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.