From the Archives

At first glance, this image seems like an average Northwood School photo from a bygone era. The entire student body (all boys at that time) lined up on the field in front of Main posed for a panoramic shot. There are similar panoramics in the archives, however, this particular image stands out for one curious reason. Take note of the young man wearing round glasses in the light suit 6th from the left. But wait. Scan the photo and see him there again on the far right!

For many years, this framed photo hung in the Head of School’s office under Ed Good’s tenure, and it was a conversation piece with people attempting to figure it out. Seeing the penmanship written below identify and reveal the same last name, one might conclude it was a set of twins, but this was not the case. Who was this young man then, and how did he manage to be in two places at once?

Our mystery was solved for good when we interviewed Lew Allyn ’57 for the Allyn Legacy Family article featured in the last issue of this magazine. We learned that the man who appears in this photo twice was none other than Tom Leavenworth ’28. (Lew’s father William “Bill” Allyn ’28 was friends with Tom. From Northwood on they were best buddies. In fact, Tom was responsible for introducing Bill to the woman he would one day marry and who would become Lew’s mother - talk about the power of Northwood connections!)

Lew said, “To give you a sense of Tom Leavenworth’s character, there’s this panoramic photograph of the school back then with all the students lined up in front. You’ll see Tom at one end of the group. Then, because he ran behind the photographer and made it to the other end of the group, he appears in the photograph twice — at both ends of the group.”

Clever. While Tom certainly wasn’t the first person in the history of photography to pull that stunt, he was, like any modern Northwood student, taking advantage of the current technology. Smartphones have since made panoramic photos simple and commonplace now, but back in the 1920s it would have required a specialty camera. The most likely suspect was the Cirkut camera produced by the Folmer & Schwing Division, Eastman Kodak Co. According to the Smithsonian Institute’s Photographic History Collection website, “Cirkut cameras were made from the early 1900’s and were popular with panoramic photographers, especially for photographing large groups of people.”

To make panoramas possible, these cameras “used a gear mechanism to rotate the camera body around the optical center of the lens while pulling the film past a slit behind the lens.” This rotation would have allowed our Tom Leavenworth the time to make his mad dash, arching around the photographer to the other end of the line with enough time left to smooth his hair and assume a different pose, hand tucked inside his jacket.

You can just imagine Tom’s schoolmates watching his antics while trying to remain as still as can be for the camera in front of them. It had to be a nearly impossible task, especially when the 1928 Epitome yearbook describes Tom as such: “His flashing wit and ready humor have turned many a dull gathering into one of wild, hilarious laughter.”

When you support the Northwood Fund, you are investing in the next generation. You are leading Northwood students to the top, walking alongside them and supporting them on their journey to adulthood. Become a steward today and help us all Climb Higher Together.

Ways to give:

P Online www.northwoodschool.org

P Recurring monthly gifts of any size online*

P Mail in the enclosed envelope

P Gifts of appreciated securities

*

A SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR YOUNG ALUMNI TEN YEARS OUT OR LESS:

Did you know we have a GOLD giving level within our 1905 Society?

Graduates of the last decade can become a member of the 1905 Society with a gift of $100 (alumni 1-5 years out or $250 (alumni 6-10 years out).