How awards were given (or denied to those who deserved them) at Linton Hall Military School

At Linton Hall Military School, medals and other awards were sometimes given or denied arbitrarily. This is an account of three cadets and the awards they did, and did not, deserve.

A few days before graduation, Sister Mary David O.S.B., the school principal, went into the eighth grade classroom and announced that this was the time of the year when she would normally announce the names of the three eighth graders with the highest grade point average. The highest ranked, the Valedictorian, would be awarded a gold-colored medal and speak at graduation; the second, called the Salutatorian, would also speak at graduation and be awarded a silver colored medal. The third would be awarded a bronze colored medal.

That year, she said, since no one in the graduating class had earned a grade point average of at least 90%, there would be no academic awards given.

At least one cadet asked her to at least tell the class the names of these cadets, and she actually did so. She announced the names of the first two. The first one had a grade average of slightly above 88%, the second slightly below 88%, and the third, she said, was so far below the first two that she would not even give his name. Although the names of the cadets are known to me, I will refer to them as "First" and "Second."

She also implied that it was because of laziness, or stupidity, or both, that no one had achieved an average above 90%. Although some cadets may have been at times lazy, or not bright in some subjects (and I would not deny that I had been lazy at times or found some subjects difficult) I think it was extremely presumptuous of her to blame the low grades entirely on the students. When the average is low for the entire class, I would be more inclined to see the cause as being either teachers who were particularly tough that particular year (especially when grading assignments such as essays, for which there is no objective standard) or some teachers being less than effective in teaching material.

In any case, the award was for being first, second and third. Just as the runners in a race are ranked against each other and not against those in preceding years, it makes no more sense to deny an award to those scoring less than 90% than it would make sense to have half a dozen valedictorians if in a particular year there were six graduating seniors with average grades above 90%, or wherever the cutoff may be.

Sister Mary David went on to say that since the two with the highest grade average were not worthy of speaking at graduation, that she would pick someone else to give the speech.

Now wait a second. We couldn't have been lazy or stupid, because we realized that it made no sense to deny "First" and "Second" the honor of speaking, and instead appoint "Cadet X" who, at best, had a grade point average far below that of the first two, or, at worst, was at the botton of the class.

Shortly after, several eighth graders discussed this incident. The three cadets involved, "First," "Second," and "Cadet X," were all present. "Cadet X" told the first two that he would decline to speak at graduation, since he did not deserve the honor. I will not keep you in suspense; he did not do the right thing, and did speak at graduation. I do not want to be too harsh on him, since he was only 13 or 14 years old at the time, but he clearly knew that he was taking something he did not deserve, but failed to do the right thing. I have far harsher things to say about Sister Mary David, an adult in her forties, who chose to have the graduating class and their parents addressed by someone who, by accepting this opportunity, was someone who took something which he did not deserve, and was far from a positive role model.

I think that Sister Mary David made a big mistake by revealing the names of the two cadets who had placed highest. Not only did she say this to the entire eighth grade class, but the rumor mill being what it was in such a small school, it did not take long for most of the seventh graders, the faculty, and most of the other cadets to know what had happened.

But there's more to the story. Although I have not identified the three cadets by name, their names are known to me, as are their birthplaces. "Cadet X" had an Anglo-Saxon last name, and was presumably born in the U.S.. Both "First" and "Second" had last names that were definitely not Anglo-Saxon, they had both been born in Latin America, and their native language was Spanish. Although I cannot know what went on in the principal's mind, or what her motivation was, those are the facts about the three cadets' names and birthplaces. You can draw your own conclusions.

It would also be safe to assume that "First" and "Second" wrote home about this incident. Since outgoing mail was censored, and Sister Mary David said she knew Spanish, anyone want to bet that those letters went out?

Sometime after this incident, "First" took some cardboard and pencils and made his own medal, a medal with the number one, and the words "Gypped Out" underneath. He showed it to other cadets, and I would not be surprised if Sister Mary David had found out, but I can't recall him being punished for it.

At graduation, after all the other medals had been given, "First" and "Second" did receive their medals, but they were announced as "academic awards" or some other low-key phrase. But "Cadet X" gave the speech that the other two cadets rightfully should have given.

As usual, comments are welcome, but please do not mention the names of these cadets.

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Read more in my two books: Linton Hall Military School Memories: One Cadet's Memoir" and "Linton Hall Military School Memories Volume 2."

The first volume is available only from amazon.com (or for shipments to Mexico, amazon.com.mx) The second volume (either English or Spanish version is available on Amazon as well as barnesandnoble.com and walmart.com in the US. In Mexico, it's available from either amazon.com.mx or lulu.com. Prices to Mexico may be shown in Mexican pesos.

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Copyright 2012 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
Please respect copyright by linking to this post instead of copying and pasting.
This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School and all opinions are those of the author.

What the Linton Hall Military School brochure said ... and what it was really like

I've recently come across a brochure for Linton Hall Military School from 1949 (yup ... 62 years ago!) -- quite a rare find.

The brochure doesn't actually have a date, but it was in use in 1949 and could have been produced as early as 1947, since it includes a picture of the "new" Linton Hall school building which, according to the information I have, was completed in 1947.














You'll notice that the original building is quite smaller than the one most of us remember.
It has only one floor, plus basement. This floor is where the offices, infirmary, visitor's lounge and cafeteria were located during the 1960s. When the building was originally constructed, this floor was used as a dormitory, and the building was called "Ireton Hall" in the brochure (I'm guessing it may have been named after Bishop Ireton.) The second and third floor (the eight dorms during the 1960s) had not been added yet, and neither had the classroom wing nor the gym.

But this post isn't really about pictures. It's about what the brochure said about Linton Hall, compared to what it was like when I was there.

I have to emphasize that the brochure is from the late 1940s, and I attended during the late 1960s, approximately twenty years later. Just as the building had undergone major change, the school might have done so as well. The principal, Commandant, and most of the nuns were different people, and it's entirely possible that the school went from being a "Little Heaven" in the 1940s to a "Little Hell" in the 1960s.

The quotes are from the brochure distributed in 1949 by Linton Hall. School brochures are intended to showcase the positive aspects, and this brochure is no exception. But the school described in the 1940s and the one I attended in the 1960s were so different that it is hard to fathom this was the same school. I just hope that today's Linton Hall School is a far better place for children than it was while I was there.













I will be quoting from the brochure distributed in 1949 by Linton Hall. School brochures are intended to show case the positive aspects, and this brochure is no exception. But the school described in the 1940s and the one I attended in the 1960s were so different that it is hard to fathom this was the same school. I just hope that today's Linton Hall School is a far better place for children than it was while I was there.

"Linton Hall Military School
For boys - Ages, 6-16" (page 5)

I think that the age range was slightly narrower during the 1960s, more like 7 to 15, but I strongly believe that a military school is a totally unsuitable environment for younger children. How can you expect a 6-year old who can hardly tie his shoelaces to be in a military school?

"Religious Training - Every spiritual advantage is afforded to build
up in the cadet a strong, manly Christian character. " (page 9)

I have no idea what a "manly" Christian character is, but "manliness" seems a strange quality to expect from a six year old, or even an older boy. Why not let boys be boys and have a childhood?

"A boy is more than just a boy; he is an individual. ... [I]t is by a
thorough understanding of these qualities that his teachers are best to help
him." (page 10)

Although I agree wholeheartedly with this quote, I saw little if no recognition of anyone's individuality, or any interest or effort made to understand our qualities as individuals. Not that it was really feasible, anyway, with one prefect in charge of a dorm of fifty boys, or a playground of two hundred. I cited this quote in a recent blog post titled "You'll never believe who said this ..." and I still find it hard to believe the source.

"We consider it an achievement of great merit that we have been able for
a number of years to give evry boy at Linton Hall the advantage of an individual
measurement of his general powers, and from time to time and from stage to stage can carefully check his development, toward a forceful and well-rounded
personality." (page 10)

Excuse me while I laugh, cry, or vomit -- or do all three, uncontrollably. At the Linton Hall I knew, it was my impression that individuality and a forceful personality were undesirable traits to be snuffed out at all costs.

"Obedience to rules may be compelled by force, but character is developed
only by the growth within the boy himself of a desire to do right." (page 10)

This, too, is a principle I wholeheartedly agree with. But what I see is a valid criticism of the Linton Hall Military School I experienced, and definitely not a description of the Linton Hall that I attended.

Wait ... there's more:

"If the boy is held down too strictly a wrong reaction may occur when the
restraint is removed. It is the aim of the school to create an atmosphere of
freedom of action within reasonable limits and to develop among the student body
the idea that they could do thus and so if they wished, but should prefer
otherwise. If the cadet does right because he wants to rather than because he is
compelled there will be no harmful reaction. The main purpose of the ideal
school is to inculcate this conception of right action among the pupils." (page
10)

Am I dreaming? I must be. This is what it says on page 11:

"The school has no rigid rules." (page 11)

Linton Hall Military School during the 1960s had rigid rules for everything, from where your bed was placed (not so much as half an inch away from the line of the tiles on the floor) to how you folded your underwear (folded into a square, using two perpendicular folds) to how you went to the bathroom (wearing your bathrobe backwards when doing a number 2 on the toilet, with your hands outside your robe, so as to avoid any fleeting contact of your hand with your penis.)

But wait, what happens if someone breaks the rules, even by accident?

"Mildness and firmness characterize the endeavors of the sisters in
habits ... which are essential to the development of a manly Christian
character." (page 11)

The various physical punishments we received were anything but mild. The other blogger has written an extensive post listing all the ways we were punished. I should add that it didn't seem to make much difference whether you broke the rules purposely, by accident, were merely accused of breaking the rules, or the rules were broken by some unknown person. In the latter case, everyone in the classroom, dorm, or school was punished when the one culprit couldn't be found.

And there's that phrase "manly Christian character" again.

"Students are expected ... to observe habitual politeness toward each
other." (page 11)

"Expected"? Well, maybe, but officers who treated younger cadets like dirt, who used abusive language other than the standard four-letter words ('mess,' 'messpot' (which are words for 'toilet') 'stupid,' 'dumb,' etc. were all acceptable words when used by an officer towards younger children) were tolerated, as was the 'suffer' sign, so ubiquitous that there was even a hand gesture for it.

"An elastic step and manly bearing, prompt obedience to orders, attention
to details, and physical improvements are some of the many advantages of
military training." (page 11)

Here we go again with little boys who outght to be home watching cartoons being expected to have a "manly bearing." The attention to details was something Iwould classify as obsessive-compulsive. (I am not a psychologist, but anyone who is could have a field day with the last quote.) Physical improvements? My body benefited more from free play than standing at attention and marching.

"If, however they [refers to the purported advantages of military
training cited in the previous quote] are secured at the expense of the cadet's
individuality, the price paid is too great." (page 11)

Truer words were never spoken. I just need to keep checking to make sure that these words actually came from a Linton Hall Military School brochure.

Here's more:

"During the drill [the boy] merges his individuality for the welfare of
the whole but when military discipline is relaxed, he is urged again to assert
this same individuality, for it is characteristic of the school that each
student is treated as an individual." (pages 11-12)

Enough. I can't stand it anymore! On to lighter topics:

"A rifle club... is equipped with a new rifle range and new .22 caliber
rifles." (page 16)

We still had the rifle club during the sixties.

"The table is generously supplied with a variety of wholesome food ...
The extensive farm supplies a plentiful amount of vegetables in season, a
well-kept herd of cattle insures an abundance of milk at all meals, and a large
modern poultry farm provides fresh eggs at all times." (pages 17-18)

I've heard from an alumnus who attended during the 1940s that this was the case. By the 1960s, our food was standard school cafeteria fare, most if not all of it from cans, milk came in cartons, and it was definitely neither plentiful nor abundant. I gained a total of five pounds over the years I was there, and I wouldn't be surprised if all of the weight gain had occurred during the intervening school vacations and weekends home.

"Special attention is paid to the manners of the cadets in the dining room."
(page 18)

We ate out of metal trays, and many kids sloppily wolfed down their food after chewing it with their mouth open. Table manners were definitely worse than what I had observed at the schools I had previously attended. As long as you weren't breaking rules, no one gave a hoot about table manners.

A constant effort is made to instruct the cadets in regard to the usages
of polite society." (page 18)

The highly regimented environment, in which obedience was obtained through intimidation, did not prepare me to fit into polite society. I recall little politeness, just deference caused by fear.

"It is intended that the school life shall be home life, that each cadet
shall feel free to do whatever he would be allowed to do in a well-regulated
home, subject only to such restrictions as are imperative on account of the
large number present." (page 18)

I understand that some restrictions would be needed "on account of the large number present." These would include going to bed at the same time, having meals at the same time, sending one third of the dorm at a time to use the bathroom. But "free to do whatever he would be allowed to do in a well-regulated home"? No, not at all. Little freedom to decide what to do and when to do it for hobbies, reading, games, sports, etc.

"Cadets are forbidden to keep money on their persons or in their
quarters." (page 19)

That's how it was for us, too. Part of it was to prevent theft, I'm sure, but I also would assume that it was a way to eliminate a resource which would have been handy when running away.

"Student Organizations: Sodality of Our Lady, The Berchmans Sanctuary
Society, The Choral Society, The Athletic Association, The Patriotic and
Dramatic Club, The Rifle Club" (page 22)

We had the rifle club, too. Don't know about the others.

"Our entire plant has a hospitable atmosphere within and without, and
suggests no "institution" but a home -- that is what it is." (page 23)

When the brochure was written, the dorms were on the first floor, the building's only floor (besides the basement.) I don't know how the dorms were laid out then. But during the late sixties, the dorms had three rows of beds, about 50 beds total in one big dorm -- as institutional as you can get. The walls were painted a greenish/bluish shade of off-white, there were no curtains on the windows, just shades that rolled up and down, the beds were metal, the wall decoration consisted of one crucifix on the wall, (I remember there was one poster in one of the dorms, no doubt something a nun had put up) and any personalization of our own bed, locker, etc. was strictly forbidden. Can't get more institutional than that.

"Each boy is required to write a letter home weekly" (page 23)

... but if we wrote anything too negative (even if true) about the school, the letter didn't get mailed.

"[T]elephone calls should be made between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m." (p. 23)

Wow! They actually got to use the phone. We were only allowed calls in case of emergency. Cadets from Mexico or far away states, who did not get to go home on weekends, were allowed to make and receive calls. I believe they got a weekly call, but I'm not sure.

"Many social activities enliven the school life of the cadets" (page 23)

If we had any, they were rare, unless you include hanging out on the playground or having others gloat when you're punished as "social activities."

"Each month the boys may spend a designated weekend at home provided
their scholastic standing and conduct warrant it." (page 23)

We usually got to go home every other weekend, although at the beginning of the school year we had to wait three weeks before going home. We, too, could lose our weekends as punishment.

Finally, here's a list of required clothing and toiletries from 1949:

During the late 1960s we also had khaki uniforms, not listed above. The blue sweater was sold by Linton Hall, and buttoned in front. We didn't wear a "mackinaw" (wool coat, usually plaid) but a pea coat, navy blue with gold colored buttons, with the letters L and H, was sold as part of the uniform. Sweat shirts with the school's logo were sold by the school, as was the winter cap, which for us was a knit wool cap. Rubbers? I'll refrain from making a joke. No, we weren't asked to bring rubber boots. We had to bring a pair of black dress shoes and one pair of tennis shoes instead of the shoes listed. Two dozen handkerchiefs? Don't think we had to bring that many. Blankets had to be military olive green, and the duffle bag was sold by the school.

Linton Hall alumni from the 1950s, 1940s, or earlier: I would be delighted to hear from you to find out whether this brochure accurately describes your experience at Linton Hall, particularly regarding rules and discipline.

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Source:
Linton Hall Military School brochure, published sometime between 1947-1949.

Copyright 2011 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
Please respect copyright by linking to this post instead of copying and pasting.

This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School and all opinions are those of the author. Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.

"A boy is more than just a boy; he is an individual"

You'll never believe who said this! (Hint, it wasn't me, although it is a statement I believe wholeheartedly.)

The problem is, individuality wasn't exactly valued at Linton Hall Military School. I would go as far as saying that individuality was something to be suppressed.

We were forced to dress alike, have identical haircuts, march in the same way and to the same count to and from the classrooms, the cafeteria, the shower room.

Our beds were made in the identical way, with the same color blankets, the top blanket the same distance from the top of the bed so that when looking at a row of beds they all lined up, and next to our beds we had to have our slippers and toilet kit placed a certain way. I wonder how we even recognized which was our bed, in a dorm with three rows of approximately 16 beds each. During the day, we could recognize our bathrobe over the chair, since bathrobes did not have to have a uniform color or pattern. (I am surprised that they did not make us buy the identical color and pattern of bathrobe and pajamas. Maybe it's because they didn't manufacture them in camouflage patterns or with prints of hand grenades and rocket launchers.) But I am still not sure how we recognized our own beds in the evening, when our uniforms werehung on the chair -- all uniforms hung the same way, of course.

In our lockers everyone had to store the same pieces of clothing on the same shelves as everyone else, the towels and washcloths folded a certain way, even our underwear had to be folded a certain way, with two folds into the approximation of a square, as close to a square as a pair of white cotton briefs can be.

How about personalizing the inside of your locker, like kids do with their school lockers everywhere else? Not at Linton Hall! Shortly after I arrived at Linton Hall, I put a sticker on the inside of my locker, a small sticker about 3x3 inches at most, just an animal sticker, nothing controversial or offensive, and an officer made me remove it. Another kid had a miniature poster, small enough to stick on the inside of the door of his locker, and had to remove it as well. The poster bore the words "The Leaning Tower of Pizza" and had a drawing of a stack of pizzas that looked like the Tower of Pisa.

We were almost always called only by our last names. When I look through my old yearbooks I am surprised to see the first names of alumni whose last names I remember; for most of them, their first name seems to be an obscure piece of information.

I have to admit that when I was an officer I had trouble remembering everyone's name; part of it may be that I'm not that good with names, part of it may be that they pretty much all looked alike, but the worst part is, I didn't really care to get to know them as individuals. The boys in my grade, yes, but the boys under my command, I'm ashamed to admit this, were just a crowd to be controlled, much like a cowboy herds cattle, I suppose.

The priest didn't even bother learning our names. He just called everyone "Charley." Some saw it as a funny quirk, or the opportunity to enjoy seeing a kid who had been called "Charley" the first time, argue that his name wasn't Charley, but something else. To me, it felt humiliating, as offensive as an African American would have felt at being called "Boy." Of course, he was one of the adults, and I couldn't say anything.

This smothering of individuality goes beyond the annoying. Child psychologists (notably Erik Erikson) have recognized the need to develop a sense of self and identity, distinct from others. This is something very primal, that manifests itself in how kids choose to dress, wear their hair, and decorate their school locker and home bedroom. This is something we were strongly denied.

I will reveal the source of the quote which is the title of this post, in a future post. You will not believe who said it!

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Copyright 2011 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
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This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School and all opinions are those of the author. Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.

What I learned about sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll at Linton Hall

Not much!

But the place for learning about these things was at the picnic table next to the canteen. It was a wooden table, with two attached benches, and within reach of an electrical outlet on the outer wall of the canteen, where a kid (I don't remember his name) would plug in his portable record player and play 45 r.p.m. records.

(For younger readers, a 45 r.p.m. was a vinyl record, a bit larger than a CD, with one song on each side. For even younger readers, a CD is a hopelessly old-fashioned music storage disk which was in use before I-Pods.)

Near the picnic table were some cedar trees, I don't recall whether they were close enough to shade the picnic table, but I remember smelling the aromatic red wood of those trees, which is used to line cedar closets.

We heard very little of the outside world at Linton Hall Military School. I don't recall ever reading a newspaper or a news magazine while I was there, and it was only in the late sixties that we finally got to watch television -- "educational" TV was installed in the classrooms, and we occasionally got to watch the evening news, anchored by Walter Cronkite. Very few kids had radios, and we were only allowed to listen to them on rare occasions, such as during evening "rest" -- so hearing contemporary music was a rare treat for us.

When I hear certain songs I recall the first time I heard that particular song, where I was and what I was doing. Songs that I heard at Linton Hall for the very first time include 'Wichita Lineman,' 'Hush,' 'Harper Valley PTA,' 'A Boy Named Sue,' 'Little Green Apples,' and 'Aquarius."

While listening to these songs we would share sexual misinformation -- the clueless misinforming the clueless -- and trade a few dirty jokes. I still remember a couple of those, probably because I heard them over and over again. It wasn't the type of subject matter that the nuns would have wanted us talking about, and I remember one time when one of the kids told another one to be careful, that there was an officer in the group. I was the officer, and just said something like "What? I wasn't paying attention."

We also learned some bizarre conspiracy-type rumors. One cadet claimed that President Kennedy was still alive, and provided a blurry mimeographed (or photocopied) page as "proof." That was how urban legends spread before the Internet.

How do drugs fit in with rock and roll? A nun explained this to us once in the classroom. The Soviet Union, she explained, wanted to corrupt the minds of American youth. And the way they were going about it, she continued, was by giving large cash payoffs to musicians, so they would play what she called "dope music" -- songs with a repetitive beat which would brainwash young people into taking drugs.

Granted, this was the sixties, and there were songs about drugs; but it's exactly for that reason that I seriously doubt that musicians really needed any cash incentives to sing about drugs. Besides, many of the songs about drugs were anti-drug (the Rolling Stones' 'Sister Morphine' and 'Mother's Little Helper' are two examples that come to mind,) and several prominent musicians died during the sixties as a result of drug overdoses.

As much as she had the best intentions in cautioning us about the perils of listening to "dope music" her theories were a little flakey.

Even flakier was what the same nun taught us about sex. She explained that women derive absolutely no pleasure from sexual intercourse, and do it only to please men.

I later learned otherwise, but at the time I took her word for it, since the only sexual experience I had had at the time was holding hands with a girl once in kindergarten.

I shouldn't have expected a nun to be an expert on these things anyway.

That's it. You didn't expect a post titled "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll at Linton Hall" to be long, did you?

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Copyright 2011 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
Please respect copyright by linking to this post instead of copying and pasting.
This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School and all opinions are those of the author. Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.

Rules and Procedures for using the toilet at Linton Hall Military School

How one uses the toilet isn't a topic for polite conversation, but I'm bringing it up because it is an example of how every aspect of our daily life, even the most personal, was regulated.

I've previously written about how we had no privacy even when showering, since there was a nun watching the whole time. What I find ironic is that even though we spent maybe ten minutes naked in front of a nun when showering, the school took elaborate measures to make sure that none of us happened to accidentally see another boy's penis for a few seconds while changing.

The procedure for changing clothes in the dorms involved the cadets in each of the three rows facing the same direction; the center and window rows faced in the direction of the window, and the locker row faced the lockers; in other words, we faced our own chair. We would then put our bathrobe on over our clothes (or pajamas) and change our pants and underwear. Then we would remove the bathrobe to change our shirts or pajama tops. This procedure went on even when changing from khaki pants to green fatigue pants, i.e., when we did not remove our underwear.

In the bathrooms, the urinals had been covered up with brown wrapping paper (some with black plastic garbage bags) by the time I attended in the sixties, so we used the toilets even to urinate. There were partitions between the toilets (I believe they were actual walls, but don't recall exactly what material they were made of) but these were only about three feet tall, and there were no doors on the stalls. I don't know whether there were doors originally and they had been removed sometime later. I did see pictures from the late 1980s in which the stalls do have doors.

This worked fine when urinating, but when defecating there was a special procedure involving the bathrobe. Whether you were wearing pajamas or one of the uniforms, you had to get your bathrobe and put it on backwards, meaning with the opening to the back, before sitting on the toilet. After you were finished, you would either put the bathrobe on correctly (if wearing pajamas) or take it back to your chair.

This was one of a myriad of rules explained to us upon our arrival at Linton Hall, but actually there was more to it than that.

There I was, a recent arrival, sitting on the toilet and wearing my bathrobe the approved way, when a busybody reported me to an officer. You see, I happened to have a hand under my bathrobe. Why? Well, I didn't want my penis accidentally touching the filthy edge of the toilet bowl, and I needed to point my penis down into the bowl so that if I happened to urinate I wouldn't soil my pajamas and bathrobe. I didn't feel comfortable explaining this to the officer or the busybody, so I just did as I was told and kept my hands over my bathrobe.

This little incident illustrates both the prevalent mentality among far too many cadets of looking for and reporting even the smallest infractions by others, and the extent to which even the most personal and insignificant details of our daily existence were regulated.

(Added 11/30/11:) The toilets in the basement had regular sized partitions, but no doors.
Over my lifetime I've probably used hundreds of public restrooms, but I cannot think of even a single one (other than the ones at Linton Hall Military School) where the partitions were only 3 feet tall and/or there were no doors on the stalls.

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Copyright 2011 by Linton Hall Cadet.
Please respect copyright by linking to this post instead of copying and pasting.
This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School and all opinions are those of the author. Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.

"Linton Hall ....... School" (The word "military" doesn't appear anywhere!)

I recently wrote how Linton Hall Military School, although it remained a military school until 1989, had stopped calling itself "military" at least ten years before. In that post, I mentioned how by 1978, the school's advertising completely omitted the word "military" both from the name and description of the school.

In the above ad a from The Washington Post, August 12, 1979, the word see if you can firnd the word "military" anywhere. You can't. Nor do the boys' clothing, un-military posture, or their smiles betray the fact that "Linton Hall ........ School" was still a military school.

What happened when someone replied to the ad and requested more information, this is the letter they received:

Does the word "military" appear anywhere here? No, not at all.

See my previous post to find out where the word "military" actually appears, somewhere inside the 1978-79 "Linton Hall ......... School" brochure.

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Copyright 2011 by Linton Hall Cadet.

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They started calling it "Linton Hall School" at least ten years before it stopped being a military school!

Linton Hall Military School, originally established as a military school in 1922, stopped being a military school in 1988, (Note 1) although there was a period during the late 1920s when the military program was dropped. (Note 2)

Recently, however, another LHMS alumnus wrote in his blog that a web site of the Benedictine sisters omits the fact that Linton Hall ever was a military school, by stating that "In 1922, on the Bristow grounds, Linton Hall School opened as a boarding school for boys ..." (Note 3) (Emphasis added.)

Upon first reading his blog, I was willing to give the sisters the benefit of the doubt, thinking that perhaps this was a simple oversight. In fact, Linton Hall Military School officially and deliberately dropped the word "Military" from its name at least ten years before the military program was discontinued in 1989.

I visited the school on Military Day 1980, and the program, still in my posession, refers to the school as "Linton Hall School." From everything I could observe, that Military Day was just like the Military days while I attended during the late 1960s. (Note 4)

Even two years before that, the cover of the Linton Hall calendar and brochure sent to prospective students and their parents, as well as the school's letterhead and printed envelopes, all referred to the school as "Linton Hall School."

Inside the brochure, the school is generally referred to simply as "Linton Hall."
The school's history and (rather self-serving) description refers to the school as "a boarding and day school" and "a Christian school," but nowhere does the word "military" appear, not even once. (Note 5)

The next page's recap of the daily schedule does mention "Drill" from 3:45 to 5 p.m. on Mon./Wed., and "Non-Parade Fridays" but not in a manner that makes it blatantly obvious. The photo on the page is of over a dozen boys wearing sweaters and ties, but they are standing and sitting in very casual poses which don't carry even a hint of the school's true military nature.

A few pages later, in a section titled "Faculty and Staff" the brochure states, "In addition to the excellent academic program, experiences in art, music, drama, military, sports, and field study are under the supervision of a well-trained, dedicated staff."

Note how the word "military" is mentioned in passing.

Folks, when I attended Linton Hall Military School, my "experiences" in Art consisted of such things as building a model car from a kit in "Art" class and crafting things aout of wire, popsicle sticks, and so on. But that didn't make the school into "Linton Hall Art School," now did it?

Nor did the my "experience" of marching to the beat of the Drum & Bugle Corps and listening to 45 rpm record during rest make this a music school.

But it sure was a military school!

It is only at the back of the brochure that the "Military Program" is finally described.

Of the twenty-six photos in which cadets appear, in the vast majority (23) they are NOT in the military dress uniform. Of the remaining three, one shows the cadet's head and shoulders (from ribbons on his chest and up) the second shows a cadet playing the piano at a recital attended by parents (I doubt most people would even discern that he is wearing the dress uniform, since he's way in the back of the picture) and the third, on the "Military Program" page shows the Drum and Bugle Corps. Unlike companies whose cadets carry rifles, the cadets in the D&BC obviosuly carry drums and bugles!

As far back as 1971, an advertisement appeared in a Catholic School directory, bearing the name of "Linton Hall School: (Note 6)

LINTON HALL
SCHOOL
Prince William County
Bristow, Virginia
For Boys Grades 3-8
Linton Hall School is a private
boarding school for boys in grades
three through eight, located thirty-
five miles south of Washington,
D.C. The students are offered sound
physical, academic and religious
programs. Small classes and a
well-equipped instructional ma-
terials center provide the oppor-
tunity for individualized and
small group instruction

The words "Linton Hall School" are mentioned twice in the ad. It is only in the index that the school is listed as "Linton Hall Military School" (Note 7)

This raises a lot of questions. Why did they make such an effort to avoid revealing the school's true nature as a military school? If a military school was not the type of environment that students and parents were searching for, why did they simply change the name of the school without changing the nature of the program? If they truly believed that the military school concept was a positive one, why did they not emphasize it and its purported benefits? Is "Outdoor Education, Conservation and Ecology" (OECW for short) the same as the "Military Science" and field maneuvers we were taught while I was there during the sixties? Why are cadets wearing their dress uniform in only three of the 26 pictures in the 1978 handbook/brochure? Why are there no pictures of guns, other than adults in tri-cornered Colonial hats with a musket? And, finally, today, in 2011, when Linton Hall School has not been a military school for a long time, does the school still have the regimented environment I remember, with excessive emphasis placed on uniform dress codes, length of hair and adherence to the pettiest of rules?

Footnotes
1. According to the school's official web site.

2. The Fruit of His Works, by Sister Helen Johnson OSB states that the military program was dropped during the late 1920s and was revived in 1931. In addition, Military Day programs in my posession identify the year both by its cardinal number, e.g. 1980, and ordinal number, i.e. 1980 was the forty-ninth Military Day. Working back, this would make the first Military Day in 1932. This differs from the statement on the school's website, cited in Note 1, that "In 1932, the military program was firmly established, and the school became known as Linton Hall Military School. "

3. http://lhmscadet.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/revisionist-history-of-linton-hall-military-school/
This is a blog by another alumnus who also attended Linton Hall Military School during the 1960s.
He has written excellent, well-researched posts about his experience.

4. Linton Hall School Military Day Program, 1980.

5. Linton Hall School, Calendar 1978-1979 Handbook. This publication is in the public domain. To protect the privacy of alumni whose photos appear in the publication, I am only posting the text.

6. The Official guide to Catholic educational institutions and religious communities in the United States, 1971, pages B-27 and B-38 Each of the following three urls has a portion of the ad:

http://tinyurl.com/lhs1971a ,
http://tinyurl.com/lhs1971a2 and
http://tinyurl.com/lhs1971a3 .

7. ibid, see http://tinyurl.com/lhs1971a4

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