RE Log Spring 2018

under the leadership of Cameron, regain- ing its footing as an elite academic institu- tion. Meanwhile, the turbulent ’60s and ’70s took their toll on some of the school’s traditions. In some cases, the outcome was positive: In 1975-76, the Ransom- Everglades School opened to male and female students after the merger of the Ransom School and Everglades School for Girls. Saving the Pagoda The Pagoda, at the center of the school’s life since its start in 1903, literally reflected the free-wheeling times and political unrest; students painted its interior with psychedelic colors and stars on the ceiling. The building housed the student newspa- per on its second floor and served largely as a student lounge. Many parents – some of whom were board members – wanted it torn down. “The parents had no interest in history or sentimental feelings for the history of the school,” recalled Buermann. “If you A glimpse at the archives at Ransom Everglades, which contain many documents preserved by Harry Anderson ’38 – including some of the earliest editions of this magazine. Photographs by Suzanne Kores SPRING 2018 Ransom Everglades LOG 11 had said ‘Paul Ransom’ they wouldn’t have known who that was. To them, the Pagoda was just an old ramshackle building that blocked the view to the bay and had termites and had to be maintained. They thought it was an eyesore.” Anderson and fellow trustee Gaines Wilson saw it as a piece of history even more valuable than the items Anderson had boxed up and saved from the Adirondack campus, and they were inspired by student activist Giulio Blanc ’73 . The trio helped recruit other members of the board. Their message was impassioned. Those who inter- acted with him found Anderson soft-spoken, sharp and persuasive. “He had this twinkle in his eye,” said William Middleton Munroe ’53 . “He would sit and be talking to you very quietly