Stories from the 1970s

2/26/2018

Remembering Mr. Thomsen, Mr. Ainslie, Mr. Dunlop, and Mr. Hoxton, eating lunch after a particularly intense biology lab, and more. These are the stories from the classes of the 1970s.

Bob Coffin '70:

“It literally changed my life: During the second semester of my sophomore year (it took me five years to graduate), Headmaster Thomsen called me into his office for a meeting with me and my father. It was short and to the point: "Dr. Coffin, I feel that Episcopal is too tough for your son."
My father: "Would you please give my son one more chance?"
Mr. Thomsen: "Yes, I will give him one more grading period," six weeks.
On the way to the car, my father: "Bob, do the best that you can do."
That was it, nothing more. At that time, wake up was at 7:00, and students were not allowed to get up before 6:00. For the next 18 months, I woke up at 5:00 am and studied under a blanket with a flashlight until 6:00. I went to Brown University.”

Skip Fox '71:

“I will never forget the challenge of figuring out how to pass Mr. Seidule’s outrageously difficult U.S. History quizzes that were issued almost daily. It also took me time to understand that, beneath his somewhat austere manner, Mr. Ainslie was an extraordinarily nice man. Beyond the challenges, getting off campus (when getting off campus was a rare experience) was always memorable, and it was enlightening to learn all the great things that there were to do in D.C.”

Rob Farmer '74:

“We all learned resilience during fall athletics. No matter what sport or which coach, they all strived to beat WFS because it would be a victory we would remember for life!”

Brac McKee '77:

“The day in Advanced Biology class when I took our specimen cat out of a bag of formaldehyde, it was a personal victory simply to make myself eat lunch afterwards. I was determined to maintain my strength for athletics later in the afternoon.”

Harry Archer '78:

“Several vivid memories come to mind. I remember the Woodberry game my senior year and wishing I could have just one more season to play and work a little harder than the seasons before that last one. The thing I remember most about the dining hall was how cool it was to rotate and eat 3 meals a day with all the different masters and their families. And I loved the library at Episcopal because you could go there and no one would bother you. It was a quiet, calm place away from dorm and athletics.”

Edward Brown '79:

“First, no matter how cold I get today, I'll never forget walking from Dalrymple my junior year to the dining hall and coming around the corner of the library, striding directly into a 30- to 40-mile an hour wind; my hair wet from showering, now almost frozen. The last thing I wanted to do was go to class, but go to class I did, as did we all. And what fun it was with Mr. Dunlop wheezing as he read aloud in English class, patting his pockets for his inhaler which Andy Woolman may or may not have hidden. No matter how much fun we had trying to get under Mr. Dunlop's skin, he always laughed and smiled and made sure we knew he cared about us. That's the experience at EHS that is hard to replicate.

“I also recall Mr. Hoxton butchering evening announcements, calling SAT review Saturday review and asking for the person who borrowed Bo Montague's Shawn Cassidy album to return it. What impressed me most about him was returning to the campus for my brother's graduation a year later, and Mr. Hoxton seeing me in the front hall and inviting me into his office. Right off the bat, he remembered where I was in college and asked about how I was applying my loves and talents from EHS to college. I didn't think he even remembered my name. As I walked out, I realized, like all good leaders, he didn't mind the students laughing at him a little bit because he always got in the last chuckle.”

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