Arrested!

The first volume of The Dummer News, a student-organized publication at Dummer Academy, was published in 1897. The Dummer News staff was able to secure advertising revenues from a considerable number of local advertisers to help the publication get off the ground. This paper covered noteworthy items of importance to the school, a round-up of the academy’s sporting events, and student commentaries. Often featured in the publication were colorful, tongue-in-cheek stories painting faculty, staff, and students in humorous, sometime comprising situations. One such story—a four-part tale of faculty members tangled up in on-campus whiskey distillery—appeared in the October 1902 to February 1903 issues, and featured a Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) spy, bumbling prosecution, and one decidedly sleepy juror. It makes for a great read (albeit with a rather abrupt ending embedded in the "Notes" section of February 1903). We hope you enjoy the story.

A Generous Donation of Century-Old Photographs

Many of the items housed in The Governor’s Academy (TGA) Archives found their way to the school as generous donations of TGA alumni, their families, and friends of the academy. The photographs seen in this blog entry were graciously donated by William Cooney, grandson to Henry Frost Wood of Brighton, Massachusetts. Mr. Wood was a graduate and the valedictorian of the Dummer Academy Class of 1903. The first photograph shows a close-up of Mr. Wood, for easy identification in the other photographs. (He is in the back row of the first four group pictures.)

Mr. Wood came from Brighton, Massachusetts, and was involved in many activities while a student at the academy. The donated photos show Mr. Wood as part of Dummer Academy’s 1902 football team and 1903 baseball team, likely as a team manager for the latter. Additionally, he was on the staff of the monthly student-run publication, The Dummer News. The remaining photographs show Mr. Wood pictured with his dorm-mates and as part of the larger Dummer Academy student body more than a century ago.

Mr. Wood maintained ties to the school after his graduation, becoming a member of the Sons of Dummer Academy in 1905. This society was formed in 1822 to provide former Dummer Academy students with a venue for socialization and, according to archives records, a vehicle for promoting the “usefulness and reputation” of the academy. Interestingly, new members were accepted upon payment of $1.00. Mr. Wood also participated in the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Dummer Academy in 1913.

Our sincere thanks go out to William Cooney for this generous donation to TGA’s Archives. We will take the utmost care in maintaining these photographs in our climate-controlled facility on campus so that they may be enjoyed for years to come.

For our readers, we gladly accept donations large and small to the Archives. To make a donation, please contact Laurie DiModica, Manager of the Archives, at 978-499-3347 or via e-mail: ldimodica@govsacademy.org.

Donkey Basketball

Of the many fundraisers conducted by The Governor’s Academy organizations, among the most original has to be donkey basketball. The first-ever donkey basketball event, which featured spirited competition between students from the Class of 1984 and faculty members, was held in the fall of 1983 as one of two fundraisers run by the Governor Dummer Academy (GDA) Ski Club. The December 15, 1983 edition of The Governor, with a short article about the fundraiser, is shown here. After a hiatus of a few years, donkey basketball events were again held in the Alumni Gymnasium. Enjoy the photos below!

Hockey at The Governor's Academy

Team hockey has been a part of athletic life at The Governor’s Academy (TGA) since the first “ice polo” team was formed in 1895, but its level of sophistication has grown exponentially since the early years of pond skating at the academy. Early hockey play at the academy was predicated on favorable weather, leaving hockey squads to come up with creative dry-land practice drills when the temperature climbed. Even in freezing weather, skating facilities through the 1950s were decidedly low-tech.

With the construction of The Frank J. Frost Memorial Hockey Rink in 1960, TGA was the first in the Independent School Hockey League to have an outdoor artificial rink. Nearly 11 miles of welded and brine-infused pipe went into the construction of the Frost Rink. This technical advancement was lauded in Contact: New England Electric System magazine: “No longer will the skating and hockey enthusiasts have to depend on neighboring ponds and the fickleness of winter weather. The whole school’s athletic program may now be tightened up for the winter term without the confusion or disruption because of no ice. The once overtaxed gymnasium no more will be called upon to house frustrated hockey squads. And most important the rink will mean a significant upturn in the calibre [sic] of Academy hockey, allowing the school to become more competitive with other rivals in this sport, as it has been with much success in all others.”

In 1982, the Frost Rink was transformed into the Murphy-Frost arena with the addition of a protective enclosure. The new structure was named for A. Macdonald Murphy, longtime English instructor, hockey coach, and Athletic Director at the academy, and Morris Pratt Frost ’35, Trustee Emeritus for the academy and benefactor.


Hockey’s profile has been decidedly elevated with last year’s completion of the Whiston-Bragdon Arena, a state-of-the art skating facility. The new arena is named for former GDA headmaster Peter Bragdon and Mark Whiston, benefactor and Academy Trustee. Whiston played Byfield Youth Hockey as a child, moving on to the Kent School and Harvard University, where he was a starting goaltender for the hockey team. Mark follows in the footsteps of his father, Don, a goaltender for the Silver Medal-winning United States Olympic Hockey Team in 1952.

TGA’s boys and girls hockey teams will begin their 2008-2009 season in the Whiston-Bragdon Arena after Thanksgiving Break.

Refreshing History at The Governor’s Academy

The Archives holds one of the earliest documents produced at the academy: A Catalog of Dummer School, a handwritten roster of the academy’s students between 1763 and 1830. Currently on display in the Pescosolido Library, A Catalog of Dummer School was begun by Joseph Mottey, a teacher at the academy between 1780 and 1783, and lists the names of numerous alumni who went on to significant achievement after leaving the Little Red School House. With a nod to the past and view toward posterity, Headmaster Marty Doggett and Dean of Freshmen Michael Delay recently summonsed members of the incoming Class of 2012 to the Little Red School House to document these students’ entry into the academy. Outside the Little Red School House, Mr. Doggett shared a bit of the history of the building and the academy with students (Images 1 and 2). Then, one by one, students entered the school house, shaking hands with the Headmaster and introducing themselves before sitting in the Reverend Samuel Moody’s chair to sign their names and hometowns in a leather-bound book (Images 3 and 4). Students then departed the school house, shaking hands with Mr. Delay (Image 5). The leather-bound book will be housed in The Governor’s Academy Archives. When the Class of 2012 graduates, its members will again pass, one by one, through the Little Red School House on their way around the Milestone to jump the wall. This ritual allows students to pay homage to the school’s long history, and importantly, to recognize their own contributions to it. It is hoped that this new practice will become an enduring Governor’s Academy tradition.

Carrie Dummer Receives Diploma After 60 Years

On June 9, 1939, seventy-five year old Carrie Dummer received her Governor Dummer Academy diploma. According to the Boston Globe, "Three score years had passed since Miss Dummer, then a young girl in her teens, was forced by illness to forego her appearance at her 1879 graduation. Then co-educational, the Academy in the intervening years has become exclusively a boys' school so that conferring of the degree on Miss Dummer gave her the added distinction of being the last female graduate to receive the honor. In a ceremony that followed the presentation of diplomas to 79 graduates at commencement, James Duncan Phillips, President of the Trustees, handed over the belated award to the elderly woman whose beaming smile bespoke her pleasure."

Although I hope it doesn’t take 60 years to receive my diploma, this is my last posting to the Academy’s Archives blog as I will be leaving to return to school. I enjoyed the opportunity to share the unique 245 year history of The Governor’s Academy. I wish you a happy and safe summer. - Kate

100 Years Ago - Dummer Academy Commencement 1908

This following newspaper article from the June 12, 1908 Newburyport Daily News describes the Academy’s 145th Commencement Activities. (*Click on images to enlarge)