RE LOG Fall 2024

From the Archives 92 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2024 As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the merger of the Ransom School and the Everglades School for Girls, there is a particular group of people to honor: the alumni. Both schools had strong ties with former students who continued with their loyal support after the merger and helped create the school we know today. The Adirondack-Florida School’s alumni network started with Ruth Carter Ransom who, after her husband’s death in 1907, stayed connected to the school and its alumni for the rest of her life. Each year she wrote “The Christmas Letter to Former Members of the Adirondack-Florida School” where she detailed news about teachers and students, as well as updates from alumni who had written to her or visited one of the campuses. After Mrs. Ransom’s death, the heads of school continued with the annual letter through 1947. A group of the Adirondack-Florida School alumni were instrumental in the decision to sell the school’s northern campus and move full-time to Coconut Grove. The new school, named the Ransom School, opened in 1949. The alumni remained connected and dedicated as detailed in the Ransom School News , which started in October 1951, and the Ransom School Newsletter beginning in November 1969. Both publications included news about former students. Meanwhile, the Everglades School for Girls and its alums also maintained strong ties, too. As soon as the first class graduated in 1960, an initial newsletter dated November 1960 and called Senior Newes provided updates from the graduates as well as news about happenings on campus. The newsletter evolved over the years from the Everglades Chimes to the Flamingo Flash and finally Tidbits and Trivia , a publication from the Everglades School for Girls Alumnae Association. The beginnings of today’s Ransom Everglades Alumni Association can be traced to the 1973-74 school year at the Ransom School when Eric Buermann ’69 , a newly hired faculty member and sailing coach, thought a formal association would be a good way to keep alumni connected not only with each other, but also with the school. Robert E. Walker, the then-head of school, and Charles Taylor, Ransom School’s first Director of Development, agreed, so Eric Buermann developed a charter for the association which the Board of Trustees approved. With the merger in 1974-75, the new Ransom Alumni Association amalgamated with the Everglades School for Girls Alumnae Association. Buermann was the first president of the new Ransom Everglades Alumni Association and alums from both schools held positions on the alumni board. As established in the charter, the president also held an ex-officio position on the board of trustees which enabled the sharing of alumni activities with the board. Ransom Everglades School’s alumni support in so many spheres over the decades has benefitted the school, including the preservation of its history. Whether preserving documents from the Adirondack campus, donating school memorabilia and papers, sharing memories, or saving the Pagoda and the Ransom Cottage from demolition, the alumni, through their dedication, have helped ensure that future generations will learn about our past. If you would like to learn more about the school’s history or wish to donate items to the archives collection, please contact Katrina Patchett, Director of Libraries and Archivist, at 305 460 8867 or email kpatchett@ransomeverglades.org A special thank you to Mr. Buermann for sharing information about the RE Alumni Association in December 2021 with archivist Katrina Patchett. By Katrina Patchett, Director of Libraries and Archivist The Ransom Everglades Alumni Association: 2 1