Notes
Nonprofit
Organization
from
U.S. POST AGE
Cardigan
Canaan, N.H. Permit No. 1
PAID
Cardigan Mountain School Canaan, New Hampshire 03741
Issue No .
4
December 1973
The three short weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas recesses have flown by desp ite our lack of snow. Ski and hockey coaches devised many ingenious exercises and activities for pre-season conditioning, but it's not quite the same without snow or ice. We are so accus tomed to a snow-covered environment from Thanksgiving onward that it is difficult to believe Christmas is so close. Inte resting ly, there has been no enthusiasm from the boys for the annual Christmas door decorating contes t. Not being able to use lights in their plans was an additional deterent; so no contest this year. Even the center-of-campus Christmas tree has a different look. For one thing, it's not i n the center of campus. We used a beautiful blue spruce growing nea r the fl agpole - perfect ly shaped for the purpose . A group of boys helped Mr. Wakely make ornaments that sparkle in the sunlight and use no electricity. A beautifully decorated tree in keep ing with overall efforts a t conservation . Two interesting activities while waiting for cold weather: a full busload of hockey players went to Proctor Academy twice to skate on their new artificial ice. The rink is outdoors and even with refrigeration the ice wasn't too hard, but at least it gave us a chance for some skatin g, and anything outs i de the usual routine is exciting. Boys interested in ski jumping had a un ique experience when they visited Norwich University. One of their students has built an indoor ski jump patterned after one he used i n Norway. It's a small jump - not more than 3 feet from the floor at the end - and you slide on something resembling a skate board. The landing area is a huge plastic bag filled with foam rubber. Sounds 1 ike fun, and it was; but our jumping coach says it is marvelous training in form and timing and in getting the feel of real jumping. It won't be surprising if he finds a way to build one for us to use next Winter. He reports several very enthusiastic potential jumpers and is looking forward to building a fine team. You may have heard that Canaan College finally succumbed to financial difficulties of l ong standing and was unable to re-open this Fall. The land and buildings they owned on Canaan St. were sold at auction last month . We bought some old U.S. post office mailboxes at the auct ion and will install them in Hopkins Hall so our students will be able to pick up mail at their convenience. Terms of the sale were 11as is, where is" so we own the mailboxes but have no 1 ist of comb i nations. Any locksmiths out there please come to our rescue! We also took over from Canaan College a series of programs for the community. During the school year there are a number of occas ions which we invite the public to share with us, but we have never before offered a series of programs on a monthly basis planned chiefly for community, not student i nterest . The first one was a film of Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt introduced by commentary on the film and the book by Bob Fahrner , chairman of our English department. In November the Canaan Historical Society organized an evening of "Reminiscences of Canaan, N.H. 11 as recalled by olde r residents of the town. It was not only interesting, but a lot of fun hearing about the origi nal l ayout of the town, early churches, one-room schools, the town newspaper and train service in Canaan . The third event was a program of Christmas music for recorders and voices presen t ed by a group of local musicians that included Harold Finkbeiner and Jim Crowell of our faculty . The Chapel was cold that evening because we keep it that way, and sitting there wrapped in our winter coats we could almost imagine we were back in the 16th century 1 istening to itinerant music ians entertaining us with music of their time - soft, harmonious and beautiful. Next year's program consists of the Kenneth Clark Civilisation film series which will start in January and conclude in May.
New Hampshire is, we believe, the first state to honor all of its U.S. Hall of Fame members. One of seven in the state is Henry Woods of our faculty, and he attended a banquet in Manchester last week and received a Certificate of Recognition presented by the Governor. The first national downhill ski race was held in New Hampshire in 1933, and Henry took first place. When he was captain of the ski team at Dartmouth, members were required to participate in all four ski events: cross-country, downhill, jumping and slalom; today skiing is more specialized. After graduation, Henry was captain of the U.S.-F.I.S. team and raced with them in France, Germany, Norway, Italy and.Austria. These races are now held every four years in the middle year between the olympics. When he retired from active racing, Henry coached skiing for over 15 years at various prep schools and also coached Cornell and Syracuse University teams during their mid-winter games at Lake Placid. Now this skill and experience is used in judging ski jumping. In 1968 he officiated at the Olympic ski jumping in Grenoble, France, and in 1972 he was chief measurer at the FISU world university ski games at Lake Placid. We add our congratulations to those of the State of New Hampshire, Henry; and we're honored to have you at Cardigan. Parents of ninth graders will surely hear that SSAT's were taken on December 8th. Results will be mailed direct to you at home - but don't expect them before the middle of January. Ninth and eighth grade boys may also be discussing our biennial Mediterranean trip which is being planned for next March. We'll be happy to answer any questions you have about any aspect of this trip, and will only say that this is not an overseas Spring fling, but has been carefully planned to be of maximum interest and educational value for boys of this age. We have had most enthusiastic reports from boys who went on the first two trips. A zamboni - almost! What a thrill! We've been promised $8000 to buy a zamboni for resurfacing ice in the hockey rink - IF a matching amount is pledged to build heated storage for this equipment. You who watch pro hockey games on TV have seen these machines making new, smooth ice between periods; and if you have been to one of our games, you'll remember we clean the ice with shovels and boy-power. Re-surfacing is done by hockey coaches, the athletic director, and the Headmaster during odd moments - many of which don't occur until after 10 pm. We wouldn't dare add up the number of hours that have to be devoted to this during the Winter. Equipment to do this job simply and properly is vital to an excellent hockey program so that the coaches can devote all their time and energy to teaching and training boys and not to holding a water hose. Special thanks to the very Rev. Richard W. Rowland for his third annual appearance at Chapel. Each year his sermon has been a winner - captivating the audience and bringing home a fine message. He says anyone can preach one good sermon a year - but we know he has a fine touch for reaching boys in a way they can understand and appreciate. We envy his son John's next school who will have Dean Rowland as a parent. Our year closed with the traditional Christmas Pageant and candle] ighting service before the boys left. The Chapel was filled to capacity with parents and visitors who look forward to this annual program. We wish each of you could be with us at least once while your son is at Cardigan. The pageant is unique and impressive, and the ceremony of passing along the candlelight, starting from just one candle, by each one 1 ighting his neighbor's until the whole Chapel is aglow with the combined 1 ight of 250 candles brings home dramatically the symbolic message of faith and brotherhood. In that same spirit, we wish for you blessings at this holiday season, and health, joy and peace for the New Year.
Notes from Cardigan 11 is published monthly by the Cardigan Mountain School. Third class postage paid at Canaan, N.H. 03741 11