HISTORY
The Evolution of a Beloved Student Haunt
Just like its namesake, the Beebe reflects the spirit of Tabor By Eliott Grover ’06
The Beebe is such an enshrined institution that it is easy to think it has existed forever. It hasn’t. But the story of its origin and evolution demonstrates why it is such a special part of Tabor’s history and identity. Before there was the Beebe, there was “the store.” Located on
“The store forms an inseparable part of our school life,” one boy
the second floor of Hoyt Hall, the store was originally built as
wrote in a 1943 scrapbook. “A little food, after sports or evening
a trophy room in 1928 before being converted to a lounge in
study hall, in the form of a frappe, a soda, or a sundae, will be
1943. This was one of James Wickenden’s first projects as Tabor’s
remembered always as one of the high spots of a Tabor day.”
new Headmaster. For students whose lives had been upended
In old photographs, the store has the look and feel of a classic
by the outbreak of World War II, the new hangout provided a
ice cream parlor. Coca-Cola, the all-American libation enjoyed
welcome and luxurious distraction.
by wartime youth, flowed from a sparkling fountain. Student
12 TABOR TODAY | Spring 2022
