Every artifact tells a story—and at Rectory, those stories connect generations of Wolves. Our School Archives preserve the memories, milestones, and moments that define our community. From yearbooks and photographs to uniforms, letters, and keepsakes, each donation helps us bring the Rectory story to life for future students, families, and alumni.
In the collection are two early-1950s textbooks from when donor and alumnus John Frank ‘52 was studying on campus. The World at Work, an “occupational geography” reflecting the increasing influence of global transportation, is authored by American geographer and geologist, Wallace Atwood, after whom Mount Atwood in the Clark Mountains of Antarctica are named. John was an early proponent in urging that the Archives has space and permanence. Thank you, John, for your support.
Mr. and Mrs. George Groom have been a part of the Rectory family since 1969 in a variety of roles that include teachers, parents, trustee, and coach. In addition, they generously support the Archives by retelling their memories, identifying photographs, recording Rectory’s history, and, recently, donating copies of The Rectory News and photographs of the 1970s and 1980s soccer teams. The Archives always welcomes issues of The Rectory News, the older ones of which are replete with snapshots (written and photographic) of the School’s daily rhythm and milestones and so are an important source for historical research and identification. Thank you, George and Sandy!
After 40 years, Daniel E. Newman retired as Rectory’s Director of Nursing. Many a Rectory student has been greeted at the infirmary by Garfield and Mr. Newman in his Garfield-emblazoned medical scrubs. Garfield and two of those scrubs now have a home in the Archives. From Rectory dinner dishes to a 1938 medical log of reports on each student’s health, Dan looked through the Infirmary’s “attic” and sent his findings to the Archives. Thank you, Dan, for some of our most recent donations.
Some of Rectory’s oldest photographs have been donated by Hill Bullard, alumnus (1954) and former Rectory Alumni Officer (1997-2001). These two early/mid-1920s photographs were taken in front of Rectory’s first two “homes,” Christ Memorial Church and Greystoke (with the water tower in the background). The Greystoke picture can be dated to between 1923 (when the Bigelows purchased it) and 1925 (when it burned down). Thank you, Hill.
What a wonderful surprise when from across the dining room was heard the call, “Mrs. Levesque, we have a shovel for the Archives!” Upon further investigation, Caleb Bowen ‘14 was visiting on campus and, indeed, he did have a shovel in the back of his truck. This "golden" shovel, from the May 1986 groundbreaking of the Colhoun Gymnasium, was given to Caleb’s grandfather by Buildings Superintendent Bob Fisher at the groundbreaking. Thank you, Caleb!
Do you have a Rectory pencil or two hanging around your home? Ned Thompson ‘71 did, and he sent them along with four composition books sporting the Rectory School Boy seal to the Archives. Thank you, Ned!
Amongst the items that arrived in a box from Tom Succop ‘50 is a Rawlings baseball glove, etched with his name and used in games during his time on campus in the late 1940s. Thank you, Tom!
This pair of old skates was found around 1988 in the former boiler room located in the Infirmary basement. Thank you, Dan!
Ned Thompson '71 writes that this baseball glove belonged to Leroy Thompson '27, who played the sport on Rectory's campus in the 1920s. Thank you again, Ned!
The wearer of this lined athletic jacket, with snap button closure and two front pockets, played on Rectory’s 1982 Girls Basketball team and also studied for her French class as evidenced by the notecard scribed with the conjugation of the French verb avoir (to have) found in the pocket. Thank you, Lisa, for supporting the development of an archives at Rectory.
Paula Plourde, parent '23, and Marjorie Ellsworth, parent '85 and past faculty, dropped off vintage t-shirts for the Archives. The 1920 athletics tee was found and bought for $1 at a flea market! Thank you, Paula and Marjorie!
This gold-tone metal bookmark book clip topped with the Rectory School Boy Seal in orange, gold, and black was donated to the Archives by Braden Long, current faculty member since 2002. Fabric case included. Thank you, Braden!
Included in a folder of ephemera from Elizabeth (Zim) Zimmermann ’84 were two show programs from the productions of Scrooge (1980) and South Pacific (1981). Zim acted the role of a nurse in the South Pacific musical, as did Lisa Walsh ’84 who donated the costume prop of a set of metal dog tags from the show. Usually discarded after use, ephemera, such as show programs, posters, and tickets are of long-term value to an archives. Show programs, for instance, acknowledge the hard work of cast and crew but also provide names and dates with which to identify photographs. Props, show programs, photographs, and an article in The Rectory News could be the beginning of a display! Thank you, Zim and Lisa!
The archway connecting the Dining Hall Building and the Infirmary is a recognizable landmark on Rectory’s campus. This feature was sketched by distinguished architect, Peter Vercelli, father of Anders ‘96 and Lars ‘01. Peter’s wife, Jane Anderson Vercelli, donated copies of the original drawing signed by the artist. For several years in the late 1990s-early 2000s, Jane coordinated Rectory’s public relations; through her stewardship, many of the publications of that time were preserved and now are a part of the Archives. Thank you, Jane.
