Town should remember great benefactor Punchard
Editor, Townsman:
Every time I have to enter Town Offices at 36 Bartlet St, (nee Punchard High School) to pay taxes or do other business, I always think, why not recognize that it was once a school? There is no plaque except for one acknowledging the war veterans of Punchard High.
How many residents knoew it was Benjamin Punchard's generous funding that gave Andover its first secondary school? Addison LeBoutillier was the architect of the current building and well known for his artistry. Yet there is absolutely no recognition in this new town hall of its historical background.
Andover is not the only town to convert a high school to a town hall, as I refer to West Hartford, Conn. According to my sister Anna, the town hall there is recognized as it once was, a high school.
I grew up in Andover, left it to return many years later only to learn the little three rivalry high schools all lost their names; Searles, Johnson and Punchard. Andover now has two secondary schools with a similar name: Phillips Andover and Andover High School. I'm not sure who Johnson was but Searles made his fortune as one of Gustav Stickley's employees, one of America's most important furniture makers. Searles actually built castles!
It's unfortunate when towns expand, the way Merrimack Valley's Andover and Methuen have and they casually erase part of their history. Since these schools now have alumni that are diminishing in numbers, it is not too late to remember what Searles, Johnson and Punchard meant to their respective communities.
Robert Stafani
332 So. Main St.
