Did you know that Eleanor Eames, wife of then Headmaster Ted Eames, caused quite a controversy during the couple's 1951 visit to a British public school? Apparently, school tradition dictated the The Great Hall, used for dining, excluded all women. As the school's headmaster told the couple, "No woman has dined in the Great Hall since the school was founded!" Not wanting to upset her hosts, Mrs. Eames resigned herself to eating the chocolate bars she had intended as gifts for a student in the headmaster's study, while her husband and the headmaster dined in The Great Hall with the rest of the school.
The incident was significant enough to be included in a 1951 article from the Boston Globe. If you are interested in reading the details, the article is included below. The incident lends a new dimension to a statement made by one of Eleanor Eames' long time friends, who after witnessing all she did in a typical day to help the school, its students and faculty, declared "There must be a special place in Heaven saved for headmasters' wives." To this Eleanor replied, "Well, thank you very much." After a short pause, she added, "but I think I'd rather go with Ted."
