To me the future walks here.
Speaking Friday to a sea of boys in blue polos, McCallie School Headmaster Lee Burns quoted a passage from Deuteronomy, saying they are “drinking from wells they did not dig.”
Instead, Burns said, “we drink from a well Spencer McCallie dug.”
Spencer McCallie III graduated from the school 60 years ago and served as headmaster of the all-boy prep school for 25 years, beginning in 1974. He followed in the footsteps his father, who was headmaster, and grandfather, who co-founded the school in 1905.
On Friday, the school officially dedicated its newly renovated quadrangle – a thoroughfare of the campus that rests between the chapel and dining hall, overlooking the football stadium – to Spencer McCallie III. Students sat on the quad’s new synthetic grass and low brick walls during the dedication ceremony, and friends, family and classmates of Spencer McCallie III filled rows of chairs on the white concrete sidewalk.
As the early afternoon sun seeped through the trees, McCallie told how the school began more than 100 years ago in a three-story brick building adjacent to the quad. Looking at the outdoor corridor, he said, reminded him more than the school’s rich history.
“To me, the future walks here,” McCallie said, looking toward the boys gathered under the shade of trees.
Elliott Davenport, chairman of the school’s board, said Spencer McCallie III protected the school’s future, citing his work to build an endowment and plan for the future while maintaining the institution’s core values.
“Without him McCallie [School] wouldn’t be the same today,” Davenport said.
School officials said crews worked quickly to complete most of the project during summer break, as the quad is the most frequented part of campus throughout the academic year.
Standing with several classmates outside one of the academic buildings that line the quad, ninth-grader Nathan Barnes said the renovated space is much more welcoming.
“It’s easier to move through,” he said. “And it’s the place we gather during our free periods.”
Burns said the quad is the primary space on the school’s campus where community is cultivated through fellowship.
“Mr. McCallie himself is a man of intellect stories and laughter,” Burns said. “It is fitting that a community gathering space in the heart of the campus – a beautiful, grand and large space – would bear his name.”
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.
