From left, Baker, Camp, Henderson, Gleason

Summoned by the ringing of a school bell engraved with the names of all six Noble and Greenough heads of school, the Members of the Corporation gathered in Vinik Theatre on Thursday evening, June 10, for the debut screening of “The Gleason Legacy: 1971-1987.” The 15-minute film chronicles the tenure of The Rev. Edward S. Gleason, the legendary headmaster who shepherded Nobles through coeducation and expansion in the 1970s and beyond.

Acknowledging the presence of both Gleason and fifth Head of School Dick Baker, Head of School Bob Henderson ’76, P’13 ’16 ’16, recalled his own days as a Nobles student, when “Mr. Gleason, on the stage at morning Assembly daily, moved and inspired the audience with his words and his wisdom.”

The short film, which Henderson said captures “the essence of Ted and his leadership,” was produced and directed by former Nobles English teacher James H. Bride II P '84 '85 '89 '91. It is one piece of a large project just now getting under way: the gathering of material for a school history that will be a companion to Richard T. Flood’s The Story of Noble and Greenough School, 1866-1966. Joyce Leffler Eldridge will write the history, which will be published for the Noble and Greenough sesquicentennial in 2016.

The film, which included interviews with a number of trustees, faculty members and graduates from the Gleason era, underscored his belief that “school is where life is lived, where people grow and change and develop—and with that comes new opportunity.”