WINTER 1973
R. Alden Burt "Experience ·A Good Teacher" A biographical sketch Born to Mildred P. and Clarence A. Burt December 11, 1921 in Hanover, New Hampshire ... a boy, R. Alden Burt. Dick, as he soon came to be known, was an only child and as a result was involved in many so litary activities. Dick had what he termed "a pretty normal" ch ildh ood during his early years in Vermont. He attended the first eight grades at the one room Rice's Mills School in Thetford, Vermont. Whe n he reached high school his problems began. He didn't see the se nse of it al l. He was very interested in art and hard outdoor work; the Randolph, Vermont school didn't offer much of e ith er. Dick str uggl ed through one year of high schoo l, but in his seco nd year, at the age of fifteen, dropped out and left home . Most Vermont boys w ho left home traveled south , but the South didn't appeal to you ng Mr. Burt. He ·e nd ed up in Upton, Maine work in g as a cook's helper in the Great Northern Paper Company Logging Camp. One evening short ly after he began his job the head cook disappeared. This marked the beginning of Dick's short career as a cook. He had arrived at camp in ear ly w inter and took over the cook's duties, doing "an adeq u ate job" through the winter months. At the e nd of the co ld w inter season yo ung Burt was convinced of one thing; he had no interest in the lumbering indu stry and would not return to a simi lar position again. From Maine Dick decided he wo uld now move south. He e nd ed up in Boston where he quickly found a job with the A.S. Campbe ll - Cellow Manufacturing Company. His job was running a machine. Dick describes his daily duties as "Running metal into one end of a machine which produced a completed auto number plate holder from the other end." The job wasn't very challenging and certain ly not interesting. As a result, Dick became restless and qecided to look for another position. Wh il e work in g for Campbe ll - Ce llo w, he saw an ad in the company newspaper, advert ising for a chauffeur. He had to stretch his age just a bit to be cons id ered for the job . After considerable age stretching and some good sample driving, Burt was hired by Mr. A.S . Campbell, owner of the Company, as his personal chauffeur. Dick en joyed th is position whic h he held for three and a half years. Mr. Burt remembers Mr. Campbel l as a pleasant man w ith one bad habit that was cured during a trip from Mr. Campbe ll 's home in Duxbury to a business appo in tment in East Boston. Mr . Campbe ll had the bad habit of g ivin g directions at the last moment. Burt wou ld be driving along when sudden ly Mr. Campbe ll would order, "Right here ." This usually meant that Burt would have to pass the street or road where he sho uld h ave turned, if he we re expected to make a safe maneuver. Burt wou ld then turn the car around to the other direction and make the turn requested by Campbe ll. Dick decided something had to be done about this bad habit. On the way hom e from East Boston, Mr. Campbe ll ordered another quick stop. Burt slammed on the brakes. Mr. Campbel l ended up in the front seat under the instrument panel whi le the car end ed up directly opposite a vegetab le stand. Altho ugh Burt received some "hot words" from his boss, Mr. Campbel l never again gave last minute directions. "He was alw ays careful to give advance notice from that day on!" said Burt. Young Burt's job ended sudd enly in South America. just three days out of Rio, Mr. Campbell died suddenly. Campbell was traveling with his chauffeur by ship. He had had the car shipped and intended to make severa l business contacts in Brazil. Mr. Campbell's sudden death left Burt in Rio once again, job hunting. The American Consulate was helpful in finding him a position w ith the Brazilian Air Ministry as a chauffeur again. There was one catch; he had to
Mr. Burt working with art student, Vance Katker.
provide the car, and cars were not inexpensive in South America. T hi s problem didn't stop young Burt who was now twenty. He purchased Mr. Campbe ll 's car and leased it to the Air Ministry and continued on as a chauffeur. He was in Brazil on ly a short time when he became aware th at he must reg ister for the draft. He returned home in the spring of 1940 and a few short months later, in November of 1940, was drafted. Dick Burt began his army training at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. He e nd ed up in the infantry, as a foot sold ier, and was then sent to Fort Benning, Georg ia w here he took the OCS tests. After the tests, he began his pre-OCS tra ining and to quote Burt, "I washed out, but whi le in the process of being washed out, I received 18 months of 'bad time'." Mr. Burt says that he next "was volunteered to_ .the Army Air Force." No , he didn't vo lun teer; he :Vas vo lun teered. According to Burt, "Th is is when the Army's cho ice be co mes yours, whether you like it or not!" He was trained as an aeria l gunner.
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Cardigan's new Sno-Cat - See page 4.
Burt - Continued
tion and pleasure he rece ives in performing the ki nd of endeavors he enjoys. He is now a ta lented artist and takes his art on tour qui te often, holding many one-man shows t h ro ug hout the Northeast. Burt's impressive exhibits have been show n at Plymouth State Co llege, the Copley Society in Boston, Rutland, Ve rm ont's Chaffee Museum, the Hanover Gall ery and the Newport Art Center. He received the 1965 "Critics Award" from the Cop ley Society and num erous other art assoc iat ion awards. Mr. Burt also is a past president of the New Hampshire Art Education Association. His paintings are becoming we ll know n and many respected art critics see Mr. Burt's career on ly beginning. One can on ly wo nd er if one's varied exper iences have a great deal to do with the development of artist ic talents.
Burt says that after his training, he was sent_to the Aleutian Islands where he flew more missions than he cou ld co unt, most of t hese being over the eastern islands of Japan. He sa id the only "close calls" were due to weather. T hey wou ld leave during fine weat her condit ions and return to the base o n Attu to face 120 to 140 mph headwinds. Burt flew missions in the B-26 and 8-17 a nd said that they se ld om drew enemy fire during these missions. His assign ment continued in the A leutia ns until t he e nd of the war. To sum up Mr. Burt's Army career - he held the rank of buck private to staff sergeant during his stay. He was busted four times and ended as a corporal. When asked what seemed to be hi s main problem whi le in the Army, he said, _" I had difficulty getti ng from town to the base w ithout losing my stripes." He d idn 't go into detail. He then added, "Naturall y, I didn't choose the serv ice for my lifetime career!" -He was discharged January 28, 1946. Dick Bu rt was nearly twenty-six when he returned to his home in Vermont. He began work ing for t he Vermo nt Copper Company shortly after his return . He did "hand mucki ng" (a pick and sho vel job), operated a mine scraper and worked a mine sk ip . His last job for this company was on t he "dynamite crew", workin g t h·e night shift. While work in g for Vermont Coppe r, he met and married Mary Emerson, who is presently his w ife Mary Emerson Burt. He left his Vermont job after about a year of service . Dick had always had an interest in art. Wh il e in hi gh sc hool, the interest was there, but the program wasn't. In the serv ice, especially during a war, he certa inl y found it impossib le to pursue an art career. Finall y in September of 1947 he was ab le to deve lop his area of interest. He entered the Vesper George School of Art in Boston and he and his wife moved to the city; the sc hool's schedu le was too demanding for him to commute from Vermo nt . Dick graduated late in 1949. Mr. Burt's first job as an artist was .at Vincent-Edward's Advertising where he stayed o nl y three and a half weeks. Burt sa id that it took him that long to determine a n art ist had a limited future w ith them. His next art position was with Baird, Browning a nd Patcher Advertis in g of Boston. While there he produced technical illustrat ions for trade magazine accounts. In 1951, Burt became se lf-emp loyed as a free lance art ist. He did many illu strations for e lectro ni c compani es su ch as Sylvania and Raytheon. He also did a great deal of work for a patent attorney. It should be mentioned here that, during the period Burt was self-emp loyed, he did decide to comp lete his high schoo l studies on a part time basis. He finished these stud ies at a Fram ingh am, Massachu setts high schoo l in 1951 at the age of thirty-one. In 1953 the Burts moved back to Vermont where Dick continued producing illustrations for his Boston accou nts. He finished hi s full -t im e free lance work in 1960 when he decided to go to co ll ege. He e ntered Plymo uth State Co ll ege in Plymouth, New Hampshire in 1960. He did ri"art-time free la nce illu strations w hil e at co ll ege; the money earned from this work helped finance hi s college studies. Mr. Burt received his art education degree in 1965. His first year of teaching took place at Cardigan Mountain Schoo l whi le he was sti ll a senior at Plymouth. At CMS he taught art c lasses each Saturday. His cadet teaching was done in Hanover, New Hampshire. Bur t began full t ime teac h ing in the fal l of 1965 in New Hampsh ire at the Lebanon High School where he stayed for six years. For four of the six years he was art coordinator for the entire Lebanon School District. In 1970 Dick Bu rt became interested in a new masters program at Dartmouth Co ll ege. He entered t he Master of Arts in Liberal Stud ies (M .A.L.S .) program the summer of 1970 and studied three summers. He comp leted hi s stud ies in August of 1972. In the fa ll of 1970, Mr. Burt accepted the position of Art Director at Cardigan Mountain Schoo l and has been t here since. He not on ly teac hes art at Cardigan but also has a lot to do w ith the in creased adult interest in various forms of art. It shou ld be mentioned that Dick did work for New Hampshire's present Governor, Meldrim Thomson. He illustrated several books for the Governor's publishing firm in Orford. Three of these books ca n be found in the Cardigan Library. These are: Stories of Old New Hampshire, Doris Piper, Old Number Four, George S. Putnam and Up and Down New Hampshire, Lilian Ba il ey. R. Alden Burt has accomp lish ed a great deal since the beginning of his art career in 1949. His biggest accomrl ishment is the satisfac-
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Saxtons River, Vt., Feb. 16 - Th ree former teammates on the Card igan Mountain hockey team are continuing their teamwork on the Vermont Academy varsity team at Saxto ns River, Vt. Above L. to R.: William H. Barrett, II of Far Hills, N.J., Stuart Eisenkraft, Farmingdale, L.I., N.Y., and Michael Choukas, Saxtons River, Vt.
Annual Fund Increased Over Last Year Annual Giving Report
At our Ann ual Parents' Weeke nd o ur Fund C h airm an, John Tower was able to a nno u nce a grat ifying in crease in donations over last year. We think t hi s is a remarkable ac hi evement and most encouraging as we now face the in creas in gly difficult job of gett in g those last tough dollars to reach our final goal. · The figures are as fo ll ows: Donors in 1971-72 1972-73
·DOLLAR CATEGORY 000 249 250 299 300- 599 600 - 2,499 2,500 - 4,999 5,000 - 9,999
Amount in 1971-72 1972-73
16 10 1 2
7,653 2,250 5,265 7,447 2,500 21,000
8,196 1,250 6,158 11,400. 2,500 · 15,500 8,600 p ledges*
173
46, 11 5
53,604
141 9 14 7 1 4
140
176
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In terms of dollar vo lu me we are approximately 16.2% ah e ad of last year. CATEGORY
AL UMNI
CURRENT PARENTS
PAST · PARENTS
$ Volume
1,021 33
24,888 53
3.,511 57
#Donors
2
TRUSTEES & INCORPORATORS
FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
14,275 18
2,168 13
Cardigan Receives $127,500 Gift The Trustees of Cardigan Mountain School announced recently a gift from Mr. DeWitt Wallace of $127,500 to increase the Readers' Digest Endowed Scholarship Fund at Cardigan. Under the terms of the endowment gift from Mr. Wallace, the School will receive $10,000 each year through 1982 with annual grants supplementing endowment income so that $5,000 will be available each year for scholarship awards. This is the second gift from Mr. Wallace who p~e- . viously contributed $30,000 to establish this scholar~hip fund. Mr. Wallace's gift brings to $560,000 the total given and pledged to Cardigan's Quarter Century Fund. The Fund drive, still in its preliminary stage, has a goal of $2,750,000 for increased endowment and necessary plant improvements.
Eloise Fahrner showing her home craft display.
Faculty Wife Named "Craftsman Of The Month" Bob Fahrner, chairman of Cardigan's English Department, points with pride to his wife, Eloise, who has been named "Craftsman of the Month" for April 1973. Mrs. Fahrner was notified early of her selection so she might have time to prepare a complete display which will be shown during the entire month of April at The League of Arts and Crafts Shop in Hanover, N.H. Eloise makes a variety of craft items. In April she will be exhibiting crocheting, macrame, needlework and handdecorated driftwood, plus many other items too numerous to mention . Mrs. Fahrner maintains a small shop at the Fahrner House located in the center of Canaan on Canaan Street Road. The shop is cleverly named - "The FAH Rcor-NE R ". She also has stock in five shops in the HanoverLebanon-Wh ite River area. Eloise had little craft education . She is a registered nurse, "Not practicing!" - to quote her directly. She received her high school education at Joliet Township High School in Joliet, Illinois and attended Valparaiso University in Indiana as a sociology major. After college she attended and graduated from the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, 1llinois. She worked several years as a nurse in California and Illinois. When Eloise and family arrived in New Hampshire nearly seven years ago, she found herself no longer interested in nursing. She wanted to be a good housewife and mother. Her interest in crafts started long ago when she "made things" for her family and friends, but she didn't become a serious craftsman until four years ago when she found the ti me to pursue her interest. Mrs. Fahrner is now an established craftsman and finds her many evening hours working on craft projects enjoyable and relaxing. She has encountered a problem recently which she never expected to face . Eloise has a difficult time keeping up with the orders she receives weekly. When asked if this new pressure was now making craft work less enjoyable, she answered, "Each order is a compliment; how can I not enjoy that?" Cardigan congratulates Eloise Fahrner, "Craftsman of the Month of April", and we're proud to claim her as a member of the Cardigan Family.
Once Over Lightly ... We'll have to backtrack a bit to catch up on some lessthan-current items of interest at CMS, al I the way back to early January when The Sauna caught fire one evening. After heroic attempts doused the flames, this year's safety commissioner has finally appointed an official list of fire drills for the edifice; Mr. Rich is listed as Drill Master. During a recent vacation, two of our more constructive science faculty members did a bit of room dividing in the downstairs of Hopkins Hall. Mr. Blunt and Mr. Crowell built a permanent wall to more effectively separate one unit from the other two rooms. It also screens out the whistles and squeaks from the one permanent resident of the middle science room, the Guinea Pig, "A.J ." Speaking of science, that department fel I short of expectations one Saturday night recently when the scheduled Saturday movie failed to arrive. Not even the usual standby . "Hemo the Magnificent" was on hand to fill in the gap . Other construction on campus has finally resulted in new quarters for Mrs. Coes' nursery school. A large room in the Howe House has been attractively converted for little people use. It's a welcome switch from the bottom of Clark-Morgan . See page 4 for pictures. As those who attended are aware, Parents' Weekend went off without a hitch, except for an ice storm and a lack of snow for sculpture decorations. Parents are a hardy lot, however, and those who managed to surmount the weather obstacles made all our efforts worth while. An outgrowth of the faculty arts and crafts e~hibit is evidenced by the number of boys toting sheepskins ar_ound. Mr. Marschard's avocation hit a responsive note . with numerous do-it-yourselfers and we expect to see sheepskin vests, boots, and jackets being worn with pride one of these last few snowy weekends. The snack bar in Hinman has turned into a very profitable venture for the School Council. Most popular itei;ns are hot sandwiches but nothing is really a dud when it comes to food. Continued on page 4
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Once Over Lightly - Continued ./
· The annual winter trek up Cardigan was accomplished at January's end. Mr. Heath and Mrs. Coes led an intrepid band of seven mountaineers up to the ice-covered summit and then determined that sledless sliding was the best method to the base. Two very entertaining young men from St. Lawrence University gave informal folk guitar concerts in ClarkMorgan not so long ago. Ricky Halterman and Jamie Hutchinson gave a very personali zed performance to the audience and thanks are dde to Mr. and Mrs. Crowell for arranging that the duo make a stopover here. Another first for Cardigan : a plant auction. Jim Douglass of French_dormitory, has since summer school been nurturing a veritable jungle of various leafy growths in his room. No doubt Jim yearns for the flora of his Florida environs but he discovered he was being crowded in, or out, by mid-winter. Something had to give and Jim made it pay. He was $ 30 richer and could see desk tops again in one afternoon's work. He reports he now has lots of room to start raising all the new plant slips he has since fal len heir to. Post-Christmas activity brought the Hinman Hill into more prominence than it's had in a long time. A luge run was constructed by Mr. Baldwin during proper slushy conditions and the area has since been the scene of much between-hour activity. Rumor has it that one stalwart even skipped Work Detai l in favor of the luge lure. Art students recently visited galleries in Hopkins Center under the supervision of Mr. Burt. Another fie ld trio in the other direction was taken by Mr. Randall and the 9 1 English class, who visited Lamson Library at Plymouth. After Mr. Finkbeiner starred in the local fall production of "Plaza Suite," presented by the Canaan Players, we are waiting with baited breath his performance in the spring production of "Cactus Flower." Mrs. Coes is also featured in the play; Mr. Rearick is its director. The Players can't seem to get too much of a good thing. The Polish professor on campus has graciously permitted us to close with the reminder of the Polish Olympic star who had his gold medals bronzed.
"Little People" At New Howe House Nursery
Cardigan Has New Sno-Cat Cardigan Mountain School skiers are especially happy. It seems ski enthusiasts no longer have to pack the slopes the hard way. The school now has a Sno-Cat for packing and grooming the CMS ski areas. Now almost all packing is being completed by machine. A much quicker, better grooming job is done by the Sno-Cat and the students arrive at the slopes happy that they don't have to spend hours packing with their skis. Proceeds for the purchase of the new equipment came as a direct result of the Annual Giving Fund. Cardigan thanks everyone who donated to the Annual Fund for this fine piece of equipment.
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A New House_ - Gift To · Cardigan
Headmaster and Wife Tour United States
A new house will appear soon on the Cardigan Campus due to the generosity of a friend. Early this spring, ground will be broken for a home, expected to house a faculty family and eight boys. The residence, to be called the Greenwood House, will be located near Clancy Mountain and a distance behind Stowell House. The structure should be completed in time for the opening of the 1973-74 school year. Cardigan hopes to build more such houses in the future . and use present dormitories for· other purposes. Future plans also call for the expansion of present four-unit houses to eight. It has been found that a home-like atmosphere ·is better achieved when students reside in homes -rather than dormitories. They are within close proximity of a facu lty family which results in a better atmosphere, more conducive to better living.
Mr. and Mrs. Norman C. Wakely left February 5th on an extended one-month trip throughout the United States. The main purpose of their journey was to spread the word about Cardigan. The Wakelys worked in conjunction with two groups "The CMS National Enrollment Parents" and other Cardigan parents and friends who. hosted receptions which' Mr. and Mrs. Wakely attended. Besides attending these receptions, Mr. Wakely also met with educators, prospective parents, guidance counselors and educational consultants in all parts of the country . The month of travel was a busy one. The Wakelys visited Cleveland, Louisville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Dallas, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Coral Gables (Miami}, Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota, and Atlanta, followed by three days at the annual national meetings of N.A.I.S. (Nat'I Assoc of Independent Schools} in Washington, D.C., March 1st-3rd.
Trustees' Long Range
Alumni Notes
Planning Committee Reports The Trustees' Long Range Planning Committee of Cardigan Mountain School released the results of their questionnaire at the October Trustees' Meeting. Questionnaires were distributed to parents, faculty , students and alumni. Questions were asked regarding a variety of topics pertinent to the successful improvement and growth of the school. The results were not startling but were very helpful to the Long Range Planning Committee. Most parents, facu lty, alumni and students felt, to varying degrees, Cardigan should continue its traditional education approach. They felt that the school should not change its structured program. Most wanted to see progressive education at Cardigan, but it was generally felt that a cautious, careful forward movement was wise. Rapid change was, on the most part, believed to be unwise. The physical plant was of considerable concern to all responding to the questionnaire . It was felt that large dormitories are not as desirable as houses which accommodate smaller groups of students. The faculty thought more had to be done to insure privacy for the faculty families. It was suggested that improvements be made, in particular, to faculty dormitory apartments. A new gymnasium had a high priority to those responding. Of equal concern was a larger, improved library and more classroom space.
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'63
JOHN and JOAN ODDY are now owners and managers of the Greenville Inn on Moosehead Lake in Greenville, Maine. John says the surroundings remind him of Canaan . The Inn offers family style meals, just minutes from Squaw Mountain. Sounds great.
Mr. and Mrs. TERRY BAKER announce that Smantha, born 12-17-72 is tiny , blond and beautiful. Terry still in the Navy is in Argentia, Newfoundland.
'57 CHARLES I. KAPLAN is now a partner in the law firm of Moor and Kaplan.
'64 WALTER TRACY NOONAN is in the A ir Force in Holland.
'65 '59 Born to Mr. and Mrs. RONALD S . DUDLEY on Friday, November 3, 1972 a girl, Hether Elizabeth , 6 lbs. and 12 oz.
'60 BETSY and JAMES E. CALLEL MAN have moved to a lovely o ld house in Natick, MA and he is working in Framingham for Homer K. Dodge Assoc., planning consultants, Registered Landscape Architects and Engineers.
'61
Some general observations : Academics is first class at CMS. Teachers are qua_lified and effe.;tive. In-service continuing teacher education is needed. School spirit could improve.
KARL J. BORDEN was awarded a Masters in Education from the University of Massachusetts, and is now working on a Doctorate in Education. He and Sandy have a new son born August 1 0, 1972, Jason Reid.
The Long Range Planning Committee is currently using the data received to plan for Cardigan's future. 5
While still a day student at Suffolk Law School, Boston, JOHN PEARSON "Jock" is also .a legal assistant for Pearson & Pearson, Patent Lawyers, Lowell, Mass., a direct.o r of Butler Co-operative Bank, and a Trustee of the Battles Home.
'67 TODD THOMPSON is engaged to Miss Mary Elizabeth Glasson of Scotia, NY. Both are juniors at St. Lawrence University, where Todd is majoring in English. They plan a summer 1973 wedding. STEPHEN DECATUR AUSTIN is attending the University of Guam nights, majoring in Criminology.
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Do you know of any news that you'd like to share with our readers? If so, please jot your item in the space provided below and send to: Cardigan Newsletter Cardigan Mountain School Canaan, N.H. 03741
'68 SAM DULMAGE is serving in the Mediterranean, as a radarman on the destroyer U.S.S. Lu ce. He has visited Rome, Athens, Naples and Crete as well as severa l Turkish ports. He expects to dock at his home base, Newport, R.I. Dec. 20, 1972.
'69 Bl LL ASPINWALL grad u ated from Salisbury School in '72 w here he was Captain of the ice hockey team. He is now attending Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois where he expects to try out for the ice hockey team .
'71 During a recent visit we learned that MICHAEL GORDON is doing wel l at West Orange High, is in ski races in New Jersey, and eventually would like to get into politics on the National level. BILL AUSTIN is presently going to Dover-Sherborn Regional High School. He plans to work this summer at the New England Aquarium in Boston. This interests him as a future career.
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