BY JANET MORAN
HISTORY: FROM THE ARCHIVES
Recalling a ‘propensity for high jinks’ 6 decades later
• John Foster ’62W
S
ixty-one years ago, Wilbraham Academy was still an all boys’ school. Gray Mattern was the Head of School (1955–1971) and Fred Watts (1952–1992) would be seen roaming the halls, hoping to ward off any pranks those feisty boys might have come up with. Back then, the boys desperately wanted two things for their school: a hockey rink and a swimming pool. Cowdrey Memorial Pool was not built until 1964, and every year the boys would make an outdoor hockey rink, which was a lot of work. During this era, the outdoor hockey rink was built next to Smith Hall dormitory and later in the parking lot of the Greenhalgh Gymnasium. Alas, we still do not have a hockey rink today, but we do have both boys’ and girls’ hockey teams in the works. Richard Taylor ’62W recently visited campus, and his memories of his time here came flooding back. Mr. Taylor shared some of his fond memories with us, and we thought we should share his crazy antics with you.
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Things have changed a great deal since the early ’60s, and students today don’t seem to have quite as much imagination as did the boys in this story. In chatting with Mr. Taylor, he mentioned a few of his fellow pranksters with whom I was also able to chat, and of course more stories were spilled. Here are a few: Four boys, Mr. Taylor, Win Turner ’62W, Charles Kellogg ’62W and John Foster ’62W, all juniors at the time, lived on the first and second floors of Rich Hall. They decided to build their own swimming pool, in the first-floor bathroom no less! The boys went to the hardware store (where the Village Store and Café is now located) and bought putty and a metal bar. Then they snuck down to the basement and grabbed a door out of storage. The pool was being built in a large open space between two shower heads. The boys secured the door with the putty and bar, turned on the two shower heads and watched it slowly fill up. Before
• Charles Kellogg ’62W
Director of Archives
