[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 63 (Thursday, May 19, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             COMMEMORATING BICENTENNIAL OF CHESHIRE ACADEMY

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the bicentennial 
of Cheshire Academy, a cherished educational institution in my home 
State. Cheshire is one of the oldest schools in the Nation, and I 
believe it exemplifies the American commitment to fostering an 
intelligent, thoughtful, and compassionate citizenry.
  The Academy has been through many changes through the years, though 
it has always remained committed to the highest standards of excellence 
in education. Cheshire Academy was founded in 1794 as the Episcopal 
Academy of Connecticut. Its charge was to prepare boys for college and 
for the ministry.
  After World War II, Cheshire Academy, in conjunction with the Federal 
Government, set up a program to help returning soldiers earn their high 
school diplomas. In 1969, it began to admit girls. Today, Cheshire has 
a very successful postgraduate program for high school graduates who 
want an extra year to prepare for college.
  The Academy has seen a host of headmasters and owners over the years. 
Originally founded by the residents of Cheshire, the Academy's first 
principal was the Reverend John Bowden. The Reverend Sanford J. Horton 
instituted a military system during the Civil War and had all students 
wear blue-grey uniforms. In 1917 the Roxbury training school bought the 
Academy and redesigned the school to prepare young men for admission to 
Yale University. Arthur N. Sheriff, headmaster from 1923 to 1966, took 
the school from being a for-profit to a non-profit in 1937.
  Throughout this long and nuanced history, Cheshire Academy has never 
lost its dedication to excellence in education. But it is important to 
remember that the school's mission is not only to educate the young men 
and women of Connecticut, but also to instill in them a sense of 
personal worth and character. Such people as Prof. Eri Woodbury, a 
teacher at Cheshire Academy and a winner of the Congressional Medal of 
Honor during the Civil War, worked tirelessly to impart upon their 
students academic skills as well as self-confidence.
  Mr. President, I am proud to be able to speak on behalf of the 
Cheshire Academy because it has meant so much both to my State and to 
my family. Among the institution's graduates is John Daniels, former 
mayor of New Haven. In addition, Cheshire has two alumni who are very 
close and dear to me, my brothers Tom and Jeremy. Though I did not 
attend Cheshire myself, I almost feel as if I did after hearing so many 
warm and enthusiastic tales about the school from my brothers.
  I would like to once again congratulate Cheshire Academy on the 
occasion of its 200th birthday.

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