[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 59 (Thursday, May 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E882]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING JOHN ``JACK'' PIDGEON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 1997

  Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
tell my colleagues about the retirement of a singular individual who is 
legendary in his achievements in the academic world. His name is John 
``Jack'' Pidgeon.
  Jack Pidgeon grew up in a poor working class town in Massachusetts. 
He won a scholarship to prestigious Andover Prep School, where he 
studied alongside former President Bush and Actor Jack Lemmon. After 
being seriously wounded in WWII, he went on to devote his life to 
giving that gift of educational opportunity to other bright young 
students hundreds of times over.
  And he did it against some incredible odds.
  In 1952, Jack Pidgeon left a secure teaching job at Deerfield Academy 
to become the headmaster of a sickly, broke, rundown 350-acre prep 
school called Kiski in western Pennsylvania. When he arrived, the 
school, founded in 1888, had a few dilapidated buildings, no running 
water, no furniture, no credit, no donor support, no gate. It was 
$200,000 in debt. Jack Pidgeon took a look around and started up a 
bulldozer himself to clear the grounds and enlisted faculty and 
students to mow, paint, even tar roofs.
  Seven years later, after everyone told him the school had no chance, 
Kiski received a $10,000 donation--its first donation of over $1,000 in 
the history of the school. Finally, in 1966, after years of dogged 
efforts by this devoted crusader, the late Sarah Mellon Scaife gave the 
school $50,000. That was a turning point, and Jack Pidgeon never looked 
back.
  On May 16 of this year, Jack Pidgeon is retiring as headmaster of 
Kiski, leaving behind not only a student and alumni population that 
thinks of him as a father, but a financially robust institution 
entirely of his crafting, with property worth about $20 million, an 
endowment of about $10 million, and the wherewithal to grant $350,000 
per year in scholarships.
  But financial success is not his most lasting legacy to this 
institution. Jack Pidgeon personally shaped the character of every 
student to who attended Kiski. His no-nonsense, pragmatic philosophy 
imbued generations of graduates with a realistic but profound belief in 
themselves and a clear sense of who they are. He stressed good manners, 
humility, self-respect, and drive. He is a man who gave his life to 
quality education and giving thousands of young boys the ability to 
realize their full potential as business leaders, civic leaders, and 
citizens. His greatest satisfaction came from offering poorer students 
scholarships.
  I heartily commend Jack Pidgeon for his great achievements. He is a 
man of vision who never heard of giving up.

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