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Hidden History Beneath Bowden Hall
ROUTINE ORGANIZING LEADS TO A TREMENDOUS ARCHIVAL DISCOVERY
Before the start of the spring 2021 semester, historic documents and other items were strewn across the desks and tables in the library. Old photographs, records, yearbooks, telegrams, and paperwork were organized by year and decade.
These documents, some of which were thought to be lost in the 1941 fire of Horton Hall, were located by College Counseling Associate Cindi Ruggieri, who was tasked with going through and reviewing, reorganizing, and cleaning up the basement of Bowden Hall. What she did not expect to find, however, were missing pieces of Cheshire Academy history, and the rights to some long-lost pieces of art.
“I just started putting stuff together, not knowing what any of this meant,” Ruggieri said. “Then I went through it all. There was a lot of stuff, including from when James Crosby was head of school (1972-1975), then there was stuff when Ernest Beaulac was head of school (1975-1986).”
Following her discovery, Ruggieri contacted Claudette Hovasse, director of library services, to see how to best proceed with her findings. Since then, Ruggieri has been delivering significant pieces of CA history almost weekly to Hovasse for review and proper archiving. Board reports and meeting minutes from the 1960s and 1970s, correspondence from former headmasters and heads of school, and the sealed copy of the incorporation of Cheshire Academy as a nonprofit were just some of the pieces found.
“It’s so cool that so much was saved, that was just hiding away,” reflected Hovasse. “Much of it we knew existed, but we didn’t have the originals, like the original incorporation into Cheshire Academy in 1937. I have tons of copies of it, but I didn’t have the sealed original. Now it’s all safe.”
Letters from close friends to former Head of School Arthur Sheriff often started with “Sherry”; similarly, to former Headmaster Morris Sweetkind, salutations can be found starting as “Sweety.” Beyond the unique greetings and brief documents lie a wealth of knowledge that can now be imparted to future generations of Cheshire Academy students, faculty, and staff. “Everyone can enjoy the benefit of having this history saved,” reflected Hovasse. “It’s so exciting. I know I’m not going to be able to get through it all; I’m going to be able to categorize it and organize it so that someone else can finish the history part.”
On the following pages are just a few excerpts and topics discovered by Ruggieri found in files, documents, and boxes that are now kept safe in a climate-controlled, organized space.
ROCKWELL KENT LITHOGRAPH
What might be the most significant discovery is a series of correspondence between famed American painter, writer, and printmaker Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) and Cheshire Academy administrators. These important communications solidify the school’s ownership to one of Kent’s lithographs.
Visitors to the library are likely familiar with the drawing of Bowden Hall near the front desk. The rendering, signed by Kent and gifted to the school after completing the work in 1947, exudes the sense of pride that alumnus Kent had for his alma mater.
The original lithograph created by Kent was long assumed to have been lost over time, according to Hovasse. However, a series of letters between Kent and former Headmaster Arthur Sheriff about acquiring additional prints of Kent’s Cheshire Academy work, one of which is dated March 25, 1967, show that the lithograph may actually have been kept safe and, in fact, owned by the school.
“I have some of the letters that were sent to Rockwell, but I didn’t have anything from him. This is a signed letter from Rockwell Kent to ‘Sherry,’ which I love,” Hovasse said.
The letter reads, in part, “The stone is recognized as the property of the Cheshire Academy absolutely. More prints of the stone can be obtained at any time” from the printer, George C. Miller. Kent continued by telling Sheriff to order additional prints directly through him, and to order enough to tide the school “over many years to come.” Kent later goes on to explain to Sheriff his plans for the upcoming months, including sailing overseas and visiting Russia. He had hoped to share his experiences with Sheriff that summer.
What remains to be determined is where the original lithograph is now. Hovasse speculated that it may be with the printer, in a museum, or somewhere else. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.
MARION MOORE COLEMAN
From 1975 to 1977, Marion Moore Coleman, school historian and wife of alumnus and history teacher Arthur Coleman (Class of 1914) published a series of articles in the local newspaper, The Cheshire Herald, on the happenings and history of Cheshire Academy. In her texts, Coleman covered everything from historic and memorable people of CA to the quiet, sometimes mischievous, happenings of students at the time. One of Coleman’s earlier submissions focused deeply on “Professor” Eri Woodbury (1837-1928), former headmaster of Cheshire Academy (1896-1903) and Medal of Honor recipient. She recounted entries in his diary, which documented his passion for his role at the Academy and the lasting impact he had on his students. During the Civil War, Woodbury encountered four Confederate infantrymen retreating. With only his saber on hand, he ordered them to surrender. The men did, together, with rifles and the flag of the 12th North Carolina Regiment.
Despite his victory, in early April 1865, Woodbury was struck by an artillery shell fragment, suffering significant damage to his right hand and the loss of two fingers. “Living history this was, and to the boys of the Academy the more appreciated as it came from the lips of one from whom, in their classes, they were obliged to learn the languages and deeds of history long past, of people long dead. For the Professor was a teacher of Latin and Greek.”
Woodbury, whose one-year appointment transitioned to 38 years of employment, was praised as a respected disciplinarian and for his imperturbability. But Woodbury was not only well received by those at the Academy, but also by the Cheshire community at large. In the early 1930s, Coleman was introduced to Mrs. Martin Bemis, who resided on a farm down the road from the school. Bemis worked for the Woodburys, and “looked back on those Woodbury years with gratitude. For the Professor gave this newcomer the most precious means in the world for making a good life in our country: he insisted that she learn to read, not only her native language, which was Polish, but English, and to speak it properly.”
“SOME CAUSE LARGER THAN THE LOCAL OR NATIONAL”
Continuing with the Coleman family, another discovery was the 1959 Commencement Address, titled “Some Cause Larger than the Local or National,” by Arthur Coleman himself. Coleman, who was a specialist in Slavic languages, passed away in July 1974.
In his speech, Coleman begins by recognizing the honor in which he felt speaking to the graduating class. “…This is the highest honor that can be conferred upon a man: to speak at his own ‘old school’ graduation ceremonies. Honors may be piled upon a man abroad, inEurope, Asia, and in that hardest of all places in the world to conquer, inNew York. But this is as nothing to being asked to address a graduating class of his own preparatory school. To say that I appreciate this honor is but to give voice to something that one can not really give voice to at all, as the emotion engendered by the occasion is so deep as to be beyond expression.”
Coleman recalled a radio interview withClement Atlee, the late prime minister of the United Kingdom, a recording that he heard a few nights prior to commencement.In it, Atlee was asked to provide some advice for young people entering the work force, to which he responded to get themselves “a cause larger than the local or national.”
Coleman continued by reflecting on his growing up on his father’s farm inSeymour, Connecticut, overlooking the Naugatuck River. It was on that farm where Coleman met international workers and discovered his passion for the Slavic world. He began inquiring how they said “bread” and “water,” and quickly took to the local library to learn more about the Cyrillic alphabet. He wanted to learn more, wanted to travel to Siberia, but had no way of getting there besides joining the U.S. Navy. After he enlisted, he traveled no farther than the Bronx.
Some of the address’s text is unreadable due to the age and condition of the document. However, Coleman recounted his pursuit of education, and him earning a degree of Slavic languages from Columbia University in June1925. “At the time, I was looked upon as crazy—now, as they write the history of Slavic studies in this country and are obliged to record me as a statistic, they pause to call me a prophet!” Before receiving his degree, Coleman spent one year at Charles University, in Praha, Czechoslovakia. He was one of the first five Americans to attend the school.
Coleman’s message demonstrated how he helped pave the path forSlavic studies in the United States. His message, and lesson, to the graduating class stressed the importance of them knowing what they wanted to do with their lives, and to then simply do it, despite any challenges or blockades they must overcome. “Don’t settle for second best. Don’t let yourself be diverted. Follow your own inner and guiding light, if by the grace of God you are given one.”
