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And The Answer Is...

What was β€œWimpy’s Tavern,” and where on Rectory’s campus was it located?

Outdoor picnics, a long-standing tradition, were held every Saturday throughout the year, at the picnic grounds in the fall and spring, and by the pond in the winter so the boys could go skating before and after. Lunch consisted of hot dogs or hamburgers, pickles, cookies or doughnuts, and apples, with hot cocoa in the winter months. The teachers (masters) each were in charge of a group of boys, and each group had its own picnic fireplace! “Wimpy’s Tavern” was the name of one of the fire pits; other names were “Little America,” “Island Campfire” (in the center of two small streams), and “Adirondack Hut.” These whimsically-named spots dotted the picnic grounds, which were located “down the dirt road behind the school … in a rough ‘clearing’ with a small stream running through it and trees that make it shady. ...Picnics are really great fun,” reports (student) Rolfe Beyer in 1945. These picnics spanned several decades; perhaps we will receive a first-hand story from one of our readers.

Photo: Rectory Archives