Her i tage - People - Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Vol. 6, No. 1 January 2004priorities. Yet, beyond that sort of academic lifestyle, the house and itsreputation allow its residents the freedom to develop into the men that theywant to be. We have a good reputation as a house, not because we neverdo the types of things thatare commonly—and oftenwrongly—associated withour peers, but because wehave proven ourselves capableof living the balancebetween working hard andplaying hard. The Collegetrusts us to live as responsiblyas those Bampton menhave before us.As I look forward tomy last semester in Bampton,I fi nd myself realizingthat the house is merely amanifestation of what theCollege hopes all Hobartmen will strive to be. It isnot suffi cient to praise thehouse without recognizingthe Hobart family of whichit is a part.Whether they live inBampton or not, I hope that Hobart men are always aware of the standardsthat the College puts forth in its mission. It is that sort of standardthat makes us successful as an academic and social community.The View at BamptonMichael Fazio ’04Bampton House Quick FactsYEAR BUILT: 1924ARCHITECTURE: Tudor/JacobeanORIGINAL OWNER: William J. BrennanSr., president of the Geneva FoundryCorporationPurchased by the Colleges in 1986 fromFinger Lakes Cerebral Palsy AssociationMany of the Stickley Companyfurnishings in the living room—selectedby former President Carroll Brewster’s wife,Mary— are still in use todayBampton’s one stipulation of his gift was thatthe house would never be a coed residenceAs a resident of Bampton House, I have had the rare opportunityto see the variety of ways in which other students succeed duringtheir time at Hobart. My fellow housemates are members of athleticteams, students in public service, members of honor societies, dean’slist constituents, students embarking on Honors and individuals involvedin many other extracurricular activities. I am able to see how they organizetheir work, how each prepares himself for his path in life.It is not just academic success that we should pursue, however. We needto learn from others. We can use our four years here to best prepare us forthis challenge. Do not just allow your professors to teach in the classroom,but allow your everyday experiences to be your teachers. By doing this daily,it will become a habit. Your habits shape your character, and your characterultimately defines your success in life.I would like to thank those who created an environment at BamptonHouse that allows me to observe and learn, and wish all fellow Hobart studentsas rewarding an experience during their stay at the Colleges as I have.HOBART HERITAGE is published periodically by the Hobart Deans Office. For more in for -ma tion about upcoming issues or if you have any questions, contact Dean Capraro at ext. 3300.First-Class MailUS PostagePAIDGeneva, NYPermit No. 69HOBART COLLEGEGeneva, New York 14456Vol. 6, No. 1HOBART COLLEGEHobartHer i tagea publication ofthe Hobart Dean’s Offi ceJanuary 2004The Legacy of Bampton Houseby Karl A. Brautigam III ’04I ’ v ehad theo p p o r t u n i t yand honor to live inBampton House three ofmy four years at Hobart. It’s agrand old house that feels more like atrue home than a college residence hall. Sowhen Dean Capraro suggested I do a research project on thehouse, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to know who JamesW. Bampton was and why he was so paramount to the heritageof Hobart College.This project encompasses three aspects: the physical structure itself,at 720 South MainStreet; a biographicalperspective of thealumnus who madethe gift possible, James W. Bampton ’32;and the integration of Bampton Houseinto the ResidentialEducation system atHobart and WilliamSmith Colleges.Over the courseof my research, Ilearned that the grand-daughters of theoriginal owner, Barbara Lynch Springstead ’57 LHD ’90 and JoanLynch ’61, live in Geneva, so I was able to interview them. Throughthem I learned about their family, the Brennans, who at one pointran the steelworks plant in downtown Geneva.It also was interesting to talk to past administrators of the Collegesand alumni. They generously took time to share their experienceswith and memories of Bampton House and the man it wasnamed after, and I thank them.I encourage everyone to take a look at the full project. TheBampton Project can be accessed online in Adobe Acrobat PDFformat at http://people.hws.edu/bampton/index.asp. You might besurprised by what you discover.

Vol. 6, No. 1 “Success is what you define it to be.” —James W. Bampton ’32 LL.D. ’68January 2004Bampton House: A Brief HistoryBampton House was built in 1924 by William Brennan Sr., the ownerof the Geneva Foundry. The Brennan family has a rich tradition atHobart and William Smith; three generations attended the Colleges.Built in the Tudor/Jacobean style, similar to Coxe and Medbery hallson campus, the house at 720 South Main Street stayed within the Brennanfamily through four generations. Then, in 1971, it was sold to theFinger Lakes Cerebral Palsy Association and became that organization’sHappiness House.It wasn’t until 1986, when James W. Bampton ’32 donated the fundsthat the house would become part of the Colleges. A shrewd and successfulbusinessman, Bampton is best known for his pioneering brand expansionat Krylon, where he developed what we know as spray paint—earning himthe moniker “Grandfather of Graffit,” which he despised. He eventuallysold the brand to The Borden Company.Aside from the many scholarships Bampton endowed at the Colleges,the house was his most notable and generous donation. He was able to seethe impact his gift made at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in October 1986.The concept behind Bampton House was to create a small livingcommunity for Hobart students based on academic, athletic and extracurricularachievements. It was meant to produce a sense of service,pride and commitment to Hobart—a place that would foster dialogueand an exchange of ideas.Today, Bampton House carries on that tradition. It provides an opensetting for both academically driven and extra/co-curricularly involvedstudents to exchange ideas relating to their specific fields and interests.Members of the first group of Bampton House residentsBefore BamptonBampton House, decorated for HalloweenGenerations of Hobart men have felt a strong sense of kinship whileliving in Bampton House. Within its walls they have shared meals,life stories, each other’s setbacks and triumphs—just like a family.That’s only fitting, since Bampton House started out as a family home.The first owners, the Brennans, were well-respected in Geneva. WilliamBrennan Sr. was president of the Geneva Foundry Corporation, amajor employer that supplied iron castings to businesses across the EasternSeaboard. Brennan had played football for Hobart in the 1900s but neverenrolled at the College.In the 1920s, construction on 720 S. Main St. began. A sprawling twostorystructure sprang up on the former site of tennis courts owned by theRose family, who lived at 731 S. Main.The Brennan’s house replaced one on North Main Street that wasdestroyed by fire. “They wanted to make a house that was more fireproofin design,” recalls Barbara Lynch Springstead, William Brennan Sr.’sgranddaughter and member of the William Smith Class of 1957. “That iswhy it is brick and the moldings are all in stone.”“Architecturally it was built with steel beams and had fireboards thatmade it impossible to hang a picture or put nails and hooks in the walls,”adds her sister, Joan Lynch ’61. “Everything had to be dropped from theattic down. The carpenters and specialists did not like it very much.”Although the basic structure remains the same, the layout of the housewas quite a bit different when the Brennans lived there. Of the elevenbedrooms in Bampton House, only five started out as such. Room 106originally was the veranda and Room 100 was the dining room. Thegarage was converted to two single rooms, while the butler’s pantry wastransformed into the current bathroom off the kitchen.There also was a garden in back that almost reached the creek, but thatwas filled in long ago. When Jackson Potter and Rees halls were built,construction trucks ripped out the hedgerow.In the Brennans’ day, the house was a key gathering spot.“Christmases and Thanksgivings were amazing,” says Barbara. “It wasthe house everyone went to.”Joan says Sunday brunches were popular too. The family’s pug dog,Albert, was well-known around town, especially by Hobart and WilliamSmith students who used to drop by for a visit.“Living on the edge of the campus and having lots of friends whowent to [the Colleges] made it a great place to live,” says Barbara ofthe residence.Ask Hobart men how they have felt about living in Bampton House andthey’ll probably say pretty much the same thing.Home Away from HomeMatthew C. Weir, H ‘04I’ve always been a sucker for the traditions of this college, and I love thefact that we still have a house that has as its mission based on the successof its residents and, more importantly, Hobart as a whole.The beauty of Bampton House’s interior reflects the excellence of themen who have livedwithin it duringtheir time here.Walking through thehalls to my room isalways reassuring. Iam somewhere safe,somewhere quietand somewhere thatactually feels likehome. It is a securityblanket of sorts, aswe live there withthe assurance thatwe will always get agood night of sleep(or studying, for thatmatter).Bampton Househas been a havenfor those Hobartstudents who havechosen work andsuccess as their100th Anniversaryof Hobart College720 South Main Streetbuilt and occupied byBrennan FamilyJames W. Bamptonenrolls at Hobart CollegeBampton graduates with anA.B. in history and economics125 th Anniversaryof Hobart CollegeBampton electedmember of HWSBoard of TrusteesBampton begins four-yeartenure as president of theHobart Alumni Association150 th Anniversaryof Hobart College720 South Main Street soldto Finger Lakes CerebralPalsy Association; becomesHappiness HouseHWS purchases720 S. Main St. with help offunds donated by BamptonBampton Housededication ceremony192219241928193219471957196419721986Bampton House Timeline