I'M 90 YEARS OLD. Nobody is 90. There’s a person in the Bible who lived to 700-and-some-years-old. His name was Methuselah, and I’m Methuselah Junior, so… I just want to say a word or two about the beginnings of the School because it might be of interest to you. For example, when we started the school in 1957, the Cathedral was only half as long as it is now. There was a great steel curtain that ran across the end of the Cathedral, and there were reinforcing THE REVEREND CANON DAVID FORBES CATHEDRAL SCHOOL’S FOUNDING HEADMASTER AND LIFETIME TRUSTEE SPEAKS TO STUDENTS DURING HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2016
rods sticking out on the outside of it—and some boys just love to climb. So, we found out about it, and then the insurance company found out about it and said, “No, you can’t do that anymore.” Then, it used to be possible to walk up the staircases in the tower, to get up to the top, and of course, you weren’t supposed to do that, but guess who did? Cathedral School boys. There was no Cathedral School building in those days, so we met all over the Cathedral Close, and the choir room is what was called Cathedral House—it’s no longer even there. We met downstairs in what was an unfinished crypt, as it was called, and it was a very special place. The first year of the School, there were 12 students, two teachers, and a dog. The dog’s name was Shadow, and Shadow belonged to Mrs. Georgia Dyer, who was more responsible for the school than I was, because she was just a wonderful woman who really understood education, loved boys…and had a horrible dog. The dog was so horrible that you walked into the door and the first thing you said was, “Mrs. Dyer, please, would you control Shadow before I walk in any farther? I’d like my trouser legs to remain intact.” But Shadow was much loved, as was Mrs. Dyer. It wasn’t so long ago that [we] did not have smartphones, and laptops. [We’ve seen] great changes, and lots and lots
of wonderful boys have come through this School. Some have come and then they’ve married, and some of the students of Cathedral School have been sons of alumni. And you know in another 10 or 15 years, there are going to be grandchildren from the first students of the School. Do you want to know how old this school is? The first class graduated in 1960; they were 14 years-old. [That was] 56 years ago, they are [now] 70 years-old. So, that’s how long this School has been here. And you know that the most wonderful thing about this School is that it has changed a lot, but it’s the same. We used to gather in the same place that you gather now. We had Hymn Sings on Fridays, and we always got to choose our hymns. We’ve had a succession of musicians here, and wonderful faculty and students. There’s a motto for this School, which I’m sure you all know: Minds, hearts, hands, and voices. Every one of those things is so important. I happen to love Cathedral School, and I’m still involved. I’m on the Board of Trustees, and we care a lot about you all. You [will likely] never see us unless [we visit your] classroom, but we do our best to make it possible for you to be here. We want you to know that we all love you, we care about you a great deal, and our prayers are always with you.
Portrait of the Founding Headmaster, The Reverend Canon David Forbes
56 | CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
FALL 2016 • RED & GOLD | 57
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