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News & Photos
McDonogh Voices Season II Explores 1950s-1980s
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In conjunction with the school’s approaching 150th-anniversary celebration, McDonogh Voices explored the alumni experience by decade. Three webinar sessions during the 2022-2023 school year focused on the 1950s through the 1980s.
The 1950s and 1960s: Prosperity and Protest
Moderator and Director of Alumni Engagement Carol Croxton led a fascinating discussion about the 1950s and 1960s on Thursday, November 17, 2022. Joining her was Historian and McDonogh Upper School History and Social Studies Teacher Ane Lintvedt who provided historical context while panelists John Beever '50, Hank Chiles '56, John Sieverts '63, Mike Koppisch '60, and Tim Wright '66 provided personal accounts of their student experience.
The 1950s was often described as a period of conformity, stability, and prosperity that gave way to the 1960s—one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in history. The early 1950s witnessed the continuance of the Lamborn legacy as Doc Lamborn—the architect of McDonogh’s survival during The Depression and World War II—yielded his office to his son, Bob, who revamped the school’s academic program that would eventually eclipse the farm program.
In the 1960s, the war in Vietnam could not muster the national unity achieved by World War II. The heroic image of the American military eroded as did the perception of the uniform on McDonogh’s campus and in the community. Thus began a decades-long metamorphosis of the literal cloth uniform into a metaphorical weave representing character. Also during this time, the first Black student was admitted to McDonogh under a plan of gradual integration that was completed in 1970. View the recording.
The 1970s: Times of Transition
During the second session of the series on Thursday, January 19, Croxton moderated an engaging conversation about the 1970s with Professor and Director of the Institute for Workplace Studies at Cornell University Louis Hyman ’95 as the historian. The dawn of this decade saw the height of anti-Vietnam War protests—epitomized by the 1970 Kent State massacre—that presaged McDonogh’s dropping of its semi-military tradition in 1971. McDonogh became fully integrated in 1970, and the first Black graduate walked across Childs Memorial Terrace. The economic challenges of the time helped fuel an equally major shift to coeducation in 1975. No other time in McDonogh’s history witnessed decisions so dynamically reshaping the school’s culture.
Panelists Wally Boston '72, Bethel Henry '78, LeRoy Katz '76, Ginger Kurapka Keener '77, and Norman Parker '73 offered their perspectives on life at McDonogh during this period. View the recording.
The 1980s: An Era of Opportunity
The third and final session on Thursday, March 23 delved into the 1980s. Historian Jessica Levy '04, Assistant Professor of History at SUNY, Purchase, described how the transitions in the 1970s focused the school’s attention within the boundaries of its vast campus, tending to the challenges of an increasingly diverse community. The burgeoning development of the county surrounding the school required McDonogh to begin an ambitious process of strategic thinking that has yielded the campus design we enjoy today. Levy also described how the 1980s saw the evolution of arts programming, athletic opportunities, divisional rituals such as closing ceremonies, and an intentional focus on the academic and emotional needs specific to each division.
Panelists Terry Booker ‘82, Alberto Diaz ‘89, Anna Dopkin ‘85, John Hung ‘84, and Aliya Qureshi Poshni ‘89 recalled their McDonogh experience during this time. View the recording.
McDonogh Voices: One School. Many Perspectives—a multi-year series of learning and discussion opportunities was designed to give stories about our past a greater voice in McDonogh’s present and future. The series was developed by a group of McDonogh alumni historians and scholars working in partnership with administrators, staff, and trustees.
In conjunction with the school’s approaching 150th-anniversary celebration, McDonogh Voices explored the alumni experience by decade. Three webinar sessions during the 2022-2023 school year focused on the 1950s through the 1980s.
The 1950s and 1960s: Prosperity and Protest
Moderator and Director of Alumni Engagement Carol Croxton led a fascinating discussion about the 1950s and 1960s on Thursday, November 17, 2022. Joining her was Historian and McDonogh Upper School History and Social Studies Teacher Ane Lintvedt who provided historical context while panelists John Beever '50, Hank Chiles '56, John Sieverts '63, Mike Koppisch '60, and Tim Wright '66 provided personal accounts of their student experience.
The 1950s was often described as a period of conformity, stability, and prosperity that gave way to the 1960s—one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in history. The early 1950s witnessed the continuance of the Lamborn legacy as Doc Lamborn—the architect of McDonogh’s survival during The Depression and World War II—yielded his office to his son, Bob, who revamped the school’s academic program that would eventually eclipse the farm program.
In the 1960s, the war in Vietnam could not muster the national unity achieved by World War II. The heroic image of the American military eroded as did the perception of the uniform on McDonogh’s campus and in the community. Thus began a decades-long metamorphosis of the literal cloth uniform into a metaphorical weave representing character. Also during this time, the first Black student was admitted to McDonogh under a plan of gradual integration that was completed in 1970. View the recording.
The 1970s: Times of Transition
During the second session of the series on Thursday, January 19, Croxton moderated an engaging conversation about the 1970s with Professor and Director of the Institute for Workplace Studies at Cornell University Louis Hyman ’95 as the historian. The dawn of this decade saw the height of anti-Vietnam War protests—epitomized by the 1970 Kent State massacre—that presaged McDonogh’s dropping of its semi-military tradition in 1971. McDonogh became fully integrated in 1970, and the first Black graduate walked across Childs Memorial Terrace. The economic challenges of the time helped fuel an equally major shift to coeducation in 1975. No other time in McDonogh’s history witnessed decisions so dynamically reshaping the school’s culture.
Panelists Wally Boston '72, Bethel Henry '78, LeRoy Katz '76, Ginger Kurapka Keener '77, and Norman Parker '73 offered their perspectives on life at McDonogh during this period. View the recording.
The 1980s: An Era of Opportunity
The third and final session on Thursday, March 23 delved into the 1980s. Historian Jessica Levy '04, Assistant Professor of History at SUNY, Purchase, described how the transitions in the 1970s focused the school’s attention within the boundaries of its vast campus, tending to the challenges of an increasingly diverse community. The burgeoning development of the county surrounding the school required McDonogh to begin an ambitious process of strategic thinking that has yielded the campus design we enjoy today. Levy also described how the 1980s saw the evolution of arts programming, athletic opportunities, divisional rituals such as closing ceremonies, and an intentional focus on the academic and emotional needs specific to each division.
Panelists Terry Booker ‘82, Alberto Diaz ‘89, Anna Dopkin ‘85, John Hung ‘84, and Aliya Qureshi Poshni ‘89 recalled their McDonogh experience during this time. View the recording.
McDonogh Voices: One School. Many Perspectives—a multi-year series of learning and discussion opportunities was designed to give stories about our past a greater voice in McDonogh’s present and future. The series was developed by a group of McDonogh alumni historians and scholars working in partnership with administrators, staff, and trustees.