosophy in
action. It kindles passions for poetry
and prose through the medium of
community participation and interaction. The Windmill has received
national recognition, including
Columbia University’s Gold Award
for best literary magazine, First Place
in the National Scholastic Press
Association Competition, and numerous awards from The Empire State
Student Press Association. In 2006
and 2007, The Windmill was named
best over-all literary magazines for
New York State schools with
enrollments of fewer than 1,000
students.
The English Department also supports the School’s newspaper, The
Rolling Stone, which is published four
times a year. In years past, The Rolling
Stone has garnered its fair share of
praise and notoriety, the milestones of
any publication that matters to its
readers. Additionally the School’s
yearbook, eMPHasis, is produced
entirely by the students in a journalism course designed to support all
student publications.
To foster a powerful involvement
with the world of literature and
writing, department members provide
additional learning opportunities
through interdisciplinary programming, summer reading projects, trips
to theater performance and lectures
by authors of national and international stature, (such as George
Saunders, Tobias Wolff, Michael Herr,
and Mary Karr) and student-directed
writing workshops, poetry readings,
and literary cafes. The teachers
themselves have published their own
work in nearly every genre, and serve
as passionate advocates for the life of
the mind as both a solitary and public
activity.
It is the English Department’s goal
that by the end of their time with us,
every student will have taken to heart
Emerson’s dictum that “No man ever
forgot the visitation of that power to
his heart and brain, which created all
things new; which was the dawn in
him of music, poetry, and art.”
SCIENCE
Bright kids frequently set the bar
higher than the teacher and push
themselves into personal risk areas if
they sense an air of respect and trust.
As a result, the faculty at MPH is
committed to providing an atmosphere in which new experiments and
experiences are revered and encouraged and the risk of failure is
understood to be a necessary cost of
success.
The Science Department believes that,
in order to be informed members of
the global community, students must
achieve a “scientific literacy” that will
enable them to weigh disparate ideas,
facts, and points of view in order to
make ethical decisions. The department firmly believes in the value of
hands-on and inquiry-driven teaching
that allows students to experience
science firsthand.
Science is presented as an open-ended
process that leads to an understanding
of theories and laws about the natural
world. Opportunities are available for
students to work both individually
and as part of a team to develop the
skills to test questions using the scientific process. This process involves
researching a question, designing and
carrying out an experiment, solving
problems, analyzing data, drawing
conclusions, and communicating
findings.
A perennial favorite among our Upper
School science electives is the forensic
science class, which epitomizes handson, community-based learning. The
ultimate measure of students’ success
in the class is their team’s ability to
solve a “crime” staged in the lab.
Students are first taught crime-solving
skills [how to take fingerprints,
develop latent prints, type (simulated)
blood, gather footprints, assess bite
marks, and conduct glass analysis,
lipstick chromatography, and additional forensic analyses]. Then, students
must actually use these newly acquired skills to successfully solve the
crime.
For the past five years, about 60 MPH
faculty and staff members have each
year volunteered to act as suspects in
the crime. The students delight in
asking their AP Language teacher for
a (simulated) blood sample, the
librarian for a shoe print, the calculus
teacher for a hair sample. Teachers
willingly step out of their usual roles
to expand students’ learning experience. Legal and civics lessons
frequently become a part of that
experience – teachers have unexpectedly demanded search warrants,
refused to hand over evidence, insisted their lawyers be present, or
demanded to hear their Miranda
rights.
Students also present case studies of
high profile crime cases rich with
sometimes exemplary and sometimes
weak examples of forensic science.
With attention paid to both the real
and the simulated, students report an
air of excitement in the class, while
they realize that real-world forensics
involves dealing with people who are
managing the difficult moments of
personal loss.
Science students also drive campuswide environmental programs in
recycling and composting and have
brought about changes such as the
School’s decision to discontinue the
use of paper cups and to use only
recyclable paper napkins. This year,
students are working with the
School’s administration on a plan to
use stainless steel containers in lieu of
plastic beverage containers. Student
interest in green initiatives has also
led to the seating of Upper School
student representatives on the
governing board’s Green Committee,
where they can discuss with trustees,
administrators, and parents their ideas
to make the School more environmentally responsible. This dialogue
has led to the School’s $250,000 grant
application to the New York State
Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) for installation
of solar energy panels.
WORLD L ANGUAGES
At MPH, we believe that fluency in a
foreign language is the gateway to a
truly international life. We value the
study of languages not only for the
immediate practical benefits, but also
because the study of a foreign
language enables students to learn
about others culture and thereby
understand their own more clearly.
MPH offers instruction in classical
languages (Greek and Latin) and
modern languages (Spanish, French,
and Mandarin Chinese).
In classical studies, students focus on
the reading and writing of Greek and
Latin in order to gain an understanding of the linguistic and cultural
heritage derived from these languages.
Our students’ study of the modern
languages begins in Pre-kindergarten
in a concentrated effort to promote
accent-free speaking ability by the
time a student reaches the Upper
School. Students often pursue their
language of choice through the AP
level; many also take advantage of our
international travel and cultural
immersion programs. A recent trip to
China allowed our students to showcase their Mandarin fluency in venues
such as Tiananmen Square, the Ming
Tombs, and the Summer Palace. This
year, students have the opportunity to
travel to Poland with two teachers
who are fluent in the Polish language.
Small classes are the key to MPH’s
excellence in language instruction.
Students are immersed in the cultural
products of the country whose
language they are studying. They may
prepare a Spanish meal, read a French
magazine, or watch a Chinese film.
Because the study of a world language
entails a progressive acquisition of
linguistic skills, our program is
intentional in its vertical articulation.
Students progress, over their time
here, from beginners to truly fluent
speakers and connoisseurs of the
culture, and many choose to master
more than one language.
PERFORMING ARTS
The home of our Performing Arts
Department is the Coville Theater, an
intimate black-box auditorium. Each
year, more than 30 performing groups
and events grace the Coville stage. It
is a magnet for MPH students, not
only for the aspiring Broadway star (a
recent graduate is currently starring
in the role of Elphaba in the North
American Touring production of
Wicked), but also for the quiet scholar
7
who feels comfortable enough in her
surroundings to take a chance.
Students’ passion and talent is shaped
through classes and activities that
range from string quartets and jazz
ensembles to concert chorale and fullscale Broadway-style musical
productions. MPH also has a strong
dance program, offering one of only
two full-credit, high-school dance
programs in the Central New York
area.
MPH firmly believes that valuable
educational opportunities exist outside
the classroom, and our Performing
Arts Department provides students
with a variety of off-campus
performance opportunities. One such
example is our arrangement with
RedHouse, an arts and cultural center
located in downtown Syracuse.
Through this collaboration, student
performances are presented free of
charge to a community audience. This
year, MPH students will present four
dance, theatrical, and musical
productions at the RedHouse venue.
The beauty of the performing arts
program at MPH is this: when
presented with a talented student,
from whatever walk of life, MPH has
the faculty, the resources, and the
passionate commitment to allow that
student to fully inhabit his or her own
talent. Last year, we told the stories of
Nick Frenay and Noah Kellman, both
members of our Class of 2009, and
how their experience in the MPH
Performing Arts Department cultivated their talents.
For example, Nick Frenay, a 2009
graduate, was a third grader when he
took his first trumpet lesson from the
8
Lower School band instructor, himself
a world-class jazz musician. The
student went on to participate in the
Lower and Middle School bands.
Under the tutelage of the MPH jazz
department and inspired by the
School’s award-winning 315 All Stars
band, he continued to progress in his
abilities as both a musician and
composer and eventually found
himself performing on stage at the
GRAMMY awards. Nick and MPH
classmate Noah Kellman were
selected as two of fewer than three
dozen students in the nation to play
with the prestigious GRAMMY
ensembles. This story came full circle
last year when Nick and Noah
developed a Senior Thesis Project that
involved mentoring Lower School
musicians through a series of
workshops and performances.
Upon graduating last year from MPH,
Nick and Noah joined the highly
competitive Brubeck Fellowship
Program at the University of the
Pacific in California. Their stories
continue to inspire current MPH
musicians, and our Performing Arts
Department is busy cultivating
current talent. This year, two talented
seniors, Abner Bogan and Philippe
Lewalle, are continuing the MPH
tradition of giving back to their
community by mentoring Lower and
Middle School musicians while
discovering where their own musical
talents will take them.
Nick, Noah, Abner, and Philippe are
exceptional, but not unusual. The
School is full of young artists finding
inspiration and resources right on
campus. Our hope is simply that, if an
artistically gifted young person shows
up on our doorstep – talented, but not
yet focused; energetic, but not yet
directed – we can provide that student
with a sort of “one-stop shop” as he or
she explores that talent.
The strength of the MPH performing
arts program is evidenced by the
extent to which its students excel in
outside theater, dance, and musical
organizations. Most numerous among
them are musical organizations, which
include the New York State School
Music Association (NYSSMA) the
Onondaga County Music Educators
Association (OCMEA), All-County,
Area All-State, Conference All-State,
Syracuse Children’s Chorus, Syracuse
Symphony Youth Orchestra, and
Syracuse Stage and Syracuse Opera.
We are very proud that nearly 90
percent of Upper School students are
performing artists. These actors,
musicians, dancers, and singers are
the creative heart of MPH.
FINE ARTS
In the main lobby of Manlius Pebble
Hill School, you will find the
Solomon Family Art Gallery, which
showcases the considerable talents of
our student artists. At MPH, art and
creative expression is revered and
not limited to formal instruction
time. Our art program is about more
than developing and sharing a skill;
it is about creating an atmosphere of
openness and exploration.
Students are invited to create
original works in a variety of media
and to become literate, lifelong
aestheticians. The incorporation of
art history in classes, visiting artists,
and visits to museums and artist
workshops help to develop each
student’s perspective on the arts.
Emphasis is always placed on
respectful nurturing of individual
creativity. The medium of choice
ranges from traditional art materials
to photography, film, and computergenerated art. Routinely, nearly 10
percent of the most talented students
in each MPH graduating class
continue a formal study of art at the
nation’s leading art institutions.
Recent graduates have attended such
notable schools as The Art Institute
of Chicago, Maryland Institute
College of Art, Pratt Institute, and
Rhode Island School of Design.
MPH students vary widely in the
intensity with which they pursue the
fine arts, from those who are
experimenting and stretching
themselves to learn new ways of
self-expression to those who have
committed themselves to the life of
the artist. The fine arts program is
flexible enough in breadth and depth
that all these students can have the
art program they need, whether it is
one that permits sampling from the
array of course offerings or one that
is focused on sophisticated portfolio
development and college-level critique.
SENIOR T HESIS PROJE CT
Seniors at Manlius Pebble Hill are expected to
complete a Senior Thesis Project (STP) as part
of their final year. The STP is intended to
help students become change-agents within
their community, taking on projects that have
deep personal meaning and have a lasting
impact on the community.
Creating an official Senior Thesis Project is a
multi-step process. The first step is to complete and submit an STP Proposal. From
there, students convene an STP Committee
that includes two mentors, one from MPH
and one from the larger community, to
review the proposal. These mentors offer
feedback based on the merit, scope, and
sustainability of the project. Once the proposal is revised and approved by the STP
Committee, the student begins carrying out
action research, studying previous approaches, obstacles and perspectives that convey the
complexity surrounding their chosen issue.
The Senior Thesis Project concludes with a
Culminating Event that is a public sharing of
the student’s work and accomplishments
toward this worthy cause. Culminating events
can be performances, presentations, or public
events but must convey the action taken in
addressing a given issue or cause. The goal of
the Senior Thesis Project is to give seniors an
opportunity to complete an exciting challenge
as a culmination of their high school experience. Seniors who elect not to participate in
the STP process are expected to attend classes
and sit for final exams alongside Juniors and
underclassmen.
Interview
with the
Head of School
B
AXTER BALL, current head of school, began his tenure at
MPH in the fall of 1990. He was interviewed during his first
year for the 1991 spring newsletter. Here is an excerpt from that
article:
Do you have any plans for involving alumni in the School?
I’d like to see a strong alumni association, with class agents and secretaries
and a regularly-published alumni newsletter. I’ve made a commitment to
establishing an alumni headquarters by creating an Alumni Center, which
we expect to open in the fall of 1992. The Alumni Center is a charming
house, next to the administrative building on the MPH campus. It will
serve as a focal point for alumni activities.
POS T-G RA DUAT E YE A R
I am also looking forward to greeting alumni and Old Boys at the
Clambake in June. I’m anxious to talk to many Old Boys around the
country, and I want to meet as many alumni as possible. Alumni are
important to me – and to MPH.
(reprinted from the
2010 Parent/Student Handbook)
Living up to his promises…
A post-graduate year is available for students
who have completed Senior year, whether at
MPH or at another school, but who wish to
experience the rich learning environment at
MPH for an additional year before college.
The extensive selection of Advanced Placement courses allows students to enhance the
skills and knowledge needed to succeed in
college. In some cases, students may arrange
to take coursework at a nearby college or
university. Five-day or seven-day boarding
with MPH families, faculty or administrators
can be arranged for students living outside
the immediate area.
Mr. Ball has certainly lived up to his alumni promises!
■ In 1995, The Kreitzberg Family Alumni Lodge was dedicated and
staffed with a director of alumni relations.
■ Since the mid-90s, Reflections magazine has been published twice
a year for our alumni.
■ Clambake Weekend numbers have grown from a mere handful to
over 400 in 2009!
9
Our School’s
PROUD
Heritage
HISTORY
OF
The
Manlius
School
The Manlius
School was
founded in
The Rt. Rev. Frederic
1869 by the
Dan Huntington, S.T.D.,
Rt. Rev.
L.H.D. Founder of St.
Frederic Dan
John’ School.
Huntington,
Bishop of the
Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Central
New York. On August 24th of that year
the Bishop and nine other prominent
citizens of Central New York, including
Judge George F. Comstock, met and
incorporated St. John’s School.
As a home for the new school, the
building of the Manlius Academy,
founded in 1835 in Manlius Village.
The Academy building was taken over
at an annual rental of one dollar a year
and a large residence nearby was
bought for additional dormitory space.
Although considered a diocesan
institution, there was no Church
ownership then or at any time since,
but the self-perpetuating Board of
Trustees was entirely composed of
Episcopalians.
The first class entered October 1, 1869,
with Bishop Huntington as President
of the Board and Locke Richardson,
A.M., a noted Shakespearian scholar, in
active charge as Headmaster.
Headmasters were changed frequently
during the first few years, but Bishop
Huntington retained his presidency
until his death in 1904.
In January 1871, the new building on
the site of the present Comstock Hall
10
was occupied. Constructed of brick, this
was in its day a modern and suitable
building for a civilian boarding school
for sixty pupils. It was steam heated
and then or later there was gas illumination. An electric light plant was
installed eighteen years later.
By 1880, attendance had dwindled and
there came insolvency. In 1881, there
was a new corporation, as “St. John’s
Military School.”
A three-story wing was added to the
main building, the first story being
devoted to lavatories. The second story
was an assembly room for formations all formations were indoors until 1902
- and a well-appointed and attractive
chapel occupied the third floor. A
splendid gymnasium that served also as
a drill hall was built on the site later
the Trustees again found themselves in
1887 with rapidly dwindling attendance and meager funds.
Discouraged by two failures, they
looked about them for an individual
who would take over the complete
responsibility, including the financial
risk, and they called William Verbeck, at
the time co-principal of a military
academy in Aurora, NY, on Cayuga
Lake. Legality of the step was assured by
granting him a lease not only of the
tangible property but also of all the
academic and other rights, he assuming
all financial risks, including an existing
indebtedness, and being entitled to any
profit he could make in lieu of a salary.
After a series of setbacks, including
depressions and fires, from each of
which it emerged better than before, he
“First and last, Manlius is an educational
institution. Its mission is not to train
soldiers, but to develop good and useful
citizens.”
R. W. Barker, Major General US Army (Ret.)
Manlius Superintendent 1947-1960
Reprinted from The Manlius School Guidebook
occupied by the school kitchen and the
King Club.
The new head was the Rev. John W.
Craig, a clergyman with high Church
tendencies. Either because Mr. Craig
wrapped himself too narrowly in the
Church or because he was not a leader
and disciplinarian, or for both reasons,
was to leave the school at the time of
his death in a strong position, marred
as yet only slightly by the country’s
financial collapse of 1929.
Starting off with fewer than eighteen
returning students, of whom he
eventually had to expel ten for various
reasons, he filled the school to its
capacity of sixty before the end of the
first year and within five years he had
doubled that attendance, remodeling
Huntington Hall to provide additional
rooms. He had already changed the
cubicles of the four dormitories in the
main building into separate rooms for
two boys each, had provided a water
supply and had installed an electric
light plant. More improvements made
the place livable, but it was his
enthusiasm, energy, and ability to
inspire and manage boys that enabled
him to build up the school and bring it
to national prominence.
From History of The Manlius School
Harry C. Durston
Manlius Alma Mater
O Manlius, dear Manlius
Thy sons can ne’er forget;
That golden haze of student days
Is round about us yet.
The Phoenix flight to sunlit height
Uplifts each loyal heart.
The name we bear unites us there,
Where friends shall never part;
The name we bear unites us there,
Where friends shall never part.
‘Twas in those days we learned the ways
That manhood’s feet must find’
‘Twas here we knew the friendships true
Which time can ne’er unbind.
Whate’er life bring, caress or sting,
Those mem’ries still will guide.
Where’er we are, or near, or far,
Those friendships still will bide.
Where’er we are, or near, or far,
Those friendships still will bide.
HISTORY OF
Pebble Hill School
Pebble Hill School originated in 1927
when a group of Syracuse fathers
sought to establish a school outside the
city where their boys would receive the
benefits of an academic and physical
education to train their minds and
bodies for the future. GoodyearBurlingame was teaching their
daughters.
The School was to be structured after
the country day school concept, in
which students would have evenings
and weekends at home with their
family, not away at boarding school.
Meetings were held and the number of
interested parents increased. A
committee was appointed to find a
suitable rural location for this venture.
The site committee consisted of Alden
B. Sherry, Douglas Drummond, W.
Cornell Blanding, Elwyn C. Smith, and
Stewart Hemingway.
They would report to William A.
MacKenzie, the leader of the group and
the first Board President. In addition to
the site committee, members were Carl
Amos, Charles W. Andrews, Jerome D.
Barnum, Irving N. Bielre, Guy B.
Dickenson, Marshall H. Durston,
Alexander R. Grant, Franklin F. Moon,
Oscar F. Soule, Harold Edwards, James
R. Marsden.
The mothers who helped to sell the
idea were Mrs. C.S. Estabrook, Mrs.
W.B. Gere, Mrs. C.E. Hancock, Mary E.
Jenkins, Mrs. Stuart Raleigh, Mrs. H.E.
Stowell.
Early in 1927, the Committee reported
it had taken an option on a farm on
Jamesville Road in Orville (DeWitt).
This was part of the Conway estate. The
site was approved, title taken, and the
rebuilding started. Lane & Goes were
the contractors.
Mr. Robert Boyden was selected to be
Headmaster. A graduate of Harvard and
experienced as Headmaster of several
Country Day schools, Mr. Boyden
assisted with the planning of
classrooms, a gymnasium, tennis courts
and playing fields (formerly an
orchard).
The school was to be nonsectarian,
nonprofit and in the first year would
enroll boys ages 7-15. The fee for the
Lower School was $275 and the fee for
the Upper School was $400.
Teachers were hired mainly from New
England where the old type Latin
Schools and Country Day Schools
originated. They were hired because of
their academic background and ability
to coach sports. If they could not coach,
they taught music, art, public speaking
and manual training.
School opened September 20, 1927
with 49 boys and closed in June with
65 students. Classes started at 9 a.m.
and ended at 5:30 p.m. The day started
with a Salute to the Flag, a prayer,
reading from the Bible and daily
announcements.
Each boy participated in some form of
athletics every day after lunch, then
would shower and go back to study hall
and tutorial help, if needed.
There were two types of transportation parent car pools, many of them
chauffer driven, and the Trolley.
Students taking the Trolley were met
each morning at 8 a.m. at the Yates
Hotel by a faculty member. They rode
to Orville, changed to the Jamesville
car, were taken to the bottom of the hill
in back of the School, from which they
walked to classes.
In 1928, attendance increased as classes
were added to 100 and the School was
off to an excellent beginning. The first
graduating class was in 1931 and
included Edward Jonder, Benedict
Hobert, Camby Kerr, Franklin Moon,
and William Belden.
Mr. Boyden retired in 1932 to fully
devote his time to his summer camps.
Charles W. Bradlee, a New Englander,
was selected to replace him. Charles
Bradlee served Pebble Hill as headmaster until 1952, when John
Hodgdon assumed the headship for the
next decade. In 1963 Jim Draper
became the headmaster, his tenure
lasted until 1968. For the 1968 school
year, the board of trustees recruited
Richard Barter as headmaster of Pebble
Hill and, after the 1970 merger,
Manlius Pebble Hill.
Pebble Hill Alma Mater
Oh, Pebble Hill, to thee we pledge
Our efforts one and all
To work each day at books and play
Thine honor to extol;
Fortier, Fideliter,
Our motto e’re shall be.
With courage and with loyalty
To win high praise for thee.
11
HISTORY OF
Memories
from
Pebble Hill’s First Year
J
ohn Hancock ’31 was part of Pebble Hill’s first student body and
shared some of his recollections in the Spring 1995 Reflections.
Syracuse at the time had a private girls’ school – Goodyear-Burlingame – but
no non-sectarian boys’ school. A small group of parents of boys, believing that
such a school was needed, acquired the Pebble Hill farm and hired Robert
Boyden as founding headmaster.
Mr. Boyden assembled a small faculty and in September 1927 opened the doors
of the converted farmhouse to roughly 50 boys enrolled in grades 4-9. The
school added one grade a year thereafter, graduating the first class in 1931.
Manlius Pebble
Hill School
Manlius Pebble Hill School’s long
history in our community dates back
to 1869, when The Manlius School was
founded. In 1970, it merged with
Pebble Hill School to form Manlius
Pebble Hill School. Many of our
traditions, such as Winter Carnival, Red
& White Day, and the Handshaking
Ceremony, began at our predessor
Schools and continue today. Perhaps
the most important legacy from both
Schools is our tradition of academic
excellence. While The Manlius School
was recognized as one of the top
military academies in the country,
serving at one time as a feeder school
for West Point, Pebble Hill graduates
were going on to some of the best
colleges and universities in the country.
Most of us came to school at first by trolley, which ran from in front of the Eckel
Theater of Fayette Street to Jamesville. This was later abandoned in favor of car
pools, driven by mothers.
Each day of school began in the Farmhouse with assembly at which Mr. Boyden
played college songs on the piano with great gusto. After this, we dispersed to
classes, all of which were also in the Farmhouse. There were two study periods
daily, one after lunch and the other after athletics. Each Friday all grades were
posted on the bulletin board.
Since the circumstances called for instant tradition, Pebble Hill cheers and
songs soon made their appearance, most being adaptation of college songs (e.g.
substituting “Pebble Hill” for “Eli” regardless of metrical problems.)
There was a school paper called The Rolling Stone, which had an editorial
column called “Gathers No Moss,” and the school colors were green and white.
The motto “Fortiter, Fideliter” appeared in school jewelry and was also featured
in the alma mater.
The present theater building was our gym, with the lockers behind. We fielded
teams in baseball, football, and basketball, and later hockey (playing in the
State Fair Coliseum), competing with junior teams at Nichols, Allendale, Troy
CD, Utica CD, and Verbeck Hall teams from The Manlius School.
The football field, which had been a pasture, was a far cry from the level and
manicured field of today: it had an undulating surface and was full, not of
pebbles, of rocks. We all spent time picking up rocks before each day’s football
practice.
The library was meager; and such terms as “multimedia” and “Model U.N.”
would have been meaningless to us. But we did struggle through Caesar’s Gallic
Wars under patient tutelage, learned and then forgot algebra, wrote turgid
essays, and enjoyed weekends…just like the students today.
And I like to think that we first students at Pebble Hill, along with those
visionary parents and pioneering masters, helped lay the groundwork for the
School, which rolled over a long, bumpy road to the thriving MPH of today and
were ourselves well-served in the process.
12
The MPH school year begins with each student
welcomed by shaking hands with each teacher
and the entire administration. As a rite of
passage, members of the Senior Class join this
line after receiving their welcome handshake.
Today, with the support of over 3,000
alumni throughout the world, Manlius
Pebble Hill School benefits from giving
students a strong sense of history.
Plaques dedicated to alumni who gave
their lives in WWI, WWII, Korea and
Vietnam personalize these significant
events. Photographs of the undefeated
football teams from The Manlius
School encourage school pride in our
athletic tradition. “Headboy” plaques
lining the hallway of the McNeil Science
Center inspire top students to work
hard so their names will live on in the
school archives.
In a culture increasingly obsessed with
“today,” Manlius Pebble Hill, with
roots firmly planted in our community,
relies on the wisdom and strength of
the past to give its students the finest
education possible for the future.
the country’s enthusiasm for military
education. He placed emphasis on and
refined military training for boys
believing that “under such a system a
truly manly and independent nature is
cultivated.” Under his leadership, the
School thrived and was renamed The
Manlius School in 1924.
Our history lives on our walls, in our people, and
is imparted to our students.
The Making of
Manlius Pebble Hill:
Verbeck served The Manlius School
until his death in 1930. For the next 40
years, The Manlius School continued to
thrive and gained national acclaim as
one of the country’s premier educational institutions, both militarily and
academically.
on America’s perception of the military
and military schools. Although Manlius
seemed to be busting at the seams, as
evidenced by the necessity of building
Pixley Hall in 1967, it was in a precarious position. Much of the Manlius
infrastructure was in need of updating
and repairs, and operating costs had
increased dramatically with the oil
embargo in effect. Manlius treasurer, Al
Wertheimer ’55C remembers that the
heating costs had increased from around
$40,000 annually to over $300,000 in
just two years.
To meet the fixed operating costs,
A Tale of Two Schools
By Tina Morgan,
director of development
Reprinted from the Spring 2006 Reflections
H
ead of School Baxter Ball often
refers to Manlius Pebble Hill as
the “little school that could.” A casual
visitor to the campus might interpret
this to mean that the accomplishments
of the students, alumni, and faculty are
amazing despite the small physical
plant…and they are indeed. However,
when referring to MPH’s history,
perhaps a more apropos analogy would
be “the little school that almost wasn’t.”
A child of its two parent schools,
Manlius and Pebble Hill, MPH retains
qualities of each. Its history is one of
struggles and triumphs, and alumni can
be proud of the part they each played in
making MPH the success it is today.
The Manlius Heritage
“To rear men well-built and vital, full of
wisdom… full of energy… full of faith.”
With these words the Rev. Frederick Dan
Huntington founded St. John’s School
in 1869. St. John’s was a non-military,
all-boys school for the first ten years of
its existence. The military component
was added to St. John’s in 1879, but by
1887 dwindling enrollment left the
School on the verge of closing. To
survive, St. John’s needed to change.
The man responsible for turning around
St. John’s was Col. William Verbeck.
Assuming all financial responsibility for
the School, he was a man with a gift for
educating, managing, and inspiring
boys. Military schools were gaining in
popularity and Verbeck capitalized on
Not Alone in Battle
The conditions that led to the merger and subsequent demilitarization of
The Manlius School impacted hundreds of military schools nationwide.
During the heyday of military education, there were 116 military secondary
schools in the Northeastern United States. Today, only three remain.
For a listing of schools that had to choose between evolving and changing,
or closing their doors, go to www.cadetweb.net.
Manlius’ Position
at the time of the Merger
For all appearances, The Manlius School
of 1969 was in a great position. It was
graduating some of the finest students
in the nation, was recognized as a
Military Honor School, had recently built
a new dorm, and had just kicked off its
Centennial Campaign to raise money for
the endowment. A mere 12 months later,
however, The Manlius School merged
with Pebble Hill. More than one Old Boy
asked “What happened?”
Fiscally, Manlius was standing on thin
ice. The School relied on an enrollment
of 300 students to meet its operating
costs. Without an endowment, something the Board was trying to address
through the Centennial Campaign, even
a slight decline in enrollment meant the
School was operating in the red. Unfortunately timing was also not on
Manlius’ side as the country’s enthusiasm for military education was quickly
waning. Vietnam had a profound effect
Manlius was forced into further debt,
which they took on in good faith,
counting on an upswing in enrollment,
a promised bequest, and the success of
the Centennial Campaign. The fiscally
minded Board, however, started working
on an alternate option. It was during the
spring of 1969 that the Board first
approached Pebble Hill School about a
partnership. Even after Pebble Hill’s
initial rebuff, Manlius knew it needed to
change with the times. That spring, the
Board’s Executive Committee voted
unanimously to recommend that
Manlius be converted to a non-military
prep school.
Despite these precautionary measures,
Manlius remained confident that the
tide would turn. However, when only
285 cadets returned for the 1969 school
year, Manlius knew it would have to act
soon. Although the Board appealed to
parents, alumni, and faculty, and all
fought valiantly to boost enrollment,
solicit Centennial Campaign pledges,
and cut back on as many programs as
13
Robert M. Kallet ‘39B, 1970 Chairman
of the Manlius Board of Trustees,
Robert B. Simonton ’50, 1970 President of
the Pebble Hill Board of Trustees,
Dr. Richard Barter, 1970 Headmaster of
Pebble Hill, and Col. Hugh Irish,
1970 President of The Manlius School.
they could, Manlius was quickly
running out of time. By December of
1969 the banks were unwilling to lend
Manlius further funds and called on the
Board to form an action plan. Without
the banks willingness to lend further
money, Manlius would have to shut its
doors mid-year. As Manlius Board
Chairman Bob Kallet ’39B said in a
December 10, 1969 Board memo: “We
have been requested by our supporting
banks to present a realistic program for
the continued successful financial
operation of the School. Our deficits
continue, due largely to the failure of
15% of accepted candidates to register
for the fall term, and despite the
imposition of every possible economy
upon the School’s operation.” The talks
with Pebble Hill took on a new urgency
and with Pebble Hill’s renewed interest,
a formal proposal was planned for the
January 17 Board meeting.
Pebble Hill’s Story
Sharon King ‘71, Richard Clemow ‘71B,
O’Hara Humphries ‘71B, and Dorothy
Maffei ’70 collaborate on merger ideas.
Pebble Hill was founded with a mission
that mirrors that of Manlius. In 1926 a
group of Syracuse fathers decided to
establish a school where their “boys
could receive the benefits of an academic and physical education to train
their minds and bodies for the future.”
The current DeWitt campus was purchased and classes were held in the
Farmhouse until 1929, when a new
building was constructed to house
Upper School students. Twenty-three
years later, Pebble Hill began to accept
female students.
Throughout the next twenty years,
Pebble Hill had its own challenges and
champions. Like Manlius, it had a Board
of Trustees that was instrumental in
assuring its growth and success. Slowly
but steadily, Pebble Hill continued to
grow and by the late 1960s the School
was in desperate need of more space.
Pebble Hill at the
Time of the Merger
Sharon King ‘71 and
Richard Clemow ‘71B reflect
on the impending merger.
14
To the students of the 60s, Pebble Hill
was a thriving institution. In 1969, it
boasted an enrollment of 292 day
students, the highest in its history.
Financially, although Pebble Hill was
better off than Manlius in that it had a
low mortgage on the property and did
not carry many outstanding debts, it too
had been funding capital improvements
out of operating income. According to
Pebble Hill’s Board of Trustee President,
Bob Simonton ’50, during the summer
of 1969 Pebble Hill had arranged for
short-term borrowing to meet its
operating costs and had operated at a
slight deficit for the past few years. The
proposed merger was seen as a
collaboration that would potentially
decrease some overhead costs in administration, student aid, and faculty
salaries, while increasing campus
facilities. The Board viewed the other
option, expanding the DeWitt campus,
as too limiting. As stated in the School’s
January 22, 1970 press release, “further
expansion of Pebble Hill is possible, but
only at particular grade levels because of
the size and inflexibility of its present
plant.”
But increasing physical space and lowering the overhead costs were not the only
concerns for Pebble Hill. Although
enrollment was at an all time high,
there were still only approximately 100
Upper School students. A 1970 Pebble
Hill press release elaborates: “the
present size of the School does not
permit parallel programming of honors
and advanced courses.” A survey of
Pebble Hill students who left before
graduation, mostly to attend boarding
schools, further confirmed the need to
expand the student body. Survey results
showed that many students would not
have left Pebble Hill had the size of the
Upper School permitted greater scope
and depth of athletic, cultural, and
social activities. Even current students,
parents, and administrators recognized
the limitations that the small student
body had on Pebble Hill. The question
wasn’t if Pebble Hill should expand, but
rather, how Pebble Hill should expand.
It was at this time that Manlius
approached Pebble Hill with the idea of
collaboration.
The Rocky Years
Although there were the obvious downsides to a merger, the potential benefits
for each school were intriguing. Manlius
had the opportunity to disengage itself
from the military stigma, which they
had already planned to do before
approaching Pebble Hill, while having
an instant influx of students who would
accommodate for the attrition of
demilitarization. Pebble Hill saw the
merger as a solution to its space
concerns and felt that the addition of
the Manlius cadets would quickly
enhance their academic, athletic,
cultural, and social offerings.
On paper, the merger seemed like a
great idea but neither School foresaw all
the difficulties that would arise. Had the
merger gone as envisioned, both the
Manlius and the Pebble Hill campuses
would be preserved and alumni and
friends would continue to support their
alma maters. In reality, the newly
formed Manlius Pebble Hill faced
challenges and trials that no one
anticipated.
Once the merger was officially
announced in January of 1970, Manlius
and Pebble Hill moved forward with the
consolidation plans. Richard Barter,
Pebble Hill’s Headmaster, was appointed
as Headmaster of the new School, with
most of the Board of Trustees from
Manlius and Pebble Hill agreeing to
serve on the newly formed Board.
Although Barter used his considerable
skills to keep the School going, the
merger affected morale, enrollment, and
financial support more negatively than
anticipated. Enrollment dropped rapidly
and neither School had an endowment
to weather such a decline.
By April 1973, MPH was forced to close
the Upper School on the Manlius
campus as a cost-cutting measure. Board
members started holding the first of the
“save the school” meetings. Faculty
member and alumnus Tom Denton ’65
remembers the “lean years” and credits
the Board of Trustees, and current and
former parents, for keeping MPH open.
Often they reached into their personal
pockets to pay heating bills and even
faculty salaries. Denton recalls these
meetings as revival-type forums which
took place in the Barn. During this time,
even faculty members were expected to
tighten belts.
From the heroic efforts of MPH parents
and Trustees, the School was able to
reopen in the fall of 1973 by consolidating onto the DeWitt campus. Although
the MPH Board gave careful thought
and consideration to moving the School
out to the Manlius campus, the cost of
rehabilitating the buildings was
prohibitive and there were no facilities
to accommodate Lower School students.
In addition, the “superhighway” that
would have connected Manlius to the
city of Syracuse was never constructed,
limiting the Manlius campus’
accessibility for day students.
Even vacant, the Manlius campus cost
the School in excess of $100,000 a year
for debt service, amortization of the
Pixley Hall loan, sewer, security services,
insurance, and other miscellaneous
upkeep costs. These expenses forced
MPH to put the Manlius campus on the
market in the fall of 1973 with an
asking price of $3 million. Even though
the Manlius campus was appraised at
$2.9 million, it turned out not to be a
quickly liquidable asset. Zoning
restrictions, rehabilitation and/or
demolition costs, and rising interest
rates turned away prospective buyers.
After a few years on the market, the
asking price was dropped to $1.2
million, an amount that barely covered
the School’s debt on the buildings and
land. During the time the Manlius
campus was for sale, MPH was able to
survive largely because of the $1 million
Pixley bequest it received in 1975. This
money allowed the School to survive by
paying creditors, meeting current
operating deficits, and buying more
time to sell the Manlius campus.
Despite marketing efforts, the Manlius
campus sat vacant until 1979, when
Longely Jones purchased it for a little
over $800,000. Contrary to rumors, the
sale amount barely covered the School’s
remaining debt.
Stronger Together
At times, alumni of both Manlius and
Pebble Hill have questioned the wisdom
of the merger. There is no question that
the School has evolved. Manlius had no
choice and Pebble Hill took a chance.
And MPH continues to evolve. Even
alumni from the 1990s sometimes find
it hard to recognize “their” school. But
by the looks of MPH in 2007, all alumni
have had a hand in its success and can
be proud of their roots.
As a key player in the merger, former
Trustee Les Deming ’46A sums up the
reasons for the decision to merge: “I just
couldn’t stand to see all the money and
work that had been poured into
Manlius for the past 100 years, be sold
off and used to make some ‘banker’
richer. By reinvesting our efforts into
academia, we would ensure that the
work of our predecessors was not in
vain. Boys, and yes, girls too, would
continue to benefit from the vision of
Manlius.” To survive, Manlius needed to
change. To grow and continue in its
VOICES
FROM THE
MERGER
“The old Manlius is not a place, nor buildings;
but it is rather people and ideas with whom we
have become friends. In this sense, the old
Manlius is not gone, but is still Manlius and ever
will be. Those of us here view the merger of the
two schools with mixed emotions – the mixed
emotions of a father who regrets the passing of
his son’s boyhood yet looks ahead with hope to
his son’s future. We can look to the future with
the hope inherent in Sir Walter Scott’s words,
‘Nothing that was worthy in the past departs…
it lives and works through endless change.’”
– Dave Edwards,
head of the English Department at Manlius
for the past 24 years, as printed in the Winter
1970 Old Boys Bulletin.
“During my 30-years at Manlius, I have
witnessed three cycles in public acceptance of
military schools. It’s hard for us to remember that
prior to World War II many parents harbored
unfavorable opinions of the concept. Many
expressed their disapproval in writing and in
their reluctance to send their sons here. Shortly
after WWII, military schools became extremely
popular and it was fashionable to have a relative
at Manlius. Twenty-five years ago, classrooms
were full. The years since have seen a steady
decline in both parents’ and students’ interest in
attending even as good a military boarding
school as Manlius. No reflection on our honor
school, but rather a complete turnabout in adult
and juvenile attitudes…no, Manlius School is
not dead. Instead, it has a new life and a new
meaning for today’s students, tomorrow’s
leaders.”
– Bernie Shaw,
former Manlius and MPH faculty member,
as printed in the Summer 1970
Old Boys Bulletin
“It is my personal opinion that the merger of the
two schools should not bring to an end the
traditions and memories of either school, but
should reinforce our conviction that through the
merger we are able to continue the quality
education both offered. Each school brought its
strengths to the merger and hopefully we can
continue to offer a much needed service to young
men and women.”
– Chuck Beeler ’54,
director of admission,
as printed in the Winter 1971 Alumni Bulletin.
15
success, Pebble Hill needed to
change, too. Together they
succeeded.
MPH was truly created by the
blood, sweat, and tears of its
predecessors. As reflected in the
October 11, 1969 Manlius School
Board minutes, it was the Board’s
heartfelt wish that “the gates of
Manlius always remain open for
those who seek knowledge and,
once attained, signify a friendly
welcome to all ‘Old Boys,’ their
families, and friends, down
though the years.” Judging from
the hundreds of students who
seek knowledge in our halls and
the scores of alumni who attend
Clambake each year, the valiant
men and women of Manlius and
Pebble Hill ensured that those
gates remained open. At MPH,
all alumni are welcomed with
open arms and encouraged to see
for themselves just how much
they have to be proud of. The
Phoenix has indeed risen from
the ashes.
A special thanks to the following
individuals who contributed to this
article by sharing their memories or
simply reviewing it for accuracy:
Chuck Beeler ’54, Les Deming
’46A, Tom Denton ’65, Harold
“Bud” Edwards ’40, Jon Lichtman
’70, Bob Simonton ’50, and Al
Wertheimer ’55C.
16
MANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL
Historical
Timeline
1869
1881
1888
1902
St. John’s School
founded by
Episcopal Bishop
F.D. Huntington
and Judge George
Comstock as
diocesan
institution without
Church ownership,
located in the
Village of Manlius
Military
component added
to St. John’s,
becomes St. John’s
Military School
General William
Verbeck takes over
as Head of School
Major fire
destroys the
majority of St.
John’s buildings
on April 8
1933
1935
1940
1946
Thomas McIntyre,
future U.S. Senator
from New
Hampshire,
graduates from The
Manlius School
Pebble Hill School
campus completes
major renovations
and facilities
expansion
Colonel Verbeck
dies and Brigadier
General Asa
Singleton becomes
Superintendent;
Norman Waldron
is appointed
Headmaster
Pebble Hill
School admits
girls in the
“primary
school”(Lower
School)
1960
1970
1973
1979
Howell Estes, III,
future four star
general and former
U.S. Commander
in Chief of
Aerospace,
graduates from The
Manlius School
Pebble Hill School
and The Manlius
School merge,
forming Manlius
Pebble Hill School;
the Pebble Hill
campus is used for
the Lower School
and the Manlius
campus for Upper
School
MPH closes the
Upper School on
the Manlius
Campus to cut
overall expenses
and moves its
entire operation to
the DeWitt campus
Manlius School
Campus
is sold to a real
estate developer
after six years
on the market
1919
1920
1924
1927
1930
1931
William Randolph
Hearst, Jr., son of
the founder of the
Hearst Newspaper
Corporation, attends
St. John’s Military
School
Main academic
building burns
down on
November 14
St. John is renamed
The Manlius School
under Gen. William
Verbeck
Pebble Hill School
founded by group of
Syracuse fathers as a
nonsectarian,
nonprofit
organization under
the Regents of the
State of New York,
located in Orville
(DeWitt); 49 students
between 7 and 16 are
enrolled. Robert
Boydon is
headmaster.
General William
Verbeck dies and
Colonel Guido
Verbeck becomes
superintendent
First class, consisting
of three students,
graduates from
Pebble Hill School
1947
1951
1952
1954
1959
1960
General Ray Barker’s
reign as
superintendent
begins
Dodge Gymnasium
catches fire on
Lower Manlius
Campus
Pebble Hill School
becomes
coeducational
through Upper
School
The first female
graduates from
Pebble Hill School
Steve Wynn,
current Las Vegas
entrepreneur and
business mogul,
graduates from The
Manlius School
General Ray Barker
steps down as
superintendent
1990
1992
1994
1999
2006
2008
2010
Baxter Ball
takes over as
Head of
School at
MPH
World War I
cannon
monument is
moved to the
MPH
campus
McNeil Science
and Communications
Center is
constructed
Historic flagpole is
moved from The
Manlius School
campus to current
location at MPH;
Mezzalingua Humanities Center is
constructed, and the
Barn is renovated
The Laurie
Mezzalingua ’86
Center for Early
Learning is
constructed and
MPH’s fourth major
capital campaign
begins with a goal of
raising $6 million
MPH opens with
its largest number
of employees – 100
faculty and staff –
and graduates its
largest class in
recent history –
80 Seniors
Manlius Pebble
Hill School
celebrates its
140th year.
17
Heads of School
OUR SCHOOL HAS BENEFITED FROM GENERATIONS OF STRONG LEADERSHIP.
General
William Verbeck,
the President of
The Manlius School
for over 40 years.
Charles Bradlee,
James E. Crosby, Jr.,
Baxter F. Ball,
the Headmaster of
Pebble Hill School
from 1932 to 1953.
the Headmaster of the
Manlius Pebble Hill School
from 1975-1979.
the current Head
of Manlius Pebble
Hill School.
1869-1970
St. John’s School / The Manlius School
1927-1970
1869
Rt. Rev. Frederick Dan Huntington,
founder
Pebble Hill School
1888 – 1930
General William Verbeck
1927 – 1932
Robert Boyden
1930 – 1940
Col. Guido F. Verbeck
1932 – 1953
Charles Bradlee
1940 – 1942
Brig. General Asa I. Singleton
1953 – 1963
John Hodgdon
1942 – 1946
Lt. Col. D. P. McCarthy
1963 – 1968
James B. Draper
1947 – 1960
Maj. Gen. R. W. Barker
1968 – 1970
Richard Barter
1960 – 1969
Brig. Gen. J. K. Wilson, Jr.
1969 – 1970
Col. Hugh J. Irish
1970-today
1869
18
1970 – 1973
Richard Barter
1973 – 1975
Leibert Sedgwick
1975 – 1979
James E. Crosby, Jr.
1979 – 1982
Raymond Nelson
1982 – 1990
James Songster
1990 – present
Baxter F. Ball
20
10
Then...
AND
THEN
Forbidden Hair Styles:
circa The Manlius 1959
Student Handbook
“Cadets will have their hair cut as
frequently as is necessary to insure a
neat, well-groomed appearance. Hair
will be kept short on top, with a
maximum length of about two inches; it
will be clipped closely on the sides.
Cadets will keep their hair neatly
brushed or combed. Unusual, or “freak”
haircuts such as the ‘ducktail,’ the
‘flattop,’ or the ‘balboa’ are prohibited.”
Lee Sedgwick
Adjutant
NOW
Snapshots of
Our School through the Years
Dress Code: reprinted
from the 2009/2010
Parent/Student Handbook
Learning to recognize generally accepted
standards of appearance in academic
and social situations is an important rite
of passage to adulthood. While students
will wish to follow current fashion
trends, the School expects them to dress
appropriately.
The goal of the dress code is for
students to wear clothing that is neat,
clean and appropriate for school. If
what a student is wearing is not – even
if it seems to be within the letter of the
code outlined below – the student will
be considered out of dress code and will
be expected to wear either an MPH
collared polo shirt or MPH sweat pants
for the day, as needed. Repeat offenders
will be subject to more severe consequences.
The following items may not be worn:
• Yoga pants/hard tails (essentially, skin
tight pants with no pockets)
• Sweatpants or athletic pants
• Facial piercings, body piercings, or
unnaturally colored hair
• T-shirts
• Inappropriate graphics and/or writing
on clothing
Pebble Hill Lower School – 1950s
• Pajamas
• Hats indoors
For boys, shirts with long tails must be
kept tucked in.
THEN
Daily Program for Pebble
Hill Lower School in 1950s
8:30 a.m.
8:50
9:00
10:30
11:00
11:45
12:20 p.m.
12:30
1:15
2:10
4:00
4:10
4:50
NOW
Daily Program for
Manlius Pebble Hill
Second Grade in 2010
8:00 a.m.
8:15
8:45
9:25
10:15
11:05
Arrival
Classroom Plans
Studies
Recess
Studies
Lunch
Prepare for Rest Period
“Lights Out” (soft music)
Littlest Ones Continue
Rest / Older Ones –
Studies
Recess
Refreshments
Studies
Dismissal
Arrival
Must Do’s and Welcome
World Language or Music
Reading
Integrated (Social
Studies/Science Theme)
Lunch
Manlius Pebble Hill Lower School – 2010
11:45
12:15 p.m.
12:50
1:55
2:35
3:05
3:15
THEN
Pebble Hill School
Calendar for 1929-1930
Sept. 17
Nov. 27Dec. 2
Dec. 20Jan. 6
Feb. 22
Apr. 3-14
Apr. 18
May 30
Jun. 6
Jun. 9-14
Jun. 16-21
NOW
Physical Education
Spelling/Phonics
Math
Read Aloud
Recess
Check Out
Dismissal
Fall Term Begins
Thanksgiving Recess
Holiday Recess
Washington’s Birthday, no
classes
Spring Recess
Father and Son Banquet
Memorial Day, no classes
School Closes
College Entrance Review
College Entrance
Examinations
Calendar for 2009-2010
Sept. 14
Oct. 12
Nov. 11
Nov. 25-27
Dec. 21Jan 1
Fall Term Begins
Columbus Day, no classes
Veteran’s Day, no classes
Thanksgiving Recess
Holiday Recess
19
Jan. 18
Feb. 15-19
Apr. 19-23
May 3-7,
10-14
May 31
Jun. 6
THEN
Martin Luther King Day,
no classes
Winter Recess
Spring Recess
AP Exams
Memorial Day, no classes
Commencement
Pebble Hill Lunches in 1930
Reprinted from a 1930s Pebble Hill
admission guide
A hot lunch is served at the school every
day. Boys are required to eat lunch at
school. The menus for the lunch are
carefully prepared to give a balanced
diet, and the food is plain, but
wholesome and nourishing. Boys sit at
long tables by classes with a master at
each table. The serving is done
according to the cafeteria plan, but boys
do not choose their own foods.
THEN
Manlius Dining Hall
Regulations in the 1950s
Reprinted from The Manlius
School’s 1955 student handbook
The wasting of food, taking of food, or
equipment from the tables out of the
Dining Hall or interfering in any way
with the food of others is prohibited.
• Marching in and out of the dining
hall will be at attention.
• Faculty will be seated at the head of
tables when they are eating in the
Dining Hall.
NOW
Manlius Pebble Hill
Lunches in 2010
Reprinted from MPH’s 2009-2010
Parent-Student Handbook
MPH students are expected to share in
the lunchtime experience — talking
with others at the table, enjoying the
meal, and cleaning the tables at the end
of lunch.
Many options are available for lunch.
These include a complete salad bar and
vegetarian offerings. Daily entrees offer
a wide variety of nutritionally wellbalanced choices. Soup, assorted
sandwiches and fruit are available each
day. The complete menu is posted on
the school website.
20
Students go immediately to the dining
hall at the end of the class or activity
preceding the lunch period. There are
no table assignments for Upper
Schoolers. In the Middle School,
students are to be seated at assigned
tables and must remain in the dining
hall until they are dismissed. Lower
School students are assigned seats with
other Lower School students and faculty
members.
It is the responsibility of each student to
see that tables are clean and/or set
correctly for the following lunch period.
Food may not be taken out of the
dining hall without permission.
THEN
Manlius Discipline
Reprinted from the 1960
student handbook
Demerits are not punishment, but a
means of rating cadets in conduct. They
will be given for every violation of
regulations. A cadet will be reported as
deficient in conduct if he exceeds 200
demerits during the academic year.
NOW
Understanding the
Academic Conditional –
MPH 2010
By Jim Eagen, head of Middle School
Reprinted from the Icebox Bulletin,
March 2010
Over the years, the “academic conditional” has become a part of the MPH
vernacular and a part of the school
experience for many students. In place
since the days of The Manlius School,
the academic conditional continues to
serve as a support mechanism for
students having difficulty completing
assignments. An academic conditional,
which requires a student to remain after
school to complete work, is not the
same as a behavioral conditional. It is
not recorded in the same manner, nor is
it meant to be a punishment. Students
are held after school, not because they
are “in trouble,” but because they may
be headed toward academic jeopardy
due to incomplete work.
Here is how an academic conditional
works: It starts quite simply – a student
doesn’t complete his or her work. The
reason might be other obligations, like
playing sports, a lack of focus, or just a
lapse in memory. Whatever the reason,
a student can be assigned a conditional
by his or her teacher in order to get the
work done. At the time a student is
informed of an academic conditional,
the teacher also notifies the Middle
School Office, which then contacts the
parents to let them know their son or
daughter must stay after school to
complete the necessary work.
It is crucial to understand that, once the
conditional is assigned, the student is
responsible for making the conditional
happen. It is not the teacher’s responsibility to track down the student after
school. If a student misses or refuses to
show up for the conditional, he or she
is then entering the behavioral conditional system, which is punitive in
design. This willful behavior constitutes
“failure to heed the instruction of a
faculty member” and “skipping without
permission” – infractions far more
serious than failing to complete
academic work. Once a student stays
after school with the teacher and
completes the required work, his or her
academic conditional is satisfied and
the student is free to leave.
That’s it! Educators agree that missed
work and incomplete assignments make
it nearly impossible for a student to
succeed in Middle School. Teachers,
therefore, use the academic conditional
to prevent academic problems from
developing, and it often happens that a
student who serves his or her first
academic conditional resolves to
thereafter complete all work and avoid
future conditionals!
THEN
Typical Daily Schedule
for a Manlius School
Cadet in 1969
Reprinted from the 1969 Manlius Cadet
Handbook
First Call
Reveille/Mess Call
Assembly (In Formation)
1st Mess: 2 companies
2nd Mess: 2 companies
Sick Call
School Call
Recall
Recreation/Athletics
Sick Call
0615
0630
0640
0645-0715
0720-0745
0745
0750
1540
1545
1700
Recall from Athletics
Mess Call
Assembly/Retreat
(2 companies)
1st Mess
2nd Mess
Study Hall
Recall from Study Hall
Call to Quarters
Tattoo
Taps
NOW
1730
1740
1745
1750-1820
1825-1850
1945
2145
2200
2205
2215
A Typical Schedule
for an MPH Upper School
Student in 2010
8:10 – 9:30
9:30 – 9:45
First block
Break – snack
available in
Dining Hall
9:45 – 11:05 Second block
11:05 – 11:45 Tutorial – teachers
available in
classrooms for
extra help
11:45 – 1:05 Third block
1:05 – 1:45
Upper School lunch
1:45 – 3:05
Fourth block
3:05 onward Extracurricular
Activities/
Athletic Practice
History of The Windmill...
MPH literary magazine,
newspaper, magazine
The Windmill Literary Magazine has
always served a significant and historic
role in the history of Manlius Pebble
Hill School. The Windmill was first
published on February 27, 1892 as a
bimonthly periodical for the St. John’s
Military School. The short magazine
had articles, poems, and sketches of a
light-hearted nature and sold for 10
cents a copy. MPH still has the first
volume of the “Wind Mill”, as it was
then called, in its possession.
By 1916, the Wind Mill had grown in
size and quality. More technical
cartoons and captivating short stories
graced the pages as the Wind Mill
seemed to become thicker each year. As
St. John’s transformed into The Manlius
School, the Wind Mill also found a new
niche on campus. The Wind Mill
developed into the Manlius School
newspaper through the 1930s and
1940s. A. Richard Arnold ’43HQ, the
editor of the Wind Mill from 1942-43,
recollects his fond experience of
working on the Wind Mill:
I had taken printing as an elective course as
a sophomore in Nottingham High School in
Syracuse in 1940-41. The printing
equipment in the village of Manlius was the
same as that in Nottingham. On my
weekends, I went into town on a special
pass (the envy of the entire Cadet Corps...
I could ogle and be whistled at by the local
teenage females because of my classy formal
dress uniform) where I set the hot-lead body
type via Linotype, letter-by-letter handpicked and composed the headline type and
block-mounted illustrations, and ran the
local printer’s Heidelburg Press and his
collator. Because both his assistants had
been drafted into the Army when WWII
started in December of 1941, and, because
as a military school, we had a military
priority for the newsprint paper itself, this
combination of conditions was the only one
under which our local printer could print
this “non-essential” newspaper. The
Windmill thus continued its (then) 30-year
unbroken history as a Manlius School (and
now MPH) tradition.
History of the
Student Newspaper,
The Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone student newspaper
has been delivering news and opinion
on the Pebble Hill and Manlius Pebble
Hill School worlds since at least 1927.
The newspaper earned its moniker from
the experience of clearing the campus
and playing fields and finding so many
stones. Stuart Hancock, Class of 1931
PH, was The Rolling Stone’s first editor,
He was succeeded by Franklin Moon, Jr.,
and William F. Cutler.
During its early decades, The Rolling
Stone was produced six times a year and
covered the usual topics of student
interest (sports, “hops,” and school
news), but sometime in the 1940s or
1950s, The Rolling Stone became the
yearbook of the Pebble Hill School. The
trail goes a little cold, but it appears that
in the 1960s, the newspaper and
yearbook began sharing the name and
did so until the merger in 1970 with
The Manlius School.
Stewart F. Hancock, Class of 1968 PH,
revived The Rolling Stone as the school
newspaper when he came to MPH to
teach a newspaper class in the early
1990s. At that time, according to former
MPH English Department Chair Diane
Cook, the same editorial board served
The Rolling Stone, The Windmill literary
magazine, and the school yearbook.
With Hancock’s initiation of a class
devoted to publications and Cook’s
stewardship of that class from 1995 to
2006, The Rolling Stone gathered
numerous awards at state and national
competitions, including the Empire
State Scholastic Press Association and
the Columbia Scholastic Press
Association. As a result, The Rolling
Stone has become an enormous source
of pride for MPH.
Today, The Rolling Stone is produced by
the journalism studio class, and Seniors
taking the class receive elective credit in
English. Recently, The Rolling Stone has
been published five times per year, but
the class is exploring the development
of an online presence for the newspaper. In an age in which more and
more schools are moving to a strictly
online newspaper, it is a noteworthy
indication of MPH’s institutional
commitment to The Rolling Stone that
it will continue to provide print editions
even as it expands online. Regardless of
the medium, The Rolling Stone
continues to provide a forum for young
people to accurately disseminate
information and express their ideas,
thus continuing the publication’s
original mission of 1927.
21
Building Memories
Our Campus,
Past, Present and Future…
W
hile a school void of students is just bricks and mortar, there is no
denying that the buildings and grounds surrounding our academic
Our School’s first building and campus,
St. John’s School, as it looked in 1869.
experience leave a lasting impression. In the last 140 years, our School has
undergone tremendous growth and change. From the single building in the
village of Manlius that housed the first class to enter St. John’s in 1869 to the
present Manlius Pebble Hill campus in DeWitt, our spaces help define us as an
institution and certainly have made for some fond memories.
Pebble Hill School
Taking you way back to 1936-38...
In the end part of the barn, there was a
second floor. In my first weeks there,
practicing football, my muscles
tightened up to I could hardly climb the
steep stairs.
In study hall in the barn, I remember
little, but my best memory was when
Charles “Baldo” Swift, president of our
class, learned about euphoric acid and
iron filings in our chemistry class. He
tried mixing the two and hiding the test
tube in the back of a book in the library.
The reaction sure worked and we ended
up having to evacuate the school for
about an hour.
Editors’ response: Ed – you are in good
company…we are still in touch with a good
many alumni from the 1930s.
I went to Pebble Hill School in the late
1930s and was also involved later as a
board member. I remember helping to
raise the money to construct the Bradlee
building. We needed a ten classroom
building and had a strict budget. When
the architects came back with a high
figure, Gene Irish and I decided to try
and nail down a design that met both
our needs and budget. We were successful and Bradlee was constructed at a
total cost of $150,000.
Bud Edwards ’40
Then when the Andrews boys would try
to study out on the concrete patio off the
gym, they often ended up drenched by
someone pouring water down the roof.
I remember when Pebble Hill had a
janitor who raised carrier pigeons
upstairs over the boys’ locker room in
the barn.
Ed Barnard ’38
(I must be the oldest living alumnus now?)
John R. Hamel ’57
The Knox Farmhouse on the current campus.
I remember in kindergarten that my
best friend Ruthie (now Prof. Ruth
Small) and I would sit on the porch of
the Farmhouse. Birds made nests on the
tops of the columns and frequently
babies would be shoved out of the nest
too soon. They would land at the
bottom of the columns with broken
necks and we would feel sad. Then
Ruthie skipped a grade and went
upstairs for class with Mrs. Bisdee and
I felt sad that I was still downstairs. We
ate in the Farmhouse at big tables with
the teachers serving the food to the
whole table. I hated the stew and
corned beef hash but the masters still
served it up and I had to eat it. Grace
was said by all with table manners
stressed. No one left the room until
everyone was dismissed.
In fourth grade we moved over to the
“big building.” We had study hall
upstairs with fourth graders on one side,
fifth graders in the center, and sixth
graders on the other side. Ruthie and I
tapped out Morse Code to send messages across the room. When we
couldn’t go outside (rarely) our teacher
22
When we reached seventh grade we
moved to downstairs study hall. It
seemed like there were 100 students; it
was so big! All along the walls were
plaques with names of those best at
every subject and I vowed to get my
name on at least one plaque. We had
seniors as proctors and we actually
behaved very well for them. We loved
buying candy from the Senior class at
recess. No one worried about excess
sugar in those days. We had Latin from
Mr. Krohl at the same time that he
taught the seniors trig. Years later, when
I became a math teacher, I wondered if
having older students in the same room
made me feel that trig was not so hard.
Penelope Peterson Black ’60
The boys’ locker room had a special
flavor but the jewel was the towel room
and its inner sanctum. It gave the
student with that job a private “locker”
area under the stairs and an excuse to
leave class when the towel truck came.
Phil Young and Dave Phieffer milked
this plum to the hilt. It paid to be their
buddy and get more than one towel per
week. Of course Phil and Dave had
multiple towels daily.
Another locker room note: The girls’
locker room was off the second floor
hallway across the hall from the
science/lab classroom. This writer
cannot provide any details as to the
decor, furnishings, etc. of this room for
as he would saunter past the half open
door, his full concentration was on his
fellow students inside. However, they
were onto his kind so I have no more to
report on that subject.
I remember........when Chip Smith arm
wrestled Joe Krol to a draw and when
Steve Johnson and I learned as much
about Wally Habel’s exploits with the
Philadelphia Phillies organization as we
did about civics in Mr. Habel’s class.
Most challenging writing assignment
from Mrs. Alden: describe how to tie a
Windsor necktie knot.
Gregory “CJ” Young ’62
Of course the Barn is one of the best
memories... the noise of changing
classes in that building was something
else, as dozens of students trooped out
of classrooms over aged wooden floors.
I remember my first day, freshman year,
being utterly charmed by the Barn’s old
wooden floors, painted steam radiators
and scratched-up desks. Study hall was
held in a large open space on the first
floor, behind the administrative offices
and book store [there were two (or
three?)] classrooms to the left as you
faced the science building. Later, some
of this space became the Senior Room.
The library was upstairs, above this
same space, and there was also a girl’s
room up there, and I can remember the
smells of Taboo and hair spray and
(sometimes) cigarettes... And the smell
of chalk and our American History
teacher’s pipe tobacco. He made a
mesmerizing art out of packing and
lighting his pipe while delivering his
lectures. Cherry Blend?
The science building (now the Amos
building) was new when I was a
freshman, and we had Physical Science
there; art class was also held in this
building. While we had our first
assemblies in the gym (the women’s
gym – now the Coville Theater) of the
barn, later they were in the bottom floor
of the science building.
Building Memories
read “Tom Brown’s School Days” to us.
There were two small classrooms next
door. In one we were taught by a highly
lauded (by our parents) Harvard
graduate who cried when the boys
wouldn’t behave. It took years before I
felt good about Harvard after that.
a more, what, “civilized” lunch with
your classmates. We actually did have
lunch time conversation, and really did
get to know our teachers better as a
result.
While I ran track and was a cheerleader,
most of the sports I competed in
(basketball, volleyball and gymnastics)
weren’t outdoors (that is, I wasn’t on
the field hockey team!). But I still
remember being outside on a glorious
fall afternoon cheering on our 6-man
football team, and being in the gym
(with its relatively small bleacher
section) during basketball season. And I
remember those unbelievably long bus
rides to Park and Harley... but that’s
another story. And of course if you
didn’t participate in an organized sport,
there was always Mr. Stephenson’s Herd.
And who can forget Mrs. Woesner’s
office in the girl’s gym, which was
always a small but safe haven where
girls gathered to gossip and get Ma
Woesner’s own brand of wisdom?
Nancy Roberts ’68
My memories of the PH campus? Where
do I begin? I suppose with the payphone that used to stand just outside
the middle school boys locker room off
the end of the Old Gym. Two weeks
into my first year (sixth grade) at PH, I
missed the bus and tried to call Mom to
come pick me up. When no one
answered, I decided to hitchhike home
with a load of books on my hip (no
book bags in those days). I guess I’d
walked the better part of four miles
Speaking of the women’s gym - we had
gymnastics class in this old, dusty, drafty
space, where we practiced on a homemade balance beam. We also did theater
productions here. If memory serves, the
boys also practiced wrestling here.
Another memorable place was of course
the dining hall. I was a waiter, which
meant we put the dishes out on the
tables and got to sit at the waiter’s table,
rather than with a teacher. The room
was smaller than it is now, though I was
pleased to see the academic award
plaques are still there - and I’m still on
the French award plaque for my senior
year. It was actually kind of fun to have
23
Building Memories
before my parents came looking for me.
I never tried that again.
from the sanctity of the senior room
next door. Great fun.
At the time I thought the cool thing
about that phone was that you could
hear WNDR on it, but as close as the
station was—maybe a thousand feet
behind the Bradlee Building—I suppose
some people could pick it up on their
molar fillings. Anyway, I’ll always have
a tender spot in my heart for the Old
Barn. For years, the gym there was
home to a family of funky skunks. After
a while, you became immune to their
scent. That was just the way the Old
Gym smelled. To this day when family
vacations take us past a skunk road kill
and everyone else cries out in anguish, I
conger up images of wrestling matches
and drama club rehearsals. Sweet.
While I’m on the subject of the library,
I guess I should say something about
the ozone layer. I think it was my
sophomore year (’68) when part of the
Old Barn library was converted into a
study room with semi-private carrels. I
guess the powers that be had
envisioned that we would at some
point use audio-visual equipment in
our studies, and so they had provided
electrical outlets in all the carrels. My
apologies if the credit is misdirected,
but I think it was Randy Harwood who
discovered that folded foil gum
wrappers could be inserted into the
receptacles and touched together with
the tip of a Bic pen to produce a
stunning pyrotechnic display. The smell
of vaporized aluminum we all mistook
for ozone, which is, of course, odorless.
Nevertheless, as good old Diefendorf
used to say, there’s probably still a
massive hole in the ozone layer with
our names on it. I’m so ashamed. Well,
no, not really.
I think it was 10:00 or so every morning
that Dave Murray would open the
fridge under the stairs and start passing
out bottles of chocolate milk for a
dime. “Gates Farms” was emblazoned
across those bottles with a prose worthy
of a Pulitzer: “I come to visit, not to
stay. Please return me every day.” Poetry
not being my strong suit that was
probably the only verse I ever really
understood. (My apologies to the
English Department.)
For some years the Upper School
library was housed on the second floor
of the Old Barn. Metal racks filled with
well thumbed copies of “Madame
Bovary,” “Sound and Sense,” the
“Complete Works of Shakespeare,” and
“Catcher in the Rye” lined the walls and
formed divided study areas with heavy
oak tables. The charm of this room was
not apparent to the naked eye, but you
had only to start bouncing one leg on
the toes of your foot, and you could
produce a sympathetic vibration
through the floor that would have the
racks rattling as we were being hit by a
7.6 earthquake. Get both legs going,
and maybe a like-minded accomplice
and you’d swear the whole building
was teetering on the precipice of
collapse. Of course, the librarians
frowned on the practice, which made it
all the more delicious when, in my
senior year, we discovered that we could
produce the same effect in the library
24
Eighth Grade. 1966. Gotta be my
favorite memory. A classmate and I
flush with adolescent hormones and
equipped with a full pack of Lark
cigarettes, decided we’d crash the
Middle School girls’ pajama party in
the New Gym. Okay, crash isn’t
probably the right word here; we
weren’t really all that bold. Spy is a
closer characterization of our loosely
knit plan. It was already dark when we
got to the campus. We both had one
girl in mind. I’ll spare her the
embarrassment in this public forum.
The urge to see what’s-her-name in
pajamas being simply too much for any
love-smitten adolescent to resist, we
quietly made our way over to the
breezeway between the Bradlee
Building and the New Gym and, after a
thorough surveillance, used the football
tackling dummy to climb up onto the
roof of the girls’ locker room. From
there a metal ladder afforded access to
the gym roof. What we were after was a
bird’s eye view through the gym
skylights. What scuttled the plan was
the unfortunate fact that the skylights
are translucent, so all we could see was
the glow from the gym lights. Defeated,
we sat up on the roof and smoked half
the pack of Larks while we discussed
the finer points of what’s-her-name.
There aren’t many connecting moments
in adolescence, so we savor the few
we’re afforded.
Ninth Grade. Autumn,1966. Hamilton’s
drama club put on a group of plays
which included Lucille Fletcher’s
thriller, “Sorry, Wrong Number.” Al
Amos and I were given the job of
lighting the stage in the Old Gym, a
daunting task, given the complexities of
that production. Risking life and limb, I
installed flood lights on the ceiling and
spent hours fashioning a control box to
run them. The casting of Myron
Ransom in the role of the murderer was
sheer genius. I owe a lifetime’s love of
theater to that short three-night run.
Eleventh Grade. Autumn, 1968. A
classic homecoming celebration. The
football team crushed Harley, the soccer
team gave it their all and came up a
little short. There was a dance that
night in the cafeteria. Tables were set up
in the vestibule, where officials would
take your money and stamp your hand.
Seems like nobody danced. I’m not
sure I ever went to an Upper School
dance where anyone did much of
anything but stand around talking,
mostly about how good or bad the
band (or DJ) happened to be.
But this night was to be like no other.
With the band still wailing away, Pete
Harth and Barbara Borecki and I
slipped out to the parking lot to grab a
smoke. Standing directly in front of the
Bradlee Building we had an
unobstructed view of the hundred-yearold farmhouse that served as rectory to
the adjoining church across Jamesville
Road. As we stood there smoking and
talking, Barbara suddenly pointed
behind me and said, “Look at that. It
looks like that house is on fire.” I
turned and checked it out. It seemed
impossible—had to be an optical
illusion—but there were flames clearly
visible through the windows at the
right end of the house.
Finally convincing myself that I wasn’t
seeing things, I sprinted down the
Okay, so it wasn’t as fulfilling as I had
long imagined, but it was pretty cool
when the bells began to ring. With the
authorities properly notified (I
assumed), I ran back outside and down
the driveway to the road. I found Pete
and Barbara still standing there staring
at the house. I asked them if they had
banged on the door. Getting only blank
looks, I ran across the road and up the
lawn to the front porch. From there I
could see the flames were climbing up
a bookcase along the side wall. When I
ascended the steps and went to the
window, I saw a wastebasket full of
flaming wads of newspaper at the
bottom of the bookcase. I’d never seen
arson before, but I knew it when I saw
it. My greatest concern though at that
time was whether there was anyone
inside. With that in mind, I went to the
front door and banged on it for several
seconds, shouting as loud as I could,
“Wake up! The house is on fire!” When
no one replied and no lights came on, I
used my elbow to break the window so
I could unlock the door.
Inside, I went to the door of the den
where the fire was and looked in. At
that moment the flames were
consuming the window drapes. I never
even toyed with thoughts of trying to
extinguish a blaze of that ferocity. Still,
I didn’t imagine that the house was
doomed, what with the fire department
on the way. I left the den and went to
the foot of the front stairs, shouting up
the stairwell to “Wake up! The house is
on fire!” Again, no reply. I hesitated
then and turned to check the progress
of the fire: Still confined to the den. I
took a deep breath and started up the
stairs. It was a huge house, with many
bedrooms, so it took me several
minutes to make the rounds. Finally
convinced that the place was empty, I
headed back to the stairs. By that time,
the flames had escaped the den and
were shooting into the foyer and up the
stairwell.
I had to duck as I descended the stairs,
and the heat was unbearable. I could
smell my hair singeing. Back on the
first floor I went into the huge living
room—more like a ballroom—where
the flames were swirling around the
ceiling in great blue and orange spirals.
A layer of thick smoke was forming at
eye level. The whole scene was eerily
fascinating. But the heat was something
else, so I turned and left by the front
door. Pete and Barbara were still
standing on the front lawn, but by this
time the rest of the dance party was
coming down the driveway to view the
spectacle. What I couldn’t understand
was why the fire department hadn’t
arrived yet. I couldn’t even hear their
sirens. At that point Corey Bock came
over to me and explained that they had
all thought my pulling the alarm was
another Kenny Jasper prank.
Consequently, Mrs. Glass had called the
fire department to cancel the alarm. She
was then informed that the alarm
system wasn’t even connected to the
firehouse and they hadn’t received any
alarm. At that moment someone found
her and told her there really was a fire
and she passed the alarm to the fire
department. Unfortunately, by that time
the flames were shooting from the front
windows and lapping over the edges of
the porch roof. (See the attached
photograph.) The Dewitt firemen
fought a valiant battle that night, but
the house was a total loss and was
bulldozed some weeks later.
Building Memories
driveway to the road. But a closer view
only confirmed the impossible. At that
point, I told Pete and Barbara to go
over and bang on the door to see if
anyone was home, and then I took off
back to the gym to get help. Now, I
admit that I’ve always had a fascination
with fire and a reputation to match.
And I had always had a secret desire to
pull a fire alarm. Not a false alarm, but
a real one. So here, at long last, was my
golden opportunity. And this was no
small campfire behind someone’s
garage, either. I rushed breathlessly into
the vestibule and shouted to Mrs. Glass
that the house across the street was on
fire. And with that, I took hold of the
fire alarm and pulled it.
we were intensively interrogated over
the better part of a week by the NY
State Bureau of Investigation, who
seemed convinced that we had set the
fire. Some of us even submitted to
polygraph examination. None of us
ever admitted to anything. There was
nothing to admit to, except a night of
excitement that none of us would ever
forget.
Twelfth Grade. 1970. Spring brought
out the adventurous bad boys in us. As
graduation approached we began
taking our study halls outdoors. Way
outdoors. Like down the hill to
Butternut Creek, where we wiled away
the hours building dams and frolicking
in the reeds with various females. What
a glorious finale to my seven years at
PH.
Finally, there’s one more event that
deserves mention. It was in the fall of
’63 that Chip Carson treated the Upper
and Middle Schools to a magic show in
the Old Gym one Friday afternoon. At
its conclusion the Middle School boys
got into our P.E. duds and headed out
to the football field. I was walking with
Al Getman and we were passing by the
Farmhouse when Bob Dowley came
running past and said the president had
been shot.
Getman told Bob that wasn’t funny, but
Dowley insisted it was no joke. We were
out on the field for only a few minutes
before we saw them lowering the flag to
half staff in front of the Bradley
Building. Getman called off the session
and we headed back to the locker
room. Someone had a radio there, and
we showered and got dressed while the
announcer kept saying, “The president
is dead. President John Fitzgerald
Kennedy is dead…” But everyone
knows where they were when they first
heard that.
Ken Jasper ’70
These days, it’s a parking lot. But that
was not the end of the story, either. Not
nearly. The following January, Pete and
Barbara and John Hosmer and I were
all called in to Dr. Barter’s office, where
25
Building Memories
The Crest
A Phoenix is rising from the
flames of a castle turret. The
Phoenix is a legendary bird
which rose from the ashes of
a fire and gave new hope to
all of a rebirth and new life.
This signifies the rebirth of
the School after the fire of
1902.
The Three Stars
These signify three attributes
of a Cadet’s attitude towards
the School: Honor, Love,
Duty.
The Two Chevrons
A heraldic symbol signifying
the supporting arches of a
building. These denote the
strength of the School and
the student body.
Manlius School Cadet
Handbook
THE MANLIUS SCHOOL
Manlius Memories - The good, the bad, and the ugly!
When I arrived at Manlius in September of
1963 little did I know that a group of stately
buildings, and a collection of the most unique
group of humans I have ever met, would
create emotions and feelings that nearly fifty
years later leave me wondering at the boy I
was and the person I became at Manlius.
A little of each has been forever with me, a
part and parcel of who I was, whom I became
and what I will be. It interests me that in so
many of the following reminiscences and tales
there exists so many common threads of
experience unified by a school now consigned
to memory and the pages of yearbooks.
Those yearbooks bearing silent witness on
shelves, seldom taken down and not often
read, little appreciated by children and
grandchildren who will never have had the
perspective of an adolescence punctuated by
26
the staccato beat of drums, the blare of bugles
and hum of a floor polisher on Friday nights.
For those of us fortunate enough to be here
now, we have the chance to revisit those
buildings and remember those friends and
roommates, the good, the bad and dare I say
the ugly, for while memory plays its tricks, my
mirror does not.
Jon Statler, ’68A,
former day boy, Thomson Hall, Pixley Hall,
and Farmer Hall resident.
(Apologies to those Old Boys who might not
regard Hadley Hall as “stately”)
Andy’s response:
Response from the Alumni Office:
As a five year resident of Thomson Hall
which housed “A” Company on the first
three floors and “HQ” on the top floor,
it was the newest and most comfortable
of the three barracks. The drill field
separated us from Knox Hall where we
prayed, danced, viewed movies and
assembled. Have to add there were a lot
of balcony activities during those
dances. Of course, Comstock was the
academic center and mess hall. The
King Club, which was the donut shop
and pool hall, sat just behind
Comstock. Fronting Comstock was the
parade ground which was far from a
smooth surface for marching. There
were no gopher holes but many areas
might be considered covered with
moguls. “C” Company was across from
the main gate surrounded by the Gym,
Infirmary and Commandant’s residence.
Not part of campus and just adjacent to
the Commandant’s house was Suburban
Park where no Cadet was ever allowed
to visit. Just below Knox were three
hallowed sanctuaries - the Varsity Club
shack, football field and the Verbeck
Memorial Garden. Can’t forget the
captured World War I German howitzer
which was prominently displayed half
way up the main roadway.
Never had a fire in a fireplace in my
time. Happy too! It would have been
one more special task for “Gups” out
chopping fire wood. I don’t know if
any of the old blueprints and renderings
of what Knox was planned to be when
completed remain. They used to be
displayed in the entry hall. The Knox we
know was only one-quarter of the
original plan as it was to be two “L”
units on that plan. I believe there was
another structure to be built also but I
know not where or what for. I suppose
the 1930s were not the most opportune
time to complete such a structure. As
you may be aware, the Knox family
lived in East Aurora, near Buffalo, and
had a magnificent horse stable and
mansion there. I believe it survives.
That would have been Huntington Hall!
I would have loved to see it! Loved your
recollection…and I have heard similar
sentiments about the “Barn” on the DeWitt
campus.
Those are my recollections of Manlius,
1942 - 1947.
Andy Tedesco ’47A
Thanks for sharing your memories.
Thomson Hall was a beautiful dorm. I was
on the old campus a few weeks ago and was
able to walk around Thomson. I couldn’t
believe the beautiful fireplaces it has on
each floor. Were cadets allowed to have fires
in them?
I also just got back from visiting your
classmate (and company mate) John Lenore
’47A, who lives and works out in San
Diego. I also dined with Betty Knox while I
was there. Knox Hall was built by a gift
from her father-in-law, Henry Knox. Betty’s
late husband, Jim, graduated in 1934 from
Manlius. It is such a treat to talk with
Betty, because Knox Hall was such an
integral part of life at Manlius…and her
memories …priceless.
John Lenore was a classmate and standout football player in my time. Coach
Nevin Shankweiler had some really
outstanding teams in the 40s with a two
year stint undefeated, untied and unscored on. That ended with a defeat by
the combined teams of two top notch
Lynn, Mass. high schools in a
snowstorm. If memory serves me
correctly, John’s entire team went on to
play college football all over the east
coast but especially at Cornell
and Syracuse.
I may be able to dig up some photos of
the campus in my time. If I can find
them I’ll send to you.
Although still somewhat shy of my
dotage, I can’t for the life of me recall
the name of the big, white, ramshackle
wooden building that housed the
barber shop, the dry cleaner, the supply
store, and probably other school
facilities I can’t recall. I do recall it also
was the dormitory for the janitors and
the kitchen help. It had to have been
built at some point in the previous
century, possibly not long after the
founding of The Manlius School in
1869. It fascinated me in two respects its slanting, even wavy wooden floors,
and I imagined that at any moment
we’d be rousted out to witness its
burning to the ground, the latter in part
because Fay McCarthy allowed us to
smoke in his barber shop.
Building Memories
Ah those were the daze...
Manlius “Fire” Alarm
Sparks Discussion
In 2008, MPH sent out
the following
e-mail and received quite
interesting responses.
Some about the fire
alarm, and others about
different Manlius
memories. It certainly
stirred some interesting
communications, like
this one from David
Slocum ’48HQ and
Craig Tarler ’48HQ.
Dear Old Boys,
A few weeks ago, I was strolling across the
old Manlius School campus with my
children when we came across this treasure
from our past. I imagine that this fire alarm
once performed an important function at
the school. As you undoubtedly know,
Manlius survived many fires, prompting the
School to adopt the “Phoenix rising from
the flames” as its symbol. This fire alarm
now sits beside Shankweiler Hall – and,
incidentally, it still works!
I am hoping that some Old Boys can recall
where this alarm used to reside on campus
and when it was used for real or ceremonial
purposes. I look forward to hearing your
replies.
Sincerely,
Tina Morgan, director of development
A Conversation with
David Slocum ’48HQ
Graduated in 1948 and never heard the
fire alarm. However, there was one real
alarm and it was sounded by the bugler
late one snowy night. The eeriest bugle
call I’ve ever heard!
Craig Tarler ’48HQ
Bill Kilpatrick, ‘43A
27
Building Memories
Thanks for your e-mail. Gathering from the
responses I received, it seems the alarms
were installed in the mid-1960s. We are
working to bring it to our current campus,
as it is a neat part of our history.
What alarm was sounded by the bugler?
Was it for one of the building fires?
Craig’s response:
I think it was a suspected fire. There is a
special bugle call, fire call that I remember. Maybe you could contact somebody
like Dave Slocum who was with the
band at that time.
Alumni Office E-mail to David Slocum:
I have been e-mailing back and forth with
Craig Tarler ‘48HQ about this mysterious
Manlius Fire Alarm. He mentioned a
special bugle call that you had at Manlius
for the fire alarm and suggested I check
with you on the logistics.
Glad to be in touch!
David’s response:
I e-mailed Craig Tarler, and he stated
that he never heard the fire alarm, but
that there was one real alarm. (I think
he was sleepwalking)? He lived on the
third floor directly under and alongside
HQ’s rooms. I was at the top of the stair
to the fourth floor. As far as being
notified of a fire, I believe it would have
had to come from Bernie Shaw, the
Commandant of A and HQ Companies.
There weren’t any phones to call
students. He also wouldn’t have known
where to find a bugler within HQ
rooms, so the only way to have reached
one would be to come to my room.
This is fascinating information about the
buzzer system…thanks so much for sharing.
I hadn’t heard about the buzzer system,
although I did know about reveille and
Taps. I also liked your story about trying to
play the oboe.
Let me know what Pete Blinco says…and
keep in touch.
I remember that on May 16, 1951 the
Dodge Gymnasium burned down.
Doug Betts ’53HQ was the bugler and
he said that he hoped to blow fire call
some day. We all blamed him for the
fire, but it actually was started by two
cadets in the 8th grade who were
smoking in the mattress storage room in
the gym’s attic.
Walter “Bill” Grahling ’52A
There was a very loud buzzer system
throughout the campus. It started at
6:10 a.m., and then the bugler stepped
outside in all kinds of weather, and
blew reveille. Then came assembly to
form up to go to mess, and the raising
of the flag on the pole now at MPH.
Buzzers dictated your whole life,
through to 9:30 p.m. or so, until Taps
ended the day.
HQ Company room in Thomson Hall
during my freshman and sophomore
years. Most of us lived in the attic,
which gave us easy though dangerous
access to the roof for sun bathing. We’d
drag our mattresses out the window and
lay out on the inclined Spanish tiles.
One day I carved the date 5-5-55 on the
outside wooden window frame. It’s
probably still there!
I’m certain there is (or was) a special
bugle call for fires, but frankly we never
had a fire. I was HQ Company
Commander, of the Band, and I never
heard any of the buglers say anything,
and I was also in charge of them. I’ll email Craig Tarler about this. I was at the
School from 1944 -1948, so if there had
been a fire, I believe I would have
known about it. However, I don’t think
anyone there would have recognized
such a call. Interestingly, I never
remember the Fire Gong. Good thing
no one ever used it.
However, my roommate for 3 years was
Peter Blinco, and he was at one time a
bugler. No one and I stress this, ever
told me there was any special buzzer
call for fires. I’ll ask him about all of
this.
Bruce French ’58HQ
If you have a Haversack of 1948, you
will get a chance to see all of us.
Do you recall such a thing? Was it a
specific melody? How did the band get
notified? What instrument did you play?
Any information you might recall would be
very helpful (not to mention interesting).
David’s response:
Thanks for the e-mail. You were commander of the band? How cool! You must have
worn the “cheetah” that we have here in
the Alumni Lodge.
I know that David Bahner instructed the
band for many years, but that may have
been after your time?
28
The fire alarm has generated many interesting discussions. Let me know if you hear
anything back from Craig.
I played, or more accurately tried to play
the oboe, but you couldn’t play it in a
marching band. So, I appointed myself
drum major, and I really received my
scholarship of $300. No one ever
challenged me about this. My first 2
years – ‘44 and ‘45, I played the
cymbals, which I could do.
Memories from
Woody Obrig ‘59C
Verbeck Hall - Home of Company “C” what great memories I have of the
Company spirit - pride - we had- the
snowball fights we had with the “Hill
Companies.”
Moving to Farmer Hall was a trauma
I am looking at the ‘48 Haversack right
now. You are quite the handsome cadet!
Although I have to ask, where did you get
the nickname “Slug?”
The Phoenix Tavern
Who can forget the joy of hamburgers at
the Phoenix Tavern or Winter Carnival
and dances and movies in Knox Hall.
The gym was awesome and I especially
enjoyed the rifle range, practice drills
with the Phoenix Rifles and watching
Dolph Shays and the Syracuse Nats
practice.
Preliminary plans for the 1st floor of Comstock
Hall reconstruction circa 1902 Windmill
I remember the smell of Comstock Hall,
slightly acrid and musty. Most of all I
remember the snow. Snow from midNovember until April. One particular
day stands out, a frigid minus 20 or 30
degrees February 1956 at 6:45 a.m.
marching from Verbeck Hall to the
dining hall. I was in the rear of 4th
squad 2nd platoon. As we rounded a
steep curve near the Verbeck gravesite
several guys at the front of 1st platoon
slipped on the glazed ice, fell, slid
backwards and wiped out the entire
company formation like a giant bowling strike. It was hilarious.
Friday nights were magical. I, along
with about 20 other cadets, rode the
old black bus to Cazenovia to act as
dance partners for the girls at
Cazenovia College. A good time was
had by all! They kept us under close
scrutiny but it was great touching
female flesh, smelling perfume and
stealing a kiss. Tough duty. Makes my
blood stir to think about it. Whew!
Back to campus. Manlius campus was
absolutely beautiful, fall, winter, spring
or summer. Yeah, I attended one
summer school - something to do with
my grades. I forget what. Oh yeah, I
remember - it is very embarrassing
though!
On the first landing of the Comstock
hall stairway hung a trophy engraves
“Obrig Mathematics Trophy.” I saw it
daily. Well, Math, Algebra in particular,
was not my forte’ nor my fifthe’. Despite
supreme effort on the part of Prof.
MacMillan and countless others, I
barely squeaked by with a 65 or 66
which was probably a gift in
remembrance of my grandfather J.A.
Theodore Obrig, who donated the
trophy and my father, Elwood M.
Obrig, Sr., who graduated in 1924, C.
Company,
who died
in 1958
while I was
a junior at
Manlius.
Hadley
Hall “B”
company
was a
mysterious
place I
never
Mac the Barber
visited. Scary.
The closest I got was going to see Mac
the barber, who had cut my dad’s hair
in the twenties. Good Old Mac – what
a treasure.
Manlius was not buildings, it was
people; people like Mac, Capt.
Sedgwick, Major Millington, Bill Caron,
Whitney Anderson, Tom Cahill, Cmdr.
Rugh, and, my personal favorite,
Reverend Edmund Randolph Laine.
What an inspiration the faculty and
staff were to all of us!
The students were the real energy of
Manlius. Our athletes were indeed our
heroes. The entire cadet corps in
formation for Sunday parade or trip to
Syracuse or West Point was truly a sight
to behold. We marched as one with
dignity and pride in ourselves as part of
a bigger thing and pride in Manlius for
what it did for each of us in our own
separate lives.
Thank you Manlius.
Building Memories
but it turned out to be a good move
with much better showers and a TV in
the day room — what a luxury!
A Conversation with
Dave Rosso ‘61C
My first year was 1956 and, as a
cadet in Company C, I was living in
the barracks situated across the
highway at the bottom of the hill
before the new brick Company C
was built at the top of the hill. The
“old” Company C was a wooden
structure. My bunk was against a
wall near a window and I vividly
remember one morning waking up
and looking up and out the window
at a large dog looking down at me.
In the morning, we marched across
the highway and up the hill to eat
and attend classes. One very dark
and wintry morning — well, it was
New York! — we marched up the
hill into the blowing snow and into
a snowplow parked on the side of
the road.
Dave Rosso ’61C
Thanks for sharing your memories. I
laughed out loud at the image of the
dog staring in at you…quite a picture
to wake up to.
So you must have lived in Verbeck
Hall? That must have been a cold walk
to class indeed. Is that why you are
living in California?
Dave’s response:
We moved to California in 1959,
which is why I did not graduate
from Manlius. I attended Manlius
1956-1959. Thanks for the Verbeck
Hall. I had forgotten. We went from
Verbeck to Farmer Hall. My father,
Henry Rosso, had worked at the Old
Boy’s Association in the small office
between Farmer Hall and Comstock
Hall. We left when he got a job in
San Francisco and I went from an
all-boys school to a 15-year-old
surrounded by tanned teenaged
California girls. Quite a transition!
Thy son,
Woody Obrig, ’59C
29
Building Memories
Having been raised on the campus, I
probably remember more than most
about the grounds. They were where I
played, learned, and worked. Two events
stand out. One was the fire in the old
gym by Verbeck Hall. I loved that gym. I
learned to ride a bike there one
Christmas. I used to play in the balcony
while basketball games were in progress
- and brought some of them to a
temporary lull as my own ball would
have to be retrieved from the floor. The
pool was always a mysterious place to
me. I did manage to get the sister of my
best friend to go down there to see the
swans, once. The swans turned out to be
cadets sans suits in the pool.
gym and Verbeck Hall not only defined
the school, but defined a very formative
period in my life.
Dean Sedgwick ’61HQ
John Ellis ’67HQ
Thomson Hall
The mystery of the fourth floor. One of
the odd things about living on the
third floor of Thomson Hall was the
mystery staircase. It led off the third
floor lobby up to a locked door which
prevented access to the fourth floor.
The staircase itself was blocked off by a
chain and a padlock. What were “they”
hiding up there?
Verbeck Hall
Farmer Hall Construction
The other event was the building of
Farmer Hall. Yes, Verbeck was an old
building that needed to be replaced. But
I had lived in the apartment for the first
nine years of my life. Also, the
separation of Verbeck Hall from the rest
of the campus seemed to make the
cadets of “C” Company tougher. I can
remember “Guards Out” to stop the
usually non-existent traffic as the cadets
marched up the hill each morning. That
walk built character when done in
January and February. So, for me, the
30
I backed out and went to my room to
get my camera and perhaps my friends
to come see this wonder, but when I
returned, the door was closed and the
chain was re-locked. I never found out
who was up there, and I had no proof
to show my classmates. The fourth
floor had returned to mystery.
One day I passed the staircase and saw
that the chain was hanging loose. I
looked up the stairs and the door was
open! I never found out why, but this
was an opportunity not to be missed.
Quietly I mounted the stairs and
looked through the door. In front of
me was the open door of a three-man
room, with a bay window no less.
Faded red curtains emblazoned with
the Manlius crest, obviously decades
old, hung from the windows. Three
beds, devoid of mattresses. waited
patiently for cadets who would never
come. I took a step through the door
and there came a loud crunching
sound beneath my feet.
I looked down and found I had
stepped on a six inch deep carpet of
pigeon bones! The hallway, from end
to end, was covered with the skeletons
of many generations of birds, a regular
avian ossuary. Thousands of pigeons,
many generations, had lived out their
lifespan on the fourth floor of
Thomson Hall with the cadets below
none the wiser.
The alumni office sent out a request to
(see story p. 27) Manlius alumni to help
identify the purpose of this “fire alarm”
that still stands on the former campus next
to Shankweiler Hall. (See reprint by
David Slocum’s ’48HQ entry.) We
received a lot of responses, but none quite
as detailed as this one from Jon Statler.
As I recall, those fire alarms were
placed during the tenure of Col. Hugh
Irish, USMC (Ret.) in 1967 or so when
he took over as commandant of
Cadets. The school went through an
alarming period of “Jarhead”
decoration prior to the visit of LTG
Lewis Walt, USMC, then Commander,
US Marine Expeditionary forces,
Republic of Vietnam. His son, Larry
Walt ’68A, was prepping for West Point
at the time.
Col. Irish had several of these placed
around the School. As I recall, Farmer,
Pixley, Thomson, King Club, and
Comstock, along with the gym had
these iron bars painted tastefully to
look like Chinese jack-o-lanterns.
They were to be used only under the
pain of death or dismemberment. We
had a fire in Thomson Hall in the
winter of 1967 (I was not responsible, I
swear) but several cadets did receive
Phoenix Medals for their quick
reaction. And I don’t recall using the
fire alarms for that.
Jon Statler ’68A
Building Memories
MANLIUS Pebble Hill School
During our senior year, we had this
large black steam pipe that ran
overhead from the Bradlee building to
the Barn. The pipe broke under the
parking lot feeding the Bradlee
building and the cost of digging it up
was not in the budget. So we had this
steam pipe over head for a time until
Bradlee could be put on the system of
the gym. If you look in our senior year
book you will see pictures of this 4”
pipe going overhead to the two
buildings.
The old gym was also a handball court!
Jim Songster and Jim Rattray would use
the South wall as the back and played
as well as students. Carrying chairs
from the cafeteria to the old gym for
assemblies was a common activity; we
would then carry them back when we
were done.
Gary Beach ’74
You asked about memories of the
physical space at MPH. I remember
Knox Hall, site of our commencement
exercises – I believe the last such
exercises on The Manlius Campus, and
held there despite the School having
consolidated operations to the DeWitt
campus. It was a wonderful place for
commencement, full of history, full of
spirit. I remember Chuck Oelsner’s
office in the basement, the computer
lab located there, where we hung and
worked on programs for hours on end.
I remember
well the radio
room, where
a few of us
relaxed,
eating Ritz
and peanut
butter
(“radio
room
specials”).
Charlie’s
Tavern
was a very
special place –
especially for
French class. Heading to the Tavern
for a milk shake and then gathering
under the tree outside for French class,
that relaxed, trusting atmosphere, that
attitude to foster learning, was what
made MPH so special.
Alan Marcum ’74
Does anyone remember the weight
room that was next to the theater in
the barn? I remember working out my
senior year after school every day
during the winter to get ready for track
in the spring.
John Osgood ’80
I
Knox Hall
remember all of my times hanging out
in the student lounge. From dodging
seniors when I was a freshman who
weren’t allowed to come in, to playing
foozball with Mrs. Dooher and Doc-O,
to taking cat naps in between classes,
and just taking time to talk to my
friends while listening to Johnny Cash.
I still have fond memories of the
student lounge and always make it a
point to go see how it’s changed since
leaving there whenever I visit MPH.
Zach Sanzone ’00
I remember the “courtyard” between
the barn and the two main buildings.
One day in late spring, the weather was
fantastic and several people were
sitting on top of the electrical
generator. I asked everyone to gather
on top and pose for a set of pictures. I
managed to take three before the bell
rang and everyone dispersed to go to
their classes.
My fondest memory is of the tree that
was planted in honor of my sister
Jennifer Marie Randall. It was planted
by the Barn originally, but now is
located behind the Farmhouse near the
main driveway of the school. When I
left MPH in 1989, it was a tiny little
tree, and now when I’m in Syracuse, I
visit her tree, and enjoy the beauty and
presence of it. Beauty and presence...
how appropriate.
Blair Frodelius ’82
Mary Randall Kirby ’93
31
Building Memories
THE
FUTURE OF OUR CAMPUS…
W
hile Manlius Pebble Hill can be proud of all that
has been accomplished in recent years, the School
is still challenged by an aging physical plant inadequate to
meet the needs of a student body of more than 585
students. In a recent analysis, similarly sized independent
schools across the country were found to have an average
of 262 square feet per student, compared to only 150
square feet per student at MPH.
In addition, the School’s endowment, far smaller than that
of comparable independent schools, is too small to
provide future financial stability or to generate the income
for financial aid and scholarships that our commitment to
diversity demands.
Mindful of these issues, the Board of Trustees, with
valuable input from faculty and staff, initiated a long-range
planning process that culminated in the development of a
new mission statement, the complete revision of the
master site plan, and the initiation of a $6 million dollar
capital campaign – the most ambitious campaign in the
School’s history. This long-range planning process
identified four campaign priorities:
• The Laurie Mezzalingua ’86 Center for Early Learning
• Campus Renovations
• Library/Media Center
• Growing Our Endowment
Each of these campaign objectives will have a direct,
demonstrable impact on Manlius Pebble Hill’s enduring
mission.
The Laurie Mezzalingua ’86
Center for Early Learning
The road to a lifelong love of learning begins very early in
childhood. With the freedom to explore the world through
play and hands-on learning experiences, children satisfy
their natural curiosity, develop independence and
confidence, and discover their own talents. Researchers tell
us that the earliest years of a child’s education form the
bedrock from which a genuine love of school and learning
grows. For that reason, the new Center for Early Learning
was an important priority for Manlius Pebble Hill.
32
The new Center for Early Learning, home to an expanded
Prekindergarten and Kindergarten program, was designed
specifically to meet the needs of four- and five-year olds,
enhancing a program already well-known throughout the
region. From the playground and classrooms to the
gathering space that accommodates group assemblies,
musical performances, and presentations, the Center is
designed to meet both the cognitive and physical development needs of our youngest learners. Counters, sinks,
toilets, mirrors, even windows, are designed at ageappropriate heights, which is not only safer, but helps
encourage self-reliance. From the new playground to the
cubbies in the classrooms, the new Center for Early
Learning makes each child feel welcome. It says to them,
“This is for you.”
Manlius Pebble Hill chose this project as the catalyst for
the capital campaign, in part, because of its impact on the
School’s enrollment. The new facility allows for a
combined increase in enrollment capacity in
Prekindergarten and Kindergarten from 39 to 50, including
a doubling in the size of the Prekindergarten class, which
opened with full enrollment for the 2006-2007 academic
year and a waiting list of prospective parents vying to get
into the program. This expanded enrollment not only has
had a significant, positive impact on the School’s financial
stability, but it has also help ensure full enrollment
throughout the Lower School grades.
Campus Renovations
One of Manlius Pebble Hill School’s greatest virtues has
always been managing to do so much in so little space. It
seems we have always been challenged by a lack of space space for specific programs like athletics or music, space
for faculty members to have their own individual
classrooms, space for students to find a quiet corner to
study and think. Our capital campaign construction
projects also enable the renovation of additional spaces
across the campus, enhancing many different aspects of
student life.
The renovations, for example, will have a direct impact on
the Fine and Performing Arts programs. The current library
will be renovated to create a new fine arts classroom for
three-dimensional work and a new soundproof band
room. The current orchestra room will be converted into a
endowment, doubling its current size. Why is growing the
endowment so vitally important to Manlius Pebble Hill
School?
Don Ridall, director of athletics, remarked in early 2009
that, “The biggest challenge we have right now is finding
enough useable field space to accommodate our fall and
spring athletic teams. We have 100 players on five soccer
teams and only one full field. Creating additional field
space shows students and the community that we consider
athletics an integral part of our students’ education.”
First and foremost, the larger endowment will provide
stability against the unpredictability of annual income and
operating expenses, helping to secure financial security for
future generations of students. A recent survey of 27
comparably sized independent schools across the country
found that a third had endowments of over $10 million.
Three-quarters had endowments of more than $5 million.
Manlius Pebble Hill’s current endowment of slightly over
$2 million is far smaller than that of most independent
schools – and too small to adequately protect the School’s
long-term fiscal stability.
By the fall of 2009, the leasing of approximately 13 acres
of farmland adjacent to the campus had given the School’s
athletic program several new athletic fields. This land was
graded and seeded to accommodate the increasing needs
of both fall and spring sports schedules.
In addition to these renovations, plans call for the
renovation of a variety of classrooms and offices on
campus to ease current space constraints:
• Additional Middle School classrooms will be created,
allowing courses like history and English, in which
every Middle School student enrolls, to be divided into
smaller sections. This will permit a slight increase in
enrollment in the Middle School grades, and, at the
same time, smaller class sizes and a smaller teacher-tostudent ratio.
• The health classroom has already been moved from the
Barn into a more centralized location within Bradlee.
• The Second Grade classrooms have been moved into the
Lehman Lower School Building so that Second Grade
faculty and students can work more closely with the
Blend, allowing for a smoother transition between these
grade levels.
• Lastly, with the construction of the Center for Early
Learning, the School has created a new campus entrance,
allowing for additional parking and a longer waiting
space on campus for buses and cars. A dedicated dropoff and pick-up area for Prekindergarten and
Kindergarten students makes this a safer process for our
youngest students.
As the breadth and depth of our program grows, it is
important that we continually assess how our campus can
meet the changing needs of our students. All of these
renovation projects have been carefully planned to have
positive impact on our entire community.
Growing Our Endowment
Of the $6 million the School has pledged to raise in this
capital campaign, $2 million is slated to go into the
Building Memories
dance studio with bars and mirrors, alleviating competition for use of the stage by choral groups and dance
groups.
Secondly, a larger endowment will support our
commitment to financial aid and scholarship assistance for
deserving students. Approximately 40 percent of our
students now receive some amount of financial aid or
scholarship, ensuring economic, cultural, and ethnic
diversity in our classrooms. Currently, this commitment to
financial aid and scholarship assistance is met through the
operating budget. There is enormous pressure to balance
the School’s commitment to financial assistance with the
obligation to meet other expenses. That means that every
year, young men and women who are academically
qualified to study at Manlius Pebble Hill
School and who would be real
assets to the School, are unable
to attend because our
financial aid or scholarship
funds for the year are
exhausted.
Hundreds of Manlius
Pebble Hill School
alumni have directly
benefited from
financial aid and
scholarship assistance
throughout the School’s
history and can personally
attest to the fact that their
lives would be significantly
different today had they not been
given the opportunity to attend this
School. In addition, our scholarship recipients historically
have added great value to our community by bringing
different perspectives and talents to the student body.
The best approach to protecting Manlius Pebble Hill’s
commitment to financial aid and scholarship is to grow
the endowment. That effort will, in every sense, be an
investment in the School’s future and in its future of
generations of students.
33
Building Memories
Library Media Center
Remember that book that stirred your imagination? That
changed your view of the world? What you discover in a
library - what you read - can challenge you, motivate and
exhilarate you. It can awaken you to realities and
possibilities.
The anchor of any academic institution is its library. In a
school that values the life of the mind, the library should
be prominently located, aesthetically inviting, and
supportive of all the learning endeavors of students and
faculty. It should be equipped to bring the world into
focus through technology. It should be a place to study,
read, contemplate, and learn.
Manlius Pebble Hill’s library is currently located in the
basement of the Amos Building, far from the flow of
student activities and classrooms. The square footage of the
library has not changed in recent decades, even though
enrollment has more than doubled. The library must
accommodate all grades in a single space, so a teacher may
be reading aloud to a group of Second Graders in one area
of the library while Juniors are researching constitutional
law a few feet away. Without dedicated spaces for small
group work, teachers and students feel the frustration of
balancing the advantages of group work with the need of
others for quiet study, research, and reading. In short, the
existing library is poorly equipped to serve the current
needs of students and faculty.
The new Library Media Center will be built at the back of
the McNeil building, overlooking the Chappell athletic
field. In addition to distinct spaces for the Lower School
and Middle/Upper School libraries, the building will
34
include a reading room, a computer lab, two additional
classrooms, and spaces for teaching, group and individual
work. The new Library Media Center will allow the library’s
book collection to grow from 11,000 to 20,000 volumes.
Acknowledging that we now live in an age of instant
information, the design will provide for a technology
infrastructure to integrate online and print resources
seamlessly throughout the facility.
The library should be a space that brings us all together
while meeting our different needs – from First Graders
gathered in a circle for storytime to Model United Nations
students researching global warming to a quiet place for an
alumnus to rekindle memories. The new Library Media
Center will become just this space, anchoring the School,
telling the world what we value, and serving the entire
school community.
We have now raised over $3.8 million in pledges against
our campaign goal of $6 million, with 100 percent of our
Board of Trustees and Alumni Association Board
committed to the campaign. Perhaps most significantly,
100 percent of faculty members and administrators have
also pledged their support, and a growing list of families
have committed to the campaign. The School’s
administration and campaign volunteers look forward to
the opportunity to sit down with as many parents, alumni,
and grandparents as possible to share our story and ask for
support.
Student Life
School Traditions
&
ho was your prom/Winter Carnival date? First crush?
Most satisfying team sports victory? Favorite teacher? It
seems that, regardless of how long ago we graduated from
high school, many details remain very vivid (although
perhaps somewhat embellished) in our minds. This is not
nearly as often the case with other parts of our lives, especially
most of the many years spent since those school days. Why
not? We can speculate, but it does appear that the years we all
spent at Manlius, Pebble Hill, or MPH are simply a singular,
unique stage of our lives.
As with many remembrances, we often look back upon those
years with rose-colored lenses, in the way that I recall being a
star on the soccer team, lead in the school musical, most
popular kid in the class, straight-A student (hey, why not I’m on a roll), and so forth. There’s no need to confuse things
with the facts, so at least this is the way that I (choose to)
remember it. The good news is that part of the bargain allows
us these “adjusted” memories, with no one eagerly volunteering to correct us (or remind me that I wore braces all
through high school and got the “small” locker senior year).
Remember physics? Not the class, classroom, and teacher, but
the actual substantive material taught? (No cheating if you
have a son or daughter who recently struggled through this.)
Didn’t think so. How about English? Again, surely we recall
our instructors, their mannerisms, our classmates, the room
where class was held – but can you remember what Hamlet
meant by “A little more than kin and less than kind.”?
(Probably you didn’t understand it even back then, but that’s
much ado about nothing). Or what John Donne meant by
“Get with child a mandrake root”? Or even who John Donne
was in the first place? Most of our time in school was
W
obviously spent in the classroom (and on homework), yet
most of that information seems to be locked away in that
very dark, hard-to-find part of our brain.
Contrast that with the most trivial details of our nonacademic student life experiences in high school: the dress
worn to the school dance, the music we listened to, butter
fights in the mess hall, the skunk smell in the Barn, the large,
marble “Head Boy” plaques on the walls, your sports team
jersey number, the Phoenix Tavern.
Most of us probably cannot recall much of what we did at
work five years ago (or last week), yet we remember
seemingly far less important minutia pertaining to Mr.
Lawrence’s bust of Homer, hiding liquor behind dorm room
mirrors, standing in formation through Central New York
winters, visiting Suburban Park, daily lunch in the
Farmhouse, Mr. Denton’s wall of magazine covers.
That so many of us continue to harbor so many memories
from a relatively brief period of time many years ago is a
testament to the fact that these “trivial” things were actually
not trivial at all, but in their own way represent an experience
which shaped us into the men and women we’ve become.
And that is why, while we lock away the formula for a Mole
(6.02 x 10[23]) deep in our memories’ biggest black hole, we
choose to carry memories of our days at Manlius, Pebble Hill,
or MPH in our front pocket, to remind us from where we
came, who we are, and (if we choose sometimes) how we
once scored the winning goal in the C.U.P.S. League
Championship, were prom king/queen, valedictorian, and –
of course – invented the Internet. Enjoy.
President, Josh Wells ’89, President
Alumni Association Board
35
The Manlius School
Code of Honor
and Conduct
Manlius Student Handbook
As a member of the Corps of
Cadets of The Manlius School, I
will endeavor to live by its motto:
“Manners Makyth Man.” It
signifies that the right conduct of
man is characteristic of civilized
society and indicative of highmindedness, honor, courage, and
unselfishness.
1.
I will be truthful and honest
in my association with
others.
2.
I will conduct myself as a
gentleman in public and
private, always concerned for
the good name of the
School.
3.
I will practice the highest
ideals of sportsmanship,
playing courageously but
fairly in all contests.
4.
I will take proper care of my
belongings and respect the
property of others.
5.
I will accept my
responsibilities as a cadet
and perform all tasks
promptly and properly.
6.
7.
I will give my best effort on
all school assignments and
will work to make my
signature a pledge of honest,
personal work.
I will familiarize myself with
and follow the rules and
regulations of the School at
all times.
_____________________________
Signature
the MANLIUS School
I noted
the other
day a
snow
storm was
reported approaching Syracuse and that
the temperature was expected to plunge
to single digits.
If at one time you were a kid standing
at attention for what seemed like
forever on a snowy evening during the
retreat ceremony, a biting wind
sweeping up the hill, you can appreciate
the appeal of points south - far south.
I used to feel sorry for the guys in “C”
Company because they were subjected
to a double whammy; they had to fall
out at their dorm then march in
formation up the hill to stand retreat. I
still can see all of us leaning ever so
slightly into the wind as poor Herb
Forst, standing at the foot of the
flagpole and hoping, I’m sure, the
mouthpiece wouldn’t stick to his lips,
struggled to blow “Retreat” on his
cornet (or was it a trumpet?), hitting
the notes more or less at random and
causing a collective cringe and giggle at
every clinker coming out the end of his
horn. Old Glory always came down,
however, and then, gratefully, we
trooped into the mess hall, frozen feet,
runny noses and all.
For me one of many cherished Manlius
memories.
Bill Kilpatrick, ‘43A
An indelible impression was made on
me early in my first year. One day at
noon mess the cadet adjutant, Doug
Florance ’42A, his hands trembling,
read an order busting the four-pip and
stoic First Captain to private. I never got
over the shock of that young man’s
humiliation, and I never learned the
nature of his offense. What I did learn
from that experience was to pay
attention.
Bill Kilpatrick ’43A
36
A January night in 1943. Rich Flagg and
I occupied the Northwest corner room
on the ground floor of Thomson Hall.
After Rich turned in I opened fully both
the North and the West windows. It
snowed HEAVILY that night - from the
NW, of course. Come morning, we had
approximately two inches of snow
throughout our room - on the bunks,
desks, everywhere! Rich moved up to
the third floor (HQ Company) that day.
Took me two weeks to convince him to
return.
Bob McClinton ‘43A
After graduation in 1943, I voluntarily
enlisted in the army. When called for
induction and by sheer coincidence,
George Clune II ’43C and I went by
train to NYC for induction and then
went through basic training together.
Contact was lost until after the war.
It took another 60 years until the
autumn of 2003 to find out that I was
only a few miles away from Albert Reed
’43HQ. Thanks to that year’s Manlius
Pebble Hill Clambake, these contacts
were reestablished (and also with Dick
Arnold ’43HQ.)
Cleland Ross ’43HQ
Hijinks in Thomson Hall
The year was 1942 and it was one of the
first warm spring days. The rear sloping
roof of Thomson Hall facing away from
the campus became a tempting place
for several adventuresome cadets to
Sneaking back from Cazenovia and/or
Suburban Park… the coziness in Fay
McCarthy’s barbershop... the gravelly
voice of Major Jacobs. Sunday afternoon
return parades… Limestone Creek and
the related lime collecting in our palms
when showering… the woven
newspaper ceiling in the movie theater
in town…the shooting range.
Art Henahan ’45A
Cross-country practice was a good way
to legally go off-grounds!
Anonymous ’47
Parking my Model A behind the
bleachers at the football field.
Weekends, Pete Pratt and his stepbrother would go to Cooperstown to
the Knox School for Girls and meet
some very nice ladies. One weekend we
went to Lake Placid. I took part in Vegas
II not III, connected with John Cossitt
’56A.... now deceased.
Dorm Room
Becomes a Wind Tunnel
Hampton M. Miles ’49HQ
With my first year at Manlius learning
the ropes, I decided for my next year to
make some “improvements” in my
dorm room’s heating and cooling.
During the summer vacation, I built an
automatic temperature controlling
device that would fit in place of one
glass panel of a window in Thomson
Hall. It was a wooden box sized to fit in
a single panel of glass in the window.
The box had a hinged glass back that
would swing open. It also contained a
fan, a thermostat, and an old wind-up
clock. The key for the clock alarm windup was rigged to hold the glass panel
open. On hot days, the fan would blow
in cool air. At night, with outside air
cold, the clock’s alarm key (bell
removed) would start rotating at a preset time and cause the panel to swing
closed while switching off the fan, if not
already off by action of the thermostat.
This allowed time for the dorm room to
warm up before getting up. The room
became known as “Ross’ Wind Tunnel.”
In the spring of 1951, my three friends
and I (Dave Small ’52A, Jack Kokoletsos
’51B, and Bob Allan ’51B) decided to
visit “Birdland” in New York City. At
the time, it was a Mecca for jazz music
on the east coast. It still exists today
even though jazz today is quite different
than it was then.
A Conversation with
Pete Hovell ’52C
climb out on
it. They then
decided it
would be cool
to shed
clothing for
some full
body tanning.
It might have
gone
unnoticed
were it not for one of the cadets slipping
and falling rear-first onto a sharp roof
tile. This ended the caper and made
necessary several stitches in the poor
cadet’s behind. I can still see him to this
day maintaining a stiff posture in classes
while sitting on only one side of the
chair. It was a dumb and dangerous
thing, but it was cause enough for much
levity among the other cadets – they too
in stitches! I’m not certain, but the
school authorities most likely felt that
this was punishment enough!
David Murphy ’51A
Dodge Gymnasium fire
Manlius provided me with a foundation for my life. I benefited from the
education, discipline, organization, and
socialization. I can clearly remember
my great teachers, Sedgwick, Shankweiler, Edwards, Shaw, Verbeck, and
MacDonald. In contrast, I have no
recollection of my college instructors.
And there are many other memories –
watching my first television in Lee
Sedgwick’s apartment, the fire at Dodge
Gym, company competition, trips to
Syracuse, drinking beer behind Verbeck
Hall, intramural football (B league),
and butter fights in the mess hall - to
name a few.
Peter Hovell ’52C
Responses from Alumni Office
are italicized
Thanks for your submission. I am
intrigued.
The first time you watched TV was in Lee
Sedgwick’s apartment? Do you remember
what you saw? I would love to hear more
about that.
Seated at the table, from left to right are: Dave
Small ’52A; Dave Murphy ’51A; Slim Gaillard,
Birdland musician; Jack Kokoletsos ’51B; and Bob
Allan ’51B; standing is Duke Ellington, the
famous jazz musician and composer who was
visiting Birdland to hear Slim Gaillard who played
10 instruments and spoke eight languages.
Lee Sedgwick was the Commandant
(i.e., he lived in the dorm with his
wife and two boys) of C Company.
C Company was down the hill next
to Dodge Gym and between the
infirmary and General Barker’s
house. We watched Friday night
boxing.
37
tion and it was full of quarts of beer. But
these were part of the great life Manlius
offered and I still consider it the most
important phase of becoming an adult.
Also…you remember the fire in the Dodge
gym? If I have this right, the Barber gym
was not built until a few years later,
leaving the athletic teams to practice in the
town of Manlius. How did the fire start?
Were the cadets on campus? Did they have
to help the fire department?
Dodge Gym - I do not know who
started it - but I think that it was
an electrical fire. Yes, school was
in session. A lot of us helped the
firemen with their hoses - but
overall they wanted us away from
the scene. The building was
gutted – but did not fall in. The
gym had a swimming pool, a rifle
range and a basketball court.
Regarding the fire - I should think
the old newspapers and OB
Magazine would have covered it –
it was probably in 1951.
I also wonder what the punishment was for
the dining hall butter fights!?
I am not sure that we were caught.
If you took a pat of butter and put
it on a cloth napkin - then
snapped the napkin swiftly - it
would go up in the air - and the
objective was to get it to stick to
the ceiling. If we were caught - we
would probably have been ordered
to march back and forth outside
Comstock Hall for X number of
hours. As I think of it - I think we
did it as a random act. Most lunch
meals you had faculty members
sitting with you at the table.
Mike Taitch ’53A
athletic and military awards
(annual company competition we were like the Yankees - we
won more often than any other
company). When we marched up
the hill in the morning - we were
there for the day - whereas the
other cadets could go to their
dorms when they had a break.
I remember acquiring the keys to the
military carryall for transport to the
Syracuse University campus during
evening hours of darkness. I also
remember prior to an in-room inspection encouraging excessive flatulence so
the aroma would shorten the
inspector’s visit.
Another time, we welded Whitey
Anderson’s Chevy to the curb with
short pieces of steel and thermite
process sand relieved from the
chemistry lab.
Then there was the time we
reassembled a “Model A” Ford in Dr.
McDonald’s outer office during the
night. The fireguard saw and heard
nothing according to his report.
Emmett Greenleaf ’53HQ
I often wish I could go back in time to see
the Manlius campus in action. I spend a
lot of time in the school archives and am
quite fascinated by the history. Strolling
around the former campus, you can still
feel the spirit of Manlius today.
C Company had a very high
esprit de corps – being down the
hill and away from everyone else.
Also, Lee Sedgwick was a great
mentor and leader. We won a
disproportionate number of
38
I remember that Capt. Shaw and Tom
Cahill took the place of my father and
helped me through growing pains of
“regimentary” living. They are both
heroes in my memory. I also remember
the not so publishable times: Our
Sunday afternoon cocktail parties in A
Company where we had built little bars
behind the wall mirrors and stocked
well. A horrible moment when the
horrid Col. Smaim lifted my gym bag
from my window seat during an inspec-
I remember the snowball fights where
“C” Company would take everyone else
on and check them in to their barracks.
William H. Parker, III ’55C
It was the Spring of 1956, basketball
season was completed and the weather
was still cold. Lee Shaffer from
Company A and I, from Company C,
decided that we had had enough of
Manlius and went AWOL. We hitchhiked to Syracuse with no “bags” and
ended up at the Greyhound Terminal.
He going to Pittsburgh and me to
Malone, N.Y. When we said “good-bye,”
we never knew if we would see each
other again… to say nothing of going
back to Manlius.
I was in Malone only 8 hours before
my father drove me back to Manlius,
and, before Capt. Sedgwick, he said
“you have my permission to do
whatever you want... and I think he
should be punished accordingly for his
actions.” So I spent the next two
months marching “extra-duty”... and
the next day guess who was also
back...Lee Shaffer... who, of course, was
issued the same punishment by Capt.
Sedgwick... he took “no pity” and said
it was one of the most severe
“punishments” he had issued as
Commandant of Cadets.
To make it worse, he forbid Lee and I
to speak. So the only times we were
together were “marching” and the first
day our hours were increased by 10
because we were laughing while
marching. We spent everyday there
marching, in the rain, in the sleet, and
in the snow…probably more than any
other two cadets in Manlius history...
fortunately graduation was NOT denied
to either of us.
Ernie Mason ’56C
Faculty member Frank Milliman had a
boxer dog named “Candy” during 19551958.
Col. John Marsh ’46B,
faculty member ’57-’60
Fred Benedict ’58A
I remember running the electric floor
buffer in the halls and company room
in prep for Saturday morning inspections & Government Inspections…
smelling the perfume on my pillow after
the girls went home and we moved back
into our rooms, after having been
billeted in the infirmary and/or doubled
up in other barracks. Smelling the
Wedge’s cigar smoke as soon as he
sneaked into the barracks during
evening study hours. Hearing Chaplain
Laine recite the Book of Prayer from
memory in Sunday Chapel. Trying to
avoid getting caught sunning ourselves
on the mattresses we dragged onto the
roof of Thomson Hall.
students formed up and marched, whatever the weather, all the way into the
village of Manlius to attend Mass at St.
Ann’s on Academy Street. The people
there were very friendly. Military Science
and Tactics classes were realistic. We had
many field exercises. One that stood out
in my mind was the day our eleven man
squad advanced in two groups across a
smoke-filled football field to an
“enemy” target. We had M-1’ rifles with
blanks and the “enemy” at their end of
the field had a machine gun with
blanks. Not a game, we were graded on
our battle. I really enjoyed Mr. Shaw’s
forestry club. We not only learned a
great deal about trees, but on at least
one occasion, our group spent an entire
day planting trees on a local farm.
When I last saw that land, the trees were
at least 50-feet tall.
The dog got loose one day and
encountered a skunk. Frank asked for
volunteers to shower the dog in the old
field house. Three or four of us
“volunteered” to wash the dog in the
shower room in bathing suits using
brushes, dog shampoo, and cans of
tomato juice. It was quite a scene as the
dog did not enjoy the process and the
skunk smell was unbelievable. We all
had to shower afterwards to get the
skunk smell off of ourselves! To thank
us, Frank took us to dinner the following Sunday before the afternoon parade.
Annie was the black Newfoundland B
Company mascot. When my wife and I
lived beneath the Phoenix Tavern, we
had a Springer Spaniel—Nancy—who
made friends with Annie. The latter
loved to dig into a snow bank and
spend the night. I could always find my
dog, who was not made for cold, cold.
Then there was the Saint Duchess, who
in my cadet days belonged to Col.
McCarthy. She’d come up the hill—
sometimes on her own—and spend the
day under McCarthy’s secretary’s desk. I
don’t know if photos of her have
survived.
Bob Obrest ’59B
Barry S. Knaut, 1st Lt. B. Company, George
Montgomary, Major HQ Company, Dick Greene,
1st SGT B Company, Annie, Company B Mascot,
given to Mr. McPhee in 1952.
Annie (Annastasia) was the B Company
mascot and lived in the MacPhees’
apartment in the front right corner of
Hadley Hall. Like many “Newfies,” she
developed hip dysplasia and had to be
put to sleep. I think she lived with us in
Hadley Hall for perhaps three years?
One afternoon some of us were talking
in the Phoenix Tavern when we started
laughing about something. I ended up
aspirating part of a milk shake, which
alarmed me considerably. Steve Wynn
was there and immediately calmed me
down. I couldn’t have had better care if
he had been a physician.
Bill Rankin ’59HQ
Bill Goff ’59B
Annie, the B Company mascot, poses for a photo
At the end of many very busy school
days, I needed more time to study, but
the order passed through our B
Company barracks, “lights out,“ so
under my bed covers, I studied into the
night with a book and my flashlight.
Every Sunday morning, most students
marched a short distance to the Manlius
Chapel on campus, but Catholic
I was an immature, humorless twit who
worked his ass off for three years,
willing to trade a self-imposed state of
fear and over achievement for a chest
full of medals and a scholarship to a
good college. I imagine that most
graduates will settle for tales of nostalgia
rather than their real stories. Being a
teenager in an all boys military school is
a fast way to grow up with an elitist
39
attitude and a love/hate relationship
with the military.
John Scarlett ’60C
I remember how rough it seemed to
stand in formation at 6:30 in the
morning, in the cold, drizzle, snow. I
remember snapping to attention in the
mess hall, and all students standing
straight when the teacher entered the
classroom. I remember with pride, even
today, how good the cadets looked on
the parade field on a warm spring
afternoon. If I shared them all, the
memories would fill a book.
Donaldo Hart ’61HQ
Hey, it was a boys’ school and boys will
be boys and Manlius is where I started
smoking. Why? Because we weren’t
supposed to. I was able to have my
dorm door closed during study hour
and I smoked by the window and I
found a couple of, what I thought, very
clever ways to hide the evidence. Our
bunk beds had hollow metal legs with
metal caps. They made for very handy,
very large ashtrays. During the winter,
Mother Nature took care of it. We just
dropped our butts out the window.
Until…yep…spring time. The snow
melted and there was this very large pile
of cigarette butts under our window.
Fortunately, my room was on the third
floor. Who? Me?
There was Suburban Park, the amusement park across the street. Now, who
could resist that? It beckoned to us
cadets. There was the music, the lights,
the girls and we were, after all, boys. So,
we would sneak across the highway and
Students smoking in the Phoenix Tavern?!
40
into the park and stroll through the
various activities and flirt with the girls
from town. But we had one rule, stay off
the rides. If Capt. Sedgwick came into
the park and we were on a ride, there
was no escape. And there were many
chases across the highway and the
football field back to the barracks with
Capt. Sedgwick’s headlights in hot
pursuit. Some of us did find the tunnel
that went under the highway. Look, it
was good field training.
Dave Rosso ’61C
I was thinking about meals, not that the
food was so good, but the speed in
which the entire corps could be fed. I
was also remembering that Manlius was
a place in which we said grace before
every meal: “We thank thee, Dear Lord,
for this provision of thy bounty. Bless it
to our use we pray thee. Give us grateful
hearts and keep us every mindful of the
needs of others through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen Seats!”
I also had the pleasure of spending my
last two years at Manlius in Farmer Hall,
in the 3-man room on the bottom floor.
Not only was this closest to Suburban
Park, but closest to the highway. So,
every once in a while we would bemoan
the absence of curtains. Then we would
remember our motto. “If they hadn’t
seen it before, they wouldn’t know what
it was. If they had, it was no big thing
anyway.” Funny what an all boys school
will lead to.
while. I played in a rock and roll band
at Manlius but I don’t remember the
name of the band. We had a lot fun
though and I do remember that John
Hayden was also in it. Great memories
from the school – helped me a lot in
my future – got me into college too.
Hope this is something – I can’t tell
some of the stuff we did – I would get
hard duty!
Funniest thing I can remember is seeing
Ukers underwear up on the Flag Pole in
the morning – there are more but that
one sticks in my mind. We took all the
beds in Farmer Hall and put them
outside one morning.
Nick Verro ’61B
The Ring Dance
Let’s see – what memorable moments
do I have about The Manlius School? I
do have a lot. One of the most
memorable things I remember is the
Chaplain – he had a great influence on
my life and my future. Also the
“Wedge.” I saw him years later at Ithaca
College and he was behind me – he
said “Hey there Nick Verro!” I was
shocked that he remembered me. He
was an amazing man. I played football
at Manlius and the big game I remember was when we played the West Point
Plebes! I was hit so hard I still remember because it rocked my boat for a
The Ring Dance, 1963, and my date is
Carole Conklin, Miss Teenage Syracuse
of 1962. Gorgeous blonde and I’m
envied by all. Then came the highlight
of the evening – the kiss while standing
in the Ring replica – and the photographer is there to catch the Big
Moment. And boy does he catch a
moment, a great shot of our kiss but
what’s the suave cadet doing? Standing
right on her toe. That was my first and
last date with Miss Teenage Syracuse!
Bill Darrin ’63HQ
After a meal I remember climbing up to
the water tower with friends, Neal
Rogers and Al Farrell, to have a smoke
and Captain Sedgwick, a.k.a. the Wedge,
would be waiting for us. Needless to say
we had to forgo the smoke that day.
David Frier ’64C
Mike Olshan ‘64 HQ
In late May of 1965, a week or two
before graduation, I found a newly
hatched snapping turtle at the bottom
of Limestone Falls. This little turtle still
had the remnant yolk sac on its belly. It
was submerged, belly-up on the gravel a
few feet from the wash of the falling
water. It appeared the little turtle had
come over the waterfall.
I picked up the turtle, it was limp. As I
turned it over and right-side up in the
palm of my hand, it moved. The
decision was made to rescue this critter.
Plans were made to conceal the turtle if
the Battalion Staff or Faculty were going
to take it away. But we didn’t have to;
they either ignored it or offered it food.
Someone in Farmer Hall coined the
name “Turkle”, and that name stuck.
Many visitors said Turkle was getting
bigger, as it learned to reach out and
take food from our fingertips. The turtle
appetite was indeed growing.
Are you speaking of things like: The
“great pickle fight of 1965” held in
Thomson Hall, 3rd floor vs. 2nd floor?
Hoisting Mrs. Wilson’s (Gen. Wilson’s
wife) unmentionables up the flag pole
for Senior prank? Resetting the entire
mess hall in the quad area while setting
General Wilson’s silver Corvette in the
mess hall? Scattering clues around
campus so that “the Wedge” would have
to drive his grey 4 door Oldsmobile
(with snow tires always on it for all
seasons) all over the grass on campus in
order to try and catch us? Which he
didn’t ...that time!! How lunch time in
Comstock Hall was always punctuated
by the sounds of cadets up stairs with
Col. Sedgwick saying, “Thank you sir!!!
May I have another?“ Do you mean
stuff like that?
The Manlius School, during my time
there, was light years ahead of the
nation with respect to integration and
equal opportunity. While the South was
in an uproar over desegregation and the
Ku Klux Klan was running amuck (de
jure segregation) and the North was
apathetic on the subject (de facto
segregation), The Manlius School
accepted African-American students and
many, such as Chip Hasbrouck ’62A,
George Lawrence ’62B, Odell Hancox
’63C, John Sutton ’63HQ, Morris
Thomas ’65A were all positive role
models in forming what became a lifelong passion of supporting the civil
rights movement after graduation from
Manlius in 1964. After a stint in Florida
as a VISTA volunteer and later as a law
student at Miles College in
Birmingham, AL (a historically Black
college) in the 1970’s, I relocated to
Detroit and have served as Legal
Coordinator of the Fair Housing Center,
a civil rights organization that
investigates and litigates housing
discrimination cases for the past 30
years. I wish to acknowledge The
Manlius School’s progressive thinking in
the 1960s and a belated personal note
of thanks to Chip, George, John, Dell,
and Morris.
I shared a room on the south first floor
of Farmer Hall with Fred Knox. Fred
helped me conceal the turtle, nurse it
and feed it. It began to respond to
earthworms found outside…and boy
baby turtles sure can eat. We tried some
raw hamburger that a cadet on tablewaiter duty had “liberated” from the
school kitchen. The turtle got sick and
nearly died until it ejected that lousy
meat from both ends. Another happy
diner’s reaction to the school’s food
service! Fresh worms or grubs from the
area around the dorm brought the turtle
back to health.
Robert Lichorwic ‘65A
After commencement, parades and pack
up, my mom and dad (Richard W.
“Dick” Hawley, ‘27C) agreed to take
“Turkle” on our drive back to Washington State, as my dad had rescued turtles
while growing up in Iowa.
The arrival of summer meant, get a job,
college or the Armed Forces in the fall
so I had to agree to release Turkle in late
June to our pond on rural Camano
Island in the northwest of Washington
State. The yolk sac was gone and Turkle
was indeed healthy and growing. Turkle
swam off into the duckweed, but that
was not the last I saw of him.
Late summer of 1972, I was in the Navy
in WESTPAC. My dad sent a photo from
the Stanwood (WA) News of a neighbor
man holding a live snapping turtle he
found in his pond. This turtle was over
12 inches across the shell. The State
Game Agent said the snapping turtle
was a male, it was not a ‘native’ species,
so it must have been ‘imported’, the
only one found in the area. It was taken
to a local zoo and The Manlius turtle
lived happily ever-after, I hope.
Rick Hawley ’65HQ
Winter Carnival
During the Winter Carnival dance I
remember getting a good stiff poke in
the ribs by Lee Sedgwick for dancing too
close to my date. Boy, that guy had eyes
in the back of his head!
Dick Moran ’65HQ
At one of the dances I was given the first
“TIME OUT” for smooching on the
dance floor and it was with a teacher’s
daughter.
Chuck Cross ’66A
41
You’re talking to the all time record
holder for soak slips!
life and what true friendships are all
about... Thanks Dave for our friendship!
Bill Shallcross ’66C
Steve Burchesky ’66C
You never know where a seemingly bad
friendship may go! That is what I never
thought of when I threw my summer
roommate, Dave Corcoran, out of our
dorm room and into the hallway at
Farmer Hall. I don’t recall what Dave
did or said at the time...but I know it
didn’t agree with me! That summer of
‘63 was my second summer at Manlius.
I thought I’d never see Dave Corcoran
again! Well...what was never part of my
high school plans was becoming a fulltime cadet at Manlius! That quickly
changed inside of a year. In the fall of
1964, I found myself enrolled as a
cadet, dressed in a “C” uniform and in
Hadley Hall.
It was the first day of school when I
decide to explore my new surroundings.
I was walking down the hall on the 2nd
floor thinking back when I was last at
Manlius wearing cut off shorts and a
madras shirt. Suddenly, down the hall
came a cadet with a red cord, lots of
medals, lots of stripes and his spit
shinned shoes with big ‘ol heels
rhythmically stomping at a fast pace.
“Oh my GOD!” I screamed inside...It’s
that jerk Dave Corcoran! I just imagined
Dave pushing me against the wall,
arrested and tossed into the stockade for
insubordination. I began shaking as he
came closer. Maybe he wouldn’t
recognize me! I could run but knew I
could not hide. I had to face whatever
was coming my way. As Dave came up
to me, he stopped - looked at me,
leaned forward and said “STEVE
BURCHESKY...HOW THE HELL ARE
YOU???” and shook my hand like a
long lost friend!
Dave and I became the best of friends
over my next two years at Manlius and
today, Dave and I are the dearest of
friends and see each other about once a
year or so when he comes to our home
for a visit. That incident when I tossed
Dave on his kisser back in 1963 has
certainly been retold on occasion...but it
is all just a laugh now... It was just a
small wrinkle in the whole scheme of
42
I remember:
■ Mr. Weeks (Director of Admissions)
had a huge head of white hair the
day he accepted me.
■ Col. Potter never raised his voice.
■ Standing by the door of my room in
Thomson Hall at the end of study
hall ready to race downstairs to the
Day Room to get a good seat for the
TV show Hulabaloo.
■ Cmdr. Rugh’s Saab, the only car that
had front wheel drive in those days,
the rear wheels would freeze up in
the winter and we had to push him
to try and help free them up.
■ Cmdr. Rugh screaming “The Lord
helps those who help themselves!”
■ Col. Morse always was willing to
open the gym for us to shoot hoops
on Sunday afternoons in the winter.
I now understand the sacrifice he
made for us and I am grateful. Those
were good games.
■ Nobody wanted to guard Col. Morse
in a pick up game because he was so
quick!!
■ Bill Edwards had a great voice
barking out orders to the Battalion.
■ Jack Maddox gave a history quiz
everyday!
■ Rev. Scarlett’s daughter was a
beautiful young lady!
■ The Drill Team that went to the
World’s Fair.
■ I loved being CQ.
■ “First Call. – 10 to check out for
reveille – 5 to check out for waiters!
The uniform for the day is C.”
■ Special orders were always
interesting!
■ Smoking in classes.
Mop bucket races
■ We owe Mr. Millard an apology for
the way we greeted his arrival home
to Farmer Hall in the evening. He
did nothing to deserve that.
■ Sam Bigelow never raised his voice
either.
■ Waiting to use the pay phone after
study hall.
■ Dave Edwards and Bernie Shaw were
very reserved gentlemen until they
laughed out loud. They both did
that with great gusto!
■ When Lee Sedgwick talked it was
always LOUD!
■ Mop bucket races! The only time
my skinny little body was an asset!
Charlie Duke could make me fly in
one of those. Nobody could beat
that combo!
■ Our “after midnight” parade in
downtown Manlius, and the Wedge’s
red station wagon arriving on the
scene.
■ Gary Steele was the best athlete I
ever saw in person until I met Wes
Unseld while I was in college.
Brad Garrity ’66C
The Way the Ball Bounces
This is a photo of “Chargin’ Charlie” the
mascot of C Company during the fall
semester of 1966-67. He was owned by
Dan Fogarty, the Company Commandant of C Company in Farmer Hall. Mr.
Fogarty taught history. If memory serves,
he got a job in the athletic department
of SU and left at mid-year.
As you can see from the picture, Charlie
was a scruffy-haired puppy that visited
cadets in their rooms and was spoiled
by all. What you can’t see are his sharp
little puppy teeth. When he was
teething, he used to inflict little pinprick bites on anyone who picked him
up, but we didn’t mind.
I couldn’t begin to imagine what breed
he was, or if he was, as Mark Twain
described one, a “composite.” But he
was cute and we all appreciated having
him around.
John Ellis ’67HQ
The kitchen staff thought they had
stumbled on to a great deal. A whole
bunch of single serving pizzas, wrapped
in plastic. What could be easier! Only
one problem; they had been designed
to be heated in the then-new microwave
oven. What the hey, an oven’s an oven,
right? So in they went to the regular
oven. When they came out, the plastic
wrap had melted into the pizzas. They
were not only inedible, they were
mummified. It turned into a PBJ lunch
that day. The pizzas were never seen
again.
John Ellis ’67HQ
With much ceremony, he was presented
with a brand-new superball. After some
cheers and a NASA-style countdown, he
hurled the superball to the asphalt. We
all looked skyward. Nothing. Then we
looked down. The superball lay
shattered in hundreds of pieces on the
ground. We all wandered away, the
question of conquering Mount
Comstock never to be answered.
John Ellis ’67HQ
It was fore-ordained that Bob Pratt
’67HQ and I would wind up as roommates. Our mothers met in the waiting
room of their mutual obstetrician, and
gave birth to their first-born sons within a few weeks of each other. Twelve
years later, Bob and I met as 7th grade
New Boy Day Students, the lowest form
of animal life. We teamed up for
mutual protection. I think that is what
motivated the powers-that-be to make
us roommates six years later. They
probably figured that we were less
likely to want to throttle the other.
Confession being good for the soul, I
must now own up, publicly, to a prank
I played on Bob John Meyers (Battalion
Commander Cadet Lt. Colonel John C.
Meyers, ‘68HQ) who had a clock that
ran counter-clockwise. He explained to
me that it was simple to make a clock
run backwards. You simply had to
change the positions of two magnets
and voila! I stored this knowledge
away.
“Hey, my clock’s running backward!”
“Oh yeah. We’re in a new dorm and Mr.
Long and the engineers are running the
power backwards through all the south wall
plugs for some test or other.”
Chargin’ Charlie
The Superball appeared on the scene in
‘65 or ‘66, I forget which. They were
amazing. They rebounded to something
like 95 percent of their original drop
height. Throwing them hard returned
amazing results. Physics teachers all
around the country were using them in
their classes. We began to wonder how
high they could go. Could you bounce
one over, say, Comstock? Only one way
to find out. One day, just before lunch
formation, the Battalion gathered in the
Area. The largest, strongest, Red Knights
lineman was led to the center of the
mob.
One afternoon while Bob was at
Driver’s Ed, I sabotaged his clock-radio.
It was some minutes after he returned
that he noticed.
“When are they changing it back! I need
my clock!”
I had to confess before Bob went off in
search of an explanation. He must have
forgiven me because Bob is still one of
my best and most steadfast friends, all
these decades later.
John Ellis ’67HQ
Emergency Rations
On every table at breakfast time, back
in the days when we still had waiters,
was a 10-pack of single-serving cereal
boxes. They were the usual selection of
popular brands. Then there was Triple
Snack. The closest thing to Triple Snack
around today would be a cross between
trail mix and muesli. Nobody ate it.
Pour milk on peanuts? Please! What
only I appreciated was that what was a
failure as a breakfast cereal was a
perfect snack for study hall at night.
One morning, with the connivance of
some friends, I managed to accumulate
14 boxes of the stuff. How to transport
them to Thomson? You weren’t
supposed to take food from the Mess
Hall, after all. Thank heaven for the
loose, floppy “C” jacket. With careful
packing I managed to distribute all 14
boxes in my jacket. They stacked up like
a cereal flak jacket. Soon I had
nighttime snacks for several weeks. As
diligently as I looked, I could never find
Triple Snack in any reputable grocery.
John Ellis ’67HQ
43
A Fish Story
A Few Things
Manlius Taught Me
By John Ellis ’67HQ
Rules of Spit shining:
Materials:
Old T-shirt
Cotton Ball
Handkerchief
Polish:
Straight from the can and
melted under your desk
lamp
Liquids:
Water
Spit
Spray shine from the store
The best nasal decongestants:
Sinex
Horseradish
Brasso
Observations
Can anyone ever forget the smell of
burning Right Guard?
Did you ever notice that there was a
hole in the floor of Doc Williams’
biology lab that was directly above the
large soup kettle in the kitchen below?
Was there ever a more uncomfortable,
fragile, ill-fitting, and generally ugly
garment as those horrible plastic
raincoats?
A Stray Thought… or Two
Remember how you could take your
latex cap cover, suck a little bubble of air
into it, twist it tight to create a little
nodule, and squeeze it to make a
surprisingly loud snap?
We, of the Battalion Staff, having
nothing productive to do, were given
the task of preparing Farmer Hall for the
arrival of the ladies for Winter Carnival.
I don’t remember why, but we “shortsheeted” all the beds.
Impress Your Kids (or grandkids)
Let them know that you went to school
with the man who invented the
emoticon ;). That’s right, Scott Fahlman,
‘65HQ.
John Ellis ’67HQ
44
B Company circa 1967
I recognized this picture immediately, as
well I should. I was the First Platoon
Leader of B Company and this picture is
part of a larger picture of two of my
squads. I caught it good for not having
all the members of the platoon show up
for this photo and the subsequent one
of the rest of the platoon. One in the
know would recognize that the missing
members are mainly the seniors. Since
breakfast was not a mandatory meal at
that time (although it escapes me why),
I allowed those who wished not to go to
mess to fall out at our formation in
front of the new dormitory (unnamed
at the time). If only I had known… I
believe the dog in the photo belonged
to our B Company Commandant, John
Long, and his family.
Mark McDade ’67B
As I recall in ’66 or ’67, Steve Haight
brought a piranha to his room and
charged us rubes a dollar to watch it tear
a gold fish apart. A real “Bomba the
Jungle boy” moment. The piranha and
gold fish immediately became buddies,
so we anxiously awaited nothing and
just sat around watching some fish
swim in a bowl. Well, probably better
than staring at the bare walls. However,
our money was not refunded.
As I recall, the piranha and the gold fish
after being roomies for a couple of days
had a falling out and the gold fish was
halved. It really did resemble barracks
life in Thomson Hall circa ’67... The
piranha eventually succumbed as well
and was flushed, but with a hand
salute!
Jon Statler ’68A
For the Manlius student, there was only
one time when the rules were relaxed
and he could act like a reasonably
normal teenager – SATURDAYS. Depending on afternoon activities,
Saturdays represented anywhere between
five and ten hours of carefree existence.
Study periods filled the evenings
between Sunday and Thursday. Friday
evenings were dedicated to preparing for
Saturday morning inspection. But
Saturday afternoons and evenings
offered a wide range of things to do or
not do. One could amble – not march,
amble—to Knox Hall to watch that
week’s movie; one could watch TV in the
company day room or even just hang
out in one’s room basking in the aura of
unrestricted indolence.
Saturday dinners could come from a
number of sources. There was an
evening meal in the Mess Hall, but
attendance was optional. Cadets on day
passes or Parents’ Permission could dine
off-campus. Many others chose to
forego the Mess Hall for a burger at the
Phoenix Tavern. Then, for a brief period
in my senior year, another option
presented itself – PIZZA. An enterprising pizza parlor in Manlius Village
managed to wrangle permission to
deliver pizzas on Saturday nights to the
school dorms. This arrangement lasted
for only a few months, and I’m not sure
why it stopped. But for a few glorious
weeks the option existed for us to enjoy
something that was prepared for one or
two diners instead of 300.
There were a few times that my roommate Bob Lovell and I would pool our
resources and take advantage of this
fleeting taste of “real-people” food.
[Brief reality check here: In those days,
“pooling resources” consisted of scraping together five bucks for a large pizza
– delivered.] Anyway, we quickly
discovered one of the ironclad axioms of
campus life. If you want to find out the
identities of 150 of your nearest and
dearest friends, simply introduce a pizza
into a dormitory environment. One
whiff of warm pepperoni and there’d be
a lineup at your door knowing how
willing you would be to share.
However, we had an ace up our sleeve:
Bob was perhaps one of three people on
the North American Continent who
enjoyed anchovies. In spite of the fact
that I’d be just as happy if those little
guys remained part of the Mediterranean
food chain, I’d gladly chip in for a large
pizza with pepperoni and anchovies.
The resulting dialogue would be
repeated often:
Us:
“We sure did. It’s got anchovies.
Want a slice?”
Nearest and dearest: “Um, no thanks.”
Following enough of those exchanges to
get the word out that we had the
dreaded fish on our pie, things grew
quiet enough for me to transfer my
anchovies to Bob’s half of the pie
whereupon we could enjoy our pizza yet
still not seem like greedy gluttons to the
rest of the dorm.
Chris Ellis ‘68HQ
During the blizzard of 1966, only about
forty of us Cadets made it back from
vacation. We were commissioned to
Nearest and dearest friend:
“You guys got pizza!”
a.m. when someone got access to the
main building (Comstock) and took
every chair out of every floor and
somehow transported them all to the
top of the gym. Everyone was back in
bed long before sunrise. Monday, they
had to suspend class due to lack of
seating and Seniors were scolded. Not
sure who was the ringleader, but it was
funny.
Always plenty of snow to shovel at Manlius
Dan Klawer ’70C
shovel all the roadways and walkways
by hand for three days. When everybody
made it back to school, the “shoveling
forty” got to go skiing for three days
while everyone else was in class. We
worked hard but we were rewarded.
I was among the forty who had made it
back because my Dad had just bought a
new 4-wheel drive pickup for his
business.
Lucky me.
Jay Johnson ’69B
Well, I can hardly remember the
incident. It was Spring, and definitely
time for the Senior prank, as they called
it. Many Seniors and I’d guess as many
underclassmen as well participated. The
ruse started around midnight to 2:00
I remember the one time I had to go to
“soak line.” This was a panel of other
students/cadets and the company
commander who handed out demerits
and discipline. I was in “C” company
and I got caught smoking out on the
“trail” (a path going into the woods). I
was a freshman and quite apprehensive
about this and rightly so. I received my
demerits but also received a punishment
of having to smoke a “Parodi” cigar
under a wool army blanket. It curbed
my future smoking habits for the rest of
the school year. I have hundreds of
stories about Manlius and Manlius
Pebble Hill, four years worth. They were
some of my most memorable
memories.
John Murray ’71C
pebble hill School
Pebble Hill School Hymn
Oh, Pebble Hill, to thee we pledge
Our efforts one and all
To work each day at books and play
Thine honor to extol;
Fortier, fideliter,
Our motto e’er shall be,
With courage and with loyalty
To win high praise for thee.
45
from that class for many years to come.
Geoff and Anne have since passed on,
but I am hoping to see all of the
members of the class of 1961 at our
50th reunion next year.
Dick Doust ’61
Pebble Hill
When I was 16, we lived down in the
Valley section South of Ballentyne Road.
Moving from public to private school
was different, plus all the new friends to
get to know. Pebble Hill was entirely
different, plus all day from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. was a bit strenuous by itself, but
then I went out for football, playing
right guard against two big guys. I was
aching and always tired.
But the second year was entirely
different - played touch football and
tobogganed down hills across the street,
then was manager of the baseball team.
Combined French of three years into
two, plus Latin of Cicero & Virgil. At
graduation, all ten of us (haha). I
addressed the 5th Form, and received
Citizenship award. Just loved the
homey-relaxed atmosphere out on the
farm! Great teachers/staff!
Ed Barnard survivor of Class of 1938
(depression)
About 2 weeks before we graduated in
June of 1961, a group of us went “over
the hill” with a 6-pack to celebrate our
impending graduation. In those days,
the legal drinking age was 18. In any
case, we got caught drinking on school
property. We were all told to bring our
parents to see the headmaster to discuss
whether we were to be suspended from
school or be allowed to graduate. One
of the guys I got caught drinking with
was Geoff Hodgdon, whose father John
Hodgdon was the headmaster. So Geoff
had to bring his mother to see his
father. The irony of that was not wasted
on our parents, so our punishment was
to clean up the boys locker room in the
old barn. We all graduated and scattered
to the wind, but I still saw Geoff, Don
Timbie, Anne Aloi and Doris Denton
46
(in the late 1950s and early
1960s) was…..
….study hall in a big room together
with everyone in Forms I-VI (a.k.a.
Grades 7-12, or Upper Middle School
and Upper School). Each morning, after
attendance was taken, a different
student each day gave a short speech, a
kind of “Thought for the Day.” Some
were funny, some serious. Some
students looked forward to the
opportunity, and others dreaded it, but
for all it was great practice in public
speaking. The walls of the room were
hung with wooden plaques showing the
winner for many years past of the
annual award for best student in Latin,
French, two foreign languages, English,
etc. How I wanted to see my name up
there for future classes to gaze upon!
…midterm and final grades being
posted in rank order on a bulletin board
at the back of the study hall. Everyone
would rush to the back of the room to
see how he/she (and everyone else) had
done as soon as they were posted. I had
no idea what was happening my first
term there when there was a sudden
rush to the back of the room, and I was
shocked at the public posting. Being all
together in one room meant that we all
truly got to know everyone in all those
grades, not just our own classmates.
And when there were teachers’ meetings,
some of the oldest students were sent to
Lower and Middle School to babysit the
younger kids, so we knew many of them
as well.
…gym (or sports) every afternoon,
inside or outside. The boys who didn’t
want to play football or basketball or
baseball (or who didn’t make the team)
joined the “B Squad.” Later soccer was
added. Every girl was on just about
every varsity team. Even I, who have not
a single athletic bone in my body and
am 5’2”, was on the varsity basketball,
volleyball and field hockey (when we
had that) teams. Tennis and swimming
were more selective. The girls went
bowling once a week. Cheerleading was
the most competitive physical activity
for the girls. “Give me a P! P! Give me
an E! E!...” All the girls wanted to be
cheerleaders, and tryouts were very
important. All games were held in the
gym, which was very small, with hardly
any room for spectators.
….school dances (all held in the gym).
There was sometimes a themed fall
dance, once a square dance, once an
event called “Bubbles, Bangles and
Beads.” (I got my first kiss at a square
dance in the gym, when the caller said
to “kiss your partner.” At that moment,
it was a boy two classes behind me!)
Each year there was a Christmas dance,
with decorations by the senior class. My
senior class had three girls and seven
boys in it, and I persuaded them all to
cut out hundreds of snowflakes one
Saturday (and they had to be 6-pointed,
which is much harder to make than 8pointed – was I crazy?) and hang them
at different heights from threads high
up in the room so it really did look like
a winter wonderland. (Thank you, Bill
Hatch, for all your work on that
ladder!) There was an annual spring
dance, and of course prom night, when
the junior class did the decorations,
which always included the school’s
sparkling crystal ball with lights with
colored gels in front of them. The GAA
(Girls’ Athletic Association, which was
renamed Girls’ Activities Association
when I was its president) sponsored the
spring dance yearly, I believe, and I
think Student Council did the fall
dance.
…Saturday-night parties most weekends
for the whole Upper School in
someone’s basement.
…carpools to get to school for many
kids; a bus from the Sedgwick area off
James Street for others.
…the Great Debate over Kennedy vs.
Nixon in 1960. Anne Cleveland, a
junior whose father (Harlan Cleveland,
then Dean of the Maxwell School of
Citizenship at Syracuse University) was
later appointed Under-Secretary of State
by Kennedy, was one of the debaters
arguing for Kennedy.
…working on The Rolling Stone
(student newspaper) and the Panther
(the yearbook) upstairs in the barn for
hours on end, especially my senior year.
What fun it was, and how proud I was
of the products! I was sad that there
wasn’t a band when I came to Pebble
Hill, but those of us who played an
instrument occasionally got together
and played in The Rolling Stone room.
And there were great choral groups
under Mrs. Crosby, and a very good art
program, too.
…an invitation to join Mrs. Alden’s
Great Books discussion group or Mr.
Jay’s Great Events discussion group,
which was a big deal.
…candy sales at morning recess,
organized by different classes and clubs
to raise money for teams and events.
…lunch daily in the Farmhouse, with
seat assignments changing every two
weeks (?). A senior headed each table
and served the food. We had fish every
Friday. The student council president
made the day’s announcements at
lunchtime, I think.
…and, of course, classes: Latin, first with
Mrs. Joiner (Amo, Amas, Amat…), then
with Mr. Krol. Math with Mr. Krol,
interspersed with philosophical discussions and many anecdotes. English with
Mr. Littlefield (“I don’t like peaches and
regularly. He wanted to know if I had
heard from Gretchen or Lele, but sadly, I
hadn’t.
Frani Rudolph Bickart ’62
I have always been proud of having
been a part of Pebble Hill School. It was
a wonderful opportunity that few
people have the chance to experience.
The small school environment allowed
for the chance to participate in many
activities both athletic and extracurricular that would not have been
possible in a large public school setting.
The academic expectations were
challenging and the preparation for
college was excellent. My experiences
have a great deal to do with who I am
today. I am grateful to be able to return
to Pebble Hill a small amount
compared to what I took with me.
I remember...... how proud I felt when
history teacher Edward Jay announced
that recent grad Don Palmer was aboard
the first submarine ever to go under the
North Polar Icecap. I believe it was the
USS Nautilus in whose wardroom I was
later invited to dine.
I remember....... throwing spitballs over
the head of Mrs. Sherman as she was
writing on the blackboard. They would
hit the wall with a great SPLAT. I never
tried this antic in Mr. Don Thomson’s
classroom. I don’t think anyone did and
lived to talk about it. I remember the
loss of gridder Chuck Macabelli to
Solvay H.S. where he was All City
halfback. The CUPS league cheered. I
wondered how anyone could drive to
school a cooler car than Kem Brannon’s
hotrod. Virginia Speno had to be the
most intense and cutest girl athlete in
the school. But I got nowhere with the
girls. In college, I tried to rekindle a
flame I had for Wendy Hunter by
calling her for a date while she was at
Pine Manor Junior College. I drove 600
miles round trip only to find out she
had a boyfriend in Vermont. I think
they still live in Stratton. I was able to
track down Jack Machold in North
Carolina, and we keep in touch
Did you know that Pebble Hill, in the
early to mid 50s, had a maintenance
person who kept carrier pigeons over
the men’s locker room? I don’t have any
additional information except to say
the gentleman was only with Pebble
Hill one year and lived in the Knox
Farmhouse. This was prior to the
construction of the “new” gym when
the gym and locker room were in the
barn. The birds were over the locker
room and I’m sure there are remnants
of them being there to this day!
… learning how to give and get more
equal treatment for girls and women
than they had had in the past. My
mother, Ruth Rudolph, was, I think, the
first woman appointed to the Board of
Trustees. And how tradition-breaking it
was when Anne Aloi ’61 was elected the
first female Student Council president!
Many of the girls had schemed together
to elect her, feeling that any of three of
the girls in that class would make a
better president than any of the boys,
but knowing that if we split our vote
among the three girls, a boy would win.
Pebble Hill was still all white at that
time, at least in the Upper School, but
there was some religious diversity.
cream over… should it be much or
muchly?”), then Mrs. Alden. French
with Monsieur Tufts. German with Mr.
Stephenson. Chemistry and Physics with
Mr. Van Wagenen. Problems of
Democracy with the headmaster, Mr.
Hodgdon (where we learned, among
other things, about brainwashing, so we
would know how to resist it if we were
ever taken prisoners of war). We also
had to write an essay on how we would
pay for our college education without
our parents’ help. We had to pick a
school, compute the costs, and account
for every nickel. I picked Sarah
Lawrence, then the most expensive
college in the USA. I figured annual
expenses would be $3,600, a fortune in
1961). History with Mr. Jay or Mr.
Littlefield. I think I got an outstanding
education. Excellent, caring teachers and
small classes really helped. Thank you.
John Hamel ’57
It is important that MPH continues its
role in offering Central New York
students the same opportunity that I
enjoyed. It is a great investment for me
as I know the school creates great
citizens for the future. There are not
many things in today’s world that can
give you that return.
Nat Reidel ’65
I only went to Pebble Hill for a year, 6566, but what a year! I tried field hockey,
but hated it, so I was allowed to practice
with the boy’s soccer team. The barn
was very old and drafty, and it always
felt as if it was just one more windstorm
from coming down. I had two classes
47
upstairs in the barn. French with
Monsieur Stevenson, and history, but I
don’t remember that teacher’s name. He
was a former Episcopal priest, and
always had the windows open. We had
to wear many layers in his class. If you
could get him talking about one of his
pet ideas, you could just sit back and
listen to him expound all class. I’m not
sure what I remember from history, but
I left M’sieur Stevenson actually
understanding and speaking French.
Everyone knew everyone else.
Our sophomore class was huge by backin-the-day standards-28 kids, so they
had to split us into two sections.
Fourteen was the highest number of
kids allowed in a class. I was a new kid,
but I never felt that way. I had friends
from frosh to seniors – everyone was
treated as family. The farmhouse was
the Headmaster’s home. I was friends
with Mr. Draper’s daughter, Allison, and
we would go up to her room and hang
out. It was odd to find it the offices
when my kids started going to MPH.
I took Trig in math, and never could do
the steps as they were laid out in the
textbook. They didn’t make sense to me.
One day the teacher asked the answer to
one of our homework equations, and I
was the only one who had gotten the
right answer. He had me put my work
up on the board, then looked at my
work and told me it was all wrong.
There was no way that what I’d done
should have worked. I told him that it
had worked for me. He said, maybe for
I have memories of Chip (Lewis ’79)
being on the Green Team when the
School was Pebble Hill and then on
the Red Team when it became
Manlius Pebble Hill. As a first
grader, he always wanted money to
go to the “Camper’s” Shop (Campus
Shop).
And there are memories of Andy and
Phil attending kindergarten when it
was housed on the 2nd floor of the
Farmhouse. When I was teaching
preschool on the first floor of the
Farmhouse – we used to have music
“sing-a-longs” in what is now the
Headmaster’s Office. Having taught
under five different headmasters and
adjunct under Baxter Ball, a lot of
memories come rushing back – all
wonderful I might add.
Gelene Lewis, former
faculty member
48
Being the only girl in every one of my
classes my first year (junior year) meant
I was guaranteed to be called on. This
meant I had better have done my homework. I also remember not being
allowed to wear pants to school so my
legs were freezing walking between
buildings on the Manlius campus in the
winter…then working to get the administration to allow girls to wear pants.
Lynn Townsend Feindel ’72
this one equation. He then filled the
blackboards with other equations using
my formula, and every one proved
correct. He then had the class copy my
method down, and use it for that night’s
work. I loved all of my year. I wish my
parents could have afforded the $3,000
tuition for my junior and senior year,
but my brother went off to Colgate...
Liz Belden Handler ’68
I was entering Mr. Johnson’s math class
with my hand on the door knob when
the bell rang. He told me I was late and
to leave. I was NEVER late to a class
again!
Susan Martin ’69
(including the teacher) glued to the
window as the woodchuck was captured
and relocated somewhere else.
Gary Beach ’74
I always liked the skunks that raised
families under the barn over the years –
at least throughout the 70s and 80s.
Wes Fleming ’74
Riding in Fred Jacquin’s car from the
Lower School to the Manlius Campus
the first year of the merger. This in and
of itself was nothing unusual unless you
factored in that Chuck Beeler, the dean
of admissions, was the driver of the bus.
It was always a race to see which would
arrive first and if we could stop at the
donut shop for coffee and still arrive on
campus first. It was just a fun way to
start the morning.
I was pledging a sorority that included
girls in Nottingham, Jamesville-Dewitt,
Fayetteville-Manlius and MPH. I had my
pledge ribbon attached to the underside
of my cheerleading uniform (because
you couldn’t deface the uniform with
non-school “stuff”) and was a passenger
in Bob Platner’s car riding back to the
Lower School Campus. I was smoking a
cigarette – which was not allowed in
either uniform or as a pledge, but
figured that no one in the car cared. All
of a sudden I looked up and saw that
we were behind our own MPH school
bus and Cindy Jackles and Laura Lavine
(both in the sorority) were in the last
row of the bus looking back and
shaking their fingers at me for doing a
No-No. I was mortified.
Eating lunch and dangling my feet in
the creek across Route 92 (it wasn’t
quite as busy then as it is now) on
warm spring days.
In the fall of 1970, my parents were out
of town one weekend and I decided to
have a small party at my home after a
Red Knight’s football game. Roger Glass
had his mother’s station wagon and
Eddie Barth had his car – both filled
with PG’s following the cheerleaders in
a caravan traveling down East Genesee
Street (remember, there were no Routes
690 or 481 at that time so Genesee
Street connected everything). At the 5
corners of Salt Springs Road, Bradford
Parkway, East Genesee and Croly Streets
all of the PG’s got out of their respective
cars and proceeded to do a Chinese Fire
Drill around my lead car. Normally this
wouldn’t be such a big deal EXCEPT
that they did it through two cycles of
the stop light AND I was driving
illegally – being only 15 at the time. Just
picture ten BIG football players running
circles around this little Chevy Nova,
banging on the windows, waving their
arms. Roger and Eddie thought it was a
riot. Needless to say I almost had a
heart attack right then and there. I
remember it clearly to this day forty
years later.
I remember Julie Heer choreographing
what was probably the first cheer
“dance” to music. It was to “Windy” by
The Association.
I seem to recall a skunk that inhabited
the space underneath the Barn on
occasion in the early 1980s!
Jenifer Holcombe Soykan ‘83
I think my favorite, or should I say least
favorite pet was the skunk that lived
under the Barn. It would cut loose at
the most inopportune times, usually
when I was in algebra class. I couldn’t
imagine being in Coach Ridall’s office
that was most likely directly over its nest.
Several times my brother and I
discussed the demise of the little rodent.
We even offered Mr. Songster our
services of hunting it down on a
Saturday or some evening. For some
reason he kept turning us down, I guess
something about running around the
school at night with loaded guns made
him nervous.
Alan Wood ’85
I was a graduate from MPH but have
memories from all three schools.
I remember the critters under the barn.
We would often smell skunks. Often on
a cold morning you would know they
were near because the smell permeated
the whole building and it was very
strong. One time during the summer,
there was an infestation of fleas and the
whole building was full of them. I
remember being leery of going into the
building because I didn’t want to get
bitten.
One time, the fish and game warden was
called to campus to trap the woodchuck
who lived under the barn. We did not
learn much that day since we were all
No discussion of mascots would be
complete without a mention of Tom
Denton’s cat, Molly, and the family of
skunks that lived under the Barn in the
‘80s.
Joe Kolinski ’86
Tom Denton’s response:
Joe remembers me making frequent
references to Molly, my first cat as an
adult. I illustrated sort of a mnemonic
device in remembering the meaning of
the word “mollify” when I would calm
down my chronically hyperactive cat.
My fondest “pet” memories, besides
Georgia (the MPH cat of the late 90s
and early 00s), are of the golden lab,
49
The Origins of M.U.N.
Dickler, who was owned by
the Dr. Dubes of Pebble Hill
Circle. Check out a late 70’s
yearbook and you’ll see a
picture of him. I think he
attended more classes one
year than a few of the
seniors.
D
r. Hugh Snyder, MPH faculty member from
1983-1987, shared with the School a report
about MPH’s 1986 participation in The Hague
International Model United Nations conference
(THIMUN). The report was assembled by Anne Roth
Heuber, a staff writer for the Syracuse Herald Journal.
THIMUN has now been in operation for over 40 years
and has grown from 2,000 delegates in 1986 to more
than 3,000 in 2009.
Since 1986, Manlius Pebble Hill has continued to
participate in this exciting conference, and the School’s
Model United Nations program still thrives as a
favorite student activity.
Following is an excerpt from
Ms. Heuber’s 1986 report:
The delegates, experienced in Model United Nations
conferences, were carefully chosen by their peers and
faculty to represent their school. They are the first local
group ever to attend the prestigious conference. The
idea to apply for participation came about through
Robert Slentz, chairman of the science department at
MPH.
In the three years that MPH has had an MUN club,
they had participated in conferences at Georgetown
University, the University of Rochester, Syracuse
University, and Harvard University. English department chair Marsha Gerhart and history teacher Dr.
Hugh Snyder decided to initiate the long application
process. Each school at the conference represents a
nation. For MPH it was Botswana. It was decided to
try for possible open slot, which they won. Luck was
with them as Dr. Snyder spent five weeks in Botswana
in 1979 as a consultant for the Agency for
International Development.
The students quickly became immersed in the study of
Botswana; its political structure, cultural factors,
geographical considerations, economic structures,
natural resources, military factors, and established
views on world problems and history. They became
Botswainians in thought and attitude.
“When we first applied, about a year ago, it was
more of a hope that we would get accepted and
be able to attend, but I didn’t expect to go. This
club has gone far in its three years of existence.
Just yesterday I was a freshman at a very
mediocre conference, now we are leaving for an
international conference, on a different
continent, with kids from around the world.”
Delegate Thomas Stinchcomb ’87
Dickler, the golden retriever of MPH
Tom Denton ’65,
MPH faculty member
1972-2007
So many stories, so many memories. Some of my favorite memories
are included in the class trips we used to take, from Mrs. Danial’s class
trip to Gettysburg, to our Senior trip to the dude ranch! Aghhhh the
sweet smell of sweat from sleeping on the wrestling mats at Wooster
College, to the scrumptious taste of SPAM in Chewonki. How about
stopping at the L.L. Bean outlet on our way back from Maine to make
sure we all stocked up on our bluchers and flannels? Those were such
great memories and I feel so fortunate to have had so many great
opportunities!
Amy (Zaborny) Sutton ’92
I don’t remember how long this went on, but for between a few days
and a week, there was a baby vole that kept popping up outside. It
roamed a triangle area between Bradley, Amos, and the Barn (this was
in maybe ‘94, ‘95?). It was the middle of winter and that is the only
reason I now know what a vole is - no one recognized it so we all did
some research.
Jackie Bunting ’98
I remember when I first entered MPH as a student; I was greeted
warmly by so many. The most memorable was when I entered the
Farmhouse looking for “my” English room. The receptionist showed
me to the upstairs classroom along with a white board, marker, stack
of pencils, and other various items. I stood confused until I realized
she thought I was the professor! Laughs were shared, smiles
exchanged, and memories made. A hilarious start to a great first day!
Dustin Langler Smith ’99
I remember hiding out in the boiler room during the 1998 Christmas
Pageant reading “Into the Wild” for Mr. Denton’s class. I not only got
to miss the pageant, but I finished my homework too!
Zach Sanzone ’00
A special memory of a moment shared with students — friendships
made — teacher-student-”Dr. O” and the Babson family.
Class trips, field trips — when I taught Art History (Senior history —
1967, 1968, 1969) we took a trip to the Albright-Knox Museum in
Buffalo.
Clubs and Sports — We had an after-school “art club”, mostly
middle-school students.
Dr. JoDean Orcutt, former faculty member
50
Naomi Ostrander ’00
Theatrical Antics
I spent a lot of my
time at Manlius
Pebble Hill School
on the stage. From
performing in a
musical or play to
singing in Concert
Chorale, Opus
16, even helping
to form the
Barbershop Quartet. I also
managed to find my way into the
Orchestra and even the Big Band for a
little while. The MPH Performing Arts
Department is definitely a big part of
who I am today. (Thanks, Mr. Copps.)
I live in New York City and I spend
almost all of my time travelling and
acting professionally throughout the
country. I have many wonderful
memories about my time performing at
MPH. I have many wonderful and
talented friends who are succeeding in
the performing arts at a very high level
with whom I’ve shared many of these
memories. But one memory, in
particular, stands out high above the rest.
My senior year Ms. Jackson (Now, Mrs.
Gregory) and Mrs. Koziara chose Guys
and Dolls as their Spring musical. A
wonderful opportunity for a lot of men
to shine on the stage. I was fortunate
enough to play one of the leading roles,
Sky Masterson, while my best friend,
George Telonis, got to play the other
leading man, Nathan Detroit. My other
best friend, Julian Ferraldo, played the
very funny and underrated character role
of Benny Southstreet.
The man behind what makes this
memory special was not a good friend of
mine. In fact, we weren’t very close at all
except when he was in the choir. He had
other interests which actually included a
stint in the Army after high school. His
name was Bill Rose. Bill and I had been
in Fiddler on the Roof together freshman
year. Bill played Nathan’s other lackey,
Nicely Nicely Johnson, whom you may
remember sings the title song “Guys and
Dolls” together with Benny Southstreet
and also “Sit Down You’re Rocking The
Boat.”
Nicely Nicely is a fantastic character role
and Bill did a marvelous job with it.
Traditionally, Nicely Nicely is played by
a rather large individual because the
character in the script is always eating.
Bill was a rather athletic guy in pretty
good shape. The humor was not lost
though as throughout the run of the
show Bill was often found eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a bag of
chips every time he entered the stage.
This is where it gets interesting. One
day, I believe it was a matinee; either
Bill or our spotlight operator Chris
Thomas (who was quite a proficient
trumpet player at MPH) had an idea.
This idea included ordering a six foot
long party sub from Wegmans with
everything on it. This party sub was not
for an after show cast party. It was
intended to be used as a prop during
the show. The only problem was
nobody knew about it except Chris and
Bill. I found out shortly thereafter and
got to witness the pay-off to this
wonderful plan.
There is a scene in Guys and Dolls that
leads into the song “The Oldest
Established” where every gambler in
town is on stage asking Nathan where
the crap game is going to be. Almost
every boy in the show was onstage for
this scene. No one knew about the sub.
So here comes Bill, party sub in hand,
onstage with his mouth full and he was
chomping away on oily “subby”
goodness trying desperately to get his
line out. It didn’t matter everybody on
stage lost it! George and Julian tried to
fight their laughter and deliver their
lines but it was no use. The
underclassmen turned themselves
upstage, away from the audience, to
soften the blow. The house went nuts as
well. Everyone was laughing! The sound
was deafening.
Remember the big pre-first-day-ofschool picnic when we all got together,
met our classmates, picked up our
books, science goggles, P.E. uniforms
and then ran around the upper field
eating charred hamburgers and
hotdogs? Maybe for some of the more
recent grads this day is not part of their
cache’ of memories, but it is absolutely
one of my first memories at MPH. And
what does this have anything to do with
friends? Well, before attending MPH,
my elementary school years were spent
at H.W. Smith and with two very good
friends. So, imagine my surprise when I
walk into the gymnasium – floor
covered with tarp, tables lined wall-towall and books stacked endlessly on
these tables – and I see these exact two
people picking up their books
(completely unplanned, completely by
chance)! I count myself one of the
luckiest people on earth to be able to
say that I attended school with two of
my favorite people from Kindergarten to
12th grade. Who were the faces that I
saw that day? None other than Brandon
Gill and Paolo Vidali. These two people
influenced me in so many ways and
provided smiles, jokes, stories, fun
times, support and so much more –
because of these two wonderful friends,
my years at MPH are filled with many
happy memories.
I had the good fortune, as I look back
on it now, to be backstage looking
through the wings. I am SO GLAD I was
not forced to keep my composure
during that moment. To this day I can
still smell the onions, salami, and
Italian dressing that accompanied that
sub onstage. And to this day I still crack
up at the thought of it. Thank you very
much Bill Rose and thank you very
much MPH performing arts department
for reminding me why I love what I do.
Steve Copps ‘03
When I graduated from MPH on that
ridiculously hot summer day of 2005, I
was incredibly grateful for all of my
experiences and opportunities MPH had
given to me. But on that day I don’t
think I realized that MPH would keep
giving to me in countless ways. MPH has
employed me for many summers, both
in the Alumni Lodge, the Farmhouse
and the theater. However, those
experiences after graduation were far
more meaningful that a passing summer
job. It was a chance to come back to the
place I had called my second home for
four years. It was a chance to reconnect;
to see old friends, teachers, staff and
walk on the campus I may have
sometimes taken for granted.
Furthermore, the summer positions I
acquired allowed me to delve even
51
deeper into the history of MPH; sure I had given tours when I was a
student and knew a little about the history, but working in the
Alumni Lodge really made MPH’s past come to life. While there is so
much that comes to mind about my experiences at MPH, I’ll move
on to the original purpose of my reflection, friendships. Seeing where
I am now and looking back at high school, I am able to recognize
how my close friendships changed throughout high school. I entered
MPH with Pam, someone who was also from the East SyracuseMinoa school district whom I hadn’t ever really spoken too even
though she had practically been in my backyard for fourteen years.
Now, she and I try to catch up when ever we’re both back in Syracuse
and have had our fair share of fun ladies nights out. There was
another friend, Erin, technically my oldest MPH friend, whom I first
met at Summer Place in Crime Busters (back when I thought Mr.
Spear was sixteen years old he looked so young and I was very young
myself, just out of 6th grade!) To this day we still reminisce about our
first meeting, our time playing on the tennis team, dance class and
how we’ve stayed friends ever since. Helen, Alexandra and Laura were
three more close friends in high school and although we are all
continuing our lives outside of the Syracuse area, I continue to be
ecstatic whenever I get word from them of what they’ve recently done
or achieved. In addition to MPH being a second home, I also found
my second family there. Pam, Erin, Helen, Alexandra and Laura all
became my close friends whom I could talk with, share my life with,
turn to for help and most importantly be myself with. The aspect of
sisterhood has always been important to me, not only because family
has always been in important to me, but also because I am an only
child. Although I befriended many in my four years at MPH, there is
one more very important person who needs mentioning. Maureen
and I didn’t start out very close in high school, it was a friendship
which grew slowly and was one of those aforementioned friendship
transitions that in hindsight I now recognize. I don’t even think I can
begin to explain what made our friendship transform, but what I do
know is that our friendship is incredibly strong to this day. I see it as
what a true friendship should be; without any doubts I can talk to
her about absolutely anything, I know she won’t judge. We’ve shared
many tears which were due to mostly hilarious times, but sad times
as well. I know I can go to her with any problem, experience or
situation and she’ll selflessly and without flinching talk it out with
me like a true friend. Although Maureen has two brothers, she has
become my sister; sometimes I even refer to her as my sister in
conversation! Also, I’ve found yet another family – hers – a family I
still visit with even though Maureen is currently working in Germany.
It’s been more than eight years since I’ve met Maureen and the class
of 2005 is coming upon their fifth year high school reunion. I know
she probably won’t be able to attend, as she’ll be finishing out the
school year as a teaching assistant in Germany. However, as she and I
have been doing since she left, I’m sure I’ll Skype with her soon
afterward and catch her up on the weekend and anything else in my
life. The friendships, the connections, the history, the memories; there
is so much wrapped into one amazing place I sometimes have a
difficult time comprehending it. But even if I have a hard time
realizing how so many good things can come from one place, I know
something which is not difficult for me: the realization that I have
been beyond lucky in my life to have experienced almost everything
MPH has to offer, including sisterhood for an only child. One thing I
know for sure, as I go on through the years, friendships hold whether
far or near.
Stefania Ianno ’05
52
Winter
Carnival –
A Longstanding
Tradition
Winter Carnival today
starts off with a week
of spirit days for
Grades Five through
Twelve. After half a
MPH Winter Carnival
day of classes on the
Friday before February
break, the games
begin. The afternoon
starts off with the
talent show, then
some very intense
games of dodge ball.
And of course, the grade that wins dodge ball overall
then plays the faculty. After dodge ball, the outside
games start. The snow competitions include snow
volleyball, snow soccer, relay races, snow sculptures,
and everyone’s favorite, sledding.
After interviewing Jack Wells ‘60B and Bill Goff ’59,
and checking out some yearbooks, we learned that
Winter Carnival has changed radically. One thing that
stood out for us was how much the snow sculptures
have changed. In the 50’s and 60’s during Winter
Carnival the four separate companies versed each
other in a snow sculpture competitions. The
Companies, A, B, C, and HQ competed with making
a dog, a whale, a cat, the Liberty Bell, and Snoopy
from Charlie Brown, among others.
When asked about Winter Carnival, Bill Goff ‘59 said,
“Winter Carnival was the most enjoyable high point
of a cadet’s life at Manlius. After all, we had girls
around and for the balance of the school year; they
were pretty much excluded from our lives.” Jack Wells
remembers the informal dance, snow sculpture
contest, snowball fights, basketball, a formal dance,
and concluding with a tea dance, but said that his
favorite event was the Varsity Club Casino.
The Winter Carnival of today is still a social highlight
of the school year. Involving the fifth through twelfth
graders, the MPH version of Winter Carnival pits
grade against grade for events and contests. Winter
Carnival dance, Middle and Upper School talent
shows, community food drive, and spirit week are just
some of the many events that comprised this year’s
Winter Carnival.
Winter Carnival still brings out the competitive spirit
in students and the competition is fierce, but
completely worth it. Although Winter Carnival has
changed a lot since it first happened in February of
1937, Manlius Pebble Hill School has managed to
keep the tradition alive every year since.
Ally Gyder Reece ’11
Elyse Maugeri ’11
Ahmed Khater ’11
Tribute to Pebble Hill School Coach
Coaches
Athletics
Memories
&
M
Wadleigh Woods
With MPH’s Athletic Hall of Fame scheduled to be
unveiled during this spring’s annual Alumni Clambake,
nominations for alumni, teams, and former coaches have
been rolling into the Alumni Lodge. One of those
nominees is Mr. Wadleigh Woods, whose history at MPH
includes a coach and faculty member.
Mr. Woods was honored by Pebble Hill alumni in 1998.
During that tribute, organized by Ed Barnard ’38, alumni
shared fond memories of their teacher and coach
“Waddy.” Following are some of those memories.
ANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL enjoys a strong
athletic legacy that stems from both The Manlius
School and Pebble Hill School. Our alumni can be proud of
the fact that our predecessor Schools’ dedication to athletics
continues at MPH today. We offer an extensive array of
sports, including soccer, tennis, cross country, equestrian,
swimming, volleyball, basketball, indoor track, alpine skiing,
participate and, in fact, over 70% of Middle and Upper
School students body choose to do so. Our no-cut policy
creates the opportunity for every student to be part of a team
and to participate at either the varsity or junior varsity level.
We are proud to honor the School’s enduring commitment
to athletic excellence by highlighting three teams whose
stories provide a small glimpse of the many outstanding
teams, coaches, and players who contributed to this strong
sports legacy.
Coaches & Athletics Memories
golf, softball and lacrosse. All students are encouraged to
Mr. Woods was with Pebble Hill throughout the 1930s
and early 1940s as a member of the faculty. Serving as
Head of the Upper School, the School’s athletic director, a
French teacher, and coach of the baseball and football
teams, Mr. Woods made his mark on the students of
Pebble Hill School. After leaving Pebble Hill School, Mr.
Woods continued to teach and coach at independent
schools in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, for
more than 45 years. Mr. Woods passed away in 2001, but
it is the hope of many of his former students, that his
legacy will live on in the MPH Athletic Hall of Fame.
“He was a great teacher and someone we all remember in
a special way. When I look back on my time at Pebble
Hill, Mr. Woods has a permanent place in those
memories.”
Donald Boudreau ‘41
“Waddy was the best baseball coach – he could teach well,
in fact, he taught [me] how to catch a ball at first base.”
Anthony Chambers ‘43
“He was indeed the mentor of my school days – a
marvelous teacher, coach, man.”
Jim Robinson ‘42
“Without hesitation, I can vouch that he was tops on my
list of teachers/professors in all my years of schooling.”
Ed Barnard ‘38
53
pebble hill School
1961 Pebble Hill
Athletics Schedule
Did you know?
K-3
The first “calisthenics” class was begun at
Pebble Hill in 1944 because the faculty
believed that, “exercise will keep the
students’ bodies in better health and
physical condition, and will make the boys
hardier soldiers.”
■
Fall – organized games,
calisthenics
■
Winter – skating, sledding,
tumbling
■
Spring – baseball and tennis
For much of Pebble Hill’s history,
athletics were a required part of the
students’ curriculum. All students had
to participate on a sports team each
season. Different sports were available
to students of different age groups. The
emphasis was always on teamwork and
the development of sportsmanship.
Middle School
■
Boys Winter – Basketball
■
Girls Winter – Stunts and
Tumbling, Basketball,
Handball, Sledding, and
Skating.
■
Boys Spring – Softball
■
Girls Spring – Tennis and
Modified Soccer
Alfred Romeo, Pebble Hill athletic
director, 1961
7th and 8th Grade Boys
I remember when our football team
would take railroad trips to Rochester
and Buffalo to compete. While on the
train, some of us would sneak off to the
club car and smoke. Great conditioning.
Bill Stone ’55
Did you know?
The Pebble Hill School fielded its first
football team in 1931. The football team
began formal competition in the CUPS
League in 1947, but didn’t see its first
championship until 1966.
Pebble Hill introduced soccer in 1961
with the first boy’s team. Off to a rocky
start, the boys didn’t see a single win
until their 1964 season.
■
Fall – Football and Soccer
■
Winter – Basketball, Wrestling,
Skating, Tumbling
■
Spring – Baseball, Tennis, Track
Basketball Record Holder
Reprinted from the Spring 1997
issue of Reflections.
Pebble Hill was an integral part of
Chuck’s life. In addition to his 13 years
of study at the school, Chuck’s father,
mother, and grandmother worked at
Pebble Hill. His mother, Mary Beeler,
dedicated 35 years of service of
professional life to the school, retiring
in 1969.
Sports were a large part of Chuck’s life
in the Middle and Upper Schools. He
still holds the Pebble Hill School
Basketball record for making 42 points,
in one game, against The Harley School
during the 52/53 season. To our
knowledge this record still stands.
From 1970-1974, Chuck served as
Director of Admission at MPH on The
Manlius School campus. He coached
girls’ basketball, boys’ cross-country,
and was assistant football coach under
Don Fudge.
7th and 8th Grade Girls
■
Fall – Basketball, Tennis, Field
Hockey, Cheerleading
■
Winter – Bowling, Volleyball,
Basketball, Stunts, Swimming,
and Cheerleading
■
Spring – Dancing, Golf, Tennis,
Softball
Boys 9-12
■
Fall – Football or Soccer
(choice)
■
Winter – Basketball (levels
based on age and skill level)
■
Spring – Baseball or Track
(choice)
Girls 9-12
54
Chuck Beeler ’54 –
■
Boys Winter – Basketball
■
Girls Winter – Stunts and
Tumbling, Basketball,
Handball, Sledding, and
Skating.
■
Boys Spring – Softball
■
Girls Spring – Tennis and
Modified Soccer
Did you know?
The 1956-1957 Pebble Hill basketball
team played eight of their home games at
the War Memorial. The Pebble Hill
matches were preliminaries to Syracuse
Nationals basketball games – and the first
time in Syracuse that professional games
were preceded by high school action.
When I was at Pebble Hill, we were
required to play a sport in every season.
In some cases we even doubled up. For
example, we all played football (6
man), basketball and baseball, but we
also had some dual meets in swimming, and CUPS League meets in Track
Dick Doust ’61
Did you know?
Field hockey was first introduced at Pebble
Hill School in 1962. The field hockey
program was an immediate success. By
season two, the team was undefeated in the
County League Championships.
Pebble Hill Field Hockey
Joe Kroll, football coach and Latin
teacher, who could and did, while
writing on the blackboard, turn and fire
little pieces of chalk at the students
talking in class; usually, Lele Andrews
and Gretchen Groat. Also, Wally Habel,
baseball and basketball coach who
would have all his players over to his
house on a Saturday morning to make
and antipasto salad for the Pebble Hill
all-school cookout. We did this from
scratch, cutting, dicing all the veggies
and meats. And, as I remember, it was a
big hit at the cookout. Later, I found
out that the coach did this so the
players would learn how to work
together as a team.
Jack “Mac” Machold ’62
I remember....... the loud sounds of
groans and crashing pads when Dick
Stinziano would hit the red-cheeked
halfback from Deveaux School,
knocking him out of bounds and
sending the chain holders scurrying.
Almost forgot...I remember winning the
Green and White track and field day
trophy and I was only a freshman!
The Heer Family
The Heer family has been involved with
Pebble Hill and Manlius Pebble Hill for
over 50 years. Dusty Heer, a member of
Pebble Hill’s class of 1964, and his wife
Sylvia continue to be beloved members of
the MPH community. They direct the
Grace Kniesner Extended Day Program
and serve as Lower School classroom
assistants.
Some of Dusty’s most poignant memories
involve sports. When he was at Pebble
Hill, the quad was in the middle of the
campus, where the flagpole currently
resides, with a metal fence surrounding
the perimeter. He recalls spending most of
his time there playing basketball and a
game called sockey—a combination of
soccer and hockey.
Dusty’s parents also figure prominently in
his memories of Pebble Hill. His mother,
Martha Heer, worked at the School for
33 years as a teacher, admission director,
and director of Lower School; his father,
Charles Heer, served as the School’s
athletic director and chair of the History
Department. His father coached Dusty in
football, basketball, track & field, and
baseball. He said it was his father’s
experience that made him a great coach
– he had trained soldiers in the Navy
during World War II.
Dusty said the small class sizes, school
uniforms, his parents, and a top notch
education are what he thinks of when he
remembers his Pebble Hill days. He sums
up his experience as “unique.”
Our championship baseball team of
1964 will always have fond memories
for me. It was a team made up of two
super ball players – Dusty Heer and
Frank Netti – and a group of solid ball
players. We played well as a team, got
along real well and helped each other
at all times. We were trounced in an
early season game but came back and
won the rest of our games. We clinched
the championship at Allendale. The
feeling of finally being a championship
team resonated with us ever since!
Pete Livshin ’64
I remember all of us who were part of
Mr. Stevenson’s “Animal Squad”... we
were the ones playing tackle/soccer/
basketball on the tennis courts all winter
long in the snow. We did this to avoid
basketball, or ‘regular’ physical education. Let’s see. There was Shifty Gere,
David Campfield, (who else, as my
memory eludes me at this senior stage of
life?), and me…good times getting cold
and wet and trying to kick a ball through
basketball hoops in the snow.
and Field. One basketball memory was
when we were playing The Manlius
School at The Manlius Field House in
1960. Right before half time, with
seconds to play in the half, Geoff
Hodgdon was inbounding a ball from
under the basket to Mark Norton who
was almost at the other end of the
court. He threw it overhand, hollered
“Hey Norton,” and when Mark turned
around and looked up, the ball went
into the basket. A full court shot without anyone inbounds touching the ball.
The refs and the Manlius bench were so
stunned that they didn’t realize the ball
was never touched in fair territory and
allowed the basket. In the second half
of that game, we only scored about two
points and got buried. However, we got
revenge by beating Manlius when they
came to our gym. As small as PH was,
everyone got a taste of sports, and a
number of grads went on to compete at
the college level.
Jim Amodio ’65
Before the “new” gym was built on the
DeWitt campus in the early 1960s,
Pebble Hill basketball games were
played in the barn where the Coville
Theater now resides. Consequently
during that era, Pebble Hill athletes
could say they had a unique home court
advantage – by knowing which boards
to hit on the hardwood court, they
could attempt to alter their shooting
percentage during basketball season!
Some of the more poignant athletic
moments included the CUPS
(Conference of Upstate Private Schools)
League Championships, overnight
athletic trips, the old gym and the
dedication of the new gym. Bob
Richards, who competed in the 1948,
1952, and 1956 Summer Olympics as a
pole vaulter, and also was a decathlete
in 1956, was on hand to dedicate the
new gym. This was a profound moment
in the history of the School.
Athletics played an integral role in the
School as all students were required to
play a sport during that time. Students
who didn’t play a “traditional” sport
(football, basketball, baseball, etc…)
55
played outdoor games including sledding and/or Capture the Flag. Many
athletes traveled to other parts of the
state as part of their athletic program. It
wasn’t unusual for the basketball team
to travel to Buffalo to play the Park
School on a Friday night, spend the
night with a host family and play a
game on Saturday morning before
heading home. This type of travel and
spending time with other families
taught the students not only about team
work on the court or on the field, but
also respect for someone else’s home
and property. Typically, students would
stay with the same family for several
years, creating lasting bond and
memories.
Tom Denton ’65, teacher and coach
1972-2007, Alumni Association Board
2008-present
What I remember most about Pebble
Hill athletics was gymnastics in the
barn. I’m trying to remember the name
of the women’s PE teacher (Sayre?) who
introduced gymnastics to us...but she
was great, very enthusiastic. We had to
make do with older equipment - our
balance beam may even have been
home made, but she encouraged us to
do our best, including compete in State
meets. Same for track - we even did
pretty well in the relay. I’d say, in retrospect, she was on the cutting edge of
involving women in sports in a way that
was seldom done in earlier years.
Certainly for me she set a tone of
wanting to be active in a variety of
sports and regular workouts.
The other thing that, of course, has to be
mentioned is those wonderful gym
“dresses” we wore! Dark green.
Nancy Roberts ’68
I remember as if it was yesterday
charging down the field as the Center on
the field hockey team and not realizing
how silly we looked in those green
tunics. I loved that game and as I look
back, girls at Pebble Hill were way ahead
of our peers in exposure and opportunity to play sports. It was tremendous
training for life skills in sports and our
professional careers as well. What a joy!
Chandler Ralph’70
56
the manlius school
A Football Powerhouse
The Manlius School was known as an
athletic powerhouse for most of its
existence. As a boarding school, it was
able to draw from a national pool of
athletes. In addition to being wellknown in the secondary sports world,
colleges often recommended that new
recruits attend Manlius for a postgraduate year to fine-tune their athletic
abilities before entering college.
And at Manlius, athletes had plenty of
opportunities to work on those skills
since Manlius teams played a
demanding schedule that included
many college freshmen teams, including
Syracuse, Army, Cornell, and Colgate.
Manlius football history is especially
interesting and began more than a
century ago.
Manlius’ predecessor school, St. John’s,
has been said to have introduced
modern football to Central New York in
1889, when the School fielded its first
team in formal competition. For many
years, this team, regularly played and
defeated Syracuse and Colgate University freshman teams. St. John’s was also
part of a 1905 movement to rewrite the
rules for modern day football. A
resolution the School sent to President
Theodore Roosevelt is credited with
touching off a campaign to “clean up”
the game.
The Manlius School’s football teams
played their most successful seasons in
1944, 1945, and 1946, with three
consecutive undefeated seasons. During
the 1945 season, the team did not give
up a single point. Coach Nevin
Shankweiler attributed much of the
team’s success to the structure of the
school and its campus life. While other
schools may have been out partying,
The Manlius School boys were in bed,
with lights out by 10 p.m.
In total over these three years, the Red
Knights played 23 scheduled games and
scored 626 points while their opponents only scored 73 points. Manlius was
noted for having one of the top high
school football programs in the country,
with most of the starting players
continuing their football careers in
college programs.
The Black and Red squad of 1944 was
the first team in 29 years to go through
a season undefeated. The team was
captained by Jim Farrell ’43B and
coached by Nevin Shankweiler and
assistants Charles Shearer and Clarence
Sampson, who also coached the 1945
team. The season pitted the Trojans
against regional high school teams such
as Nottingham and Oswego, as well as
against the Valley Forge Military
Academy. One of the highlights of the
season was the little Army-Navy game
against the Admiral Farragut Naval
Academy in New Jersey, where the Red
and Black, braving rain and a field like a
sea of mud, came back in the fourth
period to gain its most valued and
impressive triumph of the season, as Bill
Nixon ’45A ran 45 yards for a touchdown after getting a lateral from Buzz
Hummer ’45.
In 1945, the team completed a perfect
season – undefeated, untied and
allowing not a single score by an
opponent. According to the 1946
Haversack, the line “was not large, but
what they lacked in size they more than
made up for in speed, aggressiveness
and teamwork.” Ends Art Spinney ’46B
and Spike Gannon ’46 came in “like
pincers” on opposing teams. Herm
Warren ’47A and John Lenore ’47A were
“crafty and aggressive” as guards, while
center Pat O’Shaughnessy was as
dependable as the “Rock of Gilbraltar.”
Captain Bill Nixon’s sensational
climactic running was invaluable. After
completing its perfect season, Manlius
received a bid to play the Lynn All Stars,
before over 10,000 spectators. The team
suffered its only loss of the season and,
returning home to Manlius, the entire
student body turned out with
thundering cheers – a moving example
of true Manlius loyalty and spirit.
For the third year in a row, the Black
and Red football team of 1946 was
undefeated, that year playing a tough
schedule against college JV teams,
including St. Lawrence, Cornell and RPI.
Lieutenant Fisher, the new head coach
replacing Shankweiller, who became the
School’s athletic director, recruited
many outstanding new players, such as
Ted Shiro ’47A, and introduced the “T”
formation.
Why were these football teams such
powerhouses? John Lenore ‘47A notes
that they were not a physically large
team, but “these kids had hearts bigger
than buildings, they were tough, classy
guys…solid citizens… a great credit to
what they did.” It was not their
physicality, but their spirit that carried
them to success in game after game.
Mr. Getman and a Manlius football
team from the early 40s.
An early 1940s Manlius Football Game
Dan Warren ’47A remembers the depth
of the teams, noting that the “subs
made everyone work hard…scrimmages
on Wednesdays were often harder than
games on Saturdays and their spirit
made the team.” The starters had to
earn their positions every week; yet
there was no animosity nor any ill
words. This was a very cohesive unit.
For whatever reasons, the Manlius teams
of 1944, 1945 and 1946 were unstoppable, and the memories live on in both
the players and the cadets who supported them week after week. During
Clambake Weekend ’96, this group
reunited, sharing their experiences at
Manlius and catching up on their lives
since graduation. At the end of their
dinner on Friday evening, John Lenore
captured the spirit of what they were all
feeling: “Those two years were the
turning point in my life. They probably
helped create in me the foundation that
was necessary to face a lot of the travail
that I later faced. I thank you from the
bottom of my heart for allowing me
that experience.”
Parts excerpted from Fall 2000 issue of
Reflections magazine.
The HQ Band plays at a football game
Manlius vs Army
When Hitler had swept virtually
unopposed through Europe in 1940, it
became pretty obvious that the USA’s
best interests were tied to a free Europe
and that war was just around the
corner. Somehow people got the idea
that this war was going to be different
than World War I: The new high-tech of
reliable radio communications would
find the average GI Joe risking his neck
driving Army tanks and piloting Army
airplanes into the enemy’s guns and
flak (there was no separate Air Force
then) while their officers, sitting safely
in forward observer camouflaged
foxholes dug into the ground, and
highly trained in military tactics, were
going to be doing the directing, by
radio as to where the endangered were
to drive or fly.
When the draft was passed into law on
September 16, 1940, parents started
trying to figure out ways to protect their
teenage boys from future danger.
Somehow word was ‘leaked’ (ha, ha)
that the answer was to give their sons a
head start towards ‘officer-ship’ by
sending their kids to ROTC (Reserve
Officer Training Corps) military high
schools like Manlius.
ROTC was a four-year course, but if you
had two years under your belt as a high
school junior and then a senior, for
example, and got accepted to an ROTC
college, why then the Army
‘hinted’ (not guaranteed) that their
recruitment officers would simply defer
you from the draft for two more years
until you were a 2nd lieutenant... much
more valuable to The Army, and much
safer from danger than a military tyro
GI Joe. (And then, perhaps, with the
USA doing the fighting, the war might
be over.)
Coach Nevin Shankweiler attributed the
teams’ success to four factors: “A fine
balance of power, a great team spirit,
high intelligence and a practically
impregnable forward wall.”
Peter D. Schwarz ’43C received his first
camera at the age of 8 and shared with
MPH some of the photos he took from
his years at Manlius.
Thus encouraged, my parents, like
thousands of other parents who could
afford the tuition, looked around them
and, lo and behold, only 11 miles
from our Syracuse home was one of the
highest-rated military prep schools in
America. (Distant Culver also had a top
rating, but as the Manlius song said,
“Manlius was Manlius when Culver was
a pup.” Our town’s school was prestigeplus.)
But on September 20th of 1940, the
1940-41 school year had already
started, my parents, believing that the
military schools would quickly fill up,
wisely paid in advance and signed me
in for the following year. My spot was
saved. After another year of
Nottingham High School in Syracuse, I
would start Manlius in the first week of
September 1941. (Uh, oh. Notice that
date. Exactly two months thereafter,
December 7, Japan would attack Pearl
Harbor.)
57
Every room held two boys, a single bed
against each right and left wall. The
School was full to capacity. But it was a
special kind of “full” ROTC-blessed
Manlius had been very choosey and
loaded those availabilities with proven
high school sports stars. Jealous of the
fame of ‘upstart’ schools like Culver,
which won The Title in their prep
school football leagues on a regular
basis, Manlius had sent “scouts out” (a
military term), recruiting proven
athletes in the several sports. It was a
cinch to woo athlete-types away from
their ‘regular’ high schools where the
‘officer-ship-benefit of ROTC
protection’ did not exist.
We had gotten our pick of the best
performing athletes of last years’ crop
of high school juniors, making sure first
that their parents could afford the
tuition. (The best of both worlds: we
didn’t have to give up a single cent of
income to become ‘overnight’ winners.)
The whole thing had been orchestrated
by a very successful retired Syracuse
University football coach, who was
bored with retirement and had come
up with the plan. (With thought
processes like that, no wonder he had
been successful.)
It is of interest to note here that
although I was tall enough and good
enough to play on our Headquarters
Company intramural teams against
Manlius Companies “A,” “B,” and “C,”
my specialty was playing the saxophone
in the concert orchestra and the
marching band. Headquarters was
composed ONLY of the Cadet Officers
and the School band/orchestra. Not
many of us: far smaller in numbers
than in each of the other three. We very
seldom won anything, except in
academics. No football hero types on
our 3rd Floor of Huntington Hall.
What Manlius did on the high school
level was also done by the US Military
Academy at West Point, 200 miles away.
Every member of Congress was entitled
to appoint two high school graduates
with good grades to this extremelydifficult-to-get-into institution.
When Hitler had started World War II
58
by invading Poland on September 1,
1939, the word went out to the
congressmen (no congresswomen then)
that one way to intimidate that idiot
Hitler would be to have an awesome
football team to show the world how
tough our Army cadets really were! It
was silly, but the congressional public
servants played into that rubbish and
only appointed high school seniors
who were both bright and football
super-stars. The red-shirt freshman
gimmick had not yet been invented... If
you were an entering cadet the only
team you could play on was the
freshman team.
‘imported’ to brighten things up, and
the 1941-42 version of our marching
band, with only three weeks of practice,
performed adequately. The playing field
stands were filled, and Manlius
townspeople toting folding beach
chairs lined the borders of the running
track. As a contributor to The Windmill,
our school newspaper, I filled in the
time between band performances
taking notes.
Army’s freshman team had, for years,
played The Manlius School’s varsity
football team in a warm-up game
before their “real” season started, and
even though their coaches had
instructed their players to “take it easy
on the high school kids”, the Army
freshmen, seeking to impress the Army
brass that demanded that their
“Plebes,” from day-one, never settle for
less than perfection, gave the Manlius
varsity no quarter whatsoever.
A. Richard “Dick” Arnold ’43HQ
OK. But it was September, and the
congressional appointments had
already been made for the year. So West
Point had 1940 and 1941 to let the
congressmen know that football was
king, and to feed them the best
freshman footballers in their districts.
The arch-enemy, the Naval Academy at
Annapolis, never did catch on to what
was happening.
Back in those days the biggest sporting
event in America was The Army-Navy
game on Thanksgiving day at Soldier
Field in Chicago. Bowl games were not
yet the rage. With our armed forces in
wartime involved, every radio in the
land was tuned in to the game. (No TV
yet, of course.)
Next year’s Army varsity was eagerly
tracking its 1941-42 freshman squad for
its 1942-43 new fresh input of gridiron
stars. They were about to get a rude
awakening.
Manlius-Army game day dawned bright
and clear. Cheerleaders from nearby
Cazenovia Girls High School had been
I wish I still had them today. I could
sell them for a fortune on eBay.
Manlius made history on that day. We
beat the tar out of “The Army’s Finest.”
I still revere ‘Bem’ Woods as our ski
coach. Yes, he taught French with a
textbook that had postage stamp size
photos of how to hold your mouth
when pronouncing French words, but
he did his best. But skiing. Wow!
The ski team would leave Friday
afternoon in that old army truck with
the canvas top and we kids trying not
to freeze in the back. We stayed at the
Lake Placid Club for a high school ski
meet and packed out the downhill trail
through the trees. There were no
control flags then, just the hardwood
trees just off the course and you sure
didn’t want to tangle with them. Later
on we listened to music from a small
trio in the lounge - soft drinks only then dinner. And we did all this while
the cadets back at Manlius were playing
tin soldier with inspections, parade and
what not.
Thank heavens for Bem Woods,
Dartmouth ski team, 1936 Olympics,
and one of my role models. At 78, I’ve
got season passes in Colorado and all
my three kids and their families ski, so
Bem Woods I salute you!
Merriam Trube ’47A
I entered Manlius as a Sophomore. My
athletics were Football Co 6-man and
later varsity 11-man. I received a Letter
in 6-man. Also in the fall I ran cross
country. I was also on the swim team.
Coach Tom Cahill
In 1959, Coach Cahill left New Jersey
to serve as the freshman football
coach at the United States Military
Academy. At WestPoint, he gained
notoriety for his coaching skills and
dedication to football, and in 1966
when the head coach position
became available, Cahill was hired.
Coach Cahill led the Army team to
an 8-2 season in 1966 and was
named the Eddie Robinson National
Coach of the Year. During his tenure
as head coach, Army beat Navy five
times, and then Cahill left the
Academy after the 1973 season.
Hampton M. Miles ’49HQ
Commandant at Company C, I was
playing A League football and got
injured in a game against Company C.
As I limped across campus the next day,
he came by and said “heard you played
a great game.” This simple compliment
from Captain Cahill made my day, my
year, and my entire career at Manlius. I
remember it fondly more than
any other incident.
Jim Landon ’55B
In 1950, The Manlius School experienced
an athletic set-back when the Dodge
Gymnasium burned down. For the next
several years, Manlius teams had to
practice in a borrowed town gym until
their new Barber Gymnasium was
constructed in 1953.
Cross country skiing on the Olympic
trails at Lake Placid can be injurious to
your health. Try catching both tips
under a fence wire just above the snow
in a March meet. My knees still hurt 60
years later.
Emmett Greenleaf ’53GQ
I have a favorite memory of Captain
Tom Cahill, head varsity football coach
and Commandant of Company B (later
Company C). When he was at
Company B in the early 50s, I looked
up to him as my hero. In the fall of
1954, when I was a senior and he was
Did you know
that before
coming to
Manlius, Mr.
MacPhee played a
couple of games
in baseball’s
National League
and 10 games in
MacPhee
professional
football for the
1926 Providence Steam Rollers? His
playing name was “Waddy” MacPhee.
Coach Tom
Cahill was a
Syracuse native.
He graduated
from Niagara
University in
1942 and served
in the United
States Army
during World
War II. In 1947, Coach Cahill joined
The Manlius School as head football,
basketball, and baseball coach. He
remained at The Manlius School for
10 years, with an overall coaching
record of 66-8-2. In 1957, Cahill
took a job as a football coach at
Riverdell High School in New Jersey.
During his two years with Riverdell,
Coach Cahill worked with Bill
Parcells, who went on to serve under
Coach Cahill at West Point as
assistant coach, before making his
mark in the NFL.
In the spring I ran the mile in track,
and won a varsity letter. This was due
to my friend in A Company, Jim Wells,
that let me go ahead of him when we
ran against NYMA so I could come in
third. He had already won his letter
when he came in first in the 440. I was
also was on the varsity basketball team
when “Doc” Savage was the star.
When he arrived at Manlius, he inherited the baseball coaching position from
Whitey Anderson. He had snow white
hair, which earned him the nickname
Silver Fox.
MacPhee was a no “BS” guy… down to
earth, a natural leader, and a wellrespected mentor among the entire
Manlius School community. He was a
very strong influence on the B
The 1960 Manlius Basketball Team with Coach Whitey Anderson
Cahill later coached for five seasons
at Union College in Schenectady
before returning to West Point in
1984 as an analyst for the Army radio
network. Cahill also taught history in
Clifton Park until 1990. Coach Cahill
passed away in October of 1992, after
almost half a century in football. The
impact he had on his players and
students has not been forgotten.
MPH will unveil its Athletic Hall of
Fame in a few weeks as former
players and alumni look back to
some of their most fond memories of
their coach and mentor. Tom Cahill
is an important part of our strong
athletic tradition.
59
A TRIBUTE TO COACH
Whitey Anderson
F
rom 1950 until his retirement in 1977, Harold “Whitey” Anderson was a
beloved mentor and coach at both The Manlius School and later Manlius
Pebble Hill School. Although Whitey was best known as a basketball coach, he
also coached football and baseball.
Whitey’s involvement at our School dates back to 1926 when he entered Manlius
as a cadet. During his time at Manlius, he was cited as both an outstanding
scholar and an athlete. He earned the top academic distinction, the Head Boy
award, and also was awarded the best all-around athlete award in 1928.
After graduating from Colgate University, Whitey coached at two high schools
before coming “home” to Manlius in the fall of 1949. The following is reprinted
from the 1950 Haversack dedication:
Our new athletic director is a former Head Boy and a four letter athlete at Manlius.
Harold J. Anderson, better known as “Whitey,” graduated from Manlius in 1929 and
went to Colgate, where he starred in baseball and basketball.
Upon graduating from Colgate, he became basketball coach at Kellogg Central High
School, where he remained until 1935. Then he joined the faculty of the Binghamton
Central High School where, in addition to teaching Physics and Physiology, he became
athletic director and head coach of basketball and baseball.
During the war (WWII) he served
for three years as a Field Director
of the American Red Cross in the
European Theater. In this service
he was wounded and awarded the
Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
Whitey is already building stronger
and better balanced schedules for
our athletic teams and we look
forward to an even better athletic
program under his direction.
Whitey holds onto his infamous “rope” which kept
him from rushing onto the court in the heat of the
moment.
Company guys, we always got “good
guidance” from him, and he never
minced words. His wife, Jean, was a
very warm and thoughtful person –
maybe that came from her long
background in the medical profession.
Bob Swaney ’58B
Some of my best friends to this day are
60
Whitey certainly personified the
Manlius and Manlius Pebble Hill
spirit and left a lasting impression on all who knew him.
my Manlius classmates. Our basketball
team was guided by a great man in
Whitey Anderson. We actually enjoyed
one of the best won- loss records in the
history of the basketball program. His
life is indelibly etched into the character of each individual who played for
him.
Several of my Manlius basketball
teammates have maintained close
contact with each other thanks to Tim
Cohane who has more Manlius prank
notches in his gun belt than all of us
combined. He fixed me up with a
Winter Carnival date from his town in
White Plains, N.Y. After the weekend,
he got the switchboard operator to call
me in the dorm and tell me he was the
date’s father. The imposter father told
me that I was less than a gentleman
with his daughter and he was contacting the School’s authorities. Needless to
say, I bought it hook, line and sinker.
Cohane is a Naval Academy graduate,
decorated in Vietnam, highly successful
on Wall Street, and formerly a great
college basketball coach. He continues
to make sure all of his Manlius teammates remember their Manlius days.
Recently I saw him wearing an original
issue Manlius field jacket. Another
former Manlius cadet is my best friend.
Paul Morton was in my wedding 45
years ago and lives in our same neighborhood not even 200 yards away. His
children and ours are best friends. Bob
Maguire, Phil Allen and Ed Foehl are all
good friends and we enjoy seeing each
other from time to time. All of us owe a
huge debt of gratitude for our year at
Manlius. We are better Americans and
better men because of our experiences
at The Manlius School.
Bill Koss ’61C
Commander Rugh was my science
teacher, but he was also the varsity
soccer coach. He was a great mentor
and got me to play goalie on the team
from 8th through 12th grade. The
second faculty member who made a
memorable impression was Lee
Sedgwick. He was the person that was
in charge of discipline and I saw a great
deal of him but I have fond memories
of his integrity and compassion.
Harold Schwartz ’62HQ
Master of the Sword is what they used
to call the director of physical education at West Point. But for us cadets, the
Master of the Sword was J. Torrance
Rugh. Commander Rugh ran the
fencing club. He taught us, obtained
the equipment and mainly kept us
from skewering each other in our
youthful exuberance. It was a great
place for those of us unsuited for the
“major” sports to let off some steam.
My favorite memory of Fencing Club
revolves around Commander Rugh’s
knees. His knees would occasionally
bother him. One afternoon they were
particularly troublesome, so he took a
chair and set it in the middle of the
room and sat down. He then proceeded
to fence with all of us from the chair.
He beat us all. I guess that proves the
old saying that age and guile will always
defeat youth and enthusiasm. Taught
me a lesson, anyway...
John Ellis ’67HQ
John Ellis ’67HQ
Did you know?
If you were a Manlius Cadet in 1964-65
your gym teacher was L. Maitland Blank.
While at another school, L. Maitland Blank
was also the gym teacher of General H.
Norman Schwarzkopf!
I was playing flag football the afternoon
the lights went out, for me and the East
Coast. It was the day of the great
blackout of 1965. It was just getting
dark when Stu Hancock ’66HQ decided
to come through my spot on the line to
score a touchdown. I see him coming,
then, WHANG! Stu‘s elbow hit my jaw
and put my lights out. When I came to,
Referee Sedgwick pointed out that I had
indeed grabbed the flag out of Stu’s
waistband, and he was down. So was I.
Then I tasted blood. I had bitten my
tongue. The Wedge sent me off to the
infirmary to have Doctor Wilcox look at
it. By the time I staggered into the
infirmary the lights were flickering, and
then went out altogether. Dr. Wilcox
mumbled something about fuses and
this old wiring and checked me out
with a flashlight. My tongue had
stopped bleeding so off I went to walk
up the drive in the dark. By now the
lights were off everywhere. When we
marched into the mess hall, all the
tables were illuminated by candlelight.
It was a cold meal, eaten off paper
plates, but with my mangled tongue, I
tasted little of it. But out of adversity
comes good. There was no study hall
that night.
Playing on the Red Knights basketball
team and being the all time high scorer.
school used different terminology for a
dance.
Phillip “Mike” Eades ’72
Gary Beach ’74
I remember playing field hockey and
being part of the first undefeated team
in MPH history.
Boy’s soccer at MPH saw its first victory
in the Oxford tournament in the fall of
1988, and then went on to receive that
title again in 1995 and 1996. During
the 1995 season, Coach Don Ridall
earned his 250th win with the team,
and was voted Section III coach of the
year. The 1999-2000 team claimed a
OCL League Championship. The squad
saw the most successful season in the
School’s history with an 18-0 record.
The boys played their first ever
homecoming game that year. Girl’s
soccer was introduced to MPH in 1976
with the School’s first squad playing in
the Oswego County League.
While doing track meets, our PA system
was an inside system and gave you a
shock if you touched it. We had to be
very careful not to get jolted while
using the system. During our bus rides
to school events Howie was the bus
driver. Geoff Gordon would always ask
Howie to get this orange crate going.
We were in the Oswego County League
for Football. After the game at Mexico
we were ask by the opposing team if
we wanted to go to their sock hop. I
had no idea what a sock hop was until
a few years ago. That league and our
My two best girlfriends, Jess Holzer and
Annie Walker, and I decided to play on
the men’s lacrosse team our Junior year.
We loved all the war wounds and
61
Mental
Toughness
By Alex Verbeck ’12
MPH Tenth Grader and great granddaughter of
General William Verbeck
Reprinted from the MPH student newspaper “The Rolling Stone.”
W
hile the MPH soccer teams have been lauded as the
school’s only beacon of athletic hope, the women’s
tennis team has proved their excellence by playing their
hearts out. The team started their 2009 season with a loss to
Jamesville-DeWitt, but ended their season with a victorious
win at team sectionals against Beaver River. The team has
made it to sectionals since their 1992 season and won team
sectionals eight years in a row until 2002, when the team
was moved up to Class B after their Class C competitors
were sick of losing every year.
Coach Anderson is the reason that some girls play on the
tennis team. “I wouldn’t have played tennis if Mrs. Anderson
wasn’t the coach. She is always really good with helping you
personally, and she worked with me through my busy
schedule. She works with you specially; she wants to help
you be the best you can be,” said Senior Jeremy FrenchLawyer. Mrs. Anderson developed these qualities on the
other side of the Atlantic Ocean. “I am from Glasgow,
Scotland. My husband was transferred from London to
Syracuse in 1981. In 1986 my son started Kindergarten here;
my daughter started in Eighth Grade and graduated from
MPH in 1997. I came here to work at the Alumni Lodge; in
1992. I applied for the alumni position.” Coach Anderson
had no intention of coaching the tennis team. “I had put in
my résumé that I played tennis. When I was appointed to
the alumni position, Mr. Ball kindly informed me that I was
also the first girl’s tennis coach,” she said with a laugh.
Coach Anderson is always working to improve her coaching
skills; she goes to educational clinics every year. Anderson
got her USPTA certification in 2000 as well. “The way you
teach the strokes has had to change because one doesn’t
have to be quite as accurate because the racquet face is
larger, but you have to be quicker and in better shape. The
new equipment has made tennis more user friendly,” Coach
Anderson observed.“To be a good coach you have to adapt
to different players. In practice you have to take over all the
area that needs the most work and work on it. In tennis,
mental toughness is critical in developing competitive skills
and is a very challenging concept to teach. It is a hugely
important part of the game. Fitness and mental toughness
are interwoven, and it is the combination that makes a great
competitor.” Coach Anderson believes that the success of the
tennis team was a mixture of the two. Coach Anderson has
inspired many players and has fostered long lasting
friendships on her teams. “Mrs. Anderson has encouraged
me to play my own personal best. She always meets my
needs while coaching me,” said Senior Laura Flagg, a 2009
Varsity co-captain. “I love my team because we are really
close and everyone is constantly cheering each other on. We
all know each other so well and we can identify each other’s
weaknesses and help strengthen them.” To some, tennis
might seem like just a game, or even an activity for school
credit, but in Flagg’s eyes it seems to have a different
meaning. “Tennis has taught me how to be part of a team
and take on leadership positions. This game and team will
stick with me for the rest of my life. Tennis is a life sport,
and I will play this game competitively or not for the rest of
my life. I have Mrs. Anderson to thank for that,” Flagg said.
MPH has taken pride in the girls tennis championships and
feels fortunate and thankful to have Coach Anderson, who
encourages her team, above all, to love the game.
Coach Anderson worked at the Kreitzberg Family Alumni
Lodge from 1992 until 1997.” Mrs. Anderson left the
Alumni Lodge in 1997, but in September of 2008 she was
asked to come back to the alumni office and she accepted
the offer. Coach Anderson is now the director of alumni
“Tennis is about personal growth, I want them all to
continue to love the game,” said Coach Anderson. Coach
Anderson is not only the coach of the championship team,
but more importantly, she is a leader and a role model in
the MPH community.
Class B has presented a challenge for the tennis team; that
stretch ended in 2002. The girls 2009 champions rose to the
occasion to play the very best they could and managed to
snag the 2009 championship. “I’ve had kids go to the state
tournament for the past decade [but] I absolutely knew we
were going to make it to sectionals,
I had great faith in this team. I knew it was going to be both
hard and well earned. I am thrilled. It is so exciting because
we all worked so hard for the same goal as a team,” Varsity
Coach Maureen Anderson proudly stated.
62
relations. The position of the
alumni director involves
communicating and
organizing events for the
alumni of MPH, Pebble Hill
and The Manlius School. It is
quite clear that Coach
Anderson genuinely enjoys
this job. She truly loves
working with people. Not
only does Mrs. Anderson
coach the girls tennis team
and hold a very important
position in the Alumni Lodge, but she also coaches the boys
tennis team. Her interests outside of school and tennis are
skiing, gardening and she has a loving bond with her two
black Labradors, Maggie and Millie.
Naomi (Ostrander) Scanlon ’00
Did you know?
In 1976, the tennis team had a
12-0 season. The team went
undefeated in the Oswego County
League Championships, and
claimed its first title since the
School’s merger.
In 1972, lacrosse replaced
baseball as the “big sport” for
5th year boys, and is still a
popular sport for MPH students
today.
2000 Boy’s Soccer – NY State Camps
The boy’s team won sectionals in 1996.
This win marked the first title in 19 years
for the team. The 2009 girl’s team claimed
victory at the Section III Championships.
Did you know?
The Alpine Skiing team earned Section III
Championship titles in 1995 and 1996.
MPH fielded their first indoor track team
in 1992.
Both the boys and girls soccer teams
have enjoyed decades of success. The
crowing events for the boys 2000 and
2001 teams were winning New York
State Championships. Dan Klemperer
was a member of both the
2000 and 2001 boys team and
took time to share some of his
recollections about the
experience:
MPH Takes Home
the State Title
Reprinted from The Icebox
Bulletin, November 27December 10, 2000
Just wanting it wasn’t all that
the boy’s soccer team had
going for them. The energy of
the crowd, the high from the
win the day before, coach Don
Ridall’s words of wisdom and
the confidence of knowing that
as a team, the MPH Trojans are
skilled and talented athletes,
brought the team to the highest of
heights that Sunday, November 19.
The New York State Class D finals
game was played at Liverpool High
School. The crowd of a couple hundred
fans chanted and cheered throughout
the game. The game against Section V
champions Fillmore Eagles began at 9
a.m. and within the first 5 minutes,
forward Brian Perry socked a goal into
the net at close-range. The second goal
came halfway through the second half.
Dan Klemperer picked up a fumbled
ball after an attempted shot and passed
it left to Alan Rivera who got a clean
shot into the unprotected goal. MPH
saw the opportunity and took it. That’s
how both games were played over the
weekend.
getting to play rough, totally against
society’s standards for a girl. We played
one exhibition game against Nottingham and coach had us all put our
helmets on before we got off the bus.
Annie, the smallest of us all, Jess and I
each looked like another one of the
guys as we bounded off the bus in full
gear. Toward the end of the game,
Annie was put in on attack and totally
creamed a guy that came down the field
at her. I mean, he went a** over tea
kettle, and Jess and I looked on in
honor as our friend continued to rip
the Nottingham guys apart. By the end
of the game it was no big surprise that
we did not win, Class D versus Class
A... almost no competition, right? Not
so! The MPH men’s lacrosse team may
not have won in points, but when we
took off our helmets to shake hands
after the game, we won based on sheer
shock value. The boy Annie creamed
could not believe a “girl” (half his size
mind you) had taken him out. There
were some awesome guys on the team
that year, who worked very hard to
make sure we did the best we could
and I cannot remember one moment
when they made us feel unwelcome.
Thanks guys (players and coaches
alike)! Men’s lacrosse rocks!
Fillmore’s only goal came toward the
end of the second half as a penalty
kick. Though the score seemed close,
MPH seriously outplayed the Eagles.
The Trojans outshot the Eagles 19-3
and held possession of the ball the
majority of the time. The final score
was 2-1 when the whistle blew. MPH
players jumped up, hugged, tackled,
and high-fived in disbelief. The
Trojans’ first time to the state finals
competition earned them a welldeserved crown. Coach Ridall was
struck speechless when handed the
microphone to announce his players.
The MPH Trojans closed their most
successful season in history at 23-0-1.
63
THE ROAD TO A
State Championship
I
t ended abruptly with the double-screech of the final
whistle signaling both Manlius Pebble Hill’s first ever
state soccer championship and the start of a frantic dash
across the frozen AstroTurf at nearby Liverpool High School.
For myself and the majority of our team, that dash ended in
a haphazard pile-on somewhere near midfield, but for Don
Ridall the invisible finish line was drawn at the far side of
the field directly in front of the screaming crowd of MPH
fans who braved the cold and snow to cheer us on. After
recovering from the meandering 60 yard sprint that
culminated with him reared back on his knees, hands in the
air, Coach Ridall was given a microphone and the rambling,
drawling words he spoke to the crowd were a willing
testament to the elation and shock he felt. One might have
gotten the impression from the scene that our victory was
somehow unexpected or ill-prepared, but nothing could
have been farther from the truth”.
I believe our quest for a state championship began when we
were in Middle School right after we witnessed the Ridallcoached MPH varsity team lose in the sectional semifinals.
After the game, an emotional Don Ridall rounded up the
ballboys which included myself and many of my future
teammates, and told us that in a few years we‘d be playing
on that field and that we could go all the way. From that
point on, the goal of winning a sectional championship was
always in mind as we practiced and played together year-
64
round for the next six years. We ran captain’s practices
during the summers, played in indoor leagues together in
the winter, and during the regular season when some of our
opponents didn’t provide us much challenge, some of the
hardest fought and most competitive games were intrasquad scrimmages on the practice field after school.
Now that’s not to say we didn’t enjoy ourselves, even a little
too much at times, as we grew as close as players and
coaches can get. When I reminisce about playing soccer in
high school, I think as much of winning those two state
championships as the fun we shared and trouble we got
into. I think of the time Coach angrily huddled us up
during practice so we could all listen in for one player’s
excuse why he showed up an hour late for an important
practice, and then not being able to keep from laughing
when the student claimed his house burned down (which
actually turned out to be the truth). I’m reminded of the
McDonald’s fry eating contests at pit stops coming back
from away games, playing “red light” on the bus rides, and
the always eye-opening experience of staying over for the
Oxford Tournament. Whether it’s for the championships we
won or the camaraderie we shared, I do know for certain
that I’ll always look back fondly on my soccer experience at
MPH with Coach Ridall as one of the most memorable
times of my life.
S
ome of my most vivid memories of
MPH were created during my time
participating in sports. Some moments
that stand out are: Watching Toni, Sally,
and Ralph Torrillo play ball while
hoping to be just like them some day
(’91-‘98), winning the night game
under the lights at Onondaga in the
pouring rain (soccer ‘00), playing the
softball season opener at McGraw in
below freezing temperatures (‘02), a
bus break-down on the way to the
Oneonta tournament (soccer ‘01),
taking a team photo with the 1999
Women’s World Cup Trophy (soccer
‘02), serving 15 straight points to win a
perfect game (volleyball ‘99), getting
physically abused by Stockbridge Valley
(soccer - every year), the Seniors
seriously dominating Winter Carnival
in ’03 (outdoor games + quiet games),
Pat Ridall being sad that his State
Championship T-Shirt got ruined when
he was run over by a bicyclist in
Montreal (’01), Ellen Gorra finally
getting a hit and then tripping over first
base (softball ‘02), telling Mr. Denton
he couldn’t cancel practice to go home
and mow his lawn (softball ’99‘03)….and the list could go on! But
what really made athletics enjoyable for
me was that it wasn’t just about
winning the game, it was about
teamwork, heart and building
friendships!
I love MPH athletics because of its
tradition of excellence, but I really love
MPH athletics because of all the great
experiences and memories it created.
Carla Torillo ’03
SHAPING MPH ATHLETICS
FOR 34 YEARS
“It’s been a good fit for me,” says Don Ridall of his 34 years at Manlius
Pebble Hill. Hired in 1976 as a physical education teacher, he has been MPH
athletic director since the spring of l978 and is greatly respected among his
colleagues for having built one of the strongest high school soccer programs
in Central New York.
He’s been offered positions at other schools, but, for many reasons, has
stayed at MPH. Don says he appreciates “the independence I’ve been allowed
and the ability I’ve had to be creative in experimenting with programs.” He
enjoys teaching a variety of ages and acknowledges that, “It’s more fun to work with kids who actually enjoy coming to
school.” He says he has always thought MPH the right place for his own children, as well. (Son Patrick graduated in
2003, and daughter Cady is in Sixth Grade.)
Coach Don Ridall celebrating with his
players
He stays, too, because of the MPH athletic philosophy. The School’s no-cut policy, unique among area schools, enables
every single kid who wants to play to be on a sports team. Don believes that’s important. And he points out that, even
with the no-cut policy, “Some of our programs are as good or better than any in the area.”
Don supports the School’s philosophy that there should be “a balancing of academics and sports,” and takes some
pride in noting that, although that creates a different level of play, “MPH has produced some great athletes, including
many All-State athletes and at least two All-Americans.”
What’s changed in his 34 years at MPH? “We’re not seeing as many three-sport athletes as we used to,” Don says.
“Because of academic demands, more kids now specialize in one sport. They can play it year-round by participating in
club teams.”
Don recalls the time when the School had only 200 or so students: “With that small enrollment, we needed kids to
play three sports in order to just have teams.” In 2002, Don was named National Soccer Coach of the Year by the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America. As a coach, he looks at the state championships won by his Boys
Varsity Soccer Team in 2000 and 2001 as especially notable achievements.
Those are among the kinds of achievements that will be recognized in the School’s soon-to-be inaugurated Athletic
Hall of Fame. Don believes that the Hall of Fame has the potential to inspire students and to promote athletics: “In the
history of the School, we have had some great athletes who deserve to be recognized, and our current athletes should
know about them.”
65
I
nspired by a powerful course I took in graduate school one summer, I subjected my poor Tenth Grade English classes to a depressing year of
Holocaust literature. Much as they might like to, several of those students, including Lyndsey Weiner (MPH ’01), will never forget that
year. Now that Lyndsey works at MPH, she will never let me forget it either!
Teachers know there are times when some private matter clouds a student’s mind so heavily that nothing short of a fire drill will reach him,
yet we should also be mindful that students sometimes will notice and remember (sometimes for decades) day-to-day interactions, an offhand
comment, an unscripted moment shared, a depressing reading list, or an inspiring course. But students often have the same effect on their
teachers, by offering us a new way to see a subject we love or by providing us a chuckle. I am reminded here of Peter Fanelli (MPH ‘03)
entering my classroom carried in his own trombone case. I owe so much of who I am as a teacher and person to my teachers, but also to my
colleagues and students.
The power of the student-teacher bond fills the following entries with humor and inspiration, relating ways in which these relationships
influenced people’s thinking, their perspectives on a subject or on themselves, and certainly their experiences at the school. The following entries
make it clear that Manlius, Pebble Hill, and Manlius Pebble Hill Schools have always valued the bond between teacher and student and
provided room for these relationships to grow.
Pat Bentley Hoke, chair, MPH English Department
The manlius school
Lt. McTiernan was
my English teacher
at Manlius and as
Captain
McTiernan, my
instructor at the
Army Parachute
School at Fort
Benning, Ga. He
was killed in action
in Europe during
WWII.
G.H. Clune II ’43C
A man named
Robert Stoddard
Hopkins taught
English at Manlius,
and it turned out
he had a profound
Lt. McTiernan
effect on me. He
once returned a composition of mine
marked A+ and in the margin was the
66
notation, “You write very well.” I was
ruined! I started to read Gene Fowler,
Ben Hecht, John McNulty, Joseph
Mitchell, and other knockabout writers,
all of whom were or had been
newspaper or magazine writers, and
decided that was the life for me.
The cliché is “ink-stained wretch,” and
that’s pretty much what I’ve been ever
since. In class one day, Hopkins called
me to my feet and had me rattle off the
demonstrative pronouns. It was an act. I
said, “Dis, dat, dese, dem, and dose,”
and he’d shoot back, “Dat’s right!”
• Phil Jenkins - The he most fun, had
us read “Studs Lonigan.” Wrote the
play “Moon Over Manlius.”
• Tom Wight - The kindest, wisest,
most paternal. Exposed me to S.S.
Pierce’s Czarina tea.
• Robert Langdon - Amusing, a good
teacher.
• Charles Reid - Always kind and
helpful to me. Taught me a certain
degree of elegance and loved to
gossip.
• Lt. Colonel Collette (PSM&T) Paternal, kind, to me a superb role
model and boy did he make us
work.
Bill Kirkpatrick ’43A
Nevin James Shankweiler was
Commandant of Co. B, 1940-1943
(maybe before and maybe later). He, his
wife Grace, and their daughter were the
adults in our barracks. He was a great
role model - strong, steady, fair, consistent, honest, great sense of humor and,
above all, understanding of the problems of a bunch of teenage boys. He
taught chemistry and was my role
model, first in becoming a good student,
a man of honor and also a chemical
Voices from the Past
David Bahner
conducting a typical
band rehearsal in
Knox Hall
Excerpt from “Bahner’s Incentive”
By David Bahner
Reprinted from the Spring 1964 Old Boys Bulletin
As I write the article, the cadets are preparing for the annual Government
Inspection (G.I.). This is a busy time for the band members, for each of them
must have his instrument in first-class condition. The most tedious job at this
time for us is getting the “dress drums” in shape.
These are the British regimental drums, painted with The Manlius School’s crest,
which form the front line of the marching band. These drums are difficult to
work on because they are the old style rope tension drums – and it is only
through real effort that they can be made to have a well-balanced snare sound.
Every year the drum section says “We’ll never be able to get those drums in
shape” and every year at G.I. they are ready.
There are two lessons to be learned from this: the drummers learn that a
problem that seems insurmountable can be overcome by sticking to the job; the
other lesson can be applied to the cadets…that even though a boy may seem to
be a poor cadet, oftentimes with a little extra attention and individual help, that
same boy can be made a part of the team.
The Ceremonial Drums
The youth of today are the world of tomorrow, and we at Manlius have an opportunity to help shape that world by the impact we
make on the minds of the students today. I am glad that I can help minds grow through the medium of music.
William M. “Bud” Marcussen, ‘43 B
I entered Manlius in 1939 and have a
vivid memory of “Gunner” Knapp who
taught history. His remark to an errant
student was, “I’ll tear off your arm and
beat you over the head with the bloody
stump!” It caught the attention of this
new student immediately.
Bob McClinton ‘43A
“Duke” Eddington, my senior English
teacher, inspired me to be a writer. He
taught us to think critically and
analytically. I was a skier at Manlius
who ended up as an aerospace engineer
on the teams that landed the Viking on
Mars and got photos for three years. I
also was on the team of the Magellan
spacecraft that orbited Venus and got
95% of the surface with a synthetic
aperture radar.
Merriam Trube ’47A
Capt. Tom Cahill will always be remembered. Other faculty members will be
forgotten and have to be renewed by
reading my 1949 Haversack. Long story,
but his interest, guidance, and
understanding resulted with my having
what I consider a very successful life...I
will never forget our off-the-record and
un-military school conversations... I am
sure that this man was very important
to many other cadets. If you have any
information about Capt. Cahill, I would
appreciate your sending it to me...
Thanks....
engineer. He was, as I remember, from
Kutztown, Penn. and spoke with a slight
Penna-Dutch accent. Great guy.
Edward H. Ehrenspeck’49HQ
Editor’s Note: After a long, illustrious career
in coaching, Tom Cahill passed away in
1998. His wife Bonnie passed away in
2001. Many, many alumni recall Capt.
Cahill’s integrity and guidance both on and
off the field, and he is still missed.
The first of my five years on the Manlius
faculty (1948-1949), I lived in the
bachelor quarters on the second floor of
Tom and Bonnie Cahill’s B Company.
Among the few alumni who might
remember me from that year were the
two student non-coms across the hall
who showed me how to keep the brass
on my uniform bright with clear nail
67
A Faculty Wife’s Memories
of The Manlius School
F
or 15 years prior to its merging with Pebble Hill, my husband, Dave
Bahner, was the director of music at Manlius. For just about all of those
years, we lived in faculty housing on campus, with our two daughters. Our
lives were merged with those of the cadets – especially with Headquarters
Company (HQ...THE BEST COMPANY HQ ..THE COLOR COMPANY).
My memories are not of classroom experiences, but rather those associated
with being a family, offering a “home away from home” atmosphere to
lonely and homesick cadets. Here are a few of those memories:
Suzi, David, Carol, and Sue Bahner circa 1964
We usually ate the evening meal in the dining hall…it was a memorable
moment when Dave attempted to serve dessert by slicing into a frozen
block of ice cream, causing it to skitter down the length of the table onto a
cadet’s lap. I remember providing Kleenex to cadets just prior to some
Sunday afternoon dress parades – not because they had a cold, but because
they needed to cover up the “ring around the collar” on their white shirts,
and the Kleenex worked perfectly (from a distance)! One of the unique
experiences was chaperoning the Winter Carnival dates, who were housed
in a dormitory. Sleeping in those bunks was challenging.
My kitchen was often home to cadets who were brave enough to want to
learn how to bake and decorate cookies, or who came for a feast of
buttermilk pancakes. Since our daughters, Suzi and Caryl, were both in
Girls Scouts, they were the prize winners for selling cookies, since they had
Farmer Hall residents as customers. We also made wonderful life-long
friends with other faculty families. But the memories are still being made
Carol, Sue, and Suzi
“I am aware of how the legacy of The Manlius School has been grafted into
Pebble Hill through the merger, because our grandson is an MPH graduate,
and I have seen first-hand the excellent education he received. He was taught
to think critically, and never to forget that Manners Makyth Man.”
when we gather at Clambake and reminisce. And usually someone will talk about the Senior
Pranks… especially the time some enterprising cadets procured some highway signs and late at
night placed them in a way that diverted all the traffic driving east on 92 through the campus. I
imagine it was the rumbling of heavy trucks driving through that awoke some faculty member (yes,
it probably was The Wedge!) who handled the situation.
We counted it a privilege to play a part in helping to shape the lives of young men. Whenever I hear
a Sousa march, my mind flashes back to a view of The Manlius Battalion, with flags flying,
marching in formation on the parade field. Thanks for the memories!
Sue Bahner
Keeping it in the family,
David and Sue’s grandson,
Michael Harriff, is a 1996
graduate of Manlius Pebble
Hill
P.S. Because Manlius merged with Pebble Hill and became Manlius Pebble Hill School, I thought it
appropriate to provide some more current memories. I am aware of how the legacy of The Manlius
School has been grafted into Pebble Hill through the merger, because our grandson is an MPH
graduate, and I have seen first-hand the excellent education he received. He was taught to think critically, and never to forget that
Manners Makyth Man. If you want a constant reminder of this excellent merged school known as “MPH,” look no further than
the dashboard of your car, where you will see that same “MPH” shown! It can become a symbol to you of progress being made
in educating the students of today.
68
polish. What they didn’t tell me was
that nail polish remover and new polish
were needed occasionally. I like to
believe that was the source of one of my
nicknames that I, like all private school
faculty, learned after graduation – “Dirty
Dave.” I also was sufficiently overweight
that my Eisenhower jacket was seldom
buttoned, causing the Superintendent –
Major General Raymond W. Barker – to
call me aside and beg me to be just a
little bit more military. I like to think
that I had some part in the faculty
members eventually being permitted to
switch to “civvies.”
I coached soccer and swimming and got
a lot of support in starting lacrosse.
Because the football team played college
freshman and JV teams, all other teams
had to play college teams. My first
“away” soccer game was against Cornell
JVs. They bumped our goalie into the
post and took him and his concussion
to their infirmary, where I picked him
up for the trip home. We didn’t know
they had broken our middle half-back’s
leg until we had to leave him at a
hospital half way back to Manlius. I
don’t remember the score, but I do
remember sitting up with a demented
goalie from our getting back to School
at 3 a.m. to the opening of our
infirmary at 8 a.m.
After a year as a newlywed in a second
floor apartment in the village, my bride
allowed me to move with her into what
had been Bernie and Mary-D Shaw’s A
Company. As Commandant of A
Company, I was “promoted” from
lieutenant to captain and could learn
gardening from Bernie on his farm
during vacations. But the learning I
most appreciated came from my student
officers and non-coms. All four of our
boys are named after A Company
students.
My five years on the Manlius faculty
marked the beginning of a teaching
career that lasted until 1992. The last 17
years I sold out to administrating, but I
always had one class a day “on my
lunch hour.” To the end, I kept learning
what I learned at Manlius – that, as all
teachers know, we always learn more
from the kids than they learn from us.
Dave Meier, Manlius faculty member
1948-1953
Let me note that I was a Manlius cadet
‘43-‘46 and a Manlius faculty member
‘57-‘60. I call to mind two individuals I
knew first as students and then as fellow
teachers. Bernie Shaw I had for a course
in world history, I think. What relish,
what enthusiasm he brought to his
subject. And not least, he made sure we
could pronounce with confidence the
great names of history. His was a class
we all looked forward to. The “Jake” was
another matter. He taught with the
confidence of one who’s been there.
He’d not read a text or two, but he’d
done the original research that lent
authority to his presentations and was a
real plus for the School.
I have the ego to include myself as
a teacher out of the ordinary. I came to
Manlius from two years on the faculty
of the University of South Carolina, and
with my 11th Graders, I used a college
literature text. I can still recall beating
them through William Faulkner’s “The
Bear.” All concerned were hanging on
for dear life. Then, when I returned to
college teaching, I used that same text
with sophomores and juniors. But then
the college president called me into his
academic woodshed: “You can’t expect
your college folk to handle what your
prep school students could.” Cadets
who’ll recall the carnage in my classes
include Steve Wynn and Dean
Sedgwick. The former even majored in
English at the University of Pennsylvania, from which I earned my Ph.D.
Ahhhh… the damage a teacher can do.
Another faculty member who comes to
mind is a Don Jenks, who taught 10th
Grade English in the late ‘50s. He used a
text that had been out of print for years.
That meant the bookstore had to search
out used copies. Joy oh joy, this gem
brought back those wonderful distinctions between “shall” and “will,”
between “should” and “would.”
Col. John Marsh ’46B, Manlius faculty
member 1957-60
Bernie Shaw was HQ and A Company
Commandant. He would come to me as
HQ Company Commander and suggest
that it was time to have all the rifles
cleaned, or something similar. I seemed
to have ESP about these things, and was
able to tell him that HQ had already
done it. A Company then would have to
do it. It was uncanny. He was always
very fair and aboveboard. While this is
not necessarily earth shaking, by
entrusting me to do what was right, he
taught me a great lesson. It’s a principle
I’ve followed throughout my life.
I know I was responsible for another
athletic policy change. The coaches of
minor sport teams drove the bus until,
on a snowy trip to a swim meet at RPI, I
underlined the school name on the new
bus by sliding into a parked truck on an
icy city street. For my last three years on
the faculty, custodians drove the bus
and the kids were better behaved.
While I have never seen much advantage to a student being a private in a
military school, I am still awed by the
educational opportunities given to
student officers and non-coms. I was
proud of being a part of A Company
each of my three years there; but I can’t
help being most proud of the A
Company cadets winning Company
Competition in spring of ’53. It had
been a difficult year on the military side
of things with company officers
demoted for disciplinary reasons. But
every one, regardless of rank, came
together to achieve the best marks in the
military competition to join with their
long-standing academic excellence.
Anne and I were extremely proud to
watch the company captain carry our
infant son at the front of the victory
parade.
David Slocum ’48HQ
I remember “Duke” Eddington, Senior
English teacher who made us write
something every day and then we had
to defend it in class…sure got us to
think on our feet, and it made me into a
writer that together with engineering is
how I’ve made an exciting aerospace
career and a good retirement.
69
Dave Edwards, John MacDonald,
Walter Sherman, Lee Sedgwick
I really have so many stories about
Manlius that it will be too long to tell
all of them, but I just remembered this
one. It was March 10, 1952. I was at a
class with Mr. Howell and in that class,
too, were Alberto & Guillermo
Fernandez, all of us Cubans. Mr. Howell
said to us, “Do you know that the
president of Cuba, Carlos Prio, was
overthrown by a former president of
Cuba, Fulgencio Batista?“ We would not
believe it, but when the classes finished,
I went to my room and put on the
radio. I had a short wave radio, and it
was true. It is because of this action that
there are so many Cuban people living
in the US right now.
Rafael Sanchez ’52C
Nevin Shankweiler was deadly accurate
with a left-handed piece of chalk
delivered to the back row. Now that is
chemistry in action.
One of my fondest members of Bernie
was during a history exam. He passed
out the test with a number of
challenging essay questions, and Harvey
Ruvin, from the back row, was heard to
mutter, “Jesus Christ!,” apparently in
appreciation of the difficulty he foresaw
in answering. Without missing a beat,
Bernie looked up from his desk, peered
over his reading glasses and said, “You
may call me Mr. Shaw….” It broke me
up! I recounted this story to Harvey a
few years ago when he made contact
with me through the Internet, and he
couldn’t remember the incident, but I
sure did.
Dave Edwards and the entire English
Department deserve much credit. The
70
four years of English I had at Manlius
were the most valuable single contribution to my education from any school
or college, a listing that includes the US
Naval Academy, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute and Stanford. At the time, I
hated the précis-writing classes with Mr.
Patton – such drudgery! Years later,
however, I came to understand that he
and the others in English were responsible for really teaching me to write
well. An engineer who could actually
write well! How strange…. The ability
to write well had a great deal to do with
whatever success I had later in life. Andy
Forrest in English was a great inspiration
in literature and poetry. The inimitable
Doc Williams in biology was also pretty
memorable. I remember one day one of
the South American boys was sleeping
in class, and Doc quietly moved over
beside him. He raised the heavy pool
cue he used as a pointer and slammed it
on the desk beside the poor sleeper’s
head and nearly scared him out of his
wits. Frank Milliman in math – quiet,
very patient, and a great teacher. Those
were the days….
Jon Ives ’55C
My dear friend and teacher Commander
J. T. Rugh came easily to mind. One
thing that sticks in my mind is hearing
Commander Rugh talk with General
Barker. The General affectionately
addressed Commander Rugh as “Sailor.”
Many years after my graduation, I
visited J.T. and Lotte at their home in
Maine. J.T. and I went snow shoeing.
There were many great teachers - Frank
Milliman, Mr. Jay, Mr. Edwards, Mr.
Jenks, Mr. Patton, Bernie Shaw, Col.
Chase. Each one made a difference.
James E. (Jed) Waterbury ’56A
I remember Nevin Shankweiler’s last
day in the classroom. I had signed up
for chemistry my Senior year because of
Mr. Shankweiler’s reputation for
excellent teaching — the best in the
School, some of his students said. But
when we returned to School in the fall,
we learned that Mr. Shankweiler had
cancer. His substitute, Mrs. Knudson,
was competent enough, as I recall, but
she wasn’t “Shank.”
Then one day, Mr. Shankweiler did
come to School to teach us. He was
very thin and weak, and I remember his
clarity, his earnestness, and his almost
wistful smile. That class wasn’t, as I had
hoped, the first class of his return, but
rather his farewell to his classroom and
us boys. I remember it, and him, with
particular poignancy this semester,
which may very well be the last in my
own career.
My other memory, a very fragmentary
one, is of P.P. Hanson telling us a joke
in geometry class in 1954 or 1955. I’ve
forgotten the lesson, and I’ve forgotten
the joke, but I remember that “P. P.”
told us we’d remember the joke longer
than the lesson. If any Old Boy
remembers the joke, I’d appreciate being
reminded of it!
Dave Cole ‘57 B-HQ
There are so many (teachers) who left
positive memories. Shankweiler was a
brilliant teacher of chemistry. One day I
spilled acid on my thumb and I went to
him for help — but instead he called
the class to attention and told them to
watch my hand change color. He then
explained the harmless reaction that the
acid had caused.
Dave Edwards was a great and inspiring
teacher of English. He knew how to
squeeze the best work out of his
students. Commander Rugh had a good
sense of humor and related well to
students. Rev. Laine must have been the
world’s kindest, gentlest man. The
rumor was that he had been shot in
WWI, but that his Chaplain’s cross
saved his life. The bullet hit the cross
and thus did not kill him. The story was
that he had the cross rebuilt and still
wore it on his uniform. Was that true?
The Commandant, Lee Sedgwick, was in
charge of discipline. He had an old
Buick that roared when he drove it and
thus you could always hear him coming
to check on us during the night. “Turn
off the lights, here comes Sedgwick.” I
wonder if he knew that, used it as a
decoy, and strolled up to Hadley Hall
on foot sometimes.
Mark DeLancey ’57B
I arrived at Manlius with little if any
respect for authority. Then I met Walter
MacPhee. Mr. MacPhee was the adult in
charge of “B” Company for the three
years I was incarcerated at Manlius and
he made darned sure that I understood
the meaning of respect, honor, and
discipline. I think I made every soak line
every week for the whole three years and
Mr. MacPhee saw to it that I had
enough extra duty to keep me occupied
while I contemplated changing my
ways. He never gave up on me and I
know I tried his patience to the max.
Without his guidance I never would
have lived long enough to retire, which I
now have done. Thanks, Mr. MacPhee,
for your dedication to the principles of
Manlius and finding some thing good
in even the most recalcitrant student.
Norman McGill Jr. ’59B
Frank Milliman was an outstanding
math teacher. He was on top of his
material and immensely patient with
his students. David Bahner, the band
faculty member, was the epitome of
kindness.
Bill Rankin ’59HQ
We had to go through the reception line
and I had to think of something to say. I
was never very good at that. We had a
real military major that the cadets all
thought resembled an owl and we
called him Major Tweety — behind his
back, of course. Well, the major was in
the reception line and, sure enough, as I
reached the major with my date on my
arm, I reached out my hand and said,
“Good evening, Major Tweety.” I just
kept moving down the line.
Dave Rosso ’61C
You obviously will get input from my
year group on John Edwards, Bernie
Shaw, etc. However, one of my favorite
“honorable mention.” My favorite was
Bruce Carlson (Latin American
history....) Ironically, the actions of the
person pictured in your e-mail (Bernie
Shaw) had a significant effect on my
life.
Mike Olshan ’64HQ
I had two great teachers. The first was
Bernard Shaw...He made you think and
he brought history ‘to life.’ I still have
both volumes of English history- as well
as the American history text he used.
(The snap quizzes tended to reduce my
overall grade.)
The second great academic influence
was Robert ‘the Huntah’ Hunter.
Without his weekly 50 word paragraphs,
literary discussions and ability to hone
interpretive skills, my college career
would have died in freshman English.
There were also others. Commander
Rugh who helped me get through Latin
and who was our soccer coach. Our
absent-minded chemistry professor,
Claude Williams, who was forever
lighting Bunsen burners and having
them blow back through the ports, yet
he would continue to teach unaware of
the ‘problem’ until someone notified
him of the hazard. Last, but not least,
our Band Master David Bahner, who
didn’t just stop the music at Sousa....
John Castor ’64HQ
Bernie Shaw (US History); Dave Bahner
(Senior Advisor); Commander J.
Torrence Rugh, USN (ret) (Latin I); Bob
Hunter (English III); Dave Edwards
(English I); L. Brooks Lakin (History 9);
Jack Lewis (9th grade General Science &
Thomson Hall housemaster); O.
Howard Correll (Algebra I); Larry Porter
(Algebra I); Paul Vang (housemaster);
Frank Gibson & Walter Sherman
(advisors); all the foregoing are
Part II - more “honorable mentions” Paul Wacholz (Modern European
History); John McDonald (Dean); Frank
Koegel (Math II); Larry Leighton (Latin
II); but Bruce Carlson remains my alltime favorite... plus Major Bob Curtis
(military department), and even Lee
Sedgwick and General Wilson....
A Debt Owed
Combining my years as a cadet and my
years as a faculty member surrounds the
merger. Much was different to be sure,
but much was surprisingly the same.
Dave Edwards, Bernie Shaw, Lee
Sedgwick, and the remaining Manlius
faculty joined Dick Barter and Chuck
Beeler and the Pebble Hill faculty in
seeking excellence in education in every
way possible. But as I reflect about the
events and people who had an impact
on us, one face, one name keeps
coming to mind – Lawrence!
I wish I knew his last name out of
respect that I have acquired for him
since I learned to appreciate what it
takes to make a good school run well.
I just knew the ubiquitous, wiry thin,
age-lined face, overall jeans and a worn
green jacket, and the ever present pipe
of a man who served us all very well!
He did it all. He drove the bus. He
drove the tractor to mow the campus
and fields. He spread sand and salt in
the winter and spent untold hours
coaxing the old boiler in Knox Hall to
generate enough steam to travel all the
way over to Farmer Hall underground.
That was a major task in the last few
years as major maintenance had to be
deferred due to enrollment.
A formal dance. Fourteen years old.
Dressed in my dress blues, white belt,
polished brass belt buckle, mirror
polished shoes, white gloves, and my
date on my arm. Nervous to the point
of panic and trying to remember the
school motto: Manners Makyth Man.
teachers was Larry Leighton, the French
and Latin teacher. He was a frail
individual, who smoked too much and
had the harsh, raspy smoker‘s cough.
The classroom was on the third floor —
as far as you could get from the
entrance — and he would come into
the classroom out of breath. Yet, he was
most patient and had an obvious love
for the students. He did not touch as
many students as the English, history,
science, and math teachers; but he made
an impression on me. And I still
remember that old Gaul was divided
into three parts!
It was Lawrence who was in the dining
hall at 2 a.m. when I went in search of
my car ,which the Seniors and PG’s had
“stolen.” He was just standing there,
71
pipe glowing in the dark, as I entered
the double doors. Who knew that
Comstock was not locked up at night? I
suggested I just leave the car there since
it was obvious that the kids had been
very careful in transporting my VW in
there. With his normal dearth of words,
Lawrence commented on the old beams
in the basement not sounding too good.
“I bin downstaiaiaiairs” he said in his
characteristic voice from Maine. “Don’t
sound too goooood.” I jumped in the
car and carefully backed it out, with
Lawrence holding the doors for me.
It was Lawrence who could make the
old equipment run well past their useful
lives and saving the School operating
dollars I am sure. And I am almost as
sure he didn’t cost us too many of those
dollars either. It was Lawrence who we
left behind to take care of the place
while the rest of the School moved out
and the banks began the process of
taking over. I wonder what he thought
as he watched his world change that he
had given so much of his life to. I
would ask Bill Bisgrove about him and
the only real addition he could give me
was that Lawrence loved to fish. Bill
didn’t know what happened to
Lawrence after the sale. I hope he had
some quality time fishing.
Thank you Lawrence! You served us all
long well.
this he had to endure getting smacked
by his boys. Who could resist getting a
free shot at the Wedge? I suppose a
mathematician could have worked out a
formula correlating number of hits by
each individual to his current level of
Extra Duty (E.D.) hours. But there was
the “X” factor. You would have to face
him in the morning.
No Greek mythology was discussed next
period with Mr. Edwards. We heard the
bugle and reasoned that the guard must
be lowering the flag to half-staff. We
rose and saluted. Probably not the
correct etiquette, but it seemed the right
thing to do.
John Ellis ’67HQ
As long as Gerry Morse was in charge,
athletics were an important part of OCS,
the annual trial by fire that would
decide who would hold the leadership
positions in the Battalion for the next
year.
In Sixth Grade, I lived literally 90
seconds away from School. Now in
Seventh Grade, School was twelve miles
away, and started earlier. My sleep
patterns were shot to ....pieces. It caught
up with me on a Tuesday morning
when English with Mr. Anderson was
the first class of the day. I struggled to
stay awake, if not alert. But the room
was hot, and Whitey could drone on a
bit. I lost the battle. Predicate nominatives gave way to slumber. Bang! A blow
to the back of the head jerked me back
to the world. Whitey had ordered Don
Cross to give me a whack with his
English book. Whitey’s English class was
the first class I ever fell asleep in. It
would not be the last. Questioned on
this point in 2009, Don Cross denies
any memory of this incident. But I
remember it well. It made a deep
impression on me.
John Ellis ’67HQ
Brad Garrity ’66C
One night a year we were allowed to
visit Suburban Park, the amusement
park across Route 92. We had our cutrate tickets that we bought from Sgt.
Becker and a couple of hours to enjoy
our freedom. We rode all the rides,
played skee-ball, practiced our
marksmanship at the shooting gallery
and most of all, we rode the bumper
cars. We rode them not only to release
our pent up testosterone, but to do
something otherwise unthinkable.
You see, the bumper cars were centrally
located and provided an ideal location
for Captain Sedgwick to keep an eye on
his rambunctious charges. He would sit,
pipe in mouth, endlessly circling, his
eagle eye missing nothing. But to do
72
Friday afternoon; the weekend so close
you could taste it. I mounted the stairs
to the third floor of Comstock. French
class awaited. Hurley Smith barreled
past me, yelling “Kennedy’s been shot!
Kennedy’s been shot!”
“Sure, Hurley”, I groaned.
Stu Capenter, leaning over the third
floor railing, said, “He’s not kidding,
you know...”
Mr. Vang spoke no French this day. He
told us of his time as a Navy translator
in Paris, during which there was many
attempts to assassinate Charles
DeGaulle. The door opened. Mr. Rey
poked his head in. “Il est mort.” was all
he said. So I learned of the death of the
President in the French language.
John Ellis ’67HQ
This particular afternoon we were
playing touch football, down near the
tennis courts. As if the whole OCS
process weren’t pressure-packed enough,
Col. Morse was the quarterback of my
team. I played my usual line position
for most of the game. Out of the blue
Col. Morse called an unusual play.
“Ellis, you line up in your usual
position. Right End, you line up a yard
back. That makes you, Ellis, eligible. At
the snap, you go down 10 yards and
turn. I’ll hit you and you go like hell for
the goal line.”
Gulp! My mind reeled as we lined up.
The ball was snapped; I ran ten yards
and turned. The ball hit me square in
the chest. I turned and ran. And scored.
My only touchdown. It all took about
seven seconds. But in those seven
seconds, Col. Morse taught me a lot
about self-confidence and performing
beyond your perceived capabilities.
It wasn’t the Super Bowl, but it was fine
by me.
John Ellis ’67HQ
Without a doubt, Commander J. T.
Rugh Jr. USNR (ret’d), my German and
Latin Master, fencing and soccer coach.
An amiable lunatic, who always said,
“Translate concepts! Not words!” Advice
I still hold close.
Jon Statler ’68A
Scholar, Latin I&II. German I, I, II &
III (flunked I)
There was not one teacher that made
my experience at Manlius a positive
effect on my life. Therefore, the man
that put the teaching staff together and
ran the School has to get the credit;
hands-down it was Lee Sedgwick. I
remember the look on Lee’s face the
morning of our Senior prank (we had
taken all the chairs and desks and put
them on the top of the gym) when
Capt. Kinsey asked him if he had been
upstairs yet. Lee’s eyes widened and he
took off like a bat out of hell. One of
the best breakfasts I ever had.
Carl Gibbs ’69C
Col. Morse is one sharp soldier and I
respected him a lot. He helped to make
me a better man. He was “LOOK
SHARP, FEEL SHARP, AND YOU WILL
BE SHARP.”
Being a Cornell University graduate and
my faculty advisor, Mr. Shaw strongly
recommended that I apply to that
institution. I did, was accepted and
attended. Earning a degree in mathematics from Cornell has had a
significant effect on the trajectory of my
life.
William (Bill) Walker ‘70B
Jay Johnson ’69B
pebble hill school
From 1955-1960, I was a small part of
the Pebble Hill School scene, serving
as teacher, coach, Middle School head,
athletic director. For the ’57-’58 and
’58-‘59 basketball seasons, we played
our home games at the War Memorial
as preliminary games for the
professional Syracuse Nationals.
Dick Sargent, Mark Norton, Chuck
Mancabelli went on to play football in
college. In 1955, Pebble Hill consisted
of only the Farmhouse and Barn. The
Middle School/Elementary building
began in 1958. It was a tremendous
addition.
Detention was held on Saturday mornings for those found guilty. Teachers
rotated the supervisory responsibility.
My tenure at Pebble Hill was for five
years. After five years as a minor league
baseball player in the Phillies
organization, the complete change of
lifestyle at Pebble Hill was a tremendous experience. If there was a
Walley Habel, faculty member 19551960
Sue Bond and me getting caught
chewing gum in Mr. Krol’s Latin class.
He made us kneel on the floor for the
whole period. It was very
uncomfortable and we never did that
again. (We did do other things
however......until we got caught ...
again). In retrospect, I don’t know how
our teachers put up with us…we were a
prankster-ish lot.(Oh yes, you, too,
Dickie Doust)..but we sure had fun
(not just my class). We had a contest
once as to who could get on detention
the most.(We LIKED coming to school
on Saturdays because we got to be with
our friends in a relaxed atmosphere). I
am now embarrassed to say that I won
that contest and want to sincerely
apologize to every teacher that had to
put up with my antics for my entire PH
duration...but we sure had fun!!!!
Dwight Hasselberger, got assigned a
book on Ben Franklin. Dwight was very
easy going and quick to laugh. When he
got up to read, about five of us decided
to sit in the front row and cross and
uncross our legs in unison every time
Dwight looked up from his notes. Sort
of an early “wave.” Dwight was talking
about Franklin’s family, and he got to
the part where he said, “First his mother
died,” and he looked up and we uncrossed and crossed our legs in unison.
He started to chuckle. Then he said,
“Then his Father died.” He looked up,
and saw all of our legs go in the other
direction, and he just lost it laughing.
Mrs. Alden who was standing in the
back of the room couldn’t understand
what was so funny about a young man
losing his parents. She was a good sport
though, and when she found out what
was going on, made us stop, and
Dwight finished the report. Every time
Dwight looked up, we were smiling at
him, and he, of course, lost it all over
again.
The class day ended at 2 p.m.,
followed by play period which ended
at 4 p.m. Every student participated in
Play Period…Varsity athletes practiced,
Grades 4-12 girls had special activities,
Grades 4-8 boys participated in
intramurals, and elementary children
had organized activities. Everyone
went home, mostly by car pools, at 4
p.m.
retirement plan of any nature, I would
have stayed forever.
Dick Doust ’61
Carolyn Whittaker Weaver ’59
In about 1960, our class was taking
English from Mrs. Alden. One of Mrs.
Alden’s teaching techniques was to have
us read our book reports out loud in
class so we could learn a little public
speaking. A member of our class,
Here are some of my recollections about
Pebble Hill faculty…
• Mr. Littlefield English, Boston accent,
hated the Syracuse nasal twang.
• Mr. Stevenson, soccer coach… French
teacher… school photographer.
73
• Mr. Van Waggenen, chemistry/
biology/earth science/etc. I think he
was a retired business man – always
wore bowties.
• Mr. Collea, our calculus teacher,
would quip, ”It took me 15 minutes
to do this test so it should take you
birds 45, since I’m three times better
than you.” Author of quips on
quizzes: “Are you stumped by logs?”
“Do logs have you out on a limb?”
etc.
Jim Amodio ’65
This is Steve Draper, PHS class of ‘67,
and I am always surprised by the power
of the memories of those years. Here
are a few of my favorites:
Mr. Stephenson – French teacher, soccer
coach, and leader of the Herd, a nowlegendary winter, sports ensemble. He’s
the only teacher I ever had who
communicated the joy in recreation and
sport.
Mr. Nicholson – fully British, with his
accent and historically bushy eyebrows,
and dry jokes that no one really
understood. He was the assistant
headmaster and taught geometry, at
least. He personified “gruff” but had a
forgiving heart.
Mrs. Alden – an English teacher who
single-handedly provoked me to be a
reader of literature. She was such a
sweet, very old lady, who never raised
her voice. You felt like if you sneezed in
her direction, she’d be blown over, but
she could draw you into a story.
Steve Draper ’67
Mrs. Joiner, 7th Grade Latin, deadliest
aim with chalk to noggin across the
entire classroom to waken sleeping
beauties.
Allan Pryor was the English teacher
everyone was really annoyed with
because he made us... gasp... read and
write every day. And he read what we
wrote. And he criticized it. And he
pushed us to do better. Today I can
write, because of him. And I’m always
74
amazed at how many people can’t. We
had a very special experience and we
didn’t know it at the time.
Charlie Brown ’68
Mr. Stephenson worked so hard to teach
French to some of us... he would be
shocked, and probably pleased to know
that I can still read the street signs in
Montreal, and have even translated a
letter for a buddy who had relatives in
France.... not bad for somebody who
took five years to complete French III;
never understood why they kept giving
me other teachers who couldn’t help me
see how to learn it and then the second
time with him it seemed relatively
easy.....
Doug King ’68
I have to say that all of my teachers at
PH really left an impression on me - I
still remember so much of what I
learned.
I cannot recall her name (darn!) but our
teacher for ancient and medieval history
gave fascinating lectures. She didn’t so
much lecture as tell us stories (about the
Egg Kings, for example). This was the
first time I’d really experienced history
not as a bunch of names and dates, but
actual stories of people who lived and
breathed and worked and impacted
their worlds.
Another history teacher who challenged
me personally was our American history
teacher (again, the name escapes me
right now), who was a big proponent of
reading the actual writings of the people
who were involved in the things we
were studying. This was another lesson
that stuck with me - don’t just read
some historian’s (potentially biased!)
interpretation of “the facts,” but read
what the people who were actually
living the events had to say about them
as they were living them. I use that
lesson to this day, and insist on reading
original documents whenever I can.
Mrs. Orcutt was another teacher whose
classes stayed with me and helped form
the way I approach learning. She taught
art history, and showed us how a
culture’s artwork is a brilliant insight
into the way people thought, what was
important to them, how they
commented artistically on their world.
We learned to read the clues in a
painting, a sculpture, or the architecture
of a period, long before Dan Brown
popularized the idea that a painting
could contain much more than form
and color and light.
Mr. Stephenson (French) was also
memorable. Thanks to his drilling, I was
eventually able to read French without
translating – even to have dreams in
French! I can remember him
encouraging us to read Paris Match (the
“Life” or “Look” of France), which
helped us not only with colloquial
French, but to learn a bit about the
culture, as well.
I will never forget Mr. Solvig and pithing
the frogs. Enough said.
Mr. Martel introduced us to the more
free-wheeling discussions we would find
when we got to college, and how to
hold our own in a lively debate.
And I remember, oddly, Mr. Johnson
(advanced algebra) tossing chalk at you
when he asked for the answer to an
equation – long before “accelerated
learning” studies demonstrated that
when you disarm someone with
physical activity during a learning
exercise, you can actually improve their
retention/recall rate. Did he know that?
Or did it just come naturally?
I don’t think I had a teacher who, in
some way, didn’t shape the way I
approached learning, and whose lessons
didn’t stay with me all of my life.
Nancy Roberts ’68
Mrs. Alden was one of my favorite
teachers. She absolutely made Latin
come alive, which I did not think was
possible the first two years...Go Ovid!
Chandler Ralph ’70
While neither of us were ever students
summer to grad school, I wanted to
The Moving of
a Flagpole
By: Catherine Allison ’99
Reprinted from the 1999 Fall Reflections
O
n June 12, 1999 the 80-ft tall
flag pole from The Manlius
School campus was moved to the
quad of Manlius Pebble Hill School.
The old flagpole is not merely a
replacement of the one damaged in
the Labor Day storm of 1998; it is a
piece of history and tradition
transplanted from the past of our
School to the present. Local legend
tells us that the flagpole came off the
original battleship Missouri, and
The Manlius flagpole standing proudly
Manlius School alumni tell us that the
on the MPH campus.
flagpole was an important part of their
experience at The Manlius School. The recall saluting the flag every morning of
their school year and taking the flag down each night.
The decision to bring the flagpole to the MPH campus was partially practical,
partially nostalgic, but mostly a tribute to the heritage of our School. “It is a
school treasure,” said Head of School Ball. “We wanted to promote the heritage
of The Manlius School and honor the men who died for our country in wars.”
Besides promoting a sense of respect and appreciation of our alumni veterans,
a scholarship was also created in the flagpole’s name.
Brian Hoke,
former faculty member
In October of 1968, I was The Manlius
School’s newly hired teacher of Latin,
French and chair of the Language Dept.
One of the department head duties was
to fulfill a task called “major duty.” The
duty lasted from 3:00 p.m. on Friday
afternoon until 8:00 a.m. on Monday.
On that particular Saturday morning, I
was completing a tour of Knox Hall,
when the telephone rang in the
Headmaster’s secretary’s office. It was
the Headmaster who informed me that
I should gather up some students and
supervise the destruction of a snow
sculpture depicting an 8-feet tall phallus
that was in front of the School’s chapel!
A well-meaning person driving along a
campus driveway had called the
Headmaster with due haste. The
Headmaster made it clear to me that I
was not to bother the maintenance crew
in any way. It was to be a student
project with me as “mentor.”
The Flag Scholarship is an endowed scholarship program that provides the
opportunity for, primarily, the children of alumni to attend the School. The
scholarship seeks well-rounded students who have exceptional academic
promise that can also contribute to the athletic and artistic programs at
Manlius Pebble Hill. The first recipient is Meredith Theis, the daughter of Sally
and Bob Theis ’67B.
ring or of having to ask her to marry
me in a few hours. I managed to keep
from losing the ring, fumbled my way
through the question (at Phoebe’s
restaurant later that night), and - to my
everlasting delight - she said yes. The
sight of the end-of-year tent going up at
MPH never fails to bring back happy
memories of that Friday!
The story got around by noon!
Jim Lawrence
“Semper Ubi Sub Ubi”
Jim Lawrence, Manlius & MPH Latin
Teacher 1968-2006
Can anyone translate?
While neither of us were ever students
there, the lovely former Patricia Bentley
and I met while both young teachers at
MPH in the early nineties. We began
dating soon after Pat began teaching at
the school in ‘93 (I had started the year
before) and soon talked of getting
engaged. As I was heading away for the
pop the question before the school year
ended in June.
I remember sitting in the faculty section
under the tent at the ‘94 Baccalaureate
ceremony with a very sweaty
engagement ring in my pocket; I’m not
sure if I was more terrified of losing the
Submit your answers to
[email protected].
Here’s a little story about my favorite
Manlius/MPH teacher, Mr. Lawrence. He
was kind enough to loan me a book
when he saw that his Latin III course
had sparked an interest in the ancient
75
city of Troy. (We were, after all, reading
Virgil’s “Aeneid” line by line.) The book
was Carl Blegen’s “Troy and the Trojans,”
and the year was 1970. I kept that book
for 27 years. When I finally returned it
by mail, I got the nicest letter in reply.
Nothing was said of the book that I had
kept for more than a quarter century.
Pete Mires ’71
I had Stu Hirsch ’63B as a teacher for
10th Grade biology back in 1967/68.
He was a great teacher, most likely one
of the future-shaping teachers I had at
Manlius who helped me become a high
school A.P. biology and human
anatomy and physiology teacher for
over the last 32 years.
Bob Wilson ’71
Robert Johnson came from Pebble Hill
and was only at MPH for one year. I
didn’t have him until summer school
that year (I took extra courses so that I
could graduate a year early) but, he was
the cheerleader’s advisor and “called”
me on possible inappropriate behavior
in such a way that made me want to
prove to him, and to myself, that I was
worthy - of lots of things. He influenced
me to become the best that I could be,
which has stayed with me from that
point in the fall of 1970 on.
After we merged with The Manlius
School, I became acquainted with Fay
McCarthy, the School’s barber. I enjoyed
his stories, especially the ones about
school pranks. There was the time the
cadets in the band played and marched
down Cazenovia road early in the
morning. He also mentioned how the
clock on Knox Hall received Mickey
Mouse hands one year as a joke.
When he first got there in the 1920s, he
mentioned how a cadet thought if he
burned down the School he would not
have to go, so he started a fire in the
practice room on the top floor of
Comstock. This is why some of the
bricks that make up the current
Comstock Hall don’t match. Look
closely, and you can tell which bricks
are from earlier versions of Comstock.
76
As the two Schools merged, I enjoyed
the staff at the Manlius campus. I
remember Mr. Edwards, who taught
English and amazed me at what he
knew; Casper Becker, who ran the
bookstore; Mr. Sherman, who taught
reading; Mr. Shaw, who taught history;
Mr. Bisgrove, who taught Physics; Mr.
Garrity, who taught Biology; Mr.
Sedgwick, who was our dean; and Mrs.
Hanna, his secretary, who printed The
Blotter.
There was Mrs. Wheeler in the kitchen
and her assistant Johnnie, who was way
over 70 when I was a student. He drove
a Ford Galaxy which had rocks or loose
lugs in the hub cap. They rattled as the
wheels turned every day he came to
work and back.
Then there was Charlie Parsons who ran
the Phoenix Tavern and Gary Sargent,
Elmer and Louis Friend, and Lawrence,
who were on the grounds crew. These
are a few of the people that I remember
that made my experience at MPH a
memorable one. Thanks for the
opportunity to share.
My parents “proposed” MPH to me. I
tried to fail the entrance exams. I was
rewarded with summer school, during
which Sandy Torelli and Martha Heer
took me under their wing. I am now a
writer, speaker and teacher trainer. I
majored in English and philosophy at
St. Lawrence University where they
asked me to be a writing tutor. I went
on to get straight A’s in seminary and
have written three books. I am currently
working with University Hospital to
publish a book called the Second Set of
Hands—a practical and spiritual guide
for families in medical crisis. I love what
I can do with the English language and
thank Mrs. Heer who cared enough for
me to bring out my best.
Wes Fleming ’74
Bob Johnson was an absolutely terrific
math teacher at Pebble Hill. A lot of
kids were scared of him because he was
so tough but he completely believed in
my math aptitude and would not allow
me to give anything less than 100%. I
doubt I ever thanked him and I always
wondered what became of him?
Gary Beach ’74
Nina Wickett ’74
Mr. Songster was MPH’s wrestling coach
1970-1973. He sucked weight with us
(he lost 30 pounds one year) and
shaved his head to inspire us through
example. His commitment to coaching
went above and beyond the call of duty
when demonstrating bench steps one
fateful practice. “This is how you do it!”
he yelled and thrust himself up on a
bench. His head crashed into an iron
sewer pipe that was directly above the
bench. He fell to the ground and
blacked out. As he recovered, a member
of the team quietly said, “That’s how
you do it?”
Wes Flemming ’74
Martha Heer saved my life—maybe not
physically but spiritually. My parents,
much to my dismay at the time, hauled
me out of public school in 5th grade
because I was adrift and entering a
strong peer-dependent current. In a few
years, I would have been left without
academic skills and interest for learning.
My most memorable teachers/people at
PH/MPH are Tom Denton, Martha
Heer, A.J. Torrelli, Mark Regin, Doctor
Chamberlain, Jim Songster, and last but
not the least, Headmasters Jim Crosby
and Richard Barter for their leadership.
And also Lee Sedgwick for his overall
dedication to MPH.
Karl Gates ’77 and ’06
A letter from Karl Gates ’77 to MPH
faculty member Tom Denton on the
occasion of his 2007 retirement.
Dear Mr. Denton:
Have you ever wondered?
What has happened to various people
from your past? Or how much of a
difference you might have made in their
lives? And what are their stories?
Especially when the number of students
you have touched must be five digits
strong!
Memories from
C H U C K A N D S Y LV I A O E L S N E R :
M P H FAC U LT Y M E M B E R S
I started teaching at Manlius Pebble Hill
in 1970, the first year of the merger of
the Manlius Military Academy and
Pebble Hill School. Many of my
memories of those early days are of the
Foreign Language Department – Jim
Lawrence, Vivian Gregory, George
Meeker, and Ginny Vandenberg. There
was actually a Language Department
office on the top floor of Comstock
Hall, and we would gather there during
our free time to discuss classes and to
gossip, but primarily to work the
Sunday New York Times crossword
puzzle that Jim would bring in.
In those days, faculty meetings were in
the evening, and the foreign language
teachers began having dinner together
before the meeting, either at Vivian’s
house in Manlius or in my apartment
on campus. Of course, no meal was
complete without at least one bottle of
wine, and we joked that that was the
only thing that sustained us through the
two-hour meeting that followed.
On my very first day of teaching at
MPH, about 10 minutes into my
advanced placement calculus class, a
loud noise came from inside my desk.
Then out climbed 8th Grader Randy
Poe. I think he had been put into the
desk by Kurt Hallick, Tom Randolf and
Steve Brace. Their welcome to the new
teacher.
I arranged for a time-sharing computer
terminal with Syracuse University
during my first year at MPH. After Alan
Marcum discovered how to get free
computer time, SU decided they
couldn’t beat him so they hired him
and launched his computer science
career.
Those great camping trips during the
70s. How could Janice Rasmussen stay
so spotlessly clean after 3 days of
camping in rain and mud! Those trips
were the only way to get Bob Hoffman
and Randy Omel away from their stereo
and ham radio equipment in the dorm.
After that spring, many of our faculty
friends moved on to other schools but I
was lucky enough to stay. Through
those rough times, the MPH parents
offered support in multiple ways.
Mothers like Peg Fleming and Toni
Tepper, who worked tirelessly at the
Campus Shop and fundraising projects,
they really inspired me to get involved
once I became an MPH mom.
We had one bitter cold camping trip to
Chip Melvin’s property in Constantia.
As it got colder we gave up on the tents
and went into the cabin. Liz Holstein
and Jane Weeden, on newspaper
mattresses, were the last to come
indoors, and only when the temperature
hit 30 below! Wes Fleming tried to talk
us into a small-compact fire in the
fireplace, but we overruled him and
then we invented Molten, the spirit of
roaring fire.
Sylvia Oelsner,
MPH faculty member, 1970-1975
Once we were cross-country skiing in
the Adirondacks with Dennis Poe,
Chuck Oelsner, with his wife Sylvia, looking on,
delivers a humorous and touching speech during his
retirement party.
Marylyn Avery, and Chip Melvin when
we were caught in a blizzard. We had to
abandon our trek and return to the
shelter of our tents, but had to climb
out every hour or so to keep the snow
from totally burying the tents. There was
no warm campfire that night.
Then there was the trip where Donna
Loftus lost one of her contact lenses and
refused to continue the hike until it was
found because “my mother will kill
me!” So Donna and I began turning
over every leaf in the immediate area.
Thousands of leaves and half a day later,
the tiny lens was found and the hike
resumed.
Of course, MPH was where I met and
married Miss Wysocki, the Spanish
teacher.
Can anyone else remember the “Titanic”
party? After three years of the merged
schools, the burden of debt caused
MPH to close before the end of the
school year with a plan to consolidate
on the DeWitt campus. So, what do
teachers do in such dire circumstances?
Party, of course!
The first two students I met at MPH,
Pam Jones and Lorie Rakov Rudolph,
who show me the way to the headmaster’s office for my interview with
Dick Barter. They convinced me that
this was the School for me before I
even met Dick.
I am happy to share these nostalgic bits
from the 70s, my first 10 years at MPH,
but here are my most valued memories
of my 34 years there:
A faculty of professional educators who
measured their success not by the
money they earned, but by the
accomplishments of their students.
Those parents sharing their favorite
dishes at faculty luncheons as just one
small token of their continual support
and appreciation for our efforts.
Hundreds of wonderful kids taking their
sometimes-clumsy steps to adulthood.
A teaching career I can be proud of.
Chuck Oelsner,
MPH faculty member, ’72-05
77
It all started during a time when MPH
was faced with near fatal financial
devastation. Working sometime with
little or delinquent pay, you persevered
with MPH because you knew the value
in the School from which you
graduated. No one can have more
respect, admiration, and appreciation
for you, and what you have done for
me. Even after I dropped out of MPH
after my junior year, you remained my
friend and became my mentor. If we
had only known then about dyslexia.
I remember one day, when I was considering joining the U.S. Coast Guard,
you had mentioned that you had been
in the Coast Guard. This somehow
made the decision easier. After being in
the “The Guard” for a while as a rescue
swimmer at a small boat station, I
looked you up to tell of my adventures.
Before I had that chance, you disclosed
your real reason for joining, how you
hated it, never made rank, worked with
the Corpsman, and never got wet. I
thought “Oops...I’ll keep it to myself.”
So I never told you much about my
rescues (and rarely tell anyone).
I have always felt that you played a big
part in who I am. Together “we“ saved
lives. Who would have thought that for
you to save lives on the water, you
needed to become my teacher at MPH?
My grandfather told me, a person is
judged by the number of people he
helps who cannot help themselves. And
a good person does so expecting
nothing in return.
You, Mr. Denton have always been a
true coasty! Congratulations on your
retirement. We all judge you well, and
wish you the very best.
Semper Paratus,
Karl “Goofy” Gates ’77 & ’06
Based on the classes Karl took after leaving
MPH, his Coast Guard service, and his life
experiences, Manlius Pebble Hill was proud
to award Karl his high school diploma
during the 2006 commencement.
Third Grade teacher Marian Johnson
was the kindest and wisest teacher I ever
had – or at least that’s how it seemed to
78
“scared little me,” new to Pebble Hill in
the Third Grade. She had an amazing
sense of calm and made you believe in
yourself because you believed she
believed in you. The lowest form of
misery was to feel that you had let her
down, because she didn’t yell or scold,
she just let you know how disappointed
she was that you had let yourself down.
So you didn’t. Looking back, it’s where I
learned to have faith in myself – and
anything good I’ve achieved in my life
can be traced back to that room at the
end of the hall with the pastel desks. It
was without doubt the happiest and
most formative year of my childhood. I
left MPH in the Seventh Grade, but
continued to send her letters and
Christmas cards throughout high school
and college and treasured her letters and
cards to me, which got fewer and less
legible as her health declined. But even
then, with her handwriting so scratchy
that it was hard to read, I had the
feeling that I must be somebody because
Mrs. Johnson was writing to me! I may
be turning 50 this year, but a part of me
(and maybe the best part) will always be
Ricky Barter, age 8. Thank you, Mrs.
Johnson. I hope I’ve made you proud.
Richard Barter ’78
Mrs. Heer was one of my most
memorable teachers. She taught me
when I was in 5th Grade in 1970. I
make my cursive Ks the way I do today
because I loved her writing and tried to
emulate the way she wrote. (I write
those Ks a lot as I am signing
prescriptions all the time, so her Ks are
all over the place!) She once
admonished me for writing Xmas
instead of Christmas. I have never made
that mistake since. I also liked that she
and my mom were friends. She once
did an experiment with our class to
show us that we didn’t do as well on
tests when we had candy in our mouths.
We took a test with mouths empty and
then we took a test sucking on hard
candy....I don’t remember the results but
the experiment itself was something I
never forgot. She was fair, energetic, and
really dedicated. I count myself lucky to
have had her shape a year of my life.
Kim Kusiak ’78
Dr. Tretler made me his assistant
director in the musical, “Little Mary
Sunshine,” and I recall feeling like I was
in the presence of a PRO. He gave me
an experience of a lifetime as well as
inspired my “creative side,“ I am forever
in his gratitude for the kindness and
friendship he showed me during a
difficult time in my life also known as
high school. Bravo Tretler…see you on
the other side my friend.
Amber Martin Demarest ’81
The faculty members that most inspired
me were those that challenged me,
believed in me, and encouraged me to
fulfill my potential. Among them: Mr.
Bernard Shaw (9th Grade modern
European history), Dr. Jo Ann Davis
(8th and 10th Grade English), Mr.
Robert Slentz (chemistry and physics),
and Mrs. Laurie Hadlick (five years of
Spanish).
David Roth ’87
Dr. Davis was an English teacher, AP
English, when I was at MPH. I believe
she went on to teach at Syracuse
University. Dr. Davis commanded
respect. Her class remains one of the
hardest that I have ever taken (including
my English classes at Colgate
University) and was also one of the
best! I still have the marked up books
we used in that class. My notes from
high school English on the classics we
read served me well in college classes
(my college friends also insisted on
borrowing them!). I am not sure we
appreciated Dr. Davis as much as we
should have at the time, but she pushed
all of us in her AP English class to new
levels and left me with a love of reading.
Beowulf, Chaucer’s Tales and the like
will always remind me of Dr. Davis.
Sarah Warburton Halliday ’88
Having time with students outside of
the classroom was very special. I well
remember our trip to Washington, D.C.
for the Presidential Inauguration, as
well as a summer in England and other
trips to Europe. The classroom became
alive as students experienced first-hand
other cultures. (A few student
comments: “I want to become the first
woman president.” “How old did you
say these buildings are?” “My suitcase
won’t close anymore.” “There’s no
shower curtain.” “Why is English so
different in Britain?”)
Ellie Weir, former Sixth Grade team
leader and teacher
Students demonstrate photosynthesis
There are so many memories of times
spent at MPH from 1987-1990. I
remember the time that a group of
students dressed up as the photosynthesis equation to demonstrate the
process to my class.
Cross country skiing at Highland Forest
with Mark Stefanski, Marsha Gerhart
and the Sixth Graders was awesome. I
do believe we stayed overnight as well.
Good times, great things for kids to do.
Some had never been on skis and those
that made it all the way around found a
sense of accomplishment. I do think
that Mark and I ended up with some
nearly skiing on our backs as we went
downhill though!
I remember the countless hours in the
gym coaching volleyball.
Assisting Don Ridall with boys soccer
and the trip to where was it again for
the weekend. I think Don’s parents
lived there. Oxford? Great memories.
I sure hope that my daughter has as nice
a school experience as students at MPH
had access to!
Amy Rath Leibeck, employee 1987-1990
I remember when Mr. Ridall would give
me a ride to school if I missed my bus
(he didn’t live too many blocks away).
That’s classic.
Sondra Roberts ’91
Throughout the year, I delighted
in sharing in the learning process
with my students. Over and over,
it was great to see the light of
discovery on a student’s face or to
have a deeper conversation with
someone about a topic of special
interest. After school was a time
for these conversations as students
came to my room to meet with
their friends and to work together
on biology. I always liked having
students in my room on a more
relaxed basis because it offered a
way to get to know my “regulars”
on a more personal level.
Coaching tennis for so many years
was also a great way for me to
connect with students.
MPH is known for its
individualized learning
atmosphere, and it is that
personal connection that I take
with me as the most enduring of
memories.
Susan Loedel, MPH faculty
member, 1991-2008
I was in the Lower School at MPH from
1980-1985. My mother, Jo Ann Davis,
was an English teacher in the Middle
and Upper Schools. I wish I had a
special story to share about Mrs. Heer,
but it’s been so long (and I left MPH
after 7th Grade) that I can’t recall any
specific anecdotes that would properly
capture her spirit or role in our lives.
But I have the very fondest, warmest
memories of Mrs. Heer and of her
presence in our lives. She was somehow
always there in the Lower School – at
book fairs, at gatherings, at Christmas
performances and other dramatic
productions, at Red and White Day, on
field trips....Her distinctive smile, the
warmth of her presence, her affection
for all of us, are clear and happy
memories in my mind, as is her firm
but loving stewardship of the whole
Lower School. She always hit just the
right balance of real guidance in how to
live and real consideration for the
young people who were in her charge.
Please give her my very best wishes and
warmest thanks for all that she did for
me and everyone else in the School.
Julian Davis Mortenson ’93
Dean Berger inspired me the most while
I was at MPH. He challenged me in our
Honors English class, as well as acted as
my teacher for an independent study
my Senior year. Not only did he teach
me to fight for what I wanted from my
education, but also that I could make
my education my own. I went on to do
independent studies in college and
graduate school because of his
generosity and dedication to my success
as a student.
Lunch family style...with a faculty member at each table…need I say more?
Sometimes I have the opportunity
to tell someone where I worked
before I retired and to try to
explain to them about MPH. The
first thing that always comes to
mind is the wonderful traditions
and special ceremonies held every
year. My favorite is the handshaking ceremony. As hard as it
was to remember everyone’s name
so quickly, it was great to see the
new seniors come first through
the line, then to recall all my
students from the previous year.
The positive energy was
invigorating as we started a new
school year. I loved the
atmosphere of a fresh sense of
possibility on that first day of
classes with new students. Even
better, it was so nice to have many
former students with me again for
AP biology with that same sense
of excitement. I loved sharing the
cycle of learning with each class
that I taught.
Thank you, Dean Berger!!
Sarah Barter ’94
MPH has provided so many wonderful
experiences and memories for me, but
one of my favorites was the day the
“Chocolate Pilot” flew over the MPH
campus and showered us with hundreds
of little white parachutes carrying
chocolate bars. The real “Chocolate
Pilot” was Air Force Col. Gail Halvorsen
who served as a pilot in Berlin during
WWII. During his service, he became
know as the “Chocolate Pilot” because
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he dropped chocolate
bars, gum, and candy
(in addition to other
supplies) to the
children (and citizens)
of West Berlin when
the city’s land supply
routes had been cut
off by Soviet leader
Joline Hemminger Josef Stalin. This
effort became known
as “Operation Vittles.” Margot Theis
Raven, the aunt of an MPH student
wrote a children’s book about Col.
Halversen’s experience in West Berlin
called Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot, a
true story about a seven-year-old girl,
Merecedes Simon, who wrote a letter to
Col. Halverson asking him to drop
candy near her home in West Berlin. Ms.
Raven arranged for Col. Halverson to
come to MPH to tell his story and to
host the re-enactment of the chocolate
drop. You can only imagine the
excitement when three WWII era planes
flew overhead and started dropping 650
parachutes holding chocolate bars. The
children were excitedly running here
and there to collect the treats. But the
true spirit of MPH came through when
older students brought their “catch” to
the younger students to make sure all of
the little ones had a chocolate bar. Each
year, I read Mercedes and the Chocolate
Pilot to the Pre-K class and fondly share
the story of the candy drop here at
MPH.
Joline Hemminger, MPH faculty
member, 1995-present
Two things. First of all there were three
teachers that changed the way I looked
at the world and they were all at MPH.
They were (in no particular order):
Bruce Bayliss, Susan Loedel, and Diane
Cook.
Mr. Bayliss instilled in me a permanent
skepticism when dealing with sources of
information. Mrs. Loedel showed me
the moment to moment wonder and
mystery in the living systems of the
biological world. Mrs. Cook taught me
how read, not in the literal sense but in
the sense that she showed me how to
interact with and live within the text. As
a surgeon and medical researcher, I see
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these elements at work in my daily work
all the time.
Shreyas Roy ’96
Ted Curtis was the teacher who really
touched my life. He was my AP US
history teacher and also my advisor. I
have so many memories and stories
about him; I couldn’t pick just one to
share.
Mr. Curtis always went the extra mile to
show that he really cared about me,
both as a student and as an adolescent.
I think he sacrificed a lot of his free time
to coach students like me in matters
relating to school, career/college
choices, personal/family life, etc. He
inspired in me a passion for learning,
thinking, and history — he pushed me
to get my first 5 on an AP exam.
I would like to thank Ted Curtis for
helping to make me the thoughtful,
healthy, and happy person that I am
today.
Karen Bobrow ’99
Having lived in Baltimore for two and a
half years, I recently moved to a new
house. Shortly after moving in, I met
my roommate’s boyfriend. Something
was familiar about him, but I wasn’t
sure what and passed it off as nothing.
It didn’t click until I mentioned
Syracuse, at which point we discovered
that despite what statistics would have
you believe, we both went to MPH. I
had found Babila Lima, MPH ’98. As
you do when you meet a blast from
your past, we rehashed our experiences
at the School, and began to review
which teachers we had shared and
remembered fondly. A name that came
up, and that always comes up when I
reminisce with other MPH students, is
that of Jeff Mangram.
My history with Mr. Mangram began
when I entered MPH as an 8th Grader.
He was new to the School, as well, and
taught a class on cultures and civilizations in a drafty, hay-ridden room above
the lockers in the Barn. The class
married something like anthropology,
sociology and history, with a healthy
dose of straight curiosity, and was a far
cry from the civics class I had left
behind in public school. The class
project, which I vividly remember,
required groups of students to imagine
a civilization, create a written language,
produce artifacts and evidence of their
existence, and then bury the contents in
the grounds behind the tennis courts
and soccer field. Then, teams were
assigned to find another team’s site, and
begin an archaeological dig. We
unearthed video tapes, action figures,
burnt pieces of paper, and other
“evidence” of each other. If I remember
correctly, one team never even found
the site for their civilization. What we
learned is how people and cultures leave
their mark on the world – how we will
leave our mark on the world (imagine
the thoughts of future anthropologists
who DO find that dig site!)—and how
each generation learns from the
previous generations, including what
they might miss. The salience of that
message lives with me today.
That was my first experience with Mr.
Mangram, but by no means my last. I
was always a lover of learning, but
under Mr. Mangram’s tutelage I became
nothing short of obsessed. I joined the
debate team, which he lead, and took
every class he taught if I could, including constitutional law and media
literacy. And I wasn’t alone. Mr.
Mangram generated a little following of
devotees, of which Babila, a “scary
Senior,” also became a part when he
came to MPH.
Our devotion was born of the recognition that Mr. Mangram demanded
something in us that we couldn’t yet
demand of ourselves, but which we
desperately wanted to produce. It
wasn’t just excellence. It was the knowledge that being the best among the rest
wasn’t going to be enough. He drove us
to be the best not as measured against
others, but the best as measured against
ourselves.
I cannot overstate how powerful that
difference is. Measuring against others
is a flimsy business – empty successes
come when your competition isn’t
fierce, and the impact of failing to be
number 1 can seem devastating.
Throughout my career at MPH, I believe
everyone was trying to teach me the
lesson that measuring against my own
abilities was the only measure worth
taking. Mr. Mangram stands out, as
usual, as an outspoken advocate of that
position.
The lessons from my interactions with
Jeff Mangram, both in and out of the
classroom, have shaped my personal
history. And he continues to shape me
in subtle and overt ways. When I visit
MPH – a rare occasion now that I’m in
town for holidays only – I seek out Mr.
Mangram and other teachers. When I
do, he inevitably asks what I’ve been up
to in the years since he last saw me. I’m
proud to report on my achievements,
flattered by his interest, and buoyed by
his support. Though the interactions
are chronologically distant, they stand
out in my mind and remind me why I
push myself to be better, to question my
own assumptions, and to leave the
world a better, more thoughtful place.
I’m lucky that the fates collided to give
me the opportunity to learn from such
an inspiring teacher. I hope Jeff
Mangram continues his work at MPH,
and that MPH continues to draw
teachers of his caliber, whose inspiration reaches outside of classroom
lessons, and gives us lessons for life.
Jess Holzer ’00
Ph.D. student in health policy and bioethics
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Jane Nicholson ’00
When A Student
Becomes the Teacher
Now that I myself am a teacher, I constantly reflect on my life as a student,
which means that I am constantly
in Spanish and studied abroad in Spain.
Sra. Hadlick helped me to realize the
connection between Spanish and
English, which is one reason I studied
linguistics in my master’s program. My
history teachers: Mr. Ball’s (Donald)
class was held in the small room in the
barn, where we all had to squish into
the desks. He bet us Estelle’s ice-cream
sandwiches wouldn’t melt and you
know what? He was right! Mr. Mangram
encouraged us to, “walk around in
someone else’s skin,” which comes in
handy everyday! Thinking critically was
one of the essential tools in his room
that I borrow for mine every day. Mr.
Salter was a teacher and a coach. He
believed in my abilities in and out of
the classroom, he gave me a love for
history, but also a love for men’s
lacrosse, which I now share with my
own students. My elective/fine arts
teachers: Mr. Buchman convinced me
chorus was my thing and Annemarie
made me feel confident enough to
audition for a part in the school musical
and then to sing a duet with Jess Holzer
at the senior recital. Thanks to those two
ladies, I have no regrets about not going
for it! And thanks to Annemarie, I often
serenade my students when they need
to pay better attention to lessons! Ms.
Byrnes (Mrs. Holstein now) told me,
“Naomi, it’s ok to make pencil drawings
dark, don’t be afraid of black.” My
husband thanks her for her encouragement. Ms. Sherman (Mrs. Salter now)
taught me calm and to find the beauty
in all things, how to batik, how to mold
clay, and most of all how to find
something I can love in every day. Mr.
Copps, Mr. & Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Koziara
and our drama coaches all taught me
that it is possible to enjoy what you do,
every day. Mr. O’Brien taught me to
write what I hear, not what I think.
Sounds strange right? Well, his creative
writing class helped me to find my
written voice, which continues to grow.
Last, but definitely not least, my English
teachers (whose ranks I join): Ms. Cook
taught me that literature and bagels
always go well together. Her style of
delivering critiques and constructive
criticism are a model for how I do so in
my own classroom. Ms. Bentley taught
me to love the Classics, after reading
Frankenstein I picked up whatever I
Laurie Hadlick and Michael Salter were
by far the most influential teachers
throughout my high school career. Both
were so encouraging and always
believed in my potential, even when I
had difficult times believing in myself.
Without a doubt, I can attribute my
academic success to not only these
outstanding teachers, but the entire
faculty at MPH.
thinking about my teachers at MPH.
Whether it be Sra. Dooher reminding us
about our accent when we say, “yo,” or
Mr. Mangram (he hadn’t received his
Ph.D. yet) playing devil’s advocate to get
us to think more critically, all of the
teachers at MPH are excellent in one
way or another. Today, I can say that I
definitely appreciate them with a fresh
and much indebted understanding. I’ll
begin with my science teachers: Mrs.
Stewart taught me not to be cynical,
because we are all capable of being “the
smartest kid in the class.” Mrs. Loedel
expected the best, she never let me
accept anything less than better than
what I thought was good enough, which
has turned me into a very meticulous
learner and teacher. My dad, I mean Dr.
Ostrander, showed me that he is smart
(because he’s a teacher), but also
because even teachers need to keep
learning and so I model my educational
fortitude after his enduring love of
learning. Mr. Gregory taught me that it’s
ok for teachers to be “normal” and so I
keep in mind that laughing at myself is
probably good medicine for my
students too! Mr. Slentz, Dr. Jaquin,
Mrs. Foster and Mr. Vural were never my
teachers, but they always made me feel
welcome in their rooms and offered
strength and support to the special class
of MPH student…the faculty kid. My
math teachers: Mrs. Meehan encouraged
me even when I was sure math was
impossible and has willingly extended
her expertise so that my teacher partner
and I can challenge our own students
today. She reminds me that setting high
expectations causes students to achieve.
Mrs. Weidner (we were your first-year
students!) showed me that real teachers
never give up on their students, she
made math intelligible for me and
believed so much that I could not help
but believe, too. Mr. Olesner’s class was
a lesson in focus and he taught me that
there is always room to get to know
your students and amidst stories of train
track collectables, math can be learned.
My Spanish teachers: Sra. Dooher
practiced unending patience. When I
have a difficult student today, I often
think of saying, “chicos, chicos,
tranquilo…” and attempt to show my
students the patience and kindness she
showed me. She is the reason I minored
81
could get my hands on at the library. I
encourage my kids to read new things
every day, the same way she did for us.
She also never took any crap, no
excuses, just reasons to get better. My
kids would say, “She don’t play.” I agree.
Dr. Temes defined interconnectedness,
by helping us see how literature really
does help us understand what goes on
in life. She also taught me that teachers
are “real people.” These three ladies are
a large part of the reason I am becoming an excellent ELA teacher. Most of all,
I learned from the teachers at MPH that
it takes a special kind of person to teach
and a very special kind of person to be a
MPH teacher. As students we worry a lot
about how we will be able to finish all
the work they assign, but now I see that
they worried much more about how
they would teach all the information to
us in the first place. I couldn’t write
about just one teacher, because I have so
many good memories about all of
them. Of course, I only mentioned the
teachers I had, but all of the staff at
MPH work equally as hard to make
education meaningful for their kids. I
am proud to be an MPH grad, in part,
because of all of the MPH teachers.
Thank you for standing by all of us,
through our good and bad moments,
our highs and lows, and when we might
have given you a run for your money.
You are much appreciated… and now
much understood.
Naomi Ostrander ’00
Mr. Denton used to give us vocabulary
quizzes where we had to write out
sentences showing that we knew how to
use the words correctly. It used to drive
me nuts! Ten years later, I now use the
same format when I quiz my English
students...and they don’t like it much
either, but it helps them learn!
Zach Sanzone ’00
Mr. Oelsner was always my favorite
teacher, even though math was never
my favorite subject. He helped me get
through a subject I generally despised
and made it fun, and he was also good
to talk to one-on-one. I could always
come to him with my personal
problems. He definitely helped me get
through school.
Jess Jakus ‘02
I cannot simply write one memory, for
there are too many to count. When I
think back on my days at MPH, a few
vivid memories stand out. One of them
was the declamation contest held
during my Eighth Grade year. I
remember tirelessly studying, writing,
and then performing my paper about
Eva Peron and receiving a trophy.
Another was when my Seventh Grade
teacher, Mr. Rodewald, was teaching us
about DNA. He placed a banana into a
zip lock bag and proceeded to squash it
repeatedly by sitting on it. That was the
most remarkable sight I had ever seen at
school. Lastly, perhaps the most
memorable bit of MPH, was Mr.
Mangram literally and sincerely stating
the first day of class with a bright smile
and chuckle, “If you remember only one
thing from this class you WILL
remember The Mangram.”
Vanessa Crane ’04
The MPH English Department is filled
with open-minded intellectuals with
unique and slightly odd personalities…
and I mean that as a compliment.
Within that department, I guess I’d have
to give the most credit to Fred Montas.
The irony to this is that I did not like
him as a teacher in 10th Grade. I got a B
on an essay in which I tried to compare
“Blue Velvet” and “The Great Gatsby.” In
hindsight, that comparison doesn’t
make very much sense so I understand
the grade.
However this film reference got his
attention and as time went on he and I
became much closer through our
discussions about film. “CACHE” IS SO
GOOD! Like me, Montas and the rest of
the English Department were people
who were highly critical and analytical
about what they love. So thank you
English Department for cultivating my
critical and analytical “eye.” Now my
friends and I have screaming matches
over various books and films in which
hair is pulled and teeth are smashed.
Again I say thank you...
Salamo Manetti-Lax’08
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Memories: Honestly, there are way too
many teachers to name who helped
make my MPH experience memorable.
A few are Mr. O’Malley, Mr. Spear, Mr.
Salter, Dusty Heer, and Mrs. Salter. Mr.
O’Malley is the most chill teacher I’ve
ever had, and I’ll never forget our
constant talks about sports. Mr. Spear is
one of the coolest teachers in the entire
school. He’s always down for a good
conversation. Mr. Salter gave me the
most fun year of history ever (Sorry, Mr.
Spear. Jeopardy was awesome, though.).
I’ve known Dusty since I was in
Kindergarten, and he was one of the
people who helped develop my love for
sports. I can never thank him enough
for all the fun times. Last but not least,
Mrs. Salter is literally the nicest person
I’ve ever met in my whole life, and the
two classes I had with her were the two
most fun art classes I’ve ever taken.
Andrew Hicks ’09
A lot of things happen in my
Information Studies class, and that’s
why I like it. Sure, we do the stuff we’re
supposed to, but many other things can
come up in-between, and we deal with
them all. One day, the subject of AfroCentrism came up, and when Zach
Sanzone ’00 asked what it was, this is
how I responded:
Afro-Centrism is the idea that we invented
everything and that you white people stole it
all from us. A big part of Afro-Centrism is
looking at Egypt as the height of African
civilization. We were all descended from
kings and queens in Egypt... even though
very few African-Americans are of Egyptian
descent, and most Egyptians would deny
any connection to us.
But there is one little problem with
worshipping Egypt as the pinnacle of
African civilization… if you’re at all
familiar with the Bible, you’ll know that
this means that we owned slaves. Not only
that, but we owned slaves who we treated so
badly that God had to rescue them.
And I’m not sure we really want to go
there!
Keith Gatling
MPH faculty member, 1992-present
MPH Reflections
By Liza Morrison, director of library services
A Few of my Favorite
Teaching Experiences
aren’t, we have policies and
procedures in place to help them
learn from their mistakes.
During an Eighth Grade trip to
Japan, Gavin Byrnes ’07 learned the
entire subway system and wowed the
math classes by solving problems,
correctly, in Japanese!
We are committed to making MPH
work for every kid, unless we believe
she or he would be better served at
another school.
Feeling safe and secure, on 9/11 as
we came together in the gym as one
School, lead by Baxter Ball.
We teach all kids to speak up, take
charge of their own learning, and to
handle leadership and
independence.
Taking the 2006-07 Masterminds
team to the Nationals in Chicago.
Watching other teachers teach,
especially memorable visits to
classrooms and lectures by great
teachers like Delia Temes, Karen
Brang, Joline Hemminger, Sue
Foster, and Jeff Mangram.
Serving on the MPH interview
committee to nominate Jeff
Mangram for New York State
Teacher of the Year.
How do the students
here stand out?
They are more polite than their
peers elsewhere.
They are often secure in their
“uniqueness.”
“Smart is cool.”
Why I decided to work
at MPH and why I stay.
Being part of the School’s technological transition between the 20th
& 21st century.
I came to teach here so I could offer
my children the education MPH
provides.
Watching Lower School teachers’
commitment to and struggle with
the social and emotional issues that
affect their students – as if they were
their own children.
I stayed because I enjoy the
intellectual freedom to influence my
own teaching as well as the freedom
(and the expectation) to contribute
to the overall culture and climate of
the School.
What makes MPH unique?
I stayed because I love the students.
A set of shared values about the
endeavor of learning, including
respect for teachers, which stems
from a broad appreciation of the
culture and climate our faculty instill
by knowing and valuing each child.
I stayed because I am invigorated by
the quality of the faculty.
That we assume our students will be
good and honorable. And when they
I paused as a young teacher eager to
see the response. The teacher turned
on her heels and said, “Oh, dear, I bet
you know who Mary Poppins is, don’t
you?” The child nodded, not sure he
was in trouble or not. The teacher then
knelt down, achieving an eye to eye
position. “Well, I am magical in ways
different than Mary Poppins, so my
skirt does not fly up like hers, okay?”
The child agreed and they finished
their walk. I think about this moment
as one that convinced me that MPH
was a place I could love teaching.
Serving on the School’s first
Diversity Committee.
Early in my 17year career at
MPH, uncertain I
wanted to stay, I
glanced across the
quad on a windy
spring day to
observe the
Prekindergarten
class, like ducks
following mom,
Sue Foster
headed across
campus. The wind
was hearty and carried that sense of
spring dampness and warmth. Leading
the huddle of children was a woman
wearing a pleated, colorful, gauze skirt.
The wind created the allusion of
flowing colors as she walked; the wind
then settled. I watched, in stunned
silence, as the first child behind the
woman promptly lifted her skirt up
over his head to make it flow, again.
Sue Foster, MPH faculty member,
1991-present
I stayed because I am humbled and
awed by the dedication, care and
commitment of the faculty and staff
to each and every one of the
students who currently attend and
have attended MPH.
83
Andrea
Danial
A
n indelible part of MPH history,
Andrea Danial recalls her 30
years here from numerous perspectives
– teacher, parent, and Head of Lower
and Middle School.
That 30-year tenure nearly didn’t
happen. Hired initially as a Lower
School teacher, Andrea remembers
receiving a holiday bonus her first year
– along with a notice that the
financially burdened School was not
sure if it would be able to open the
following fall. When she left Manlius
Pebble Hill 30 years later to take a
position at a Philadelphia area private
school, MPH had become a financially
healthy and academically strong
institution.
Andrea was witness to three decades of
change and growth at MPH. She recalls
when enrollment growth led to the
double-sectioning of grades. It was then
that Andrea and her teaching partner
84
attended a conference on computers
and technology. They returned with an
innovative plan for integrating
multimedia tools in the classroom, a
plan that she was thrilled to see
supported by Head of School Baxter
Ball and funded by the Board of
Trustees.
Andrea sees the use of technology, once
considered a tool of the future, as an
extremely positive change in education.
Young people will be living with everchanging technology throughout their
lives, she says, and they pick it up
quickly. Most teachers, on the other
hand, undergo a learning process in
order to use technology effectively.
Lower School teachers use technology
to improve pedagogy, how they teach
and present lessons; students use it to
communicate their learning and ideas.
Today’s students, Andrea believes, are
much the same as those that came
before them, though they are facing a
different world and the expectations of
students have changed. “Children still
want to be heard; they ask endless
questions and enjoy discovering new
things, which is what learning is all
about,” Andrea says. “MPH has always
done that very well!”
One of Andrea’s fondest teaching
memories is of one of her Fifth Grade
classes. Culminating a unit on
Shakespeare, the class put on the play,
“A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream.” A
local cable company came to the
School and taped the production, and
it was broadcast once a week for over a
year!
Since leaving MPH two years ago,
Andrea says, she has missed many of
our school traditions. “Traditions,”
she insists, “are an important aspect of
the School – they maintain community
beyond graduation and maintain a
connection to the School.” She says she
has thought about the opening-day
handshaking ceremony in September
and the singing of “The 12 Days of
Christmas” in December. She worries
about traditions disappearing.
Traditions are what ground you within
a community, she says, especially when
change is necessary and inevitable.
Andrea has very warm memories of
her students and colleagues at MPH
and is grateful for having been given so
many opportunities to grow and
improve as a teacher and administrator:
“I am who I am as a professional
because of MPH.”
Manlius Military
Memories
training. The task couldn’t have been
too onerous because the School
numbered only five faculty members
and twenty students.
Manlius uniform circa 1960
History of the Military
Tradition at The Manlius
School from 1881-1949
F
or almost 90 years, the military
component was an important
component of our School’s history.
Established at The Manlius School in
1881, military training was initiated
because the president of the Board of
Trustees and the Headmaster believed
that the academic course of instruction
would be materially benefited by the
inclusion of military training. Little or
no government assistance was received
by the School in accomplishing the
conversion from a civilian to a military
school.
During the next five years, the cadet
body varied in number from 20 to 70
and was organized and drilled as a
company of Infantry. The introduction
of military training and discipline was a
very pronounced change in the life of
the students. Doubtless, it was the
source of considerable barracks conversation. However, it appears that it was
readily accepted. The following excerpt
is from a member of the class of 1886,
“Therein were manifest the results
sought, of obedience, order, and
soldierly pride. And all the outcome, not
of destroyed individualism but of the
united action of well-trained and
strengthened personalities.”
The summer of 1888 brought a new
superintendent to St. John’s, Lt. Col.
William Verbeck, who was to be a
dominate figure in the life of the School
for the next 42 years. He manifested an
unusual interest in the military phase of
the school life throughout his entire
association with the School. The years of
1888-1891 were devoted to formalizing
the military training and improving it to
reach a standard that would win
government recognition and assistance.
The muzzle loading rifles were replaced
with the breech loading Springfield
Cadet-type rifle. Horsemanship, cavalry
drill, and mounted gun drill were
Calvary was no new thing at St. John’s.
With the exception of West Point, it was
the first school in the country to teach
cavalry systematically. In 1888, the
school was organized as a cavalry
school. There were on hand 24 horses
and the instructor was Micah Jenkins,
formerly a Lt. Cavalryman in the U.S.
Army and later to be remembered as a
Major in Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.
In 1891 the Corps of Cadets was
organized as a Cadet Battalion, with a
battalion headquarters, and two
companies (A & B) organized. The close
of the school year was marked by the
first competitive company drill of which
B Company won. Its reward was the
honor of being “Color Company” for
the following year. In 1891, the school
had its first government inspection.
1902 was destined to be a red-letter year
in the life of the School. On March 28, a
drill team of 40 St. John’s cadets
competed in a competitive drill against
similar units from other schools. The
drill was held in Madison Square
Garden and the St. John’s detachment in
a near perfect performance won the
competition hardily.
On April 8, 1902, the first of the great
fires, which all but destroyed the school,
was discovered at 5:30 p.m. The military
discipline of the Corps of Cadets was
largely responsible for the prompt
response to orders which resulted in
saving large amounts of property and
no loss of life or serious injury to any
individual. This same sense of devotion
to duty and response to orders enabled
the administration to organize and
impromptu set of living quarters and
classrooms so promptly that only one
day of class work was lost. This, despite
the fact that the living quarters and
Military Memories
The School’s founder, Bishop Huntington, enlisted the aid of a regular Army
Office, 1st Lieut. John E. Myers of the
3rd F.A. Regiment. Lieut. Myers took a
two month leave of absence during the
fall of 1881 to come to St. John’s.
During that period he functioned as
Commandant and military instructor
teaching both faculty and students the
rudiments of military discipline and
The early uniform was blue trimmed
with yellow and patterned after that
worn by the Cadets at West Point. The
school provided the Cadets with
muskets and side arms. The military
instruction consisted of foot drill, the
manual or arms according to Upton,
and saber practice. The climax of the
year’s military training was a one week
camp at Cazenovia Lake held after finals
and before commencement.
introduced. Regulations were patterned
after the system used in West Point and
a rifle-range was constructed on campus.
85
academic facilities of the school were
entirely destroyed.
the service only and all work was
infantry.
In 1903 Krag rifles were issued to
replace the obsolete Springfields and in
1904 a saber squad was organized. On
May 26, 1904 Major George Bell, 1st
Infantry, USA came to inspect St. John’s.
As a result of this inspection, St. John’s
was named by the War Department as
one of the six institutions “whose
students have exhibited the greatest
interest, application and proficiency in
military training and knowledge” and
therefore it is entitled to the appointment of an honor graduate as a second
lieutenant in the Army. As a result of the
1904 government inspection, Cadet
Benjamin Mart Bailey was commissioned 2nd Lieut., 4th Infantry USA,
passing the Army examinations at the
head of all the candidates.
St. John’s continued to earn the honor
school ranking each year until 1921, at
which time the school was notified that
because of expenses, there would be no
inspection. In place of a formal inspection that year, a Military Day was set
aside and the battalion was reviewed by
Brig. Gen. Robert Alexander, from
Comm. Gen. of the 77th Div.
In 1908 The Cadet Corps of St. John’s
was organized into A Commandant and
Staff, the Band, “A”, “B”, “C” Companies of Infantry, Troop “A” Calvary,
1st and 2nd Battery of Artillery composed of two sections; a Signal Corps
Detachment and Signal Corps. In
addition to the routine military instructions, there was formed this year an
Officer’s School to perfect the theory of
military training. In 1930 the Cadet
Corps was reorganized once again into a
Battalion Staff, the Band, Troop “A” of
Cavalry, and “B”, “C”, and “D” Companies of Infantry and in 1913 the old
Krag-Jorgeson rifle was replaced with
new Springfields.
In 1914, the War Department issued to
St. John’s a complete detachment of the
Colt Automatic Machine Gun. St. John’s
was the first school issued this weapon
and consequently the first to organize a
Machine Gun Platoon which served also
as a motorcycle unit during the 19161917 school year.
Military Memories
In 1918 “E” company was added to the
Corps of Cadets. Newly formed, E
Company carried the colors that year
since the annual company competition
was not held. E Company was comprised of cadets who all measured 5’10”
or taller. In 1919, St. John’s Corps
because an Artillery School, instead of
Infantry. However, that edict only lasted
a year, by the 1920 school year, all
cadets received training in one arm of
86
Enrollment stood at 282 at the start of
the 1921-1922 school year with the
Battalion reorganizing itself into the
following companies: HQ Company
(the band and the communications
section), three rifle companies (A, B,
and C) and D, the machine gun
company.
The Honor School rating resumed in
1922 until 1931, when for the only time
in its history of Government Inspections, Manlius did not earn the Honor
School honor. In 1924, under the
guidance of General William Verbeck,
St. John’s was renamed The Manlius
School. Manlius resumed its Honor
School rating in 1932 and maintained
this honorable designation until the
School demilitarized in 1970.
Lt. William J. Verbeck came to Manlius
in 1936 as the new PMS&T. He was the
first Old Boy to return to Manlius as a
PMS & T and stayed at the school until
1938 when he was sent to Japan. In
1939, the annual company competition
was abolished by a vote of the cadet
officers. Cadets received gas mask training this year and a small maneuver was
executed on the school grounds using
smoke to simulate gas.
The outbreak of WWII on December 7,
1941 brought a change in the War
Department that directly affected The
Manlius School. First, the age limit for
eligibility for 2nd Lieutenant commission dropped from 21 to 18 years of age
and a large number of cadets became
eligible for commissions at graduation.
In the 1942 school year, the Springfield
Rifles went to war and in their place the
War Department furnished the so called
Victory Rifle with a wooden stock,
dummy barrel, but with bolts of metal
that simulated the motions of loading.
The Howitzer, which had stood on
campus since the end of WWI, went the
way of all scrap metal, and was
contributed to the war effort.
The Victory Rifles were disposed in
1943 and once again the battalion
received its quota of Springfields from
the War Department. The War Department also changed how it conducted its
annual inspection. Now, two inspections were held as before with the 1st
inspection making up 25% of the final
mark. Manlius continued to produce
winning rifle teams and its 1944-1945
rifle teams achieved the highest position
attainable by any ROTC school in the
country. The team won both the
National Championship in the William
Randolph Hearst Trophy Match and
also in the intercollegiate match.
On October 26, 1946 the School paid
homage to a great citizen and soldier,
General Jonathan M. Wainwright. Later
that year, Manlius was classified as a
Military Institute. This rating qualified
the school to back a more advanced
military program. A cadet who completed four years of military service at
Manlius was entitled to exception from
the first two years of college at ROTC.
Satisfactory completion of the last two
years of the college course and a
summer ROTC entitled him to a commission as 2nd Lt. in the Reserve Officer
Corps. In April of 1947, Major General
Ray W. Barker succeeded Lt. Col.
McCarthy as superintendent of the
School.
General Jonathan M. Wainwright’s visit
to Manlius in the fall of 1946 was a
highlight of that year’s military season.
The main event for the battalion was the
General’s review, which had hundreds
of spectators present. During the review,
General Wainwright was awarded the
New York State Conspicuous Service
Cross and later at Knox Hall he was
invested as Commander, Order of the
Phoenix.
For the 1947-1948 school year, the
infamous “soak” system of discipline
was adapted at Manlius. Each day soak
reports regarding cadets’ behaviors were
heard by the Commandant of Cadets
and Company Commandants.
The opening of the 1948 school year
began what was to become another
Manlius tradition – Officer Candidate
School (OCS). Prior to the opening of
school, cadets who were thought to
have cadet officer ability were brought
back early to attend OCS. Upon
completion of this week-long program,
the most capable cadets were made
officers and the remainder were chosen
as senior non-commissioned officers
(NCOs) to guide the cadet battalion
through the school year.
Later that year, the Ski Platoon, which
had fallen by the wayside, was renewed
under the coaching of Mr. Woods and
T/Sgt. Spears. They put on a fine
exhibition of “Platoon in Attack” during
that year’s Winter Carnival. The 19481949 cadets were also introduce to the
“M1” rifles, which would later become
an important part of Manlius military
instruction. Each cadet was allowed to
fire the M1 at the 200 yard range.
Excerpted from History of The Manlius School
Military Department
Military training continued to be a part
of student life at Manlius until the 1970
merger. However, even before Manlius
approached Pebble Hill with the idea
of a merger, the time for military
education at Manlius was drawing to a
close. The 1969 Manlius executive
board of trustees unanimously voted to
demilitarize Manlius during the next
two years in an effort to address the
country’s waning enthusiasm for
military secondary education.
Military Memories from
the Manlius School
Dear fellow Old Boys,
Some of the following memories about the
military side of life at The Manlius School
will make you laugh out loud. While these
memories are fun to read, the Manlius
military education was more than regimen,
uniforms, drilling and parades.
Yes, these memories are fun to read.
However, the serious nature of military
education should not be forgotten.
Bob Pratt ‘67HQ
Lt. John J. McTiernan was my English
teacher at Manlius. Then in 1944 at Fort
Bennington at the US Army Parachute
School, Captain McTiernan was again
my instructor. My first night at
Bennington, I was lying in my bunk
advising my fellow paratroopers to be
that I came out of a military school.
Then on the loud speaker, from the
orderly room, came the call for Clune to
report to the orderly room forthwith. I
Excerpts from
The Manlius Ski Platoon
Manlius enjoyed a reputation of being on
the cutting edge of military technology.
In 1926, the School formed the first
military ski unit of its kind in the
country, but that unit did survive past the
school year. The 1930s brought renewed
Members of the 1937 Manlius Ski Platoon
interest in organizing a ski platoon and
on December 3, 1936, the famed Ski
Platoon of The Manlius School was initiated. This platoon altered a model for ski
equipped troops in WWII and was made possible through a generous gift of a complete
ski outfit from Captain Hugh Barclay. The Manlius School secured Lieut. Charles Kurt
Hoffman, formerly of the Hungarian Army, as ski coach.
The Platoon was made up of three sections plus a machine gun section. The
squad, made up of eight men, was armed with one BAR and seven Springfield
.03 rifles. The machine gun section was equipped with the heavy water-cooled
Brownings and their equally heavy tripods and gun mounts. Uniforms were
dark wool trousers and white jacket-length ski parkas and white caps. There
was also an identifying ski platoon patch sewn onto the white parkas and the
ski caps.
Maneuvers and practices were held on late winter afternoons and weekends
and consisted of close order ski formations and attack and defense drills.
Considering our youth and lack of experience, it proved a most interesting and
effective addition to our military training at Manlius.
The Ski Platoon took part in several winter carnivals and ski meets in the area,
including Highland Park near Fabius, Colgate, and the Northwoods Ski School
at Lake Placid. Life Magazine did a write up on the unit with the Platoon
putting on a demonstration at Madison Square Garden in NYC in early 1938.
I graduated from Manlius in 1938 and am unaware of the future that followed
for the Ski Platoon. I believe it was disbanded a year or two later with more
emphasis being placed on straight infantry training, as the war was developing
in Europe.
I continued skiing while at Northwestern University and actually wore my
Manlius parka and cap. Much later, following the war, I even wore that parka
when skiing in Austria in 1955. Unfortunately, it has long been lost, as a
search in one of my footlockers has failed to locate it.
Military Memories
Military science courses were taught in a
serious, national context. All cadets studied
subjects like small unit tactics. All learned
what weapons could do. All were given
instruction concerning nuclear, chemical
and biological warfare. There was an active
Army military science cadre assigned to the
School, for Manlius was a Junior Reserve
Officer Training Corps institution, a
starting point from which very young men
could become Army officers, officers who
would lead other men in war and in peace.
By Frank Haigler ’38A, originally printed in the Spring 1998 Reflections
magazine.
87
ran to the room,
started up the
steps when a vice
in a Command
Car said, “Clune
get up here.” It
was Captain John
J. McTiernan. He
very kindly had
me to his home
McTiernan
for that Christmas.
After parachute school, I was sent to the
Pacific and was assigned to the 503rd
Parachute RCT. Captain McTiernan,
some time later, went to Europe, where
he was killed in combat.
nuts. The company would be marching
along, every leg in unison, and at the
end of this one squad there’d be this
pair of frantically skipping legs,
invariably accompanied by muttered
admonitions to “Get in step,
Fernandez.”
Bill Kilpatrick, ‘43 A
won the color company. I was chosen to
carry the cup in the finale parade.
Walter “Bill” Grahling ’52A
Have you ever used the base plate of a
4.2 mortar for a toboggan? Works fine
in NYS snow if you can handle the
weight on the up trip.
The snow was so cold some mornings
that it squeaked under our boots as we
marched.
George H. Clune, II ’43C
Talk about marching in the snow brings
back memories of when I obtained over
12 demerits. Marching around the
flagpole in the snow, fifteen minutes per
demerit! During this time of restriction,
I figured out a way of leaving the
campus by marching with cadets to the
Catholic Church in the village of
Manlius on Sunday morning. Being of
the Episcopal faith, I was familiar with
the Catholic Church communion, in
which I participated. When Mr.
Sedgwick was informed that I marched
with my fellow cadets to the Catholic
Church in Manlius, he immediately
looked up my religious affiliation,
which was listed as Episcopal. As a
result of his complete investigation, five
more demerits were adding to my total,
to be marched off in the snow…for this
all happened during wintertime!
Marching at Manlius
Frozen air in lungs as we prepared to
march to AM mess.
Art Henahan ’45A
There was very little fooling around in
my time at Manlius. During the war
years, it was an extremely serious
environment with graduates going
directly to the Army, Navy and Marines.
Andy Tedesco ’47A
Frank B. Harris II ’43C
Soliciting Manlius Old Boys for memories is risking a deluge, for surely anyone
who went to the School during his
formative teen years has memories by
the bucket. Here’s a semi-military one:
Military Memories
I appreciate that Arnold Fernandez now
is one of MPH’s avid supporters, but
almost 70 years ago when he was an
awkward New Boy in “A” Company,
heard constantly whenever the company
marched in formation was, “Get in step,
Fernandez.” Despite cadence being
counted out loud, the poor kid seemed
never to get the rhythm of “left, right,
left, right,” which flustered and embarrassed him and drove his drill masters
88
Reveille
There was a very loud buzzer system
throughout the campus. It started at
6:10 a.m., and then the bugler stepped
outside in all kinds of weather and blew
reveille. Then came assembly to form up
to go to mess, and the raising of the flag
on the pole that is now at MPH. Buzzers
dictated your whole life, through to 9:30
p.m. or so, until taps ended the day.
Dave Slocum ’48HQ
I remember in 1949 when A Company
Well, to tell you the truth, I have
actually started a book of my three years
at Manlius. But here are a couple of
tidbits. Inspections were always
moments for tension. You prepare,
sometimes all weekend, for that one
brief walk through into your room
when you hope the floor is spotless, the
shoes are mirror-like, and the blanket
tight and folded perfectly.
But there was always something. Like
the day when I thought I had it nailed.
The inspectors went through the room
and didn’t find a thing wrong. Then,
just as they were about to leave and I
was about to breathe again, he turned to
my record player, picked up the arm
and found dust on the needle!
In 1958, I joined the Phoenix Rifles,
Manlius’ drill team, formed by Cadet
Capt. Taylor Devine. On February 8,
1959, we performed during half-time of
the nationally-televised Syracuse
Nationals-New York Knickerbockers
basketball game at the Onondaga
County War Memorial in Syracuse. OK,
who remembers the Syracuse Nationals
and the New York Knickerbockers?
The Phoenix Rifles had a pretty intricate
routine that required a lot of counting.
The 30 members, with rifles on our
shoulders, would march in formation,
break formation, come back into
formation, form a circle, break the
circle, form another formation, come
back together, all looking like chaos and
coming together in perfect harmony. So,
there we were in the middle of the
basketball court with a packed stadium,
Capt. Kamin orders the company into
formation and open ranks. He retrieves
the wounded shoe and walks the line,
showing each “A” Company member
the slit in the leather. He is not laughing, but he has an evil grin on his face.
The 1960 Phoenix Rifles
Mess Formation
Charlie Mancuso spent the next two
weeks wearing one shoe, one sneaker
and a cane.
Here is where the calendar pages go
flipping away, like in the old movies.
hundreds of people surrounding us, TV
cameras, and bright lights.
We are marching and I am counting
and doing my steps and twirling my rifle
and doing everything according to plan
and then I had to do a right flank and I
was all by myself, walking straight
toward the stands. I was supposed to
count a certain number of steps, do an
about-face and rejoin my file. But, I was
mesmerized by the crowd and I lost
count and I kept marching for what
seemed forever. Actually, it may have
been perhaps three steps. I snapped out
of it, did an about-face and quickstepped back into the ranks and the rest
of the routine was flawless. But that was
a scare.
The year: 1971. Once again it is the fall.
I am working for Syracuse University,
making student ID’s. This day we are at
the law school. I look at the next card.
The name is Charles Mancuso. I look
up. I recognize him; he doesn’t
remember me.
“How’s your foot?” I inquire. He looks
at me, pain on his face.
“You were there?” I nod. We both smile.
John Ellis ’67HQ
Bill Edwards ’65B
The year: 1963. A Friday afternoon in
the fall. “A” Company is drilling on
Thomson field. All the officers and noncoms are busy. Capt. Kamin is in overall
charge. The platoon leaders drill their
platoons; the squad leaders work with
their people. All are busy.
Except one officer. As company exec
Charlie Mancuso has little to do. Out of
the corner of my eye I see him. He is
down by the old field gun near the flagpole. He is whiling away the time
playing a sort of mumbledy-peg with his
saber. High in the sky it whirls, end over
end, sunlight glinting off the bright
metal. A command from my squad
leader brings me back to the business at
hand.
A few minutes later a cry of pain
drowns out all commands. All heads
turn to the sound. Down by the old
cannon Charlie Mancuso stands, his
foot transfixed by his saber. His saber
had come down and gone right through
his spit-shine and into his foot. Dumbstruck we watch as he jerks the saber out
of his foot, rips off his shoe, and begins
hopping down the road towards the
Infirmary.
Whoever said that sergeants run the
army must have had a picture of
Sergeant Major Dale J. Dann on his
desk. Twenty-seven years in the army, he
was our father confessor and mentor in
the military department. He gave me
one of the greatest pieces of advice ever.
He said: “Always carry a clipboard and
move from place to place in a purposeful manner. People will see the clipboard
and the way you are walking and will
assume you already have a mission and
won’t stop you to give you another.”
During Government Inspection, we of
the Battalion Staff had to brief the
Inspectors. We gathered in the first floor
classroom of King Club. We were tense.
Our nerves were stretched taut as violin
strings. Suddenly SMAJ Dann marched
through the door, slapping his clipboard on the door frame. We sprang to
attention and looked for the officers
who were certainly following him. No
one. SMAJ Dann just grinned at us. He
had known just how to break the
tension. I do believe the briefing went
better because of his knowledge of
human nature. He was a great man.
Military Memories
Finally, there was the time my friend and
fellow cadet Gary and I were on a pass
in Syracuse and having lunch before
returning to campus. We had on our
uniforms, which always caught stares
and an occasional comment. This time a
couple of girls approached us and struck
up a conversation. They checked out our
uniforms and noticed the patch on our
shoulders with the ROTC and asked
what it stood for. Actually, we weren’t
sure, so we told them it stood for Royal
Ontarian Tank Corps, which seemed to
have impressed them, as well as us. We
finished eating and Gary went to the
restroom and the waitress asked if we
wanted dessert, saying the meal had
been paid for. I thought Gary was paying
and didn’t want to add to his bill, so I
said no. When he returned, I went to the
restroom and the same exchange
between Gary and the waitress happened. When neither of us paid, she
explained that a man, who had noticed
our uniforms, told he thought we were
nice lads and wanted to pick up the tab
for our lunch. We just missed dessert.
I was the Battalion Adjutant in 1965
and, as such, had to bring the entire
Battalion to attention for various
functions from Mess Hall formations
daily to chapel on Sundays. For chapel,
the Battalion Staff stood at Knox Hall
facing Thomson Hall and the Battalion
lined up on the sidewalk in between.
When brought to attention and given the
“right face!” command, the sound of the
movement echoed as if there were 1,000
troops at hand. It was such a clean, clear
sound. I remember it to this day.
John Ellis ’67HQ
Dave Rosso ’61
89
Alumnus Remembers
The Manlius School
By Bob Oberst ’59B
Reprinted with permission from Eagle Newspapers, October 11, 1995
Bob Oberst ‘59B in his Manlius School uniform at Clambake
T
he times were different. Manlius was
a small town then. There were many
farms at the outskirts of the village. The
Manlius Theater was so small there were
only four seats on each side of the aisle.
Edwards Falls was a special spot for a
long walk in the woods. Lipe’s dairy had
the best ice cream for miles and
Suburban Park was a great place to go
for a cool roller coaster ride on a hot
summer day.
teachers had military rank. Academic
classes covered many college prep
subjects from Latin or German to
Algebra or speed reading in addition to
PT (i.e. Physical Training) as well as
M.S.T. (Military Science and Tactics.)
There was a demerit system used to help
control student behavior. Repeated
incidents of student caught smoking in a
school building resulted in their
expulsion.
Just outside the village stood the
beautifully landscaped campus of The
Manlius School. The School was called
St. John’s Academy until the 1920’s
I only attended The Manlius School for
one year, 1958-1959, my junior year.
Due to my father’s job transfers my
family moved several times while I was
Military Memories
“As a college prep military school, the campus was run like a military post.
Most high school students lived at school in one of three dormitories with
their “companies.” There was “A”, “B”, “C”, and “HQ.”
90
when the name was changed to The
Manlius School. As a military academy
for approximately 300 boys from grades
7-12 the school had extensive grounds
and athletic fields, a large chapelauditorium, an academic building, an
infirmary, a dining hall, barber shop
even a snack bar called the Phoenix
Tavern. The school prepared boys for
college and or military careers. Academic
classes, sports activities, and military
training were important parts of the
school program.
in high school so I attended three very
different schools over my four years of
high school. While this experience had
many disadvantages, it gave me some
unique insights on comparing schools
and pinpointing the role that The
Manlius School played in my life. I’m
sure every Manlius cadet who marched
past Comstock Hall has unique memories of his student days and so I cannot
speak for them but rather I can only
recall with strong yet imperfect memories what those days meant to me.
As a college prep military school, the
campus was run like a military post.
Most high school students lived at
school in one of three dormitories with
their “companies.” There was “A”, “B”,
“C”, and “HQ.” Various military
uniforms were worn at all time. There
were uniforms for class, for rain or snow,
for work or sports, and for “dress”
occasions. Military haircuts were
standards. All students and many
My first days as a new Manlius student
were a lot like joining the Army:
haircuts, uniforms, no civilian clothes,
rules and more rules, no social life, and
plenty of marching drills. Veteran
students knew the rules and had some
kind of rank. I was a “private” and
everyone with “rank” was above me. I
was assigned to “B” company. I soon
learned the “B” company marching
songs, played on the “B” company
intramural sports teams and was proud
to be a part of “B” company.
Once classes started our week days fell
into a regular routine. Up and dressed at
dawn, we stood in formation with our
company outside for reveille. Then we
returned to our rooms to make our beds,
etc. when we returned to our formation
the entire student body watched the flag
go up the pole and then we marched to
the mess hall for breakfast. We sat with
fellow members of our company with
the highest ranking cadet at the head of
each table. Each private had to take turns
being bus boy for the day which meant
he waited on two tables. Meal time was
not always serious. One morning we
marched into the mess hall to find a
teacher’s compact car in the middle of
the dining area with our dining tables all
around it. Then there was the day when
the head of our table was dishing out
spaghetti and he found a dead mouse in
it, so our table fasted for that meal.
Our classes were small and demanding.
Our tests were always harder then the
Regent’s exams. One very strong
memory of my first day of school was
English 11 class. The classroom was full
of students. The highest ranking cadet
called the class to attention when our
teacher, Captain Marsh, came into the
room. Captain Marsh said, “At ease.”
Then he said, “Before this academic year
is over, half of you will fail this class.”
Some students laughed, but by the end
of the year we saw that he was correct.
Most of my classes were not as intense,
but a good deal of learning went on in
them. I especially enjoyed Mr. Bisgrove’s
speed reading class. It has served me
well since that time. After classes were
over for the day we had many activities
such as intramural sports, clubs, and
various tasks. I really enjoyed rifle club,
planting trees in the forestry club with
Mr. Shaw, and helping a friend in the
school’s greenhouse. We had a snack bar
called the Phoenix Tavern where we
could entertain guests on weekends and
enjoy free time. There were social events
and dances but these were not
expensive. Across the road from our
campus was an amusement park called
Suburban Park. One day a year our
whole school was invited to go to the
park exclusively. The rest of the year, the
park was off limits. I enjoyed walks up
to Lipe’s Dairy for an ice cream as often
as I was permitted to go.
Classes in Military Science and Tactics
were an important part of our
education at The Manlius School.
More than book learning, we had to
learn to disassemble an M-1 rifle and
then reassemble it in the dark. We
had many field exercises such as the
day our squad advanced in two
groups across a smoke filled football
field to an “enemy” target. We had M1’s with blanks and the “Enemy” had
machine guns with blanks. Not a
game, we were graded on our battle.
I still have my original nametag. In one
year it will be old enough to sign up for
AARP! One year I had Sgt. Becker make
one up for me that read ELLIS D (LSD,
get it? Sorry.) I have one that I used
white grease pencil to fill up the engraving, so as to leave a smooth surface.
What a rebel I was.
Many of our Saturdays were spent
marching. Marching to meals, marching to church, marching to improve
our marching. Marching so that “B”
company could be the honor company in the year-end competition.
Other Saturdays were spent in white
glove inspections of our rooms, our
uniforms, and our M-1’s. We spent
plenty of time spit-polishing our
boots and shoes so they looked like
glass and making the blankets on our
beds so tight a quarter would bounce
on them.
Was there ever a more practical,
wonderful time-saving device than the
Reveille Tie. That’s a clip-on tie to the
rest of the world. Completely nonregulation of course, but, carefully used,
it would allow you an extra thirty
seconds of sleep. But this convenience
must be balanced with the chance that a
suspicious non-com or officer would
come up to you in formation, insert his
first finger behind your tie and flick it
out to see if you were in violation of the
dress code. Convenience versus peril,
the oldest ethical decision.
At the end of some very long days
there was lights out time, but I still
had school work to do so I used to
study under my blanket with a
flashlight.
The time is April 1967. I am walking
towards Farmer Hall when I encounter a
young cadet who is holding in his hand
a mangled, threadbare worn-out piece of
black material that could only with the
greatest of charity be called a tie. When I
suggested that he go back to his room
and get another tie, he said he couldn’t.
It was with great pride at the end of
my year at Manlius that our entire
school in our best “A” uniforms
marched behind our color guard and
our own HQ band in the May 1959
Syracuse Memorial Day Parade.
“Gentlemen”, he announced, “You look
pees poor. Your shirts are all pulled out and
wrinkled. Look at mine! I will show
you how to do this” He then ordered us to
drop our pants.
The Company Commander turned to
face the company and ordered,
“Company...Drop Trou!”
The Ties That Bind
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I don’t know how to tie a tie,
sir.” he replied.
It turns out that someone had tied his tie
for him back in September and for eight
months he had been sliding the knot up
and down until this day he had slid it
too far and it fell apart into the sorry rat’s
nest he held in his hand. How could I
write up a helpless case like that? I told
him to find someone to tie another tie
for him and sent him on his way. He
should have had a Reveille Tie.
Capt. Haussler then showed us how to
tuck in our shirts. Ninety or so guys
standing on Thomson Field, shirttails
flapping in the breeze. Then I looked up
towards the Battalion Area. Several
secretaries were walking to their cars to
go home. They stopped as if they had
hit a wall. They stared in amazement.
Never was I more grateful that I wasn’t
in the first squad.
John Ellis ’67HQ
There is this memory of morning
formation in the winter, an aesthetic
one. We cadets gathered outside for
formation in the DARK. It was bitterly
cold, of course, but it was DARK. If
there was any wind, morning formation
became a ritual of pain. And the mackinaws and knit caps were not uniformly
becoming. Oh, some of us were dashing
in these outfits. Many of us looked
patently ridiculous. Then there were the
faces. There were circles under our eyes.
But our eyes had this stare, the stare of
grim determination. The grim
determination to reach the mess hall, to
get inside. We reached the mess hall. We
ate breakfast. Then we left the mess hall.
And there was LIGHT.
Bob Pratt ‘67HQ
John Ellis ’67HQ
We were at drill. It was hot. We were in
“D” uniform. For the uninitiated, that’s
no jacket, with your tie ducked.
Observing us was the Assistant PMS,
Captain Rodolfo Haussler. He did not
In 1991, the
WWI Canon
was moved to
the current
campus
91
Military Memories
Looking back at my year at The
Manlius School helped me to build
self-confidence and showed me the
value of academic as well as physical
hard work. High academic demands
pushed me even past some failures to
work at greater intensity. Physical
training where all students were
mandated to participate in intramural
teams and military training also built
my self-confidence and physical
abilities. My year at Manlius gave me
a better understanding of my father
and his years of military service. It
also gave me some of the tools I
greatly needed to graduate from
college and complete my military
service. I can even credit Manlius for
my appreciation for marching bands,
neatness, and Central New York.
John Ellis ’67HQ
like what he saw. He told our Company
Commander to form us up.
The 1966 Platoon Competition
by Chris Ellis ‘68HQ
threatened to have us
withdraw from
competition rather
than embarrass
ourselves. We were at
the point where we
had “ringers” join the
platoon to help us
The parade ground and Corbisello Field,
out. (The ringers were
named after Joseph J. Corbisello ’41B
Company and
Battalion staff
members who
removed their insignia
fter 42 years, it might sound like
of
rank
and
masqueraded
as
a challenge for me to pick out a
members
of
the
platoon.)
specific memory for the “Military”
A
section of this collection of reminiscences. After all, there were so
many formations, drills, parades,
inspections, etc. to choose from,
could there be any that stand out
even through the fog of decades?
Surprisingly, yes.
One vivid memory is that of the
events surrounding the 1966 Platoon
Competition. Platoon Competition,
unlike the year-ending Company
Competition, featured no showing
off. There was no exhibition drill
derived from the imaginations of the
cadet officers. Platoon “Comp” was
simply an inspection, close order
drill and the manual of arms.
Military Memories
In 1966, I was in the 2nd Platoon of
“A” Company, commanded by Pete
Vandersloot. I was a day student
sophomore with less than stellar skills
on the drill field. The trouble was
that I was not alone. It could be said
that the 2nd Platoon was a pretty
ragtag bunch. It could be said that left
feet outnumbered right feet by
perhaps two to one. But don’t take
my word for it. We were at the point
where SMAJ Dann, the Military
Department adviser to “A” Company,
92
Even with the extra help, we had a
long way to go to keep in step, keep
in formation and perform the
manual of arms in unison. For
example, the transition from
“inspection arms” to “port arms” is
fairly simple. On the first count, the
bolt is released and springs home,
producing a loud “click.” On the
second count, the trigger is pulled,
producing a slightly softer “click.”
Done. That’s all there is to it. Yet,
our rendition of that command
produced the philosophical theory
that states that if you give an infinite
number of monkeys an infinite
number of typewriters, sooner or
later they will generate a cacophony
similar to that of our platoon
performing the manual of arms.
Things were beginning to improve as
competition drew near, and tensions
began to ease just a bit. The day
before “Comp,” as we practiced the
inspection portion of the
proceedings, SMAJ Dann approached
“A” Co. Executive Officer Geoff Boyd,
who was one of our “ringers,” and
asked:
“Son, who is your company
executive officer?”
In a heartbeat came the reply:
“Sir, my company executive officer is
Cadet Lieutenant John S. Boyd.”
[There actually WAS a Cadet
Lieutenant John S. Boyd. The only
problem was that not only had he
never been a member of “A”
Company, he had also graduated the
year before. This is the only time I
ever remember Geoff Boyd telling a
joke.]
We managed to get through the
majority of “Comp” looking like a
military unit is supposed to look.
However, we still had the hurdle of
the manual of arms to get through.
At long last came the dreaded
sequence of commands:
“Inspection…ARMS!”
Forty rifles are raised chest high.
Forty bolts are drawn back.
Forty heads check forty chambers.
“Port……”
Forty cases of flop sweat develop
instantly.
“ARMS!’
CLICK…..Click…..(silence).
That was it! Forty rifles sounding as
one! No “rat-a-tat-a-tat,” just one
loud click followed by just one softer
click.
At that point we knew we had the
competition won. This was confirmed shortly thereafter and the
question, “Do you still want us to
withdraw, Sarge?” rang in the ears of
SMAJ Dann for the next several days.
a history of
Goodyear-Burlingame School
(With thanks to the Onondaga Historical Association)
Judy Oplinger and Ruth Hancock view the
Goodyear-Burlingame memorabilia in the Alumni
Lodge.
S
ince the early 2000s, alumnae of the
Goodyear-Burlingame School have been
included as members of Manlius Pebble
Hill’s Alumni Association. Although
Goodyear-Burlingame never officially
merged with Pebble Hill, its 1952 closure is
often credited as Pebble Hill’s motivation
for becoming a coeducational institution.
The “Goodyear Girls” (and a few boys)
have been seamlessly integrated into the
MPH community and, each year, MPH
hosts several Goodyear-Burlingame gatherings, wonderful occasions for getting to
learn more of the Goodyear-Burlingame
story. This commemorative edition of
Reflections would not be complete without
including a recap of Goodyear-Burlingame’s
history.
Humble Beginnings
The following advertisement appeared
in the Syracuse Journal on June 14,
1888.
THE MISSES GOODYEAR’S
School for Boys and Girls
Will open September 17th, 1888, at 99
James St.,
the late residence of Bishop
Huntington.
Special classes in English branches,
French
and German. For circulars apply to
Miss Fannie Goodyear
157 James St., Syracuse.
The Misses Goodyear, Fanny and
Harriet, were taken to Europe as small
children to enrich their education. They
were nieces of Charles Goodyear, who
developed a method to vulcanize
rubber. Financial reverses changed the
lifestyle of the young ladies, and they
were faced with the problem of earning
a living. With their educational background, teaching seemed a reasonable
venture. Thus the School was started.
It all began in a charming house at 99
James Street. It was a solid square house
with a small front porch. The windows
had pointed arches, and there were elm
trees in the yard. The Right Reverend
Frederick Dan Huntington, Bishop of
the Episcopal Diocese of Central New
York lived in the house for nearly 20
years. The house then reverted to Judge
Comstock, who leased it to Miss Fanny.
In later years the numbering was
changed to 509 and finally, by 1914, it
was changed once and for all to 625
James Street.
There were several fireplaces in the
building, and Miss Fanny had a rule
that fires should be kindled in them
when the temperature outdoors
dropped to 18 degrees above zero.
In 1890, Walter Burlingame, son of the
Ambassador to China, joined the ladies
as Co-Principal and the school became
Goodyear-Burlingame School.
Burlingame’s brother-in-law, Frederick
R. Hazard, President of Solvay Process
Company, furnished the money for the
three officers of the school to purchase
the building. Hazard’s interest in the
school led many Solvay Process executives to send their sons and daughters to
the genteel care of the GoodyearBurlingame faculty.
An 1891 advertisement in the Syracuse
Standard announced that GoodyearBurlingame scholars were fit for Regents
examinations and also for college.
Graduation exercises were held on June
14, 1899 at the School on James Street.
Goodyear-Burlingame alumnae at a recent reunion.
There were about 150 persons present.
The address of the evening was given by
Judge A. Judd Northrup, father of Miss
Edith Northrup. He urged the young
ladies to be conscientious at all times.
Diplomas were presented by Rev. Dr.
Samuel R. Calthrop, who reminded the
graduates that their education had just
begun. He urged them to be all-round
women who could harness a horse,
pump up a bicycle tire, and cook a
steak, as well as understand the world.
That was a large order. The house was
prettily decorated with cut flowers and
palms, and there was a reception
following the program.
Educational Innovations
A 1911 brochure heralding the 23rd year
of the School announced that the
School aimed not only to give the
pupils routine knowledge, but to
awaken and broaden their minds by
systematic guidance along the lines that
lead to true culture. Interest was added
to the study of geography by the weekly
use of a picture lantern. French plays
were given by Seniors as a test of their
proficiency in the spoken tongue. It was
felt that the body should go hand-inhand with mental training, and a
thorough course of physical exercises
was given in a gymnasium by a special
93
instructor. The School provided a sunny
laboratory where the pupils could work
among specimens of plant and animal
life. Sciences were taught by modern
laboratory methods for which complete
apparatus was provided.
The brochure for the 1914 school year
noted that the School was now at 625
James Street. It also contained the
information that the School had the use
of a large playground, and that a study
hall was provided from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
The fees per annum ranged from $150
for the Academic Grades (Senior High
School) to $80 for first year Primary.
Instructors included Miss Fanny
Goodyear as principal, Miss Harriet
Goodyear and Mr. Walter Burlingame as
associate principals, also Miss Edith
Northrup, Miss Annie Dyer Tuttle, and
Mrs. Ethel B. Ames. Monsieur Charles
Berand taught French, Mrs. Blanche
Weaver Baxter taught articulation and
diction, and Mrs. Charles H.
McCormick was the Gymnastics
Instructor.
Changes in Leadership
Walter Burlingame retired at the end of
the 1915 school year. One of the
diplomas he signed was that of a
Ramona Baxter Bowden. She
remembered that Burlingame had a
style of teaching essentially his own. “In
English, history and German classes,
educators would have been shocked at
his casual pedagogy. He was a raconteur
rather than a high school teacher. The
stories of his life in China following the
Boxer Rebellion and his travels with
Mark Twain were fascinating and kept
his students wide-eyed with wonder.”
Burlingame died the year after his
retirement at the age of 65.
In 1925, Miss Edith Northrup, Miss
Marion Edwards, and Mrs. Ethel Ames
took over the running of the School
until 1946.
Miss Harriet Goodyear ended her teaching career at the end of the 1926 school
year. The following August, she died at
her summer home in Cazenovia. Miss
Goodyear was a leader in women’s
organizations, art, music, and literature.
94
She organized the Alliance Francais, and
was president of the Political Equality
Club and a leader in the suffrage
movement.
Former Governor Nathan Miller
returned to Syracuse, his one-time
home, to address Goodyear-Burlingame
School’s 1938 graduating class. Among
the graduates was Miller’s
granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth
McCarthy. The exercises were held in the
Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Syracuse.
In 1943, Miss Fanny Goodyear, the
founder of Goodyear-Burlingame
School, died at her home – 101
Burlingame Road. Long after her
retirement, she had served on the
teaching staff and as president of the
Board of Directors. She was a member
of May Memorial Church and one of
the first Syracusans, along with her sister
Harriet, to campaign for women’s
suffrage.
Syracuse was chosen by Fortune
Magazine as a test city for post-war
planning, and in 1944, a Syracuse
Onondaga Post War Council was set up
to discuss and solve post-war problems.
Miss Edwards represented the school on
the council. Goodyear-Burlingame
School participated in this plan by
having three open discussions on postwar education, labor, industry,
delinquency, and world peace. For their
term papers, the Juniors and Seniors
wrote about some phase of post-war
planning.
Goodyear Graduations
Dr. Finla G. Crawford, vice chancellor of
Syracuse University, addressed the 1946
graduating class on June 22 in the Hotel
Onondaga Ballroom. His topic was,
“Your Atomic Bomb.” Miss Mary Baxter
delivered the valedictory address.
Goodyear-Burlingame School was then
sold to three new owners – all recently
discharged from military service as
commissioned officers with lengthy
teaching experience. The new owners
were Frank T. Bertsche, Robert E. Fuerst
and Gordon D. Smith. Miss Edwards
remained with the School, and Miss
Northrup served in an advisory capacity.
Cloud Wampler, president of Carrier
Corporation, gave the 1947
commencement address, “Adventure in
Living.” He urged the young ladies to
arrange their lives so that they would get
fun out of living. This was the last class
to be graduated from the old building.
The 16 members of the class included
Mr. Wampler’s daughter, Miss Eleanor
Wampler, and the ceremonies were
conducted in the East Room of the
Hotel Syracuse, with Headmaster
Gordon Smith handing out the
diplomas.
The new owners of the School, working
with a committee of parents, selected
1055 James Street as the new home for
Goodyear-Burlingame School. There
was a simple but impressive dedication
ceremony at which Mrs. Ames spoke of
the simple traditions set by the
founders. The old Goodyear-Burlingame
School building was sold to Clark,
Clark, Millis and Gilson, an
architectural firm.
In 1952, The Goodyear-Burlingame
School was closed. The building at 1055
James Street was sold. Arrangements
were made by an interim board of
trustees to dispose of the other assets of
the School.
Gone but not Forgotten
In March of 1962, Mrs. John S.
Hancock, of 211 Brattle Road, and Mrs.
Stewart F. Hancock, of 12 Brattle Road,
opened their homes for a reunion of
graduates of the Goodyear-Burlingame
School. About 50 young ladies were
invited to each home. Because
Goodyear no longer existed, there was
a feeling that some of the school
traditions should be carried on at
Pebble Hill School, where there were
former Goodyear teachers and students
on the faculty and where between 30
and 40 children of Goodyear alumnae
were enrolled.
Albert Getman, assistant headmaster at
Pebble Hill, spoke at both gatherings.
Among those attending were Mrs.
Edward L. Bisdee, who taught at Pebble
Hill and used to teach at Goodyear, Mrs.
John B. Crosby, a former Goodyear
student then on the Pebble Hill
faculty, Mrs. Charles Bennet, who
taught at both Schools, Robert
Tucker, then on the faculty of
Pebble Hill and whose mother had
taught at Goodyear. Also present
were Miss Marion Edwards, Mrs.
Gerard M. Edell, Mrs. A. McKinley
Terhune, Miss Marie Achilli, and
Miss Frances Gere, all former
faculty members at Goodyear. Miss
Edwards, who had become a coowner of Goodyear-Burlingame
School in 1925, died soon after the
reunion.
The offices of the architectural firm
of Clark, Clark, Millis and Glison
at 625 James Street, former home
of the Goodyear-Burlingame
School, were destroyed by fire in
1979. The building was a complete
loss.
Author
Bruce
Coville
to Speak at MPH Commencement
B
ruce Coville, award-winning author of nearly 70 children’s
A 1992 reunion, spearheaded by
Mrs. Louis Steigerwald Jr. and held
at the Onondaga Golf Club, was
attended by 68 former GoodyearBurlingame students.
The Goodyear Spirit lives
on.
In 2002, Goodyear-Burlingame
alumni were “adopted” by Manlius
Pebble Hill School in DeWitt at the
urging of a few passionate
Goodyear-Burlingame alumnae
and with the support of MPH
Alumni Board President Russ
Andrews ’64. On May 18, 2002,
Manlius Pebble Hill School hosted
the first Goodyear gathering on its
campus, bringing the two
educational institutions together
and cementing their relationship.
An archival area in the Kreitzberg
Family Alumni Lodge is dedicated
to Goodyear-Burlingame
memorabilia. GoodyearBurlingame School has a home
again!
and young adult books, will deliver the commencement
speech at Manlius Pebble Hill School’s 2010 graduation exercises
Sunday, June 6.
Coville will address the 75 graduating students in Manlius Pebble
Hill’s class of 2010. The writer has a long affiliation with MPH –
two of his children, Cara and Adam, graduated from MPH in the
late 1990s, and the School’s performing arts theater bears the
Coville name.
Populated by aliens, ghosts, unicorns, dragons, and zombies,
Coville’s books are beloved by children and teens who delight in
Coville’s world of fantasy, adventure, and science fiction. The
prolific author has written numerous book series, anthologies,
short stories, three musicals, a nonfiction book, and retellings of a
half-dozen or more Shakespeare plays.
A lifelong Central New Yorker, Coville is also founder and owner
of Full Cast Audio, an audio publishing company in Syracuse that
produces unabridged recordings of exemplary family-friendly
children’s novels. The recordings employ a full cast of actors rather
than a single reader.
“The Last Hunt,” the fourth and final book in The Unicorn
Chronicles, one of Coville’s hugely popular series for juvenile
readers, is due to be published June 1.
95
Alumni Holiday Gathering
The 2009 MPH Alumni Holiday Gathering brought together 60 former
students and faculty members who gathered at The Mission Restaurant
on Sunday, December 27.
ou
ThankreuY
nion hosts
to our recent
Maggie Philips ‘04 and Wendy Eklund ‘04
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Thank you!
Monica Fruscello ’03 with Linda and Michael Salter
New York Regional Reunion
Twenty-two alumni living in the New York City area and
their guests enjoyed an evening at Manhattan’s Slate
Restaurant Bar and Billiards in late January. Over appetizers,
drinks, and pool, they caught up with each other and
shared stories of their years at school.
Steve Herron’03, Nora Muakkassa ’03, Jesse Kraker ’03, Josh
Kristoff ’03 and Carla Torrillo ’03.
96
Jeremy Kraker ‘03, Lindsay Manolakos ‘99
and Adam Saltman ‘02
Bill Goff ‘59B and
Ed Ehrenspeck ‘49HQ
Florida reunion attendees enjoying the afternoon
Our host, Bill Goff ‘59B
Florida Regional Reunion
The Southern Manlius Barbecue was hosted by Cathy and Bill Goff ‘59B
in Scottsmoor, Fla. Continuing a long family tradition of hosting
Manlius barbecues our gracious hosts entertained us at their home.
Twenty alumni and guests attended and enjoyed reminiscing about the
Manlius School and their classmates. A lovely collection of interesting
memorabilia and photos were brought along to enjoy. The afternoon
was livened by tornado warnings throughout the area, I am glad to say
everyone made it safely home. We were honored to have as our guest
Fred Benedict ‘58A, an MPH Board of Trustee, who traveled to be with
us for this event.
John Stilwell ‘58B, John Connelly ‘67C
and Fred Benedict ‘58A
John Stilwell ‘58B, Bobbie Badger, John Connelly ‘67C,
Dick Bundy ‘60B, Elwood Obrig ‘59C, Gerald Hofschneider ‘62C,
Bruce Badge ‘53A, Ed Ehrenspeck ‘49HQ, Cathy Goff,
Hubert “Peppy” Callahan ‘58HQ and Fred Benedict ‘58A
New York Regional Reunion
Brett Messenger ‘07 and
Sam Temes ‘03
Erin Vella ‘03 and Carrie
Manolakos ‘02
Ashok Nayar ‘05, Emily Temple ‘04, and
Shelly Pal ‘04
97
The Final Word
by Baxter F. Ball, head of school
T
oday’s educational landscape
features everything from distance
learning and home schooling to
enormous public school classes and
stultifying test preparation. I cannot
help but be saddened by the fact that so
many in this generation of students do
not benefit from the vital and powerful
personal connection that should exist
between student and teacher.
That incredibly dynamic interaction
between mentor and pupil is what so
often has inspired and launched real
learning. Among my own generation, it
was the encouragement, direction, and
prodding of a good teacher that led us
to accomplish what we have.
I remember well the impact that a
gentlemen and gentle scholar named
Malcolm Willis had on me when I was a
sophomore at The Gunnery. For some
reason that I will probably never
understand, he took me under his wing
and told me that not only could I
succeed, but I had something special to
offer. Coming from a man who held a
Ph.D. in Sanskrit from Yale, I found that
a powerful statement of faith. From that
moment on, I was determined not to let
him down; I wanted to do well to please
him and justify his faith in me.
Malcolm Willis became a guiding light
for me through a tumultuous adolescence. I will never forget his words of
encouragement and the kindness that
he extended.
It is this kind of interaction that is
particularly prized in independent
schools and that rests at the heart of all
98
that Manlius Pebble Hill School does.
Having heard stories of the many
powerful teachers who have taught at
The Manlius School, Pebble Hill School,
and Manlius Pebble Hill, I am
convinced that the act of hiring is
probably my most crucial and
important responsibility. Teaching is
more than delivering curriculum; it is
about connecting with students,
inspiring them, and being a role model.
I am certain our current student body
will look back upon our faculty in
much the same way earlier students
remember David Edwards, Whitey
Anderson, Bernie Shaw and Mary Beeler.
Indeed, I have already heard numerous
tales from MPH students who claim
that Peter Wozniak, Sue Foster, Jeff
Mangram, and many others have
changed their lives.
A teacher’s ability to make a qualitative
difference is the essence of real
education. When a strong, trusting
connection is made between student
and teacher, what invariably develops is
a passion for learning.
Teachers who exude intellectual
curiosity and real enthusiasm for
creativity are, unfortunately, much too
rare in many schools. At MPH, the
ability to screen for the “life of the
mind” is an essential feature of our
hiring practices. It is no fluke, for
instance, that all of our fine and
performing arts teachers are
professionally engaged in the disciplines
they teach. Many members of our
faculty, including Dave Rufo, Amy
Terpening, Bill Preston and Chris
Hempel, continue to publish in their
various fields of endeavor. More than a
half dozen of our teachers, motivated by
the sheer desire to learn, are pursuing
doctoral degrees not required as part of
their faculty appointments. Teaching at
MPH involves a commitment to the life
of the mind, which cannot help but
stimulate student curiosity and the
desire to learn more.
The passion for learning that permeates
our School is, I believe, what make us
unique in the region. We are so often
told by visiting students that the reason
they want to come to MPH is because of
the in-class dynamic. They see here
classes that encourage dialogue and
intellectual debate. They do not see
monotonous memorization for statemandated tests, but instead witness an
environment in which real thought
flourishes.
“Thinking” demands an active
interaction with the material. It is what
an engaged faculty requires of young
people. I often wonder how poor my
life would have been without the advice,
counsel and intellectual engagement of
Malcolm Willis. His desire was to see
me grow personally and, to that end, he
provided the tools and skills that have
made my life richer.
Our purpose at MPH and at our
predecessor schools has been the same
– to enable students to find the fire
within. I delight in the fact that so very
many of our past and current students
can point to a teacher who, like
Malcolm Willis, has taken the time to
say, “follow your star,” and taken the
interest to start them on that path.
MANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL’S
ATHLETIC HALL
OF FAME
INAUGURAL
Induction & Dinner
COMMITTEE:
Honorable
Eric Spevak, chair
Class of 1977
Jim Amodio ‘65
Fred Benedict ’58A
Al Cicci ’60C
Doug Craig ’89
Tom Denton ’65
Don Fudge, former coach
Had Fuller ’66A
Stu Grossman ’56
T.J. Gunerman ’05
Marna (Suarez) Redding ‘96
Nat Reidel ‘65
Don Ridall, Athletic Director
Phil Rothschild ’79
Ted Shiro ’47A
Dave Temes ’97
Jack Wells ’60B
Josh Wells ’89
$40.00 patron ticket
Includes VIP reception,
priority seating at ceremony
and dinner, and program
recognition
$25.00 ticket
Event will benefit
MPH Athletics
Saturday, June 12, 2010
VIP Reception 6:00 p.m. • Ceremony & Dinner 7:00 p.m.
Manlius Pebble Hill is proud
to announce its inaugural inductees:
• Coach Tom Cahill
In his 10 years at The Manlius School (1947-57),
Tom amassed an astonishing overall football
coaching record of 66-8-2. He became head coach
at West Point in 1966 and was named Eddie
Robinson National Collegiate Coach of the Year. By
the time he left the U.S. Military Academy after its
1973 season, he had led Army to five victories over
Navy. Coach Cahill’s award will be accepted by his
family.
• The Fall 1963 Manlius Red Knights
Football Team
With its record of 6 wins and 1 loss (to West Point),
this Red Knights team was rated by United Press
International the #1 prep school football team in
the nation.
• Mary Rulison ’73
Mary began her athletic career at Pebble Hill School
and continued to excel in sports at MPH. She was
named the School’s best all-around athlete in
1971. Mary also was a key member of the 1972
field hockey team, MPH’s first undefeated sports
team.
• John Brockington ‘67C
John played football for Manlius, Ohio State and
the Green Bay Packers. He was the first NFL player
to ever rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first
three seasons and was 1971 NFL Rookie of the
Year.
• The Fall 2000 Boys Varsity Soccer Team
Dress is business casual
RSVP online at www.mph.net
or by calling Maureen at
315/446-2452, ext. 136
Led by captains Brian Perry ‘02 and Dan Klemperer
‘02, this was MPH’s first state championship soccer
team. With an impressive 24-0 record, the team
took home the Class D title.
The John Lenore Legend Award
The Lenore Legend Award honors alumni and/or teams
that have made a legendary impact on our sports
programs. Named in honor of John Lenore ’47A, this
award is the pinnacle of our Hall of Fame Ceremony.
2010 RECIPIENTS
• John Lenore ’47A – Growing up in a West
Virginia coal-mining family, John Lenore developed
a love and talent for football. Thumbing through a
magazine one day, he saw an advertisement for
The Manlius School. He wrote a letter requesting
the opportunity to try out for the football team and
if deemed “good enough,” to be afforded tuition.
Lenore was thrilled to be offered a scholarship in
1945 to attend Manlius and play football. During
his two years there, he started every game, playing
both offense and defense for the undefeated Red
Knights. Paying it forward, Lenore has worked hard
to ensure promising young athletes have similar
opportunities at his alma mater.
• Fall 1944, 1945, 1946 Manlius “Big Red”
Football Teams – The Manlius School’s football
teams were undefeated in these three consecutive
seasons, during which the Red Knights played 23
scheduled games and scored 626 points, while
their opponents only scored 73 points.
Honored Guests & Presenters
• Marty Byrnes, former Syracuse University and
NBA player
• Lino DiCuollo, Major League soccer player
• Jeff Mangram, MPH faculty member, former
Syracuse University football player
• Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals and NBA
player and NBA Hall of Fame Inductee
• Chuck Beele ‘54, Pebble Hill Alumnus and
basketball coach
Seating is limited. RSVP today! www.mph.net
Clambake Weekend 2010
Athletic Hall of Fame,
Inaugural
Induction & Dinner
Boston Reunion –
Red Sox Game
Holiday Gathering
Washington Reunion
Chicago Reunion
Florida Reunions
Phoenix, AZ
Clambake Weekend 2011
June 11-12
June 12
July 17
December 30
2011
October
January 24
February
April 7
June 10 -11
If you are at college in one of these reunion areas
and have your home address listed with MPH, please
let us know your college address so you can receive
an invitation to the regional reunion.
Please check the Alumni Events Calendar at
www.mph.net for more information.
Commencement
June 6
2010/2011
Alumni Events
5300 Jamesville Road
DeWitt, New York 13214-2499

Spring 2010 Commemorative edition Fall 2009

Transcription

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