The Blog

I know them all and remember fun times but names sometimes elude me. Here we have Edward B, Mark M.,Brandon K., Hooker C., Wong Ki A.,Jeong Y.,Noah T., Nick P., and others having good times together with lots of food – of course. These guys did something special for me this year or it may have been the year before! Hooker and Edward were certainly leaders in it. Read about it later. Ruby Woodside graduates and would return to WHS to be our other dorm parent 10 years later!! 2005 was the year of the Rooster. The New England Patriots win the Super Bowl two years in a row.

2003-2004 were big years for the Reid family. Kenneth graduated from North Eastern with a BSc in Civil Engineering and Andrew graduated from Lake Forest with a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics. Jordan C was still in diapers but went on to graduate from WHS in 2019. No more all school picture. Dana was one of the last “twice seen”. Students create their own yearbook page – sometimes with no name. Teas still popular. 2004 RED SOX WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!

Jeremy J.,Andy B., Noah T.,Riley Smith., Joe WS., Greg K., John C., Souichi M., Jin K., Tom J., Sam K., Joon Won P. Good and bad things happening in the world. Two good things were Pennsylvania miners rescued after spending 77 hours in a dark, flooded mine shaft. The Human Genome Project is completed during April 2003. Last year our dorm parents were Brian and Jesus and then we had a new dorm parent this year who had to leave late September. We worked “solo” for three months and the students were great. Lindsey arrived Jan 2003 – worth the wait. We received the Dorm Parent award and had a two page spread in the yearbook. Very nice.

Todd,Greg K.,John C., Koki O.,Desmond P.,Richard,Sam K., Marcus, Hiroki. Coby ,Jeremy J. Below these students are the watchful eyes of Mrs Reid – “Silly boys but at least you have your bow ties on.” This was the year of 9/11 which will forever be in our minds. 3,000 would lose their lives and many more would die in the years following. At New Cottage this was the one and only year that I wrote a collective letter of thanks to the dorm and this will be my memory of the good things of this year. It was for me a year of community and caring for others.

Zack W., Kee Hyun K., Sandy S., Ryan B., Aaron W., Tao N., Ben (Jammin’) K., Desmond P., Jin Yoel L., Jin K., Dana E. Another year of bearing their chests! Fun year but also sad as we said goodbye to 7 seniors (more than half of the dorm) some who had been with us for 3 years. Many friendships made. We also said good bye to Peter Dickson who worked and served us all faithfully in the kitchen for 35 years.

Now I am into my third decade of writing as I reflect on the academic year 1999-2000. No more pay phones. All students had their own phone – see below -wow !! Calls ended at 11pm and 12midnight on Fridays and Saturdays – how would students survive today! This was a crazy time waiting for Jan 1st 2000 with warnings in the media of collapse in banking, stock market, shops and anything that was digital. Nothing happened, we were all OK and had a good year. Jan 2000 was the month that Bill Belichick came to New England to coach – a really good year. Dan Olsen is still our other dorm parent and the NC boys reverted once more to bearing their chests!!.

Nearing the end of our second decade. Bill Clinton acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice. No more Gymnastics for a few years since Keiter was built in the footprint of the gymnastic building. We welcomed Mrs Cassel as our new Dean of Students. Dan Olsen continued as our dorm parent and is pictured with Pat McE., Drew J., Zach W., Jesse Z., Kee Hyun K., Matthew Van E., Glenn L., David K., Bryan D., Hank R. Daniel P., is missing as he left much earlier.

No, our dorm did not become co-ed. Capture the flag with Dorm-parent Dan shows most of the dorm. Hiro S., David K. ,Drew J., Pat McK., Mwara N., Ben B., David K., Nick C. Not here Andy G., Reese L., Jesse Z. At end of “97 Mr. Reid left the Math Dept after 17 years but continued developing the school website when very few schools had one. Our middle son Kenneth just started his BSc in Engineering when he was diagnosed with Hodgson’s. A year of change for the Reid’s. Aimee Simmons Dean of Students and Mr. Farraday Academic Dean both leave.

Happy to have some of our students back again and welcomed some new students to New Cottage. Gerson R., Reese L., Pat M., Joshua P., David K., Eric W., John T., Dan Olsen Mr. Reid, Nick C., Will D., Andy G. Dan Olsen replaced Karl Mini. We won the flag! The first year of New Cottage Awards night. The school is “on the Web” thanks to Mr. Reid.