Industrial Arts Building

 

It is possible I never set foot in there once. Jeff Schillinger, the history teacher I wrote about in Humility and Passion, lived with his wife in an apartment/loft in this building. Other married Masters got houses, the chaplain and superintendent got big houses, and young, single teachers got … oh, man … rooms in the dorms … I didn’t think anything of that at the time but now it sends chills up my spine.

Steven Clark has been the Industrial Arts Master since before I attended Howe. It is worth noting he is also in charge of the school radio station. Which reminds me… there are far too many athletics boosters in the world, I think, and this is the short list of things I’d donate larges sums of money to support at Howe if I had large sums of money (I publicly promise here and now that if I ever win the lottery, Howe gets at least half) … these are my dreams:

• Build a new, big library that would be the envy of schools all over Indiana
• Bring the radio station into 2008 including live streaming audio over the website includinglive coverage of games, podcasts, etc.
• Update their hideously embarrasing web site so people actually consider sending their children there after visiting it. Something both prospective parents, current students & families, faculty, and alumni can all get a rich experience out of.
• Arts scholarships and state-of-the-art equipment for the Howe Herald and Bouton Auditorium.
• I don’t know how much teachers there make but, regardless, raises for all and an aggressive program to recruit the best from across the country.
• A whole lot more money for the Development department.
• Mandatory one-month summer trips abroad for foriegn-language classes

My vision would be that not only should there be a waiting list for admission, but a waiting list of teachers begging to work there.

Chaplain’s Residence

Many staff and faculty were provided housing by the school. What you got depended on who you were and what you did.

The Chaplain lives here:

The Superintendent lives in a ranch house that – at least from the outside – screams “I was built in the 60s/70s!” and I always envision it being filled with ball lamps, starburst clocks, and chairs shaped like eggs.

Bouton Auditorium

Bouton Auditorium was the first thing I ever saw at Howe. I remember walking up with my parents to the registration table which was set up outside in front. At that point, I was pretty nervous. I simply didn’t know what to expect.

The ticket window which I don’t recall ever being used. I don’t think we ever had a paid event. That would be a way to make money and get exposure for the school … I wonder why they don’t … maybe the sound and lighting isn’t up to a necessary standard.

Below is the stage (duh) as seen from the audience. When we performed A Comedy of Errors, we actually built an apron for a full-effect Shakespeare-era proscenium with that extra space reaching into the audience for soliloquies and such.

 

And the audience from the stage…

That view holds special memories for me. Not because of the play but because it was from there, as I received some medal or trophy during graduation weekend, that I saw my father – whom I did not expect to come because my parents had been divorced for a while – sitting toward the back, giving a small wave to say that, yes, he was here. That is one of my most treasured memories. Apparently, he spent that night in my Mom’s hotel room while his fourth wife waited for him back in Detroit.

When I Was A Cadet…

Here is another shocking difference. This first picture is what the showers looked like in Delta Company when I lived there. This picture was taken in a dorm no longer being used so the shower hasn’t been updated and, obviously, we didn’t have to take showers climbing over boxes – the point is, four people at a time were expected to fit in there at once. I’ve circled two of the shower heads (and the shower control handle thingy).

Looks a lot like a prison shower, doesn’t it? No, not because of the boxes – forget about the boxes.

20+ years later, they all have private (shiny, new) showers:

I wonder if it has a massage setting?

C.H.U.D.

Cadet Humanoid Underground Dwellers. Funny, huh? No? Oh, I guess you had to … be a kid in the 80s…

Anyway, doesn’t this trapdoor look mysterious? Inviting? Aren’t you now obsessed with discovering its hidden wonders? No? Hmm… maybe it’s just me.

Student Body Diversity

Original March 13, 2007 post: 

I’ve spent time in large cities and college towns. The campus of Howe Military School is still one of the most diverse places I’ve ever been. Students came from other states, countries and across the economic spectrum. Some students’ parents owned successful businesses while others could only attend via scholarships and working as a waiter in the dining hall.

I read in a recent issue of The Howe Review, an alumni magazine, that there is an effort to further build the international student body with an ESL program. I am impressed and optimistic this may be helpful for both the school’s enrollment and reputation.

While I was there in 83-87, I remember at least three kids from Mexico and one from the Virgin Islands.

Update for 07/08 school year: At present, there are four cadets from China, two from Korea, “several from Russia,” and one from Mexico.

The Butt Room and Butt Permits

It’s been several months since I took the above picture but I am pretty positive this is what used to be Delta Company’s Butt Room – that would be ”smoking lounge” to you. Now it just looks like … well, let’s call it the “parlor” for the female cadets in Alpha Company.

In the 1980s, if you had a permission slip to smoke (a “butt permit”) from your parents and, of course, were 16 years or older, you could possess and smoke cigarettes which were, as I’ve mentioned, sold in the canteen back in the decadent 80s. You could smoke outside or in the Butt Room of your dorm. I don’t recall if smoking was allowed in the canteen. Certainly not in the dining hall – the dining hall was reserved for civilized, gentlemanly behavior.

Sometimes the Delta Butt Room was so packed – especially in the morning before breakfast. I don’t even remember if there was an exhaust fan!

Waiting

Back in the day when Howe had formal meals, students could shave some money off their tuition by being a waiter. I remember dreading the thought of this, but it was actually one of the coolest parts of my life at Howe.

No one treated you any different – which is what I was scared of. The single best part was the unlimited food. Students at the table didn’t get second servings of entrees or desserts but the waiters … oh, the waiters … we got everything that was left. The food wasn’t always good but it usually was and sometimes it was great.

Being a waiter meant you had to clean up after the meal which doesn’t sound like a privilege but that also meant you didn’t have to march back to the dorms – you could take a liesurely stroll back after dinner.

Waiters ate over here:

The following picture happened by accident as I was doing some color correction and I like it so much I’m showing it, too. The windows looked fine, so I selected them – then inversed the selection – and “corrected” the rest a bit too much and I think it looks really cool.

Thaddeus Flesch: A Character In More Ways Than One

“Thaddeus Flesch,” he says thoughtfully to himself. I know there were at least two other students that were featured as characters in my comic strip about myself and he was one of them. One of them involved the selling of my Ritalin and another (may have been the same one) was about a Kiss concert. I don’t remember how I drew Flesch’s character, but this was mine:

Even though I was in military school, I still drew my hair long. The other character was probably Forbes-Watkins.

I should mention there was no actual selling of Ritalin. Though I think the “other cadet” mentioned in Flesch’s recent comment was me. I remember waking up thinking I saw a Christmas tree.

St. James Crypt

Beneath the floors of the St. James Chapel is the crypt where lay the founders of Howe Military School. If you’re facing the bust of Fr. McKenzie, there is a beautiful door revealing stone steps down to the crypt.

Facing the altar and looking to the left …

Behind that pillar in the background hangs this plaque:

If I’d studied Latin better at Howe, I could tell you what it says. After walking under the arches above and looking back at the altar.

Turning back around and continuing from the direction of the outer staircase, there is an “inner” staircase back up to the main floor of the chapel. Climbing those stairs you end up in an area that I guess is used for Sunday School classes and whatnot. At the bottom of these stairs is a door that hides … something … I hate not knowing what’s in there.

I had many more pictures of the crypt with closeups of the plaques and other inscriptions but have no idea where they are.

Fuzzy Teddybears

That’s what we called ourselves. “We” being four teenage boys who could barely play “Living After Midnight” and maybe a couple other heavy metal classics. Somewhere I have pictures of Doug Witherow, myself, Dog, and our guitarist whose name I don’t recall with our instruments. We practiced in the common room of the dorm that used to be Alpha Company. Alpha was only being used as storage and the common room was walled up and blocked from from the rest of the building. The school gave us a key and we played without heat. The closest we ever came to playing live was entering the lip-syncing contest.

Swats

That’s what you got for some offenses – swats with a paddle. It didn’t matter if you were in 5th grade or 12th grade. It doesn’t happen anymore, unfortunately. The Board of Trustees won’t even allow students to do push-ups. There are many arguments on both sides of the corporal punishment debate – I’m talking for children in general here.

Personally, I wouldn’t paddle a young child because they have no idea what’s going on. However, once a child is old enough to reason (or old enough to attend Howe Military School) they certainly understand the concept of rules, warnings, actions and consequences. And trust me, a paddle is certainly a deterrent.

Images are from Dead Poets Society. It’s not about Howe, but it could be. All except the uniforms.

I know I got plenty but the only specific time I remember was from James Malerich in his office when he was Headmaster of Lower School. I can’t even remember what for.

Good Numbers

From the August 2007 Howe Review: “The lower school grade point average for every 3-week grading period was at least a 3.0. This is truly something to be proud of … Congratulations faculty and cadets!”

Enrollment is back up – to 161 cadets (that’s about 50 more than when I attended). Leanne Defelice, Dean of Students (among other titles), says the school hopes to have 180 by the end of the year.

Dr. John Heyward McKenzie

“Rector of Howe School, one of the foremost institutions of its kind in the United States, a preparatory school for boys. Dr. McKenzie held rank with the leading educators and ministers of this country and for a quarter of a century labored to the end that Howe School became known coast to coast.”
Source: “Service To Mankind Condensed to Footnotes of History”

Above: John Heyward McKenzie. Ideal Christian teacher, master, man: Beyond my praise today, He spurs me yet with his remembered name.”

Left/Right: For Christian Education of American Youth

Below: May 31, 1862 – Aug 3, 1920; Rector Howe School 1895-1920

The Glory of St. James Chapel

I could write thousands of words about St. James Chapel. And I’m sure I will write thousands of words beyond this post. More than any other church I’ve been in … when you step inside St. James you know you are in the presence of God.

The image of this chapel appears on just about anything bearing the name “Howe Military School” right down to the school ring (more about the Howe school ring later). This chapel represents at least half of the the school motto, “Fides et Honor” (Faith and Honor).

Not only does the school record the image and spirit of St. James, however, but St. James is a historic record of the school. In the basement, you’ll find the founders buried in the crypt. Bouton is buried on the grounds outside. In the hand-carved seats against the walls, you’ll find plaques recording the names of administrators and clergy. Each bishop is enshrined with a stained-glass window. And, of course, the names of students are recorded in countless hymnals and prayer books.

The Legacy of Nathan Zoss

Part 2 of The Force of Nature Called Zoss 

I believe I’ve noticed some dress grays on campus my last couple visits. If the current cadets like those – they should thank Zoss. He and another cadet fought constantly for a return to those uniforms from the current Air Force type blues. He was very passionate about tradition and I know he had some other pet issues, too.

He was also a Zeppelin fan. After the Class of 1986 graduated, I think he and I were the only Zeppelin fans left. My senior year there was a lip-syncing contest (no, sadly, I’m not kidding) and he “sang” the Zeppelin song “All of My Love” and was clearly serenading Mrs. Deter which, for some reason, really upset Matt McDonough, a junior who would be Batallion Commander the following year.

Senior Circle

I have no idea whether or not this tradition still stands, but as of 1987, only seniors were allowed on “Senior Circle,” a round (hence the name “circle”) between the dorms. This made it pretty inconvenient if you were an underclassmen because you had to walk all the way around this thing to get from one dorm to another instead of just walking straight across.

At the end of every year, seniors had a schoolbook-burning bonfire on Senior Circle and paddled the junior class. If you didn’t get paddled, you weren’t allowed on Senior Circle – even in your senior year. During my junior year, all my friends were seniors and during my senior year, most of my friends were underclassmen. I wasn’t fond at all of  most of my class. I opted for the “no paddle” and “no senior circle” experience. I thought any manner of hazing or initiation like this – or the Varsity Club – was ridiculous. I saw no reason to do anything that would make me any more part of a group of people I really didn’t like.

During the winter of my senior year, me, my roommate and … probably “Dog,” the drummer of our really crappy heavy metal band, were walking back to Echo Company from somewhere and I said let’s just run across Senior Circle. It didn’t take any effort to convince these two … neither were what you’d call outstanding cadets.

As soon as we walked in the door, we were called up to Batallion Staff – a suite on the second floor of Echo Company reserved for the top few officers in the corps. I can’t remember what happened to us … maybe I blocked it out … but I do remember doing it was thrilling and getting caught was terrifying – especially because Theron Richardson (RIP), the cadet who saw us, really didn’t like me at all. Below is the view of Senior Circle from the Batallion Staff lounge window.

Did I Imagine This?

Late one night during my senior year, me and Jeffrey Russel (RIP) climbed the antenna in the picture above and jumped through a window into Colonel Trout’s office. I’m sure of this. I remember it vividly. And yet … when I took this picture, I thought, “How is that possible? That’s a small window.” And that antenna wasn’t as close to the window as I remembered. I’m sure we did it, though, because we were so cool like that. We didn’t mess with anything (why tempt fate?). Just the thrill of being in his office when we weren’t supposed to be like super-cool ninjas was a thrill enough.

I called Jeffrey not long after graduation and found out from his mother he’d recently died in a car accident. He was a good friend. I’m not sure which I felt worse about – his death or the fact that I upset her by asking for him. They set up a scholarship or something in his name but I don’t think it’s active anymore.

Trivia: Only seniors are allowed to have mustaches.

Trivia: According to Esquire’s Everything A Man Should Know About Style you are exactly half as attractive with a mustache.

Senior Pranks

As senior pranks go, ours was harmless. At the conclusion of the Commencement Parade (not unlike what you see at the beginning of the movie Taps), the Class of 1987 began taking off their clothes. I’m sure any administration holds their breath each year when it comes to senior pranks and I’m sure the site of us stripping caused Colonel Merrit’s heart to flutter a bit. Under our clothes, however, were shorts and t-shirts … each t-shirt had a letter spray-painted on it so the seniors all spelled out “Thank You Mom and Dad!” which was appreciated by everyone. Even the administration, I think.

The Canteen

I wrote a post a while back on Things You Didn’t See In the 80’s. How about a list of things you saw in the 80s but don’t see anymore? Well, among other things, the Canteen showed R rated movies and sold cigarettes and Mountain Dew. In the 80’s and 100 years before that, the center of Howe Military Life would arguably have been the dining hall. Sadly, it’s been reduced to being nothing more than a cafeteria, so now the major social hub is probably the Canteen.

One of the first privilages to be taken away if you screwed up was entrance into the Canteen. I don’t remember if we had video games then but there was a (broken) jukebox, foosball, ping pong, maybe a pool table, the biggest TV you ever saw that showed movies chock full of violence and nudity like Death Wish 2 and Rambo: First Blood Part II, food & drink, and – on rare occasions – dancing.

This lady didn’t recognize me but she said her husband might. He was and is the Quarter Master (picture coming soon) and he is one of those that knew me by name when I never would have even recognized him let alone remembered his name.

On one visit back a few years ago, when I still smoked I went into the Canteen and asked for a pack of cigarettes. I was as shocked at the fact that they didn’t sell them as the (different) lady behind the counter was that I’d ask for such a thing.

Notice the mirror in the upper left corner of the above picture – so the lady behind the counter can keep an eye on the kids in the other side of the room.

Why would she need to? Well, back in my day … I don’t know … but now …

I don’t know what the guy’s deal was … but if I had a girl that hot on my arm when I was his age, I’d have looked a lot happier. Well, maybe his problem was that some creepy old dude interrupted them and wanted a picture.

This young couple reminds me of something else – they and a couple other people were in the Canteen in the middle of a school day! Nowadays, if you’re grades and conduct are cool and you don’t have a class to go to (what’s that all about?) you can hang out at the Canteen. Cool.

Many wonderful nights were spent sinking into those comfy chairs watching all manner of movies. Of course, cadets would fight over what to watch. Every week the guy who ran the canteen would rent a bunch of movies and bring them in. There would be a list on the wall next to the counter and cadets would fight over what movie would get shown next. I can remember when it seemed like they’d wear out the Rambo tape. And I remember being one of two cadets who were trying to enjoy the Beatles’ Let It Be while everyone else whine about how stupid it was.

Sieze the Day

Some past graduates who experienced the greatness of Howe Military School. I wish I could scan these properly and preserve them. It would be so cool to have every class picture available online at the official site (visit at your own risk – it’s one of the ugliest web sites ever). I’m not sure if there are any pictures of the classes of 1884 and 1885.

I don’t recall if there wasn’t a picture of the class of 1901 or I just didn’t get one.

Gosh, I love those pictures.

Why Howe Is Worth Saving

Howe Military School, as I remember it, provides an extended family-type support system. We always read the kids join gangs because they have no other family. At Howe the school becomes your family – not just the corps of cadets, but the staff and faculty. This environment, filled with teachers and staff who passionately care about the school’s mission nurtures each child … each and every child … 24 hours a day.

In a public school environment, you usually have one of two choices … a crappy home life where the only structure and stability in the child’s life is at school … and they only get that a few hours a day 5 days a week a few months out of the year. OR, the home life might otherwise be fine but the kid is stuck in public school hell being neglected at best, tormented and poisoned at worst.

At Howe, you can get the best of all worlds. They live in an environment that teaches, encourages, and in many cases heals. There’s not a need or area of a person’s life that goes untouched when they are at Howe and Howe is at its best. Or, even if Howe is not at its worst.

Many children need – some of them, desperately – a place just like what Howe can be. And the world desperately needs men and women who come from a place like Howe Military School.

Rooms At Howe Military School

Every room in every upper school dorm at Howe Military School has the same layout. In the previous entry, Abuses of Power, I posted a couple pictures of my room in Echo company. Here are some more so you can see every part of it. As I said, every other upper school room looked just like this one. Once upon a time, 30-50 years ago, every bunk in every dorm was full. Now, at least two upper school dorms (including Echo) are empty and – to my knowledge - every student has their own room.

These are two wardrobes – one for each occupant. They’re not called “wardrobes” but I don’t remember what we called them. Note the towel racks on the side. You had to have your towels folded and hanging just so, or it counted against you during room inspection. Each student had a desk chair and a more comfortable chair. You can see a “more comfortable” chair lying on the bottom bunk and next to the wardrobes.

Here’s a detailed close-up of the inside of a wardrobe. You have a rod to hang your pants and shirts on and shelves to neatly organize everything else. Remember in A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise runs his fingers across Lance Cpl. Dawson’s clothes hanging neatly in his locker? That’s how your clothes had to look. Your socks, underwear, t-shirts, and everything else had to be displayed just right.

Your shoes had to be aligned beneath your bed (see previous entry for pix of bed). This is the mirror hanging between the door and the wardrobes.

I took a walk through the dorms last Alumni Weekend and was absolutely aghast at how … not just sloppy, but downright filthy some of the rooms were in the lower school dorm.

When I attended 1982-1987 the school was amazing and it is mind-boggling to know that, as great as it was, it was still far from its hey-day. I wish I could go back in time and see it even 30, 40, 70 years before that.

Abuses of Power

Preface: If you’re afraid of sending your child to a military school for fear of “hazing,” the following tales of silliness are examples of how mild such things are at Howe.

I met Doug Knowlton the first day of my junior year at Howe, after I’d been gone two years. He was walking by my room and saw, in a box, my black leather jacket with the studs on the collar (I’m proud to say I did that myself – Rob Halford of Judas Priest was my style role model then). Doug’s hero was Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols so he immediately wanted to meet whoever this new guy was with the good taste.

We quickly became best friends but, as best friends sometimes do, we really didn’t like each other sometimes.

Once, he walked into my room either because he was bored or just felt like being a jerk. Let me explain. If an officer walks into a room, everyone has to stand at attention until the officer says “at ease” or “as you were” or “sit down.” Doug was, as I said, my best friend so formalities like this weren’t observed. Except this time, apparently.

It took him a minute to convince me he really was serious that I need to stand up and that he really would write me up if I didn’t. I stood up.

Doug walked back out of the room. I sat down.

He walked back in. And so it began. I stood up, etc. until he was bored of walking in and out of my room.

They say that abused people abuse people.

The following year, there was this kid I kind of took under my wing and mentored and looked after. Until, one day, I was bored and felt like being a jerk. I made him lie in front of my door and told anyone walking in to wipe their feet on the mat. Looking back, that wasn’t very cool and I think that’s in my short list of things I’ve done that I’m ashamed of.

When I moved to Echo Company as an officer, I roomed with my … let’s see, if I was platoon leader, he would have been my … second in command guy … I can’t believe that I don’t remember his name or anyone else’s apparently …

We started off as friends. Very good friends. Eventually, we hated each other. More on that relationship later. During one of our fights, I took a roll of colored tape and divided the room in half. His desk on one side, mine on the other. Unfortunately for him, the bunk beds were on my side.

“You can’t do this!” he yelled.

“I can do whatever I want. I’m an officer – seargant.”

“How am I supposed to get into bed?”

“Jump. From your side of the room into the bed. Dont’ touch my side of the floor when you do it, either.”

“I can’t – I’m in the top bunk!”

Ah, yes, good times. The following are pix of my room in Echo company which I shared with two different people. Eventually, my first roommate (mentioned above) moved out and I got a new one. I think his name was Doug Witherow. I might have spoken to him once since then.

Remember in The Shawshank Redemption when Brooks carves his name into the beam he’ll later hang himself from? There are the names of previous occupants on that beam, too. At Howe, the unspoken, unwritten tradition was to leave your mark in one (or both) of two places: the beams above your bed if you’re in the bottom bunk and/or in the tiny hymnals in chapel. I had the bottom bunk.

This was my desk. Because I was such a rebel against any authority or establishment, I had a USSR flag above it. No one ever mentioned it which really irritated me.

The Chapel That Doesn’t Count

I hate putting this under the “Faith” category. This is the Chapel That Doesn’t Count. It’s ugly. It’s totally devoid of any feeling of hallowed or sacred ground. I heard one teacher describe it as an airplane hangar.

It’s where they hold graduation and services when there are parents on campus because it’s so big. The only memories about it that make me smile are when Father Ghallager replaced all the regular services with the - and I kid you not – Close Encounters of a Eucharistic Kind program. I liked those only because the music was awesome. He’d put a tape recorder up to the microphone in the pulpit and we’d listen to this folky worship music that really reminds me of the Vineyard music I’d discover almost a decade later.

Most cadets liked him, I think, but the administration – then and to this day – really didn’t think much of him. His biggest contribution: bringing back the civilian clothes General Scott had banned at some point in the two years I was gone. He also allowed a lot of kids back in that Scott had kicked out for various reasons. Neither cadet corps nor administration were happy with that one.

Worst memory in this chapel: Father Morgan telling me – though quite sensitively and carefully – that, basically, my poetry sucked. I saw Father Morgan on one of my visits back a few years ago. I didn’t recognize him at all. He used to have this bushy beard and (relatively) long hair. Now he looks like a graying elder statesman. Actually, he looks exactly like Terence Stamp circa Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. He recognized me, however, and called me by name. I had to ask him who he was and was floored when he told me.

Above: Terence Stamp as Chancellor Valorum in The Phantom Menace and as General Zod in Superman II.

One more good memory: Father Morgan bringing me the cassettes he’d made me. He recorded the entire 5-record set of Bruce Springsteen’s 75-85 Live set which I then listened to constantly while running during Cross Country and Track practice.