Notes from
Cardigan Cardigan Mountain S chool R.F.D. 2, B ox 58 Canaan, New Hampshire 03741 603-523-4321
May 1987
Next week tailors will be on campus to measure Seniors for white jackets, the traditional attire for graduation. It's a sign not only of Spring, but also that Commencement will soon be a reality for them. With this thought in mind, the Senior Class embarked last week on what may be their last fund-raising effort of the year. First was a dressdown day (always popular and to most students well worth the $1 to avoid wearing coat and tie). The theme for this day was " Hats and Jams" - any kind of hat and those outrageously colored knee-length shorts that are currently "in". The ha ts appeared, but a blanket of new snow produced temperatures too chilly for jams except for the most hardy ( or foolhardy). Even more exciting was an auction for Personal Valet Day in which underclassmen bid for the Senior of their choice to be their valet for a day. What a great idea - to be able to hire your floor leader to make your bed in the morning, carry your books to class , etc. The bids ranged from a low of $ 8 to a high of $ 3 6 ( combined bid by two boys), and the Senior class raised $1139. Sherwood E. Griffin: he's called "Griff"; he's been at Cardigan since 1978; he's a groundsman, which means that he takes care of all the lawns, playing fields, roads, paths, parking lots and driveways on campus. These areas need constant care - plowing, scrapirig, brushing, mowing, raking - and Griff is out there in all kinds of weather giving the campus this attention. He must like it here as he lives in North Sanbornton, which means a 74 mile round trip every day. Last week's weather surprised us with 6 - 10 inches of heavy, wet snow causing hazardous driving conditions and power outages due to fallen tree limbs. The snow was deep enough to cause athletic games to be cancelled, and to require plowing. Griff left home at 3:45 am that day so he could get the plow started. Not far from his home, the road was completely blocked by a fallen tree. Many of us would have felt we had made a good try at getting to work, and would have gone home to wait for the road to be opened. Not Griff. He did go home, but just to get his chain saw so he could remove the tree. Farther along the road, he encountered more trees, which he sawed his way through and arrived at school in time to have the roads plowed before breakfast. This kind of devotion to work is rare indeed, and we prize it highly. Thanks Griff! Cardigan boys are too old for an Easter egg hunt; but lest the old traditions be completely ignored, Larry Conlon, our food-service manager, hid one egg somewhere in the dining room. It was well hidden and it took more than 20 minutes of searching for Will Stormont, an eigth grader from Texas with sharp eyes, to locate it. His reward was to be able to choose the menu for a complete day. When that day came, we enjoyed steak and eggs for breakfast, pizza at noon, and in the evening an indoor (because of the snow) cookout complete with the soft ice cream machine.
A week of total immersion in the study of a fragile environment this describes the 6th grade trip to the Cape Cod National Seashore. By nine o'clock each morning - after the fog lifted - they were off exploring swamps, salt marshes and seashore, learning and seeing first-hand the effects of storms and tides as well as oil spills and other man-made changes in the environment. Evening study provided a time to keep journals and chronicle impressions of the day's activities. Night walks and speakers filled the hours until bedtime. Two day-long trips reinforced 7th grade studies of history and government. Mr. Scanlan, the Canaan represen ta ti ve to the New Hampshire General Court, helped arrange the day in Concord. They toured the State House and met the Secretary of State, Clerk of the General Court and the Administrative Secretary to the Governor. Where better to study the history of Revolutionary times than in Boston. In one day the 7th grade toured Fanueil Hall, Paul Revere's House, the Old North Church, the USS Cons ti tu tion, saw "The Whites of Their Eyes", a multi-media program on the battle of Bunker Hill, and finished the day at the Kennedy Library Museum. Wouldn't you have enjoyed that tour too? New England weather is different, changeable, exciting, unpredictable and sometimes produces considerable apprehension when a SPECIAL EVENT is planned. The late-season snow storm previously mentioned left about eight inches of heavy, wet snow on the ground Wednesday morning three days before Grandparents' Weekend. Saturday morning, grandparents arrived to see beautiful green lawns newly mowed, cloudless blue sky, glorious sunshine, moderately warm temperatures, and a beautiful view of Mt. Cardigan s ti 11 snow-capped. Over 10 0 grandparents, parents, friends and relations at tended classes a 11 morning, joined the Headmaster in spirited renditions of "Climbing Jacob's Ladder" and "Kumbayah", and enjoyed being outside watching games in the afternoon. And were there games! Three baseball games, three lacrosse games, a tennis match and .a sailing meet - all taking place more or less concurrently. Those with two grandchildren at school were really on the move. The evening program proceeded at a more leisurely pace. After a roast beef dinner, 15 boys were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society. Eighth and ninth graders may be elected to this Society by a faculty ccmmi ttee if they meet these requirements: are in at least three upper sections; have attended Cardigan for at least two terms; have earned a cumulative average of 85 percent in the first two terms of the year; are taking a foreign language; and have exhibit e d characteristics of leadership, school citizenship, character and service. Five Seniors who were in the Society last year were reelected: HuiNeng Amos; Hunt Durey; Mark Dantos; Sean Finnerty; and Carlos Wright. In addition, five Seniors and five eighth graders were inducted for the first time. Seniors: Matthew Campbell, Thomas Hunt, David Kahn, David Schmidt, and Jon Taufman. Eighth graders: James Marr ion, Peter Nigra, James Sehr iebl, Wi 11 Stormont and Doug las Wendt. When this ceremony had been completed, the Fischer Duo, a talented husband and wife team from Norwich, Vermont, presented a cello and piano program of Schumann, Boulanger and Shostakovich. After Sunday morning chapel, grandparents took their boys off campus for an afternoon of dining, shopping, sight-seeing and visiting. Another great Cardigan weekend!