’60s high jinks

Recalling a ‘propensity for high jinks’ 6 decades later

• John Foster ’62W

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

Sixty-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.

• Richard Taylor ’62W

• John Foster ’62W enjoys the makeshift “swimming pool” in a first-floor bathroom in Rich Hall in 1961. • Win Turner ’62W

long, the boys heard a loud crack. The water was spilling out from a closet on the other side of the showers. With quick thinking and much desperation, they gathered towels to stop the water from going into the dorm parent’s room. Then, moving quickly, they guided the water with brooms all the way down the hallway and swept the water out the fire escape. Someone had the smarts to take a photo of this fearless caper and put it in the yearbook that year.

Not only did the boys not get caught in the swimming pool caper, but it seemed to embolden them.

The next prank recalled by the foursome was related to “lights out at night.” The boys had a curfew each night. The lights were shut down from a central location so that students could not turn them back on until morning. Mr. Taylor and friends noticed the lights were always on in the basement. They then figured out how to hotwire the lights from the basement to their room. They did eventually get caught for that one.

Mr. Watts clearly had his eye on these boys, but that did not stop them. To remind themselves that Mr. Watts lived directly below, the boys made a sign to remind them to keep the noise down when they were up to their mischief. It read “WATTS BELOW.” Mr. Turner, who described his fellow comrades as “cut-ups with a propensity for high jinks” recalled that he could still hear Mr. Watts yelling, “What’s going on in there?”

Mr. Turner, a boarder from West Springfield, Massachusetts, had the opportunity to borrow his father’s convertible when he was away on business. Cars were not allowed on campus, so he parked the car down the street by the barber shop. Well, this was too tempting for Mr. Taylor. He recruited a fellow student who knew how to hotwire cars. They sneaked out of the dorm and off they went on an evening joy ride! They covered their tracks and successfully returned to the dorm.

Mr. Taylor and Mr. Turner had been roommates and good friends, but it seems it was Mr. Taylor who was the “king pin” for fun. One last story that Mr. Turner recalled took place during evening dinner duties. The boys took turns setting the tables for dinner. Left to their own devices, they made a game out of the chore. One would throw the plates “Frisbee-style” to the other to speed things along. In addition, the two decided to try to land the silverware up in the giant saucer-like lighting that hung from the ceiling in Lak Dining Hall. Mr. Watts was certainly kept busy with these pranksters. “Fred always seemed to know what we were up to ... but not everything,” Mr. Turner said.

From speaking with Mr. Taylor recently, I think it’s fair to say he still loves the thrill of speed and fun. In March 2022, Mr. Taylor planned to experience in-flight, G-force speeds. We will make sure to follow up with him to report on his latest adventure.

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