from the head of school
bridgton academy
I
received a handwritten letter from a student recently, and it could not have come at a better time. Not an email. Not a text. But a three-page letter written on looseleaf paper, in which this young man shared with me books he was reading over break, travels with family, and just catching up during what was a longer holiday vacation than expected. It’s exceedingly rare to receive a handwritten letter, and this one certainly warmed my heart in the midst of a cold Maine winter. This young man came to see me in early December for help he needed with a history project. As we were meeting at my work table, he noticed that I was using a kind of pencil he had not seen before, with a distinctive flat, adjustable eraser on the end. It was a Blackwing. Not the Blackwing 602, produced from the 1930s through the 90s. (Those are quite expensive if you can find them on Ebay.) Mine was a more recent product. As wonderful as the letter was, it’s the content of the envelope that I want to speak to. Included was a pencil, specifically a Palomino Blackwing, special edition, Volume 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. In his note to me, the student explained that the Blackwing was originally produced by Faber Eberhard in the 1930s and became the pencil of choice for many writers, artists, and musicians, including John
Steinbeck, E.B. White, Eugene O’Neill, and Quincy Jones. Their slogan was “Half the pressure, twice the speed,” which speaks to the pencil’s smoothness and ease of use. Why did he share all this with me, and why am I sharing it with you? Before I read this young man’s letter, I had no idea about the history and pedigree of the writing implement I was using, except that I really liked using them. He took it upon himself to notice the pencil, remember it, visit a stationary store in his hometown and find some of his own–the special edition Jackie Robinson model. He then decided to read up on the history of the product–which has some pretty cool 20th century figures associated with it–and share all of this, including the pencil no less, in a letter to me. I would love to finish this piece by saying something like, “without Bridgton Academy this exchange never would have happened.” But that’s not accurate. This student is a thoughtful, intelligent young man who came to Bridgton for the same reasons many of our other students do. He is community minded and goes out of his way often for others. We did not make him thoughtful. What I think we can take credit for, however, is something we have been doing for a very long time here at the Academy. We take students and put them in a place where they have the freedom to imagine other ways to stretch themselves, where they are encouraged to build upon their existing strengths, and where they can find ways to grow as citizens, teammates, students, and friends. An expression of gratitude with a small gift to a mentor is terrific, but couple that small gift with a bit of history and a recognition of what might be truly meaningful to the recipient and it becomes priceless. I will always treasure this gift, not for the smoothness of the graphite or the storied history of the Blackwing brand, but because it represents for me that even in the seemingly smallest gestures, we can see some of the greatest expressions of what it means to be a Wolverine.
Martin J. Mooney, Head of School
winter 2022
Michelle Cross Benjamin Custer Marty Mooney Jessica Priola Sebastian Soltes ’22
contributors Sven Cole Benjamin Custer Jesse Cottingham Photography
photography Dianne Lewis
design
Jessica Priola
director of institutional advancement Martin J. Mooney
head of school
Bridgton Academy Today is produced biannually as the official publication of Bridgton Academy and is distributed to alumni, parents of alumni, and friends of the Academy. We welcome your feedback and encourage you to reach out to us at alumni@bridgtonacademy.org.
bridgton academy 11 academy lane north bridgton, me 04057 207.647.3322 www.bridgtonacademy.org
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