Checkmated; Knickerbockered?

"We did not close School last winter during the bad weather; we never close on account of the weather. I explain to our boys that we have a small group of boarders, that many students live nearby, and that we are in the city -- not isolated in the country -- so we can always hold school. And that is true. But more important, I try to make clear that when difficulty comes along in life we can't hole up and escape it. That goes for bad weather, bad times, bad anything, whatever it may be. Our job in life is not to adjust to what life brings but to meet it and try to overcome it. When bad weather comes, getting up an hour early to dig one's self out of snow or to have plenty of time in the traffic, or even plenty of time to walk, will speak much louder to our boys, ourselves, and the community, than constant talk about the importance of education." Canon Charles Martin, A Letter From The Headmaster's Study, February 28, 1958.

In the 1957-58 School year, DC had a total of 40.4" of snow with 27.8" coming in February and March. ?1956-57 had been a tame year by comparison: only 14.2" total with 10" in January, probably the "bad weather" event referred to in the letter. ?In his last year as Headmaster, on January 14, 1977, Canon Martin doubled down.

"Dear Parents,

The confusing announcements on TV and radio about wether St. Albans would open or not during the recent storms caused some uncertainty. ?We always have school -- storms or no storms -- and for what seem good reasons. ?Appended is a letter first sent out in 1958 and reproduced and mailed several times thereafter. ?It will be helpful to you, I think, in understanding why we remain open in stormy weather.

A good and vigorous winter to you. ?

Faithfully,

Charles Martin

Headmaster"

There had "only" been a total snowfall of 9.7" in all of January 1977, total for the year 11.1. During Mark Mullin's first year as Headmaster, 1977-78, that total would double. The policy held, but a year later, Mr. Mullin found himself in checkmate, courtesy of DC's newly elected Mayor, Marion Barry, who had taken office on January 2, 1979.

Mark Mullin's report to the Governing Board, March 5, 1979.

"Mr. Mullin noted that the School was closed because of snow on February 20. ?The decision was made to make this exception to policy as the result of a call from the Mayor's office to the Bishop and a subsequent call from the Bishop to the Headmaster, both expressing 'trust' that the School would be closed. We of course complied. We reopened Wednesday with an attendance of 60 percent. Most snow days we have an attendance of 80 percent or better. We will adhere to our policy of no voluntary snow days."

The total snowfall for February 1979 in DC was 30.6".

In his 2008 book, The Headmaster's Run, Mr. Mullin relates a bit of hijinks had at his expense over the decision. On February 20, he had walked over to School, and though there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground, the decision was made to open St. Albans the next day. Later that evening, a "mature man" saying that he was from the Mayor's Office called the Headmaster requesting that School be closed again the following day. After dressing the caller and the city down for the lateness of the call and that 36 hours had elapsed since the snow began falling, Mr. Mullin, "heard laughter in the background. Finally the culprit himself began to laugh. It was an eleventh grader, surrounded by his friends, who had fooled me completely."

In the same section of the book, Mr. Mullin details how, while on sabbatical, the Governing Board, via the mail and from across the Atlantic Ocean, had some similar fun with him over the snow policy.

As far as I can determine, February 20, 1979, stands as our first official snow day, ever (February 19, 1979, was Presidents' Day). That got me digging into the Archives to see if I could find any evidence whatsoever of any snow day before that one -- I have utterly failed to find evidence of one.

Of the years that might have had one, I naturally thought of 1922, the so-called Knickerbocker Storm, January 27-29 -- over those three days, 28" of snow fell, most of it on the 28th. The total snowfall for 1921-22 was a whopping 42.5" of snow. That total was not exceeded until 1985-86 (46") and has since been surpassed in 2009-10 (56.1").

I checked a School attendance book (annotated by Mr. True), photos from that year (the few we have, the four Albanians from 1922 (it was a combination news and alumni magazine then), Headmaster's correspondence, Cathedral files, business reports, Headmaster's School reports, and School Committee meeting minutes. There was no School newspaper then -- The Weekly Albanac debuted in 1923. Absolutely no mention of a snow day, none.

In the 1921-22 School year, there were 145 students at St. Albans. There are 20 members of the faculty and staff listed in the catalog. There were definitely more staff members, particularly kitchen and maintenance workers who were not listed. About 50 boarders -- about one -third of the student body -- lived in the Lane Johnston Building and The Towers, a converted house across Massachusetts Avenue where Alban Towers now stands. The furthest any day student probably traveled was either from Cherryvale, Arlington, VA, or Bethesda, MD, a distance of about 5 miles on today's roads. Robert D. Manning lived in Purcellville, VA. Probably the commute of one or more of our current students, but a nearly 100 mile round trip in 1922 was probably not likely for a day student. Nearly 100 boys lived in DC (mostly), Chevy Chase, and Bethesda. Walking and street car trips were part of the majority of boys' daily school lives.

Perhaps, perhaps Monday, January 30, 1922 was a snow day. From The Washington Times that day below.

But remember, Dr. Ballou was Superintendent of the DC Public Schools -- no mention is made of what any private school decided, and the next day, all but two DC public schools were back open. ?The snow did not stick around long. ?Although there were some frigid lows in the three days following the storm, high temperatures ranged from 41-56 degrees Fahrenheit, and a week later, only one inch of snow remained. ?

By 1983, St. Albans had adopted the "we never open late" snow policy. ?If DC public schools were closed, we closed, but we did not have 1 or 2 hour delays. ?We now have a much more cautious policy about closing for snow. ?Headmaster Vance Wilson's October 2003 "You Make The Call" letter gets to the heart of the matter as to why.

"Here are some interesting statistics about St. Albans. In 1973, 67% of the faculty lived in the School itself or within walking distance. In 2003 49% live in the School or within walking distance, if you count Bethesda as within walking distance. Thirty years ago the School 50% of our students lived within walking distance. Today my most optimistic judgment is that 40% reside in zip codes within walking distance (including Bethesda), though both ways, students tell me, are uphill."

So though for 70 of our years as a school we had no snow days, for a variety of sound and well-thought-out reasons (hopefully begrudgingly admitted to in all School constituencies), we do now have them as long as DC winters cooperate. We can all sleep in a bit courtesy of a bit of snowfall and join the former residents of The Towers, pictured below, heading down Garfield Street (rather than the pedestrian trudging up towards Mass Ave), gleefully heading toward the intersection with 38th Street, sometime on a sunny, snowy day.