With a history that stretches back more than 177 years, Blair is a community with a colorful and storied past. Some of those stories are firmly rooted in fact, carefully recorded in the School’s archives, while others have evolved over time, with details changing depending on the person telling the tale. Many of us stumble on these stories in the most unexpected places—a Chapel Talk, a snippet overheard at lunch or an aside in class from faculty who swear they were there. We’ve all heard the whispers—the filming of Friday the 13th, the explosion that occurred after war artifacts were removed from a dorm or the remarkable 40-foot pine that took up residence in Mason Hall one Christmas. Have you ever felt the hairs on the back of your neck rise as you walked Locke's darkened halls at night? Perhaps it's just the wind—or perhaps it's something more. We dug deep into the archives and teamed up with the School's historians and storytellers to bring you just a few of the legends and lore that have withstood the test of time at Blair. 

The Curious Incident of the Cows

“We have a problem” crackled over the loudspeaker during breakfast announcements. It was Assistant Headmaster Ferd Marcial, Hon. ’39, and Bill Wildrick, Class of 1963, quietly chuckled to himself. Bill recalled the previous night’s escapade, when several members of his class had herded a couple of cows from the nearby Cook dairy farm up two flights of stairs to the Clinton Study Hall, locking them in for the night.

Bill remembers Assistant Headmaster Marcial’s next instruction: “Whoever is responsible, please bring a shovel to clean up the cow pies left behind and return the cows to their rightful owners. There will be no retribution if you come immediately after breakfast to clean up this mess.” There was just one small problem. The cows had walked upstairs fairly easily, but coaxing them back down proved quite the challenge for the pranksters. “That gave the facility the last laugh,” Bill says, still grinning at the memory.

Check the Blair website next Monday for the next installment of the Legends & Lore of Blair!