Middle School building turns 60

Set in Stone: Alumni celebrate 75 years of Senior Stones

B Y SEAN VALENTINE Director of Stewardship & Donor Relations

AN d mo LLY m c g ILL (former) Director of Alumni Relations

Wilbraham & Monson Academy is a place of many traditions.

Obvious perhaps, as an institution with nearly 220 years of history is going to have more than a few, and most of these will go unnoticed to anyone not connected to the school community. But take a stroll through campus and one very unique tradition will be immediately apparent: the Senior Wall.

Few other schools do anything quite like our tradition of Senior Stones. And 75 years after the first stones were laid, they have become a defining feature of campus and, in the words of former Headmaster Mike Casey, “a recreation of the sociopolitical history of the United States.”

The Wilbraham Academy Class of 1947, at the suggestion of Headmaster Charles Stevens, voted to introduce the tradition of a Senior Wall to campus so “future alumni will have a very tangible reminder of their school days every time they return to Wilbraham.”

The concept was not entirely new here. The foundation of Fisk Hall bears engraved stones dating back to the 19th century, but that tradition featured a single stone (professionally

carved) representing an entire class and had been unevenly enacted throughout the years.

The new Senior Wall was made from stones representing each graduating senior and carved by the student. The wall started across the street from Mr. Stevens’ house (now Admission/Morrow House at the corner of Main and Faculty streets) and proceeds up the hill toward Old Academy, flanking an existing walkway.

The wall was made of brick, with the student stones providing a decorative cap. And so, a few weeks before graduation, sandstone blocks, hammers and chisels, and basic carving instructions were provided. A space beside the old wooden track adjacent to the Old Gym (now Smith Hall) was turned into a quarry of sorts, and the seniors set to work.

“It was kind of fun, and luckily the stone was soft,” Eric Pucher ’47W remembered. “I don’t recall soaking

the stones in the Rubicon, but I suppose some guys might have tried it.”

An article from that time states that “just as long as everyone’s name is present in his respective stone, then the class will be satisfied.”

Some students, though, experienced a healthy dose of anxiety over their charge.

“When it comes to doing things with your hands, I’m a zero,” Ed Sack ’47W said. “I had many sleepless nights thinking about how to do it.”

Despite the stone’s resistance and the rudimentary methods, most of the 77 members of the first class were able to carve their initials, a simple word or icon into their stone.

Keith Martin ’47W, President of the Senior Class and proponent of the project, received the honor of having his stone be first atop the new wall. However, the Class of 1947 neither placed their stones on the wall nor carried them as part of Commencement, which are staples of today’s ceremony.

“We created our stones and left them there,” Mr. Sack said. “And I don’t remember what happened next.”

Mr. Pucher agreed, recalling that the stones played no part in the graduation festivities and were left on campus to be installed later. Perhaps there simply wasn’t time to have the supporting brick wall built prior to graduation. Whatever the reason, many in the Class of ’47 did not see their stone in place until years or decades later.

Their tradition stuck though, with each successive class adding to

“All you could hear during spring term was the hammer-to-chisel of each senior to their stones.

Your efforts at school culminated in a memento to a time well-spent with friends and teachers.”

Sakapan “Sak” Eamegdool ’72

“I visit the Academy about every 10 years, and the first thing that I do when I am on the campus is to go and check on my stone. That moment always takes me back to my years there.”

Dean Redfern ’72

“It’s a stone that I’ll be able to see for years to come, and it will still mean what it meant to me back in 2010.”

Steve Marcus ’10

Future alumni will have a very tangible reminder of their school days every time they return to Wilbraham.”

“I love returning with my classmates and finding our stones, sitting on our wall and laughing about our time at WMA. It also is a way to remember our friends and family who have passed.”

Jerilyn (Jacobs) Paolino ’83

the Senior Wall as it snaked its way ever farther into and around campus. For roughly a decade not much changed with the process. Stones were cut by hand. Designs stayed simple. But as the years passed and the Academy changed, so did the Senior Wall. The late 1950s saw some students begin to make use of professional stone carvers.

“I don’t know how we found the guy,” recalled Doug Mulcahy ’58W, who was one early adopter. “Someone with local knowledge must have put us in touch.”

Professional carvers allowed for more precise cuts and thus more intricate designs. It also meant deeper engravings to better withstand the effects of wind, rain and snow.

messages flowing through two or more stones in sequence.

• Late 19th century classes of then-named Wesleyan Academy are represented on the foundation of Fisk Hall.

“Saem Chun ’97 drew the frog on my stone and I drew the sun, my name and the dates. It is such a beautiful tradition!”

Natalie (Holuk) Metzger ’96

Roger Thurston (Faculty, 1951 1956) recalls that during his time the stones were placed along the wall as part of Senior Day and not graduation. But by the early 1960s, carrying one’s stone to its final location along the Senior Wall had become part of the Commencement program.

Richard Taylor ’62W recalled, “We lined up, in alphabetic order or by height I think, before placing the stones into position.”

Beginning with the Class of 2020, the stones have been placed on a recently constructed wall along Faculty Street at Corbin Fields and heading west from the Athletic Center.

According to Director of Facilities Chris Reed, “The plan is to continue extending the wall down Faculty Street (away from campus), which will provide placement space for many years of senior class stones.”

walking their stones all the way down Faculty Street, the seniors now place them (temporarily) in order along the low portico wall at the front of Rich Hall following the Commencement processional.

it’S never too late Stones can be placed into the wall for those alumni who did not elect to create one during their graduation year. Please contact the Office of Advancement for more information.

Following the merger of Wilbraham and Monson academies in the early 1970s, the ringing of the Monson Bell was added to the Commencement program in addition to the stones. The processional route also went through different variations as the campus changed, notably with the addition of the Senior Bridge (a gift of the Wilbraham Class of 1964) and the LaBrecque Academic Gate (a gift of the Monson Class of 1961).

At some point, students were allowed to decide the order of placement of their stones, giving them the chance to pick which classmate to “spend eternity” next to. This, coupled with the almost universal use of professional carving, created a rise in jointly designed stones, with creative patterns and

Stones are heavy (as much as 20 pounds), as any graduate can attest, and the distance from Broad Walk to the new section of the Senior Wall has bred its own update into the tradition. Rather than

There are approximately 6,000 stones in place as of 2022. Each one is unique. Follow the wall and one will see carvings of flowers, flags, vehicles, religious and cultural symbols, sports equipment, food, animals of all kinds and many languages represented.

The wall has seen celebrations, memorials, protests and proposals. It is a place to cram before a test, engage in discussion or simply rest with one’s thoughts. More often than not, it is the first place alumni go when returning to campus, wanting to see the symbol of their successful WMA experience.

What does the future hold for this tradition?

Perhaps it’s using equipment in the iLab to carve stones in house, introducing different materials or the inclusion of elements that interact with mobile devices. Whatever the next 75 years have in store, one thing is certain: the Senior Wall will continue to reflect the personality of the students, the nature of the times and the continuity of shared alumni experience.

Class of 2097, your wall awaits!

The plan is to continue extending the wall down Faculty Street (away from campus), which will provide placement space for many years of senior class stones.”

Stones Remain Special

Upon reflection, I feel that my Senior Stone had more significance and meant more to me when I returned to WMA to become a faculty member.

I was certainly intrigued by the whole process of “creating” my stone back in the spring of 1979. Due to my great interest in history, I was also drawn to the historical legacy of the stone tradition. I was also becoming more aware of the Academy’s history at the time and so that drew my interest.

During that era, many students still carved their own design in their stone using a hammer and a chisel. To soften up the stone, they would put the stone in the Rubicon so that it would soak up the water and

become softer/easier to carve. I can remember walking to class and seeing stones in the Rubicon just below the water’s surface. You would also hear the tapping of the hammer and chisel in the afternoon or at night as students worked on their designs. I chose to have mine done professionally. I am not sure exactly why I made that choice, but probably because I knew how much time it took to do it on your own.

I also remember my mother questioning why I felt the need to put “NICK” on the stone below my “DON NICHOLSON.” She did not always like me using my nickname rather than my formal name, although all of my friends and some of my coaches called me “Nick.”

history

Headmaster Mike Casey always called me Donald, even when I was a faculty member. My mother loved that.

will always have a place for you’

“My stone is literally a quote from the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which was my friend groups’ favorite movie in high school ... I also have a deep, abiding regret that I didn’t put my last name on the stone.

I do remember the stone ceremony as special. We crossed the Rubicon and put our stones on the wall all together. My class has their section on the wall near the southeast corner of Winchester Field on Main Street. I do remember one of my classmates dropping his on the brick walkway and it broke apart. Over 20 years later, when I was the Development/Alumni Director, I spoke to him about it and urged him to have it replaced.

I will still occasionally cross over the Rubicon to look at my stone. It has moss on it at times, although I am not sure what that means. My special “stone memories” go beyond my own stone. Each morning, as I walk to my office in the Athletic Center, I still look at the stones lining faculty street. They continue to bring back special memories as I recall students from past years, including the senior stones of my own children, Kyle ’03 and Nicole ’03. Special memories cemented in our minds and in our school’s history.” d o N N I cho LS o N

’79 Director of Athletics & Afternoon Programs

There’s something very special about designing the stone for yourself but laying it next to your friends, along a wall of past alums, a wall where future generations will sit and talk and laugh. No matter where in the world you build your life, WMA will always have a place for you—that’s what the stones guarantee. I tell my students all the time: once you lay your stone, WMA is your forever home.”

Sommer Mahoney ’11, Faculty (History & Social Sciences)

Special memories cemented in our minds and in our school’s

‘WMA

• LEft

Sommer Mahoney ’11, left, with Don Nicholson ’79.

Senior Stone Facts

Approximate number of Senior Stones laid out on the Senior Wall across campus

× 8 × 3

IN ch ES

Dimensions of a single Senior Stone

Total length in feet of all stones, if laid end-to-end

More than a mile and equivalent to twice the height of the tallest building on earth

Stones for the Classes of 1947 through 1950 were laid facing in opposite directions on the wall. Not until 1951 did all stones start facing the same direction (which continues today).

Multiple examples exist of stones laid backwards from the rest of the class, for reasons unknown.

No class is in strict alphabetical order, though it remains unclear whether this indicates an earlier period of student choice or random placement by the masons.

The longest stretch of stones in sequential order is 1947–1965.

The decades of 1950–59, 1980–89, and 1990–99 are the only ones not split over multiple locations.

Approximate weight in pounds of each stone

Total weight of all the stones is approximately 130,000 pounds or 65 tons.

The wall under the Classes of 1995–2001 features “turtle tunnels,” arched openings at regular intervals to allow turtles to travel between the pond adjacent to the Athletic Center parking lot and a stream on the opposite side of Faculty Street.

Class of 1947 President Keith Martin laid the first stone on the wall that starts at Main Street near the corner of Winchester Field and runs up toward Old Academy.

The “last” stones (as of Oct. 1, 2022) in the order of year and placement belong to Oluwakfikayo “Fikayo” Olasunkanmi ’21 and Sofia Hurtado ’21. The current wall is located on Faculty Street, just past the Athletic Center alongside Corbin Field.

THE ART DIRECTOR’S FAVORITES OVER THE YEARS

The Senior Stones tradition is by far my favorite tradition here at WMA. It is a priceless and beautiful expression left by our graduating class to take its place among the permanent threads woven into the fabric of our community and campus. The stones are fingerprints (sometimes literally) of the student experience. Reviewing all 6,000-plus stones to choose only 75 (one representing each year) is a daunting task. Obviously, the process is highly selective, but here is the criteria I used to select my favorites: originality, personality and visual impact.