The Portsmouth Abbey School

Portsmouth, Rhode Island

July 30 to August 5^th, 2000     

This was a week of water, wonder, and warm hospitality.

Lay men and women lead this traditional prep school, owned by the Benedictine monks of the English Congregation. Its lovely 500-acre campus, washed by the Narragansett Bay, is based amid soft green hills a few miles from the resort town of Newport.

Click on the monk to see pictures taken at this Elderhostel

The impressive buildings were launched with natural wood and stone. Be forewarned, however. The attractive cobblestones require stout shoes. Strangely, there were not enough W.C. facilities, perhaps because this was once a boys' school. When informed that the school would become coed, the boys' reaction was: "Does this mean we have to shower every day?" A voyage of discovery of what is where would be wise.

There were 88 EH'rs divided into two groups this happy week We were steered through a sea of good feelings by our caring navigators, Robert and Cliff. There was also a volunteer couple, Harold and Lucille, and a proctor in each of our three dorms. Each dorm had a full kitchen stocked with juices, coffee, tea and fruit. Four computers in each comfortable lounge were free and available at all times The cafeteria was excellent, offering many healthy choices, and a fresh fruit and salad bar. A favorite was the thick soup, which was never watery. I felt as though I was on a landed cruise ship without my tuxedo, which I last wore when Strom Thurmond was a boy.

We were as indulged as luxury passengers. Every day something special was offered: First a pleasant orientation, and a wine and cheese party with a student band providing chamber music. Then, a gossipy guided bus tour of Newport, and a slide/lecture reenactment of the Revolutionary War Battle of Rhode Island. The campus was the site of this crucial engagement. We were treated to a piano recital by one of the monks A closing candlelight and wine dinner with more piano music and a rousing sing-a-long ended this memorable week.

There were many good suggestions for our free afternoon. Most returned to Newport, while I met with a former student (now colleague) Dr. Ron Weisberger, who was in my class in l961!

My group was Group 2-History. One course, Noah and the Flood, was with Father Caedmon, a monk who was also a priest. If you thought this tale would be dull, you would be wrong!! This talented teacher oozed a great deal of thought from us. Learned in Greek and Latin, he confided that his most spiritual moment was when he learned to read the Jewish Bible in Hebrew. Father Caedmon, whose pauses and two word lines would have made Jack Benny envious, was not afraid to answer "I don't know" to a flood of questions. He was also generous in telling us about the Benedictine life of prayer, scholarship, and communal work. These discussions were philosophical, and were appreciated by all. Father Caedmon was man with a smile that could have melted the iceberg and saved the Titanic. He will long be remembered.

The next course was all about Newport, taught by Jim Garman, a retired US Navy Commander, who wrote 5 books on the harbor. Jim was never out to sea about anything concerning the Ocean State, (RI.) or the state of the ocean. This salt could spin great yarns about the layers of the old port of Newport…from the glacial age to the Gilded Age, with its many "summer cottages," each squeezed into a city block, each with a staircase that challenges heaven. He knew all about the role of the US Navy, as well as the tides of tourists. Jim is a professional photographer who shared with us his fascinating collection of vintage views of the area. Not often are EH'ers slow to depart from class and set sail for lunch. This was one trip when the soup waited for us, and not vice versa.

I have to confess I did not drop my anchor too long to soak up this next class, although many folks did. It was all about saving Narragansett Bay, taught by Bob Jessup, a biologist/zoologist/ecologist with a passion. As I was steamed with a swarm of strange scientific terms, my brain soon reverted to a mushy swamp. This should not reflect on Bob, however, but on my own weaknesses. I was tempted, and gave in to, the siren calls of a good hike with my camera, and the Green Animals topiary garden just across the road.

This indeed was a week of water, wonder, and warm hospitality. The weather was very stormy up and down the East Coast. At The Portsmouth Abbey School, there was a warm divine mist.

Go thou and enjoy!!