Pep Squads at Governor Dummer Academy

Pep squads were an integral part of Governor Dummer academy (GDA) football seasons during the twentieth century. Photographs of organized GDA cheering squads appeared as early as 1940 in The Milestone yearbook, but a proliferation of pep squad images—both photographs and film—can be seen in the academy’s archival materials from the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1950s, a number of pep squad rallies, some with bonfires where opposing team dummies were burned in effigy, were captured in a series of emotionally charged photographs (show below).

Owing to GDA’s all-male status during this time, pep squads comprised boys selected from the student body. A cartoon that appeared in the October 27, 1951 Archon pokes fun at the boys-only nature of GDA’s cheerleaders, with boys lamenting their comparative inferiority to girls in attracting their counterparts’ attention.

Male pep squads were a mainstay of fall events through the 1960s (photo immediately following this paragraph), but the admission of female students to the GDA campus in 1971 changed the dynamic of the cheering squad from male to female, as shown in the last photograph, from 1973.

Governor Dummer Academy Homing Pigeons

The March 14, 1959 issue of The Archon includes the following photograph of academy employee Paul Griffin and student Mark Johnson '62, the academy's "Keeper of the Bird." Griffin holds Suzie, a homing pigeon trained at the academy. An except with the photo says, "Mr. Paul Griffin instructs Mark Johnson, newly appointed Keeper of the Bird, in proper handling of homing pigeons. Suzie is being trained to bring back the scores of out-of-town baseball games. Coach [Buster] Navins will personally band and release her at the end of the ninth inning. Keeper Johnson will time her arrival and decode the message for transmittal to the metropolitan journals."

If readers have information on the homing pigeon program at the academy, let us know!

Electric Trolleys of the Early 1900s

The first electric railway to service Governor Dummer Academy and its environs opened for business in 1900. The Georgetown, Rowley, and Ipswich electric railway, which switched by the Milestone, offered transportation for the campus community. Cars left the academy every half hour for Ipswich, Georgetown, and Newburyport. According to Governor Dummer History, 1763-1963, written by former academy headmaster John W. Ragle, "One popular feature of the innovation was that it brought to the Academy dances young ladies from as far as Rowley and Haverhill." A photograph of the electric railway switch near the Milestone can be seen below.


The route between Newburyport and Governor Dummer Academy crossed a trestle over Little River, paralleled the Newburyport Turnpike (to/from Boston), and diverged to Middle Street, where the track continued to the junction at the academy. From there, travelers could take the line to Georgetown (via Elm Street) or to Ipswich (via a continuation on Middle Road back to the turnpike road).

By the time the following advertisement for the Byfield Express was published in 1943, rail service had expanded considerably. The advertisement describes the scenery to be taken in while traveling from Newburyport to points south and west via Byfield, the "Cradle of Liberty and the Seat of Learning!" Notice the arrival and departure times at the conclusion of the advertisement: it took only 2.5 hours to get from Market Square in Newburyport to Haverhill, Massachusetts, a distance of approximately 15 miles.

A Famous American Mason (and Dummer Academy Alumnus): Rufus King

Recently, The Governor’s Academy and one of its famous graduates, Rufus King, were featured in the Winter 2008 issue of Trowel, magazine of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts. Accompanying the magazine article is an excerpt describing the academy and some of its notable graduates:

“Situated on a bucolic setting in Newbury’s Byfield parish is a red two-room schoolhouse built to house a free grammar school, the first boarding school in America, as envisioned and endowed by William Dummer who served as the Provincial Governor of Massachusetts from 1722 to 1728. Opening with 28 students in 1763 on the 300-acre farm of the former governor, the school was named 'Governor Dummer Academy' until 2005, when its name was changed to 'The Governor’s Academy.' Four years after the school opened, Rufus King journeyed from Scarborough, District of Maine, to attend the school. Signing the school’s 'document of incorporation' were Governor John Hancock and Senate President Samuel Adams, and some of the school’s early records were maintained by future president John Quincy Adams while he clerked for Theophilus Parsons, later Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, who was also a GDA graduate. The original school seal was designed by American patriot and Massachusetts Grand Master Paul Revere. The school continues as an institution of academic excellence, helping students pursue their personal greatness, just like Freemasonry.”

The Winter 2008 issue of Trowel was kindly donated to The Governor’s Academy Archives by Bruce Rogers, long-time employee of the academy’s Building and Grounds department, so our thanks go out to Bruce!

Arnold's Expeditionary Force

On September 20, 1975, history came to life for Governor Dummer Academy (GDA) students who witnessed the 200th anniversary reenactment of General Benedict Arnold’s 1775 march to Quebec, Canada. Arnold, a general in the American Continental Army, had been dispatched with several hundred soldiers to Canada to counter British plans for staging troops. The march preceded Arnold’s infamous switch from American Continental Army General to British Empire Loyalist. The 1975 reenactment took participants through the GDA campus to Newburyport, where they were then able to sail to Canada. The 1976 Milestone recorded the event with photographs and expository text (seen below).


“On the afternoon of September 20, 1775, a force of about 400 soldiers under the command of General Benedict Arnold marched through land owned by Dummer Academy on their way to Quebec. Their mission was to help wrestle Canada from the British to prevent its use as a staging ground for the Redcoats. They started this venture in Cambridge. On September 20, 1975, the same venture was taken and the troops marched past the academy as they had done 200 years ago.

There were Indians as well as an important courier under capture. Although historically there were no Indians to interrupt the march, a few diehards decided to “ambush” the troops. There were shots exchanged and reloading was hurriedly carried out.

There were a few women as well as men in the march. They all marched past the Old Red School House which was standing 200 years ago and [they] saw the same things. After moving on into Newburyport, they embarked by ship to Kennebec. From there they marched to Quebec thereby completing the entire march as it occurred 200 years ago.”

The Archon, December 1908 Issue (Part 2)

The last blog entry for The Governor’s Academy (TGA) Archives featured comments on the spirit of Christmas from The Archon editorial staff of 1908. This same century-old issue featured a story of romance and spontaneity—“The Unexpected Christmas Present”—offered by former academy student Beryl Howard Childs of Chicago, IL. I hope you enjoy reading it. On the eve of Winter Break here at the academy, I wish you a safe and happy holiday season.
—Laurie DiModica, Manager of the Archives

The Archon, December 1908 Holiday Issue

A century ago, the editorial staff of The Archon, led by Editor-in-Chief Charles L. Robson ('09), published the following words concerning the celebration of Christmas. Although times have changed considerably and the diversity of students and celebrations has expanded in the 100 years since Dummer Academy students published these words, the sentiments of kindness and forgiveness remain timeless.