Nine Reasons Why - The Putney School

9
John Caldwell ’46
A Field House
Nine Reasons Why
A Letter from
Dear Putney School Alumni,
Family and Friends:
I am writing to ask you to join
me in supporting The Putney
School as it launches its new
field house campaign.
As many of you know, Putney
looms large in my life. For six
decades, my family, work and
passions have been tied to this
institution. My father came as
business manager in 1941, where,
as baseball coach, he established
Putney as a three-season
sports school—a program that
already offered skiing, with soccer
soon to follow. In all, nine
of his descendants, including
our four children, attended
Putney. I met my wife, Hep, as an
eighth grader; she taught here
for 37 years. And yes, Putney is
also the place where we built
a cross-country ski program,
exporting the school’s name
worldwide and producing several
Olympic contenders and
national champions.
I’m convinced there are unquestionable
benefits to having an
indoor recreation center.
First, a field house offers the
students a place of their own
to exercise and stay in shape.
I’m a firm believer in “what’s good
for your heart is good for your
mind.” So, I strongly advocate
a field house where young
(continued, page 19 sidebar)
Over the last two-and-a-half years, we’ve traveled
from coast to coast to meet with Putney
alumni, family and friends. Our mission has been
clear: to raise money for the third and final phase
of the Building Th e Fu t u r e Ca m p a i g n—also
known as the Field House.
A gymnasium at Putney, you ask? The truth is,
it’s more than that. Still, to some, this may be
news. Fact is, though, it’s been in the works for
a while. Indeed, dating back 15 years, when the
board of trustees resolved that if Putney were to
survive for the ages, three needs had to be met.
They included another dormitory for more
student and faculty housing, a building for our
arts program and a recreational facility.
Thanks to the support of many of you, Putney
was able to construct the Huseby House dormitory
and Michael S. Currier Center to respond
to our housing and arts needs. What remains is
addressing the school’s recreational needs.
As many of you might imagine, reactions to
the Field House have been a mixed bag. While
some support it outright, others have voiced
discomfort, equating such a building with
competition—a word Putney’s founder was wary
of and warned against. And still others argue that
if Putney’s rugged setting offered them ways to
stay physically fit through skiing, woods crew,
sugaring and other outdoor opportunities, then
why not this generation?
By Clennon L. King ’78
These are fair questions that deserve answers.
To that end, below are nine reasons to support
the Field House campaign. And while these
answers have been critical in securing key gifts,
Putney still needs your help in building this
“green,” environmentally sustainable facility that
will be constructed with student help.
And so, we appeal to you to weigh the arguments
below carefully, trusting that Putney, and the
present board of trustees, new director, current
faculty, staff and students, take seriously their
role to be good stewards of this place we all
love. Please read, and lend your support.
A Rare Occurrence: The cold, snow, wind and
rain take a break to permit a pick-up game on
Putney’s lone half-court.
18 Putney post

1Warmer Winters
It may surprise some that the snow-filled winters
many Putneyites knew are no longer consistently
here. While this year’s snowfall has been
surprisingly heavy, there’s no question the winters
are warmer. Take a look at the picture below, and
guess the month and day of the photo. It may
surprise many to learn that this photo was not
taken in late fall or early spring, but on February
13, 2007—in the dead of last winter. It’s made
cross-country skiing tougher, and has caused
Putney to periodically suspend maple sugaring
in recent years.
2History Repeats Itself
Guess what month in 2007
this photo was taken?
Putney has been dropping hints for a long time
about the need for proper recreational facilities.
In the ’50s, students converted a portion of the
barn’s hayloft into a basketball court—a space
now cluttered with ski waxing tables, a climbing
wall, and skate board ramps. In the ’70s, David
Lucey ’73 led a student initiative, convincing the
school to pave an overgrown and unused clay
tennis court in front of Noyes dorm and
convert it into an outdoor basketball court.
And in 2001, the school built a weight room
above the cow stalls in the barn. So, the
writing (for a field house) has been on
the wall literally for decades.
3A Past Coach’s Take
Putney’s long-time indoor basketball court
in the barn’s upstairs competes for
space these days.
The question is not whether Putney needs a
gymnasium, says former Putney basketball coach
Larry Cassidy. The fact is it’s always used one,
he says. The former trustee and physical plant
manager in the late ’70s and ’80s readily recalls
Putney’s periodic use of the Brattleboro YMCA,
the former Windham College gymnasium and
the Putney Central School’s gym. In fact, the
recreational needs of the school were so clear
to Cassidy that when the local Catholic parish’s
men’s hall came on the market after he retired,
he modified it into a small-scale gym, and began
renting it to area teams, including Putney’s.
Still, Putney now finds itself competing with
other teams for use of that and other area
recreational space.
Former Putney School Physical Plant
Manager and basketball coach Larry
Cassidy stands with his team in
the spring of 1977. Chris Francis
’79, Evan Schindler ’79, David Vendler ’79,
George Overholser ’78, coach Larry Cassidy
P’87,’89,’92, Arnold McLeod ’77, Chris Hurd ’77,
Michael Currier ’79, Rich Morehouse ’79
and Michael Dibb ’79.
minds can engage in cardiovascular
activities and develop
physical fitness.
Second, a field house guarantees
“play time,” come rain or shine.
Put another way, the ability for
students, faculty and staff
to work out will no longer
hinge on the availability of sunlight,
amount of snowfall or
weather conditions. This space
would assure ’round-the-clock
recreation time for basketball,
badminton, boxing, volleyball,
weightlifting, or fencing, while
also accommodating a waxing
room, a changing room for visiting
teams and ski storage.
And third, a field house would
be an important facility to aid
recruitment of students for
Putney. As a former assistant
admissions director at Putney,
I have learned that male students
are in short supply in the
admissions world and that
Putney loses boys to other
schools because it has no gym.
Ultimately, this space can offer
students a place to practice
one of Mrs. Hinton’s founding
principles: “To play. . . as
wholeheartedly as one works . . .
remembering that play is for recreation
and an increased joy in
living.” Certainly, that’s my hope.
So, please join me in building on
Mrs. H.’s dream. Please invest in,
and donate to, the campaign
by giving online at www.putneyschool.org/development/
online. Please give so that the
next generation of Putney
students has an expanded opportunityto
exercise and to play.
With Kindest Regards and Thanks,
John Caldwell ’46,
Alumnus, Past Faculty
and Past Parent
Putney post 19

One That Almost
Got Away
My freshman year at Putney,
we practiced basketball in
the gym above the barn. That
was in 1973. Our basketball team
played in a league, but the gym
at Putney was too small to
host visiting teams, so we were
forced to play our home games
6
concept of an indoor recreation center at Putney
4Cross-Country Ski
Royalty Weighs In
Former Olympic skier and Olympic ski coach
Johnny Caldwell ’46 embraces and backs the
School. To see why, please read his letter of
support on page 18.
A Basketball Jones
What will the facility mean for current Putney
students? Basketball player Xiang Pai Li ’09
of Beijing, China says the new building will
accommodate his love for the game. Meanwhile,
his teammate Jeffrey Bowman ’09 of NY said it
offers students a way to stay fit. “Even though
we are not a sports school, it gives the students
a variety of ways to keep in shape,” he said.
at Windham College (now
Landmark College) in town.
We actually played in old
uniforms from that were
given to us by Windham!
The next year, Tom Jones became
headmaster. A former basketball
player himself, he brought
in Larry Cassidy as coach.
Things were improving: we got
our own uniforms, and we
started to practice regularly
at Windham College. And we
continued to play our games
there too.
The games against schools
such as Deerfield or Northfield
Mount Hermon were like a step
into another world for me.
They had all the equipment
and a gym to put it in. This made
such an impression on me that
I actually applied to transfer
to NMH. In retrospect, I am happy
they did not accept me.
In an effort to extend my
basketball career, a faculty
member with connections to
the University of Connecticut
arranged a visit with the basketball
coach there. Needless
to say, that was a high point
not only for me but also for
the whole team. A couple of
weeks later one of their
coaches came to see us play.
Putney’s Nordic ski team in the mid–’70s
Former XC ski coach Johnny Caldwell ’46
and Kate Ganz Belin ’62 discuss the Field House
at a January 2008 Board of Trustees meeting.
5The Only Constant is Change
Some have argued a field house would change Putney
and its ethos. But the sole-surviving member of the
first graduating class at Putney sees it differently.
Marjorie Wilson ’36 notes that during her two
years at Putney, there were roughly five campus
buildings, including the Main Building, the original
barn (that was destroyed by fire), White Cottage,
Old Boys and the old science building (that now
houses the ceramics studio). That the KDU, the
Library, the Reynolds Building, New Boys, New
Girls and the barn we all know and other facilities
were built after Marjorie graduated makes Putney
no less Putney to her. So why, she asks, should
Putneyites fear Putney being any less true to its
mission because a field house is built?
Putney’s oldest surviving graduate
Marjorie Hollister Wilson ’36 at her South
Bend, Indiana home.
7Winter Doldrums
Teammates Jeff Bowman ’09 and Xiang Pai Li ’09
play at Vermont Academy.
Current students at Putney make no secret that
they need a place to commune, re-energize and
rejuvenate in the face of sometimes unforgiving
winters. Putney junior and current student trustee
Bronwyn Maloney ’09 felt the Field House
would go a long way to ward off the threat
of depression in winter.
“Staying active and taking advantage of what
little sunlight there is in the winter is key to
staying healthy and happy,” she said.
We actually had a basketball
scout from a major sports
school come to Putney!
(continued, page 21 sidebar)
20 Putney post

Student trustee and student body
president-elect Bronwyn Maloney ’09 joins
fellow trustees Peter Pereira ’52,
Josh Goldberg ’75, caroline mcelhinney ’08,
kate ganz ’62 (partially obscured)
architect Bill Maclay and student
trustee shotaro nakamura ’09
8at the proposed site this winter.
Mrs. H. Was Nobody’s
Jock, Right?
Field
People have said Mrs. H. was wary of sports.
They point to her 1954 list of core beliefs where
she cautions students to play hard but “(watch)
out a bit for the competitive angle.” That says it
all, some say. Still others might argue that pictures
don’t lie. Take the one below where Mrs. H. is
donning a Bryn Mawr varsity field hockey jersey
with stick in hand, ready to do battle for her
alma mater. And if you don’t know which team
player she is, look for the biggest smile of all
(sitting second from left). Now, does she look
like an unhappy athlete to you?
9What Would Mrs. H. Say?
It’s a common question voiced by some who
fear founder Carmelita Hinton would be turning
over in her grave at the thought of a field house.
But the truth is Mrs. H. could deal with change.
In her 93 years on earth, she weathered the
change of Putney, establishing an independent
board of trustees, something she long resisted.
She endured the idea of raising money for the
school, by all accounts a naughty notion in
her mind. And she handed over the reins and
watched three different school directors follow
in her footsteps. And those still questioning
whether she could deal with change should
look no further than Mrs. H.’s epitaph at Lower
Farm to know she understood it as constant in
all of our lives. It reads, “believing that each
generation should be better than the last.”
That same epitaph is the charge and standard we
as a community are trying to meet. So, here’s
hoping our alumni, family and friends will join
us with their support. For questions or comments,
please contact Clennon King, major
gifts officer at clennon@putneyschool.org.
We also invite you to make your donation
payable to The Putney School Field House
Campaign and send it to:
Development Office
The Putney School
418 Houghton Brook Road
Putney, VT 05346
The epitaph on Putney
School founder
Carmelita Hinton’s
grave stone at
Lower Farm.
After graduating from Putney,
I did not go to the University
of Connecticut, but I was able
to go to the University of
Southern Connecticut,
a college with a good sports
program. In the end, though,
art was more important to me.
I did not choose Putney for
sports or the arts. Let’s just
call it fate that I ended up
there. But the situation was
right for basketball when I
was at Putney. Let’s not leave
it up to chance for Putney to
do well in indoor sports. To
make it a part of Putney life
on a continuous basis, Putney
needs a field house. To attract
a diverse student body, Putney
has to offer diversity. And
indoor sports are an
important part of that.
—Arnold McLeod ’77
House
Project Update
Details on everything from the
Building Committee Who’s Who
to all-school meetings and
classes with the architects are
on our website, if you want to
keep abreast of The Field House
project progress. Emily Jones
covers the larger points of
what’s transpired so far in her
Director’s Message on page 2.
For everything else, visit our
site at www.putneyschool.
org and click on “Field House
Project update.”
or www.putneyschool.org/development/
fieldhouse.html
Carmelita Hinton on the Bryn Mawr
Thank you in advance.
field hockey team.
Putney post 21