Lenox School was a private
preparatory school for boys in grades nine through twelve in
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and T ...
. The school was affiliated with the
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...
.
School history
The school opened in 1926 under the leadership of Rev. G. Gardner Monks, the school's first headmaster. His son
Robert A. G. Monks was born while he and his wife were serving the school. In 1946 the Rev. Robert L. Curry, D.D. became the second and longest serving headmaster, leaving in 1969. Over the years Lenox's enrollment ranged from 150 to 250 boys with about 32 teachers or masters. The school was modeled on the English
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
system and instead of grades to designate classes, the term 'forms' was used. Third Form referred to the freshman year through the Sixth Form for the senior year. The school used a system of 'prefects' who were members of the Sixth Form and were elected by the senior class or appointed by the headmaster.
It was primarily a residential boarding school, with some day students commuting from the surrounding region of the central
Berkshire Hills
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
. The church influence was felt through a number of Episcopal clergy faculty members, required sacred studies classes and a daily chapel service at
Trinity Episcopal Church. In addition to strong academic standards, the school was notable for its sports teams. The motto of the school was ''Non Ministrari-Sed Ministrare''; "not to be ministered unto but to minister" or more commonly translated as "not to be served but to serve".
Eventually, financial problems led to the school's closure. A 1972 merger with the
Bordentown Military Institute The Bordentown Military Institute was a private high school in Bordentown, New Jersey, United States, from 1881 to 1973.
History
The institute was created in 1881, when Reverend William Bowen (minister), William Bowen purchased the Spring Villa Fem ...
was an uncomfortable alliance between two disparate school cultures. By the following school year, the combined entity was closed, as the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
had reduced the popularity of a military education. The fate of the school was not unique among private secondary schools in the central Berkshires. By the mid-1970s neighboring
Foxhollow School,
Windsor Mountain School
The Windsor Mountain School was a private, co-ed boarding school for grades 9 through 12 located in Lenox, Massachusetts.
History
The school was established in Lenox in 1944 by German Jewish educational reformer Max Bondy and his wife Gertrud ...
, Cranwell Preparatory School (Jesuit) and
Stockbridge School had all closed. Like Lenox School, these were small boarding schools serving students from throughout the northeast and sometimes beyond, occupying campuses that were once grand estates, often referred to as '
Berkshire Cottages America's Gilded Age, the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, from 1865 to 1901 saw unprecedented economic and industrial prosperity. As a result of this prosperity, the nation's wealthiest families were able to construct monumental country ...
' by their seasonal
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...
occupants.
The core of the school's campus is now the site of
Shakespeare & Company. In spite of nearly five decades passing since the closure of Lenox School for Boys, student loyalty is reflected in an active alumni organization that produces a quarterly newsletter and convenes an annual Fall reunion in Lenox.
Notable alumni
*
Robert C. Seamans, Jr.
Robert Channing Seamans Jr. (October 30, 1918 – June 28, 2008) was an MIT professor who served as NASA Deputy Administrator and 9th United States United States Secretary of the Air Force, Secretary of the Air Force.
Birth and education
He wa ...
, Deputy Administrator of NASA during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations; Secretary of the Air Force under Richard Nixon
*
William Anthony Paddon
William Anthony Paddon, (July 10, 1914 – January 5, 1995) was a Canadian surgeon and the seventh lieutenant governor of Newfoundland from 1981 to 1986.
Born in Indian Harbour, Labrador, Newfoundland, the son of Dr. Harry Locke Paddon ( ...
, (1931) Canadian physician, author and seventh
Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador
The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the viceregal representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as w ...
*Francis G. James, Sr. (1932), professor of Irish history at Tulane University for nearly 40 years
*
Rt. Rev. William Benjamin Spofford, Jr., (1938), Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon
The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which has jurisdiction over Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains. It also includes Klickitat County, Washington. It is in Province 8. T ...
(1969-1979), Assistant Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Washington
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington is a diocese of the Episcopal Church covering Washington, D.C. and nearby counties of Maryland in the United States. With a membership of over 38,000, the diocese is led by the Bishop of Washington, Mariann ...
(1979-1984, 1990), b. 1921, d. 2013
*
Stanley Loomis
Stanley Loomis (21 December 1922 – 19 December 1972) was the author of four books on French history: ''Du Barry'' (1959), ''Paris in the Terror'' (1964), ''A Crime of Passion'' (1967), and ''The Fatal Friendship'' (1972). His books have bee ...
, (1940), author of four books on French history
*
John Allen Gable, (1961), executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association until his death
*Kirk Scharfenberg, (1961), distinguished journalist with the New York Times and the Boston Globe, 1984 Pulitzer Prize winner.
*Robert L. Crosby, (1961), Swift Boat captain in Vietnam, where he died, was a friend of presidential candidate John Kerry
*Clifton O. Dummett, (1961), professor of dentistry at LSU, helped integrate the New Orleans Yacht club, known for lectures on pediatric dentistry, deceased.
* Richard Wilhelm, (1964), hotel executive with The Waldorf Astoria, St. Regis and The Plaza Hotels in NYC, President/CEO of Interbank-Brener, Island Outpost Hotels, Trust Hotels & Resorts, EVP & GM Fairfiled Communities
* Nathaniel Benjamin, (1965), master wooden boat builder
*Lucien A. Hold, (1965), comedy-club talent booker & manager, helped discover & promote the early careers of New York comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler. Married to
Vanessa Hollingshead. Deceased 2004.
*William Homans (
Watermelon Slim
William P. Homans III, (born 1949) professionally known as "Watermelon Slim", is an American blues musician. He plays both guitar and harmonica. He is currently signed to NorthernBlues Music, based in Toronto, Ontario. Homans has also earned ba ...
), blues musician
*
William Earnshaw, Ph.D., (1968), Professor of Chromosome Dynamics at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, Institute of Cell Biology
* Oliver (Nol) Putnam
(1951) (Faculty 1960-1971), Blacksmith, forged the doors for the National Cathedral in Washington, DC and other notable works.
References
External links
Lenox School Alumni AssociationLucien Hold Memorial ''My Space'' pageSchool & alumni information with related linksA History of Lenox School and Its Campus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenox School
Defunct schools in Massachusetts
Educational institutions established in 1926
1970s disestablishments in Massachusetts
Boys' schools in the United States
Schools in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
1926 establishments in Massachusetts