Mr. Moore, who served New Hampton School in various capacities for over 70 years, including 33 years as Headmaster and President, passed away peacefully on August 18. He was 93 years old.

A 1938 graduate of New Hampton, Moore worked at the School from 1946 to 1959 as a faculty member and his many re-sponsibilities ranged from English teacher and department head to Director of Admission and Executive Headmaster. In 1959, he became Headmaster of the School and led New Hampton until his retirement in 1992 (from 1972-1990 his title was the President of the School). Moore was a 1946 graduate of Middlebury College and Veteran of World War II in which he served four years in the Navy. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees as Headmas-ter Emeritus since 2006.

“We have been blessed as a school and as individuals to have T. Holmes Moore in our lives. He devoted his life to New Hampton

School,” said Andrew Menke, current Head of School. “The School would not be where it is today but for his steadfast commitment to the principles that we hold dear today: hard work, community, personal growth and personal responsibility. His legacy is one of positive, enthusiastic and dynamic leadership that impacted gen-erations of graduates who have gone on to impact their commu-nities in business, education, and public service.” 

Moore will be remembered as a loving husband to Norma Jean “Jinga” Moore, a former faculty member, who also served the School in many capacities, and a remarkable father to five chil-dren: Thomas Moore ’63, Andrew Moore ’65, Robinson Moore ’73, Elibet Moore Chase ’75, and Jamie Moore Sheff.

In his role as Headmaster and President, Moore left an indeli-ble mark on NHS. The School built five new dormitories, the McE-voy Theater, a Lower Gymnasium, a Student Center, and Memorial

Legendary LifeT. Holmes “Bud” moore ’38

1920-2013

When T. Holmes “Bud” Moore ’38 enrolled at New Hampton School in 1936, he was in need of a transformative educational experience and a connection to a community. He benefited on both accounts and returned the favor to the School

with a lifetime of service. Along the way, he connected with students, created a distinctive boarding school environment, and touched the lives of countless graduates with inspiration and incessant guidance. We remember a legend.

By Will McCulloCh

“one of the few truly unforgettable people

i have ever met!”– Tom Adams ’64

Dining Hall under his leadership. He ushered New Hampton back to co-education in 1970 and steered the School through the turbulent times of the Vietnam War and the ensuing cul-tural shifts in adolescent life and education. 

Though Moore’s dedication to improving the physical plant and ensuring the long-term health of the School will be an enduring part of his legacy, his greatest impact perhaps can be seen and felt in the friendly, unpretentious cul-ture of the School that was founded in 1821. The son-in-law of his predecessor, Headmaster Frederick Smith ’10, Moore continued Smith’s tradition of connecting with students on a personal level even when enrollment grew. 

Alumni often recall with amazement Moore’s flawless mem-ory and commitment to detail. As another school year officially

began and the community gathered, it was customary for Moore to introduce without

notes each student on the first day of school, knowing their name and some personal fact

about each of the students.Moore’s commitment to New Hampton was

also illustrated in the way he managed a distinct path for the School. Over six different decades and through incom-prehensible change and transformation, Moore maintained a clear educational philosophy and a vision for the School.      “When I became Headmaster in 1959, I had been around long enough to realize that I could take the School in any direction,” Moore wrote in his unpublished memoirs. “I was tempted to fill the School with pre-selected winners taught by eminent schol-ars, but I chose to continue it as it was when I was a student

“This man was the most influential person in my life.”Linda Tatar Landau ’72

“Bud was my father’s english teacher. He was my Head-master. and, he was Headmaster emeritus while my son attended

new Hampton. He touched all our lives in wonderful ways. What can

one say? The man is a legend!”

– Whitney Ward ’71

and during the years when I was on the faculty. I believe that the basis of personal success is self-confidence, which comes from knowledge of self: strengths, weaknesses and talents. I wanted New Hampton to be a School that continued helping its students discover their strengths, weakness-es, and talents and devise programs which remedy weaknesses, discover strengths, and develop talents. 

“I looked around and realized that many schools have a vision of the ideal graduate, develop a program to realize that vision, accept an inevita-ble diversity of students and gradual-ly eliminate that diversity so that all graduates are look-alikes. New Hamp-ton starts with this same diversity, but it helps individuals understand how they are different, and develops pro-grams to accentuate these differences so that when they graduate they are even more different.”

Moore always believed in the magic of boarding school and the way in which a place like New Hamp-ton—with caring, attentive faculty —could influence and transform the

lives of students. Though it appeared he seemed destined for a career in ed-ucation, Moore’s early life suggested he would not be a likely candidate for boarding school as a student or later as a professional. A passion for music and time in the military nearly pushed him toward different career paths.

T. Holmes Moore was born in Grafton, New Hampshire on June 14, 1920. He lived in Grafton and Canaan, New Hampshire as a young boy before moving to Penacook, New Hampshire, with his mother, father, and sister Ol-ive. The Moore family, as with so many other families, struggled through the Great Depression. Neverthe-less, the young Moore blossomed as a mu-sician, playing the trumpet in a num-ber of bands. After attending the high school in Pena-cook for his first two years of high school, his father—who was then working as a car salesman—decid-

ed to explore the possibility of enroll-ing his son at New Hampton School. 

“Somehow my father made a deal,” Moore wrote in his memoirs, “and I became one of Fred Smith’s ‘worthy boys,’ which meant that I worked in various jobs to pay the room, board, and tuition charge.” 

Moore was a timid 16-year-old boy in the fall of 1936 when he stood in the New Hampton School auditorium for the first time; and Frederick Smith introduced him by name and shared a little biographical information about Moore with his new schoolmates. 

“It was in that brief mo-ment in time that a

self-confidence and sense of worth that

would sustain me for the rest of my life were born,” Moore wrote. 

Moore gradu-ated in 1938 after

two years as a solid student, leading mu-

sician, and a manager to

44 NEW HAMPTON SCHOOL FALL 2013

“Who else but a great guy like TH could convince my father it

was ok for me to come to New Hampton even if there were 200 guys and 20 girls? I had three of my happiest years at

New Hampton.”

– Ellen Edersheim ’74

numerous athletic teams. During his time at the School, including sum-mers working at the Resort on cam-pus, Moore met his future wife Jinga, the daughter of the Headmaster who lived on campus with her parents and brothers. Though he didn’t believe he would have many college options, Moore once again looked to Headmas-ter Smith for guidance. At the arrange-ment of Smith, he matriculated to Middlebury College. Moore continued his studies and paid his way through college with his trumpet, playing in more bands and working the summer music circuit. 

After three years at Middlebury, the military came calling. Moore en-listed in the fall of 1941 and quickly found himself the Junior Ensign on a ship of 2,109 men and the Junior Of-ficer in the V (Aviation) Division. He flew OS2U Kingfishers off the battle-ship Indiana and became the Senior Aviator at the age of 21 to his disbe-lief. He spent the majority of his time in the South Pacific where he transi-tioned from the USS Indiana to the

USS New Mexico, another battleship. His responsibilities primarily included reconnaissance over the Marshall and Solomon Islands. For his efforts in the South Pacific, Moore was presented with the Air Medal for “consummate skill and daring beyond the call of duty in the performance of duty as Senior Aviator of the Indiana and the New Mexico in the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, and Marianas campaigns.”

“I got into the Navy because I wanted to learn to fly and serve my country,” he explained in his memoir. “The Navy served me well. I realized my childhood dream of being a fighter pilot and along the way learned a lot about leadership, problem solving, performing under pressure, de-cision-making, and managing people.”

During a leave from the Navy, he married Jinga on Sep-tember 9, 1944. Moore’s service in the Navy ended

after four years, and he returned to Middlebury with his wife in 1945. 

After finishing his degree at Mid-dlebury in 1946 and doing a little graduate work at the Breadloaf School, Moore returned to New Hampton with Jinga and their first-born son Thomas. He was hired as an English teacher, became Executive Headmas-ter in 1954, and succeeded Freder-ick Smith as Headmaster in 1959. In 1972, he became President of the School and served in that position un-til 1990 when he became Headmaster again before retiring in 1992. 

In retirement, Moore lived on Pinnacle Hill in the farm-

house the family pur-chased in 1976. He

remained active in many of the charities and or- ganizations to which he contrib-uted throughout

his life as a resident of New Hampshire

and New Hampton. Continued on page 48.

FALL 2013 HAMPTONIA 45

T. Holmes Moore ’38

leGendaRy liFe

1930s

1940s

1936 T. Holmes Moore enrolls at New Hampton School in the class of 1938

1938 graduates from New Hampton School

1938 enrolls at Middlebury College

1941 enlists in the Navy

1944 Marries Norma Jean Moore on September 9

1945 returns to Middlebury College after Navy service

1946 Begins working at New Hampton School as english Teacher, Starts and Leads glee Club

Watch the memorial service

photo slideshow

Make a Gift to the Norma Jean and

read memorial speechesfrom family members

T. Homes Moore Endowed Scholarship

Visit www.newhampton.org/

tholmesmoore

1950s

1970s

1990s

2000s

1959 Named Headmaster

1954 Named executive Headmaster

1970 oversees the re-introduction of co-education at New Hampton School

1972 Named President of the School

1977 receives Honorary Doctorate, Franklin Pierce College

1992 retires as Headmaster of New Hampton School

2006 Becomes member of the Board of Trustees

2008 receives granite State Award at Plymouth State university

Frederick and Grace Smith (left) with T.H. and jinga Moore (right).

–Michael O’Brien ’84

“Mr. Moore was the first person I met when I toured

at New Hampton. It was Christmas break,1981. It had snowed a foot the night before, and the campus was empty. He was shoveling the front steps of Berry Hall, and I assumed he was the maintenance guy. He

let me into Berry and told me to sit in the front office while he turned up the heat. He came back into the office, sat behind the desk, took off his gloves and hat, and

told me he was Bud Moore, he was the President of the School, and he would be interviewing me. Immediately I knew this

is where I wanted to go.”

“What could mean more to a person than to be remem-

bered. And Bud remembered everyone- and where you came

from, what your father did for a living and later, your spouse’s

name and his occupation.”

— Holley Keyes ’74

This includ-ed but was not limited to service on the boards of the Bristol Bank; Lakes Region General Hospital; Gor-don Nash Library; Bristol Chamber of Commerce; NH Library Trustees Association; NH Council on World Affairs; Concord Gen’l Mutual Insur-ance Co.; Green Mountain Insurance Company; Vermont Accident Insur-ance Co.; Peoples Service Insurance Company; State Mutual Insurance Company; The Mayhew Program; Pemigewasset Choral Society; Town of New Hampton; and New Hampton Community Church. 

A tireless champion of ed-ucational opportunity, Moore served on the Independent School Association of Northern New En-gland (ISANNE) for 45 years; the Non-Public School Advisory Commit-tee for 30 years, ris-ing to the position of chairman; the Northern

New England Foundation for Inde-pendent Schools, serving as presi-dent for 17 years; the New England Association of Schools and Colleges for 14 years, rising to the position of president; and the Council for the Ad-vancement and Support of Education (CASE) for six years. 

In 1977, Moore was awarded an honorary doctor of law from Franklin Pierce College. In 1982, he received UNH’s highest honor, the Pettee Med-al, for distinguished service to the state of New Hampshire, and in 1986 he was voted an NH Notable. In 2008, he received the Granite State Award

after giving the commencement address at Plymouth State

University. His inf luence

on New Hampton School endured over the last eight years as Moore served on the

Board of Trustees. Menke developed a

close friendship with Moore and leaned on him

not only as a vital voice in the institu-tional intelligence of the School, but also as a mentor. 

“Despite all he had accomplished, he was always available and acces-sible and without ego or pretense...and what a sense a humor,” Menke said.  “We are fortunate to have been graced with his presence for so many years.  We are a better school, and I am a better Head, but more importantly, a better human being as a result of my relationship with this amazing man.” 

Moore leaves his wife of 69 years, Norma Jean “Jinga” Moore; his sister Olive Calef of Exeter, New Hampshire; his five children and their spouses: Tom and Tina Moore of Rohnert Park, California; Andy and Suzi Moore of New Hampton, New Hampshire; Ja-mie and Paul Sheff of Boylston, Mas-sachusetts; Rob and Laura Moore of Groton, Massachusetts; and Elibet and George Chase of Concord, New Hampshire; 14 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A celebra-tion of Moore’s life was held on Sun-day August 25 at the School. More than 800 people attended.

Continued from page 45.

48 NEW HAMPTON SCHOOL FALL 2013

tributes BUD

what would bud do?

By Jennifer Shackett Berry ’83Director of College Counseling

Bud Moore taught me many lessons. He taught me to be a steward of others, my school, and my community. When my parents both passed away, he wrote me a note about preserving their legacy. My devotion to my family, my work, and my community extends from this prompting. In my work at New Hampton School, I often think, “What would Bud do?” prior to acting. I joined the Board of Trustees of the Newfound Lake Region Association to help maintain a legacy in the purity of the lake that was such a part of my childhood, and also because Bud and Jinga modeled serving community-based non-profits to complement their family and professional lives.

Bud also taught me the value of unwavering loyalty and positivity in the face of adversity whether it related to his school, family, friends, or his final medical issues. At the start of my career, New Hampton School faced financial struggles. Bud was able to make difficult decisions that were institutionally driven. I surmise these were incredibly challenging times for him, but he remained steadfast in his loyalty to the institution. When my husband or I faced adverse situations, it was Bud who advised us and helped us to see the silver lining and remain focused on the future. During a visit with Bud in his final months, when asked how he was doing, he replied, “top drawer”.

My husband Tom says, “Bud saw the light in people and made it flourish.” So true; he made us believe we were all special and important; he was a believer in good causes, whether institutions or people. We push forward, doing our best for our family, friends, students, and the School—always guided by “What would Bud do?”

One day a year we sat waiting    to hear this was the daywe didn’t have to go to school.    The buses idled among the leaveswe couldn’t see.    We fidgeted among ourselvesguessing if this was the day.     If the maples were peaking.If classes were canceled. If Mr. Moore would announcewhat we’d come to believe that this was the day.His hair was always silver grey. He could say anythingwe came to believe to keep us in our seats. He knew eachof our turning names. Save the day he knew it was his secretto let us out. To climb a hill. To lose ourselves in the leaves.

So we could return to school for the rest of the year. So we couldsay we always knew which day it was he would tell us you can learn everythingyou need to know, one leaf at a time. When you know each boy’s name.Even today, when he isn’t here. When he’s saying you can say,(you can use any word) like each boy’s namefrom whence we came.

Foliage  DayFor T. Holmes “Bud” MooreBy Gary Margolis ’63

FALL 2013 HAMPTONIA 49

T. Holmes Bud Moore ’38 graduated from New Hampton School in 1938, but it was also a significant year for a lot of events. It was the same year Benny Goodman and his band became the first jazz musicians to play Carnegie Hall. It was also the year the first ski tow began operation in Vermont. And Bud Moore graduated from New Hampton with his horn in hand.

But it wasn’t before Bud, who had been working his subtle way into Headmaster Fred Smith’s notice, squired Norma Jean Smith, Fred’s daughter, with limited success for two years (Bud was 17, Jinga was 13 when he took her to her junior prom at Bristol High School). Bud at 17 and Norma Jean at 13—now there’s something. There are laws against that now you know. What’s more, he borrowed Jinga’s mother’s car for the date. You might remember it, the old Ford station wagon with the wood paneling.

He was so taken with her, Bud let Jing drive the car all the way around Newfound Lake—then they stopped right there on the Old Bristol Road on the way home to dance to the car radio, kissed her goodnight on the back porch of “The Mansion,” jumped down, and went off whistling in the dark. (Picture the setting with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life) and singing down Shingle Camp Hill “Buffalo gal won’t you come out tonight.” Grace got her car and her daughter back, all in 1938.

Bud never had any money back in those days. As one of Fred Smith’s “worthy young boys” on scholarship, he worked. His first job was playing trumpet for the Bessie Worm Band (Bessie played the piano and led the band). She needed a trumpet player for her band Bessie Worm and the Night Crawlers with the motto “wiggle and squirm with Bessie Worm.” Bessie used to say “You ain’t been kissed ‘til you’ve been kissed by a trumpet player.” We’ll never know. It was a boy’s school back then, you know.

And finally it’s June 1938, Bud graduates and Joe Louis knocks out Max Schmeling in the first round at Yankee Stadium. Bud heads to Middlebury in the Fall of 1938. Meanwhile, Neville Chamberlain returns from a meeting in Munich with Adolph Hitler and proclaims, “peace in our time,” which lasts less than six months. The Yankees win the pennant and World Series after finishing 9½ games ahead of the Red Sox.

At Middlebury, Bud is engrossed in academics and on scholarship again, still a worthy boy who must work to pay for school. He’s in a new band and soon becomes leader of it. It is called the Middlebury College Black Panthers band. He also earned a

living selling ladies’ hosiery on the side, running a babysitting service and a dating service—whatever that was in 1938.

In the summer of 1940, he was still chasing Norma Jean, but playing five nights a week with Harry Meehan and his New Yorkers at the Jungle Ballroom on Newfound Lake. They called it the Jungle Ballroom because they had monkeys in artificial trees swinging around down in the basement and featuring Bill Bopre, the Liberace of the steam calliope on band breaks.

The war catches up, and Bud enlists after three years at Middlebury in the Naval Aviator Program and ends up flying a scout seaplane off a battleship. This is nasty business catapulting off a battleship, a bit tricky getting back on that catapult, too. It is the first time earning an honest living without having to blow his horn.

Bud was always a man of letters, and he proposes by mail to Jinga, now a student at Mount Holyoke and nearing the age of consent. He similarly composes a letter to her dad, Fred Smith,

New Hampton’s beloved Headmaster from 1927 to 1959, setting forth his bona fides and asking for Jing’s hand in marriage. Fred, a man of few words, wrote a note on the letter and sent it back: “Dear Bud. ok — F.S.” Fred was all business, and happy to keep the car in the family.

Bud went back to the war for a little bit after the wedding as a fighter carrier instructor at Pensacola for the duration where he took up golf with Jinga.

And, then, the clever fellow finished up at Middlebury and landed a job with his father-in-law at New Hampton, teaching English for one year. That was the deal—one year and no more monkey business with the horn.

Well, that was nearly 70 years ago—the early years. And if you believe we are largely shaped by our early years, that’s what then produced this couple and what then followed.

And what followed next? Next is the modern history of the New Hampton School. Bud was the Head of School from 1959 to 1992, a history that we all share, and 65 years of legacy of the Smith family and the Moore family—32 with Fred and Grace, 33 with Bud and Jing. It’s a legacy of over 6,000 young men and women over 65 years educated and prepared for college and life, through at least two more wars, through the change to co-education, through 14 presidents of the United States, five new dormitories, Memorial Hall, The Moore Center, McEvoy Theater, The Academic Research Center, and The Field House. Five kids and 14 grandkids later, Bud and Jinga endure in all of our minds—the pretty red-head who went

on to become a great Spanish teacher and chair of the department, who wanted to get out of the car and dance on the road to Bristol, and the trumpet player, arranger, who turned the Glen Miller sound into Bessie Worm and the Night Crawlers and who could whistle four-part harmony to “How you Gonna Keep ‘em Down on the Farm” and “Heart of My Heart”.

Together they became the personality of the New Hampton School—the heart and soul of the New Hampton School. If a society mirrors its leadership, the reflection of the New Hampton School for the Bud and Jinga years is this: lovable, laughable, devoted educators—shaping lives—the horn player and the beautiful Spanish-speaking red-headed mom. Thanks Jing and Bud for this “string of pearls.”

Heart and SoulBy Bob Kennedy ’50

Trustee

Bob Kennedy ’50 and Bud Moore ’38 in 1997.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Jinga and the Moore

family during this difficult time. I hope you feel the love

that the entire NHS community and the town of New

Hampton had for Bud. His loss is painful, but his leg-acy is inspiring to all who were fortunate to cross paths with this amazing human being. From the

first time I got to converse with Mr. Moore at dinner at

the house on Pinnacle Hill in the fall of 1979 with some

of my classmates from Lewis, to chatting with him at

the Hall of Fame Dinner for the 1980 hockey team in

the fall of 2008, he was always more interested in what

I was doing than talking about himself. He had an un-

canny ability to put you at ease, build your confidence,

get you to talk, and then remember it! During our last

conversation at that dinner, I asked him why he hadn’t

become Governor of New Hampshire yet and with his

beautiful grin he replied, “because I can’t talk out of

both sides of my mouth!” What a remarkable response

from a tremendous leader, teacher, and mentor. God-

speed Bud, you will be missed, but always remembered.”—jONATHAN KARALEKAS ’80

FALL 2013 HAMPTONIA 51

the life-changer

By Jason Pilalas ’58 Trustee

It is my honor and privilege to share a few thoughts about my savior and our headmaster, teacher, disciplinarian, role model, colleague and friend, T. Holmes “T.H.” Moore. If that sounds a bit dramatic, read on. I first met T.H. In the summer of 1954 when my father was looking for a school where I would be out of his sight and largely his mind. As Bud described it many years later, the conversation between the two of them was like two big cats warily circling each other, looking for an opening. As he learned more about my family situation, and, accurately discerning he was getting just a sanitized version, Bud’s reaction was, “I’ve got to get this kid away from this mess.” Thus my admission to NHS as a freshman and why savior fits so well.

Headmaster, teacher, disciplinarian and role model—these will be common feelings for all the boys and, starting in 1970, the girls who passed through his care. T. H. fit the part perfectly. In the vernacular, he had the “Right Stuff.” He had never been given a thing and earned everything he accomplished. From his early teens, to NHS and to Middlebury, then getting his Navy wings, and back to college to finish his degree, it was grit and effort that led him forward. It was his great good fortune to win the love of his wartime bride, Jinga, which led him back to New Hampton and then into the hearts of six decades of our students.

By his return, his experiences and academic success, a commanding presence, an easy familiarity and obvious humanity came together with a manner friendly or stern depending on circumstances. Over time, these reinforced a reputation for fairness and firmness, and despite our youth showed through even to us. Our respect mirrored more T.H. the person than the position he held.

For many of us, he was a key figure in and shaper of both our young and later lives. He had a sixth-sense, which gave him an understanding of teenage boys and girls, their hopes, partly-formed abilities and personas, conflicts and circumstances, and a wonderful insight into how to best help and nurture them. In my case, it was all this plus the quality of mercy which allowed me to continue at school, then go on to eventually mature and pursue a successful career. After NHS, he was instrumental in getting me a largely undeserved college scholarship and subsequent Navy commission.

I always hugely admired his courage as a World War II Naval Aviator, flying low and alone over heavily defended enemy islands in the Pacific, then landing on the open sea to hopefully be picked up by his ship. As James Michener once wrote, “Where do we get such men?”

Of course as students, our school lives revolved around classes, grades, dorm life, and athletics. The behind-the-scenes workings of the School were very largely a closed book to us. Not to Bud. Taken in by Headmaster Fred Smith in the depth of the Depression as one of his “Worthy Boys”—the translation is he couldn’t begin to pay—Bud well understood how the School’s financial situation became parlous at times, especially

during economic slowdowns. Unlike other New England boarding schools, NHS never had the means to build an endowment of size, and depended almost exclusively on tuition while striving to also bring in more worthy boys and girls.

Bud was determined to put the school on firmer financial ground, and fortunately recruited Bob Kennedy ‘50, CEO of Union Carbide and an acknowledged international business leader, as Board Chair. I like to characterize Bob as the best friend New Hampton has ever had. Teaming with Bob, Bud brought NHS through the deep recession of 1989-92, which hit New Hampshire real estate, our alumni donor base, and prospective family pool particularly hard. Rather than despair, together they put in place plans, policies, and people that gave us a solid foundation for the success to follow.

Even in retirement, Bud continued to work to benefit the School. His extraordinary memory was constantly utilized to help reconnect alumni and remind them of their youth, achievements, old classmates, and their debt to the School, which tried so hard

to help them forward. And of course, since Bud was the keystone of that part of the arcs of their lives, his appeals were very hard to resist, even when only lightly pressed.

Together, Bud and Bob laid the foundation for the energized and solid academic and financial position and reputation we now enjoy. It is a culture and institutional health that the current leadership of Head of School Andrew Menke and Board Chair Peter Galletly ’73 is now further enhancing.

Bud deeply loved Jinga, his bride and wife of 68 years, the extended Moore and Smith families, and the School they have served since 1926. They and it were the building blocks and cornerstones of his life. We are fortunate that through Jinga and current trustee Rob Moore ’73, the connections endure. For my generation, T.H. is the root of our love for New Hampton and the principal reason for our past, present, and future commitment and support. In my family and in many others, he will never be forgotten.

Bud Moore ’38 and Jason Pilalas ’58 chat at the

GO BEYOND! launch celebration in 2009. 52 NEW HAMPTON SCHOOL FALL 2013

Memorial donations may be made to New Hampton School in support of the T. Holmes and Norma Jean Moore Endowed Scholarship Fund. (www.newhampton.org/giving or New Hamp-ton School c/o Sandy Colhoun, 70 Main Street, New Hampton, NH 03256) or to the Mayhew Program (www.mayhew.org/ or P.O. Box 120, 293 West Shore Rd., Bristol, NH 03222).

During the summer of 1978, I needed a do-over. I needed a big-time, let’s-start-from-scratch, all-is-forgiven, nobody-knows-your-name do-over. Frankly, i had reached my teenage version of rock bottom and was going nowhere fast. i was 16. My parents and i had been called to school for yet one more conference. The four of us were in a three-person office with voices that were talking words and numbers and excuses. i didn’t really hear them then, and i don’t remember them now. All i could hear was my own voice saying i needed to leave this place and these people, and begin again.

Although we weren’t prep school people, my parents were amazingly supportive, and understood that i was telling a soul wrenching truth when i said, “i want to leave here, go into the wilds of New Hampshire where nobody knows me, and start over.” They understood that my “hometown” didn’t feel like home, the public schools didn’t fit me, and i was getting lost in the chaos of an “educational” machine.

Six weeks later, i was unpacking my bags into the tiny closet of the attic room of the barn behind gables Hall, and greeting my fabulously funny and brilliant roommates gretchen rosenquist ’80 and the spirited NHS senior Jeanne Internicola ’79. I had never seen any place more beautiful in my life. i knew i was home, and i was getting my fresh start. There were small classes with teachers who became manna from heaven, sports, creative people and places, nature—all of it wrapped up with just enough mischief to make it great fun.

Three weeks later, my father fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck.

My fear during those next few days was palpable. My mother asked that i remain at New Hampton, safe and under the School’s care, until the situation was clearer. But i couldn’t see how i was going to stay here in my new home, when life for my family had changed so drastically. The uncertainty of my situation was frightening and confusing.

T. Holmes Moore, as i understand 30 years later, answered similar calls for many families.

The more than 800 people who attended his memorial in August are a living testament to his kindness, generosity, and grace. There are hundreds of stories of Mr. Moore shaping young lives, pushing and pulling, saving and sheltering, caring for young people who needed it, and launching those who didn’t. There are those, like me, who still struggle to find the right words, the oh-so-

important words that might adequately tell the whole story, to express our inexorable gratitude. With the simple act of placing his arm around my shoulder and inviting me to dinner the first night of my parentless family weekend, Mr. Moore helped me believe that i was going to be ok. i was safe here, in this place for which he had responsibility.

even now, i have no words to convey how profound the impact his presence and compassion had on me that day, and most all of my days at NHS. Never a rich man,

my father gave what he could to NHS until he died in 2005. My Dad would be so proud to know that since 2009, i have tried to serve NHS as a member of the Board of Trustees, experiencing the great honor of sitting beside Bud Moore, the man whose caring arm around my shoulder 30 years ago changed my view of the world forever.

answering the call

By Victoria Blodgett ’80Trustee

honor

bud

Victoria Blodgett ’80 (left) and Susan Overton greet Bud at the Dedication of

the Pilalas Center in 2009.

FALL 2013 HAMPTONIA 53