Category Archives: Student Life

Abner Austin, Fireman

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Henry Perry’s description of the Williston Seminary fire of March, 1857, was presented in an earlier post.  His schoolmate, Abner Ellsworth Austin, class of 1859, wrote a very different account of the event.

Abner Austin’s letter. Click to enlarge.

The Archives hold 10 letters to and from Abner Austin (1839-1918), the gift of Margaret Gardner Skinner and Warren F. Gardner.  Beyond providing wonderful detail about school life, the documents are a testament to Abner’s irrepressible nature.  Even as he is reporting the fire’s impact — the phrase “learning nothing but uglyness” seems heartbreaking — Abner is contemplating his next bit of fun.

Austin entered Williston in the fall of 1856, in the equivalent of the modern 10th grade.  As his letter suggests, he remained for only one year, then returned to his native Meriden, Connecticut.  He went to work as a butcher, then in 1871 opened a livery stable.  He became one of Meriden’s leading businessmen.

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Posted in: Campus and Building History, Student Letters, Student Life, Williston Seminary

The Great Seminary Fire

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The first Seminary building, Detail of an 1845 engraving by G. H. Throop.

Williston Seminary’s first building was the so-called “White Seminary” or “Old Sem.,” erected in 1841.  Of neoclassical design, it was built of wood — indeed, it was Samuel Williston’s penultimate wooden structure before his decision to build entirely in brick.  (His 1843 mansion, today’s Williston Homestead, was the other.)  In 1857 the White Seminary burned to the ground.  Two student letters describing the fire survive in the Archives.  That of Henry Perry ’58 is reproduced below; another very different account, by Abner Austin ’59, will appear later this summer.  The letters are remarkable not only as documents of school life but as reflections of the authors’ personalities.

Henry T. Perry (1838-1930), class of 1858, of Ashfield, Mass., went on to Williams College and Auburn Seminary.  He entered the Christian missions and spent most of the years 1866-1913 in Turkey, where he was witness to the Armenian massacres.  His biography, Against the Gates of Hell, by Gordon and Diana Severance, was published by The University Press of America in 2003.

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Posted in: Campus and Building History, Student Letters, Student Life, Williston Seminary

Northampton School for Girls — and After

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Presented at an all-school assembly, October 11, 2011
by Richard Teller ’70, Archivist

(Note: Annually, and occasionally more often, Williston Northampton students hear a presentation about our shared history.  Campus tradition has named this event “The Button Speech,” even though the subject matter rarely concerns Emily and Samuel Williston and the buttons.  Here is the 2011 Button Speech, presented with the caveat that it was intended to be read aloud to a captive audience of teenagers at an early hour.)

(Another note, June 24, 2017: A while ago it became necessary to take this post down for some minor editing.  This left the blog without a summary history of Northampton School for Girls.  Thus, the text has now been restored to the blog with only minor changes from 2011.)

A captive audience, at an early hour

Good morning. We are at a milestone in school history this fall. The Williston Northampton School is 40 years old.

“Wait a minute,” you say. “This year I actually paid attention at Convocation, and Mr. Hill definitely said it was our 171st year. And what’s all that 1841 stuff about?” And you are absolutely right. Except that was a school with a different name: Williston Seminary. Although it’s the same school. Kind of.

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Posted in: Founders, Northampton School for Girls, Student Life, Williston Northampton School

Prom Night!

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The 1914 Senior Promenade, at the Easthampton Town Hall (1914 Log)

It’s prom night — another senior class milestone.  At Williston Northampton, informal tradition has our students dressed and milling around the quad an hour or more before they need to leave for the event.  Being seen is essential.  I know one parent who is driving considerable distance just to view her son in a tux.  Some of us middle aged types are content simply to marvel at how well our kids clean up.

 

 

The 1939 Northampton School prom. Photo by Erik Stahlberg.

The date of the first Williston Seminary senior promenade is unknown, but the tradition goes back at least to 1902.  No decorated gymnasium or road trip to the Log Cabin in those days — the Easthampton Town Hall, right across the street from the Old Campus, had a ballroom.  Northampton School for Girls held their first prom at the Hotel Northampton in 1939.

 

Another view of the prom. Attributed to Caroline Gavin Arnold ’47; donated by Kathryn Wood Lamb ’47.

A colleague recently wondered whether, for all that it is a rite of passage for thousands of high school students, most people have happy memories of their senior proms.  I have no opinion.  In my senior year, 1970, the Williston Academy prom was canceled because of a student strike.  (That’s a topic for another post.)  The 1947 cartoon at left suggests that memories may be mixed.  But I recall a Reunion Weekend conversation a few years ago.  I’d identified a returning alumnus with his date in a prom photograph and showed it to him.  “Wow,” he said.  For a moment, there was a distant look in his eyes.  “I wish I could remember her name.”

Your comments and questions are encouraged!  Please use the space below.

Posted in: Student Life, Williston Academy, Williston Northampton School, Williston Seminary