Notes from Cardigan (December, 1975)

Notes

Nonprofit Organization

from Cardigan

U.S. POST AGE

PAID Canaan, N.H .

Permit No. 1

Cardigan Mountain School Canaan, New Hampshire 03741

Volume 5

Issue No.

December 1975

The past two months have been especially busy ones at Cardigan. The first term has ended and the second is well underway: Thanksgiving is past and Christmas is almost here and soccer and football have been replaced by skiing and hockey.

This Christmas vacation, from December 26 through January 3, the Pecks and the McNeish's will escort a group of 14 boys to Finland where they will play and learn more about hockey. The boys have been entered in a series of tournaments for students of their age group. They will also have a chance to learn about Finland and Scandinavian culture in their time off the ice. The trip has been made possible by the combined efforts of Mr. Peck, Mr. McNeish, Judge King, father of John, and FinAir. More on this later.

The weekend after everyone returned from the vacation marked the first skatable ice on the l ake and, in an example of good timing, was the weekend that Mr. James Crowe] 1 of the Science Department, Hugh Covert, Joey Bergner, and Peter Secor finished building Cardigan ' s new ice boat which was started as a Summer Project by these boys. A large crowd turned out on the beach to witness the maiden cruise and they were not disappointed, for the ice was perfect and the craft was sound. Congratulations to Mr. Crowell and his crew!

For those of you who could not be with us on the Wednesday night before the Christmas break, Cardigan Mountain School presented the Ninth Annual Christmas Pageant and Candle] ighting Service, under the direction of the Reverend Harry R. Mahoney. The theme of the program was The Christmas Story as told by the Modern Shepherd and other Twentieth Century narrators. Behind the narration were a series of tableaus of the Christmas story and the program was interspersed with Christmas carols sung by the School Choir, under the direction of Mr. Harold Finkbeiner, who was also the organist for the pageant. The evening ended with the Candlelighting Service which has come to signify the spirit of Christmas for all of us at Cardigan and for many in the Upper Valley area. We all owe Messrs. Mahoney; Finkbeiner, Fahrner and his lighting crew many thanks for adding so much to the spirit of the season.

Christmas is a time when festive music abounds and this year was no exception. On Saturday, December 13, the Glee Club traveled to Hartford, Vermont to perform Johann Petzold's The Christmas Story at the Upper Valley Square Dance Club's Christmas celebration. The audience of more than 200 people received the program enthusiastically and then invited the boys to join them in refreshments and dance, to which the boys responded with great zeal. The evening was a great time for all involved. No sooner had the boys . had .. their night's rest than they performed the piece .again in Chapel, adding . a sp'ecial '. touch to the Sunday serv.ice. Thjs time, they were joined by members of th~ · Fac~lty inc1uding Mrs. Peggy Fedor, Mrs. Carol Shelton, Mrs. Lanie Abendroth, and Mr. James Ladd. In both performances, the chorus was accompanied by Mr. James Crowell on the recorder and Mr. Finkbeiner on the harpsichord.

December has been especially busy for Mr. Finkbeiner, with the Glee Club's frequent performances. In addition, he found the time to organize and present a program

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entitled 11 Our Musical Heritage 11 as one of the Cardigan Tuesday Evening Community programs. As he describes i t, the evening consisted of 1 music which would probably have been heard in the American Colonial Period 1 and featured selections from Telemann, Handel, Purce l l, Scarlatti, and William Billings . With Mr. Finkbeiner, who played the new harpsichord (which he built with assistance from Nathan Anable, Class of 1975) were recorders, flute, and viola in concert played

by Mrs. Lee King , Mrs . Barbara Bel lows, Miss Ann Helburne, and Mrs. Marilyn Johnson, teacher of Language Training here at the school. The focus of the program was not American music of the colonial period but the mus ic which was heard throughout the Western World during the Colonial Period, thus adding a bit of diversity to the Bicentennial celebration program which Mr. Fahrner has planned.

As a postscript to the fall athletic program, the Varsity Soccer team entered and placed second at the New England Junior Independent School Tournament held November 7 at Eaglebrook. The team ranks second out of all New England in its class. A great way to end a good season!

On November 19, Mr. and Mrs. Hicks escorted the 9th grade French classes on a trip to Quebec which lasted two days. While in Quebec City, the voyageurs were taken on a horse and buggy ride around the old city, saw Papi! lon in French, partook of a gourmet meal, visited a number of shops and stores, visited the Chateau Frontenac, and the Wax Museum of Canadian American History. The purpose of the trip was, of course, to try their French and this they did, on waitresses, shopkeepers, the hotel personnel, and even on a policeman. Naturally, by the time they came back to school, they spoke fluent French!

This past month has also been a good one for drama . On Sunday night, November 23, the Drama Club, under the direction of Mr. George Dunn, presented Eugene O1 Nei11 1 s In The Zone. The play was set on a World War I British t ramp steamer and concernswartime intrigue and uncertain loyalties. The playe r s were David Benson, Linc Turner, Cal Garwood, David Bradley, John Todman, and Hugh Covert. The actors made use of the School 1 s video-tape equipment to help them with their staging and delivery, introducing a new technique to the Drama Club.

This past weekend, December 12 and 13, the community was fortunate in being able to see a fine performance of Woody Al len 1 s DON 1 T DRINK THE WATER, performed by the Canaan Players. The play concerns the presence of an American family from Newark in the American Embassy of a tiny Eastern European country, where they have been trapped by the Communists. The mania common to al I of Woody Allen 1 s productions was admirably carried out by the players, among whom were Mrs. Marianne Edelman, playing the motor-mouthed mother of the family and George Dunn, who played the son of the ambassador left in tenuous charge of the embassy during the conflict.

Saturday the 13th held forth yet another experience for members of the Cardigan community. That afternoon English 9-1, was taken to see the Christmas Revels held at Webster Hall on the Dartmouth campus. Along with the class were Messrs. George Randall, James Ladd, and John King, former Professor at Canaan College and Medieval Specialist. The program bore heavily upon the reve l s traditions of medieval England and included music of the period, Morris dancing, Christmas carols and the recreation of the mystery play, St. George and the Dragon. The festive atmosphere was a mixture of Christmas spirit and the feeling that each spectator was as integral to the success of the celebration as the players.

That about wraps up the news for this issue. All of us at Cardigan would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a good start for the New Year . See you in 1 76!