Graduate From Class of '31 Visits

Mr. Jock Collens was delighted to see that the Chapel and the Brown Gym were as he remembered during a visit to the Lyndhurst Campus on April 4th. After Mr. Collens and his daughter, Emilie, enjoyed a lunch with Head of School Scott Looney, they took a tour of the Lower and Middle Schools buildings. "His eyes lit up when he entered the library," said Alumni Director Eleanor Anderson '79. While in the library, which functioned as a commons room during Mr. Collens' time, the 98-year old graduate answered impromptu questions posed by a group of Lower School students. 

They discovered the Mr. Collens was born the year Hawken was founded.  He started at Hawken when it was still located on Ansel road and attended from 1st grade through 10th grade when the school closed for a few years due to the depression. They ate their lunches in the Brown Gym.  He was the captain of the football team and went on to get his BS from Yale and a law degree from Harvard.

And what was his favorite subject at Hawken?  "None of them!" he said jokingly.  Seems like Mr. Collens still has his sense of humor, and along with it, many fond memories of his days at Hawken.