BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

• The purchase and remodeling of the Admission House, which
provided prospective students and their parents a comfortable
place for interviews
• The relocation of the Alumni and Development Office building,
followed by the redesign of the space into an arts and writing
center;
• The design and construction of the Pinckney Boathouse to serve as
the headquarters of the sailing and crew programs (downstairs)
while the upstairs offered meeting and gathering space;
• The purchase of Berry and Piper houses and the renovation of
Kimball House.
And as the physical facilities grew, so did the Academy’s academic,
athletic, and community life programs.
From interviews and written reminiscences, we were fascinated to learn
how students, faculty, and parents adapted to changing circumstances,
facilities, and programs. Below we share the reflections of two students
from this busy decade: Chuck Michaels ’88 and Matt Woodward ’89.
Their commentaries first appeared in 1988 in different editions of the
student newspaper, The Brewster Browser.
Chuck Michaels ’88 at the
new Admission Office, which
was relocated from its office
in the Academic Building to
its own building in 1982.
Chuck Michaels ’88
When a student came to Brewster four years ago, the campus seemed
pure, lush with natural tradition. There was no growth, no construction.
The groomed campus lacked facilities, but the young student managed.
Since then he has watched the needed buildings bring new opportunities.
He was an unopened flower whose blooming was well overdue. He
and the school underwent growth together. Sadly enough though, the
boy blossomed first and will miss the glorious awakening of his school.
More growth will come to both the boy and the school. Both will change.
Graduation will come and what he knew the school to be will not be the
same in years to come. Each will go about new business, but knowing, too,
they both will grow and change.
Brewster is indeed a different school from
what it was three years ago. … It’s easy to see
the school’s progress. We are strengthening
our standards in academics, thrashing our
opponents in sports, and charging full speed
ahead in campus development.
Future students will receive their mail from
personal mailboxes, and I’ll remember the days
when Dean of Students Dick Weeks wandered the
halls handing out stacks of mail. When the future
athletes can’t make up their minds as to whether
to take crew or track, I’ll remember walking past
Mt. Brewster’s grave of tennis courts. If there
The building that is the current Arts Center sits between Memorial Field and the Estabrook. It was
moved to its current location on the other side of the Estabrook in 1988.
comes a time of a future headmaster, one who’ll
be able to relax, as most of his work will have
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