RE Log Spring 2018

It would be difficult to find a person more deeply con- nected with the long history of his alma mater than Henry “Harry” H. Anderson, Jr. ’38 , who will celebrate his 80th reunion with Ransom Everglades School this spring. The son of an alumnus, Anderson paddled a canoe to attend an interview with Alice Ransom, the wife of the school’s founder, in 1930. Eighty-seven years later, in the summer of 2017, he dined with cur- rent Head of School Penny Townsend. In the decades between, Anderson established himself as one of the school’s most influen- tial caretakers. Known internationally as a legend in competitive amateur sailing, Anderson can lay claim to many titles at Ransom Everglades: Model of the school’s mission. Defender of its history. Protector of its tradition. Governor of its legacy. Longtime steward of the sailing program. Trustee Emeritus. As a student, he shared classrooms and after-school adventures with best-selling author Sloan Wilson ’38 and painting great Emilio Sanchez ’34 . In the late ’40s, he served on the board of trustees with Henry Timken ’26 and C.T. Ludington ’15 , who like Anderson are memorialized on Upper School buildings. In the ’50s, he was named the first chair of the Alumni Association and helped execute the school’s first formalized capital campaign. In 1970, he helped save the Pagoda from demolition. In the 1980s, he offered the first – and largest – individual gift to allow the school to construct the gymnasium that bears his name and the Dan Leslie Bowden Library. In the 2000s, he gave the sailing program a fleet of new boats. Anderson, who was born on June 2, 1921, and now resides in Mystic, Conn., helped the school through nearly every tumultuous period in its long history, in many cases driving decisions informed by the school’s mission and traditions – and approaches his 80th reunion with Ransom Everglades FALL 2016 Ransom Everglades LOG 7 Photographs by Amma Rhea Photo, RE archives