CARDIGAN MT. SCHOOL
Dartmouth Men Have Major Hand in New Enterprise
DARTMOUTH ALUMNI are playing a prominent part in the creation and development of Cardigan Mountain School, in Canaan, New Hampshire. This new school for young boys was incorporated June 9, 1945 and will open its doors in September of this year. In December 1944 Harold P. Hinman 'lO and William R. Brewster 'lB conceived the idea of such a school and immediately consulted Ernest Martin Hopkins 'Ol, who enthusiastically became closely associated with the project at its inception. Since then he has given generously of his advice and time and more recently has been active in selecting the members of the School Corporation.
In addition to the predominance of alumni who are active in the creation and development of Cardigan Mountain School, there is an interesting Dartmouth background to this whole program.
The property where the school will be located was once owned by Rudolf Haffenreffer. In 1939, his son, Theodore, gave all the buildings and about 1200 acres of land to the College. In 1945 the school purchased the big mansion, the farm buildings, the old mill, and over 100 acres of land from the College. Four grandsons of Rudolf Haffenreffer are Dartmouth men"Pete" '25, Carl '3O, John '44, and Robert '45.
During the recent pre-war years the Thayer School of Civil Engineering used the big mansion as its summer school, and one of the stipulations in the purchase of this property by the school permits the Thayer School to reserve the privilege of again using this mansion as a summer school in yeirs to come in case it seems advisable.
The Cardigan Mountain School represents a great headmaster's dream about to come true. Mr. Brewster, who has achieved marked success during the past decade as headmaster of Kimball Union Academy, in Meriden, New Hampshire, has long felt that for boys between eleven and fourteen there is a definite need that reading, writing, and arithmetic return to their rightful place as the cornerstone to an education. In these days of centralized and conventional schooling he realizes that it is difficult to permit the tradition of the "barefoot boy with cheek of tan" to follow along, in its proper place.
The Cardigan Mountain School was founded with two main objects: "To provide nonsectarian instruction for boys in literature, arts, sciences, and all manner of learning; to promote the spiritual, mental and physical welfare of its students." The school is established, maintained and operated without pecuniary profit to stockholders, trustees or officers of the corporation. One of the primary objectives of the trustees this spring is to create an endowment fund through public subscription.
The location is on a point of land embracing around 100 acres on the eastern shore of beautiful Canaan Street Lake at what is familiarly known as Canaan Street, three miles from Canaan. From the existing 29-room mansion there is a sweeping view of the Green Mountains, New Hampshire hills, and Mount Cardigan. Thus the apparent isolation coupled with the proximity to Hanover with its many facilities makes an ideal location for Cardigan Mountain School.
A set of farm buildings, an old mill complete with water wheel, forge and some woodworking machinery will permit of a well-rounded education in other than strictly academic subjects. The farm will be stocked with poultry and registered cattle, and as the school will operate throughout the year it will be possible with student help to raise much of the vegetable produce.
The athletic program will be lacking in formal emphasis but there will be enough baseball, basketball and football to develop skill and coordination. The Trustees feel that there is an age or stage of development below which competitive sports do more harm than good. The farm program will provide outlets for energy and demonstrate many of the laws of nature. The Lake will lend itself to recreation: it is large enough for sailing, crystal clear for swimming, and the bass, perch, and pickerel await summer and winter to match wits with youth. The school grounds provide slopes for skiing and tobogganing, with steeper trails close by for greater thrills. Winter sports will be emphasized. All inclusive tuition will be SI,OOO with a proportionately lower fee for the shorter summer camp-school period.
J. F. Larson, well-known college architect, is one of the trustees. He has designed the buildings. The accompanying illustrations indicate his conception of the completed school. Development plans call for building two fireproof dormitories this summer, each to house 24 boys and certain of the masters and their families.
The school headquarters were established in Canaan last November and all administrative development plans are being coordinated by Robert L. McMillan '23, whom the trustees appointed as Managing Director of the school.
The Trustees of the School are: William Russell Brewster 'lB, Headmaster, Meriden, N. H.; Harold Purnam Hinman 'lO, President, Canaan Street, N. H.; Robert Carl Hopkins 'l4, Vice President, Darien, Conn.; Sidney Chandler Hayward '26, Secretary, Hanover, N. H.; James Franklin Woods '33, Treasurer, Winchester, Mass.; James Cochrane Campbell, Rumford, R. I.; John Edward Foster '23, Montclair, N. J.; John Bodge Kenerson '2B, Wellesley Hills, Mass.; and Jens Fredrick Larson '2Bh, New York City.
The additional members of the Corporation are: Ernest Martin Hopkins 'Ol, President-Emeritus, Dartmouth College; Philip Ray Allen, retired manufacturer, formerly President, Bird & Son, Inc.; Ralph Edward Flanders '32k, Chairman of the Board, Jones & Lamson Machine Company; Edward Sanborn French 'O6, President, Boston and Maine Railroad; John Holmes Hinman 'OB, President, International Paper Company; Edward Kilburn Robinson 'O3, Treasurer, Ginn and Company; Harold Walter Stoke, President, University of New Hampshire; and Arthur Ashley Williams, President, Graton and Knight Company.
CARILLON TOWER AND STUDENT DORMITORIES OF THE PROPOSED PLANS FOR NEW SCHOOL
ARCHITECT'S CONCEPTION of what the new Cardigan Mountain School at Canaan, N. H., will look like when completed on a point of land on the eastern shore of Canaan Street Lake. J. Fredrick Larson, Dartmouth College architect, has drawn the plans for the school for young boys.
