Got to thinking about Benjamin R. Burdsall this week as our Upper School faculty has been doing its own thinking about recipients of our annual awards for the Upper School closing ceremony on June 9. Today seems a good day to remember who Mr. Burdsall was for so many at BFS and why BFS gives […]
1928-1936 BFS Lower School Scrapbook,news clipping of the first May Day, 1928“Emulating the May Day Celebration of the Early Settlers…” Sometimes history reveals a past that is not always what we want it to be, even at BFS. A few months back, I wrote about our school’s path to enrolling students of color, particularly to […]
Stuart Smith, 1968 to 1978 Since 1867, BFS has had 19 heads of school, not including interim heads. Over the years, the title of our school’s highest administrative role has evolved from principal to headmaster to today’s head of school. The history of each administration is unique, fascinating and lengthy, so today I’ll only give […]
Celebrating our school having been saved,The Friends School Life, February 16, 1948 This week, I’m following up on last week’s post concerning the discovery of the 1947-1948 Fight to Save BFS Scrapbook which allowed us to finally remember an incredibly important moment in our school’s history. I’d like to share a few items since historical events are deeply nuanced […]
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year! A moment from a 1930s Lower School Christmas Pageant. And a moment from this year’s Holiday Sing when, for the first time ever, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was sung outside. (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); […]
These days BFS yearbooks are hard-bound volumes, about 200 pages in length, often have color photos, and provide an overview of the year for the entire school. The earliest known BFS Yearbooks, from 1927 to 1932, differ in many aspects from today’s norm. The 1927 BFS Yearbook was the Commencement Edition of The Life, which […]
Some may remember that we published an article about the 1931 Football Team in 2006, honoring the 75th anniversary of their incredible feat, A Perfect Season – The Football Team of 1931. I recently discovered that there had once been a plaque at BFS honoring the acclaimed football team of that 1931-1932 school year. The […]
The paper of record at BFS was once known as The Life. An award-winning student publication, The Life was published continuously at BFS from December of 1919 until, we believe, 1995. For its first 50 years or so, The Life was made available to the entire BFS community for a small annual fee because it […]
