REmembering the Merger

10/14/2024

Fifty years ago, the Everglades and Ransom schools became one school

The countercultural movement and free-spirited attitudes that characterized the late ’60s and early ’70s swept dramatically through the Everglades School for Girls and Ransom School for boys. The influence of hippie fashion, equal-rights quests, war protests and other hallmarks of the times sparked conversations and tugged at long-held rules and traditions at the close-knit girls’ school along South Bayshore and the genteel boys’ school on Main Highway.

It was amid those changing times that discussions about a possible merger between the schools evolved into an agreement to unite as Ransom-Everglades School. The November 1973 decision that altered the course of history for both schools landed relatively softly in an era of institutional transition and upheaval across the nation. Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth and Brown had recently moved to full coeducation, and private high schools around the country were following suit.

“It was a very changing environment from the late ’60s going through ’70s,” said Rudy Prio Touzet ’76, a member of the first combined graduating class at Ransom-Everglades. “Everything was in shift and the school was really no exception to that. You felt it everywhere, whether it was the teachers, the students, the environment … It was really a fascinating time.”

Faculty and students recalled virtually no apprehension about mixing boys and girls in the classroom, but plenty of trepidation over what would be left behind and lost. Few doubted that the new, combined school would become a great institution of learning, and most understood that the move reflected the tenor of the times and, more practically, made sense financially. Many, however, fretted about losing the distinct identities and traditions that had made the Everglades and Ransom schools so special separately. And much of that concern emanated from the girls and women at Everglades, who, even today, hold tightly to their memories and work to ensure the Everglades legacy continues.

“I see that we have kept aspects of both schools ... Clearly both schools saw each other as valuable. They were both great schools separately and they are tremendous schools now together.”

Wendell Graham '74

Wendell Graham ’74, now the Director of Inclusion and Community Engagement at Ransom Everglades, lived through that tumultuous era as a student, and his current role provides a close-up view of the present. Despite some resistance and many challenges, Graham said, coeducation brought a truly fruitful merger – a merger that preserved the best from both institutions. He still sees the influence of the Ransom School and Everglades School for Girls on both campuses at RE, even 50 years later.

“I see that we have kept aspects of both schools,” he said. “You see it in the hallways. You see it in the color scheme. You see it in the artifacts that have been retained. Both schools have been very important. You see it in the goals and standards and literature that is put out. Clearly both schools saw each other as valuable. They were both great schools separately and they are tremendous schools now together.”

Community and concerns at Everglades

“The girls were resistant to the merger,” Georgia Penn Noble ’74 said matter-of-factly.

“There was real concern that Everglades would lose its character, and would lose what was most special about it,” recalled Kate Sullivan Lindseth ’75, the Everglades class president at the time of the merger.

“We had such a nice situation in our classrooms and among ourselves,” Penn Noble added. “It was a very special environment and a very special group.”

Marie B. Swenson perfectly filled a hole in the South Florida educational landscape when she founded the Everglades School for Girls in 1955 – the same year the legendary educator Dan Leslie Bowden arrived at Ransom. She and her husband, Edward, were determined to offer a premium education on par with that found at the finest girls’ schools in the Northeast. The school welcomed girls regardless of race, ethnicity or religious beliefs, and its small staff of mostly female teachers encouraged independent thinking, excellence in the liberal arts and active engagement in public service.

Girls recalled a nurturing environment that helped them thrive as students and citizens, and form lifelong friendships.

“It was magical,” Lindseth said. “It was really exceptional. There was support. It was fun. There was serious academics. It was very much a home away from home. It was really the port in the storm to a few kids. I just have the fondest memories.”

The women from Everglades, who still refer to themselves as “Everglades Girls,” competed as members of the Egret or Ibis in-house teams and participated in community service. The youngest students interacted with the oldest, helping them feel included and valued. The students wrote the school song, wore uniforms that they had designed – pastel jumpers and saddle shoes – and took only college-prep classes; there was no home economics at Everglades. They benefited from interdisciplinary approaches in the classroom before “interdisciplinary” became a catch-phrase in education, and all of their classes were small and discussion-based.

“It was so intimate. Our teachers were true educators, there to support us in our learning and intent on helping us ...”

Lori Helfman Goldberg '78

“This was a place that allowed us, young women, to have a voice,” Laurinda Spear ’68 said. “Amongst ourselves in our classes with our teachers, we could really discuss anything, and our voices were heard.”

The atmosphere of care and concern, some said, was unlike anything they have experienced since.

“Going to school at Everglades felt like being in a sorority, with big sisters there to look up to,” Lori Helfman Goldberg ’78 said. “We were like a family. It was so intimate. Our teachers were true educators, there to support us in our learning and intent on helping us become knowledgeable young women with poise and integrity.”

Added Spear: “At that moment in history, everything was right about it.”

Ransom School ready to shake up tradition

At the Ransom School at 3575 Main Highway, the feeling about the approach of coeducation differed. Simply put, most boys looked forward to having girls on campus.

“Keeping in mind that we were 15-, 16-, 17-year-old males,” said Andy Hague ’74, “there was a great deal of happiness that [girls] would be coming over.”

Offered Prio Touzet: “For the guys for sure, we were highly welcoming of the situation.”

Founded by Paul Ransom in 1903 as the Adirondack-Florida School, the Ransom School was at first a migratory boarding school with an emphasis on individualized attention, outdoor education and concern for the intellectual, moral and physical development of boys, who split their time between the Adirondack Mountains in New York and the shores of Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove. They participated in skiing, sledding, hiking and sailing, and also engaged in spirited discussions led by their mostly male teachers.

The school suspended operations during World War II as many teachers and administrators served in the war. When the school reopened, the board voted to sell the Adirondack campus to help the school relieve financial burdens and continue operations; trustees announced the opening of the Ransom School in 1949. The ’50s and ’60s brought a period of relative stability followed by growth and expansion under the leadership of headmaster Pete Cameron.

“It was a very intimate environment of young men, budding young men,” said Eric Buermann ’69, who arrived as a student at Ransom in 1963, graduated in 1969 and returned in the 1970s as a teacher. “We developed not only the friendships but also the education which was unparalleled. People today think that somehow Ransom grew into this wonderful institution. It was already a wonderful institution.”

Ransom excelled in soccer, water polo, swimming and tennis, and the boys did their best in football. Many teachers served as coaches. Sports were a huge part of campus life at the Ransom School.

“Ransom was very small but it was a tight-knit group of young guys. It was a wonderful time. The teachers were fabulous.”

Lou Dessaint '76

“I saw coaches be concerned about students,” Hague said. “About what they were going through, and [they] would reach out and try to counsel [students] on issues. Everybody had their mentor … They all played a significant role in our lives.”

Besides Bowden, students fondly remembered a host of now-legendary teachers including Mike Stokes, Morgan Kelly, John Bell and others.

“Ransom was very small but it was a tight-knit group of young guys,” Lou Dessaint ’76 said. “It was a wonderful time. The teachers were fabulous … They motivated you, and you wanted to do well. And they made class very interesting.”

The boys did not have uniforms, but the dress code was strict. Jackets and ties were required for classes and meals, despite the lack of air conditioning. Under Cameron, boys were permitted to wear only white or blue dress shirts – pink, yellow or other pastel colors were not allowed.

“The dress code was very conservative,” Graham said. “To this day, I only have white and shades of blue in my closet. It’s just something that grew on me.”

As the cultural revolution of the ’60s arrived at both campuses, the schools simultaneously experienced changes in leadership that hastened the loosening of rules and move to coeducation. In 1969, Cameron retired, and Marie Swenson stepped down as president of the Everglades board. A year later, Gertrude Peirce – who had served as Everglades’ first head – retired. As Robert Walker took over at the Ransom School, Robert Macdonald, a progressive headmaster, succeeded Peirce.

“There were tremendous changes in style and culture,” Buermann said. “When I came back as a member of the faculty after I graduated from college in 1973, it was a totally different landscape.”

Cigarettes, long hair and hippies

By 1970, bell-bottom pants were permitted at the Ransom School, boys over age 16 who had their parents’ permission could smoke on campus, and chapel had been replaced by a secular school meeting. The changes attracted the attention of The Miami Herald, which in 1971 published a story with the headline: “Ransom School: where tradition survives along with liberal changes.” A year later, Ransom ended its option for student boarders.

“The hippie movement was pretty important at that time,” Graham said. “All of the sudden you saw guys wearing floral ties and seeking to wear tie-dyes ... The hair got longer. The sideburns got longer. That was difficult for Ransom, because [even] the best of students, their hair – all of a sudden – was below their collar. The school had some things to say about that, but the kids won out over the course of time.”

Students sought freedom from rules and structure in other ways, noted Dessaint.

“There were other activities on campus,” he said. “Below the house here, we called it ‘the swamp’; it had trails, and sometimes they’d have to go roust some of the guys out of the swamp. We had, behind Ludington Hall, we called it ‘the pit’ ... It was a very liberal campus at the time – very free spirited.”

A relaxation of rules also came to the Everglades Campus, and conversations shifted to the women’s movement, the Vietnam War and other concerns of that era.

“We were given quite a bit of freedom,” Penn Noble said. “There was a smoking house that seniors could go to and smoke. We also had open campus; if you had a car you could take your car off campus … I remember the seniors going off my junior year and I couldn’t wait for my senior year.”

Amid those changes, a handful of girls began traveling to the Ransom Campus for certain classes such as chemistry and calculus, and boys started arriving at the Everglades Campus for art, drama and chorus. Graham was the first Black student at Ransom and the school’s board welcomed its first women. Meanwhile, the dress code continued to evolve.

“By the end of my term, it was platform shoes, polyester pants, Nik Nik shirts … You still wore a tie, but it could be a bow tie; it could be whatever you wanted.”

Rudy Prio-Touzet '76

“By the end of my term, said Prio Touzet, “it was platform shoes, polyester pants, Nik Nik shirts … You still wore a tie, but it could be a bow tie; it could be whatever you wanted.”

It was in 1971 that the boards of both schools began formally discussing coeducation, and a report on coeducation was soon commissioned from a consulting firm. Though the schools had officially merged in time for the 1974-75 school year, it wasn’t until 1975-76 that a full uniting of campuses took place. That was when the Everglades Campus became the middle school, and the Ransom Campus became the upper school.

Frank Brogan became the first headmaster of the joint schools. He succeeded Ransom headmaster Walker and Everglades head Macdonald – both of whom resigned from their posts. Brogan inherited 610 students and 64 faculty, according to Honor & Excellence: A Century of Ransom Everglades School.

Lindseth recalled that she and Stuart Miller ’75, the president of the student body at Ransom, were invited to share their insights as members of a student liaison committee. “That was a pretty incredible opportunity for a 12th grader to be in on high-level conversations like that,” she said. “My sense all along was to take the best of both schools and integrate them as well as possible."

Students at Ransom and Everglades already knew each other from family connections, sporting events and parties, and the occasional exchange of classes.

“I don’t remember it being a fearful thing, because your friends were coming with you,” Helfman Goldberg said. “It was just suddenly we’re in this world [at Everglades] – and then suddenly we weren’t. It was a very different world.”

Said Graham: “During that first year … we were so happy to have women on the campus. I was not aware of any backlash whatsoever. We were happy, and we saw that the merger was going to be a very good thing for all of us.”

Faculty member Kenia Mestre recalled that coeducation at the middle school went smoothly as the new seventh graders had never experienced single-gender education at RE. In the eighth grade, she saw more of a “tug of war” in the classroom as boys and girls who had previously experienced the separate campuses strove to outdo one another.

“I don’t think there was that dramatic of a change,” said Mestre, who taught on both campuses. “The boys and the girls really worked together very well. It was a lot of fun, seeing them integrate into a new school … We really enjoyed it.”

“My sense all along was to take the best of both schools and integrate them as well as possible.”

Kate Sullivan Lindseth '75

When Buermann returned as a teacher, he was more shocked by the unrecognizable student attire than seeing girls on the Ransom Campus. He recalled that the school’s most prominent teachers welcomed coeducation.

“My recollection is that the legend teachers, the master teachers, they embraced the merger very well,” he said. “These were the core of the Ransom faculty at the time. We just viewed [the girls] as … students … and it’s our job to give them the best education possible.”

Added Buermann: “The boys all had long hair, so, frankly, everybody had long hair. I didn’t see a lot of difference.”

Graham said many boys experienced a wake-up call in the classroom: “By the first quarter, I think that’s when we found out that the girls were smarter than us. And we found we were going to have to buckle down if we were going to keep up. And that was a good thing; that was an experience all unto itself.”

Buermann agreed: The girls “did as well, they kept pace, or even better than the boys. I don’t know how the boys took to that. The girls were very good students and very disciplined. They did their homework and were very organized. The boys needed more cleaning up and organization.”

Helfman Goldberg said the move to the Ransom campus brought different challenges for the girls: “My Everglades experience was just so powerful and wonderful. Ransom was a great social opportunity. Ransom-Everglades was more of a social experiment: Growing up. Boys. Where do you fit in? How can I fit in?”

Girls held their own with the boys even in sports.

“We sort of were trendsetters,” Dessaint said. “Lisa August ’76 became the placekicker for the football team, and also played on the guys’ varsity soccer team. She was the first woman that played in sports in whatever-the-conference-that-Ransom-was-in at the time. I think we accepted it fully and embraced it.”

The full blending of both campuses also opened up more opportunities in the arts for the boys – and many seized those opportunities. At the time of the merger, Everglades had Swenson Hall, but the Lewis Family Auditorium hadn’t yet been built.

“I dropped calculus so I could take choir,” Prio Touzet said. “Things like that that you ended up doing; I continued to take more drama. You could see the curriculum blending on the upper campus. That was fun. It was a great experience.”

It quickly became clear that neither school would get absorbed by the other, Buermann said. “When the merger occurred, each school had its respective strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “So during the merger these dovetailed together quite well.”

“What we have now is a wonderful school, and a real asset to the Miami community.”

Georgia Penn Noble '74

The schools, already evolving with the times, effectively joined hands and grew up together. Some traditions, such as St. Alban’s Day, continued. Others were replaced by new ones. Though there were fewer girls from Everglades than boys from Ransom, the girls quickly established themselves.

“I don’t think, with Everglades Girls, you ever had to worry about their voices being drowned out,” Penn Noble said. “That was something that was never going to happen. Everglades Girls were always going to make themselves heard or known.”

“In every way it’s been positive,” Prio Touzet said. “No question about it; the merger was the right thing to do. It brought two very like-minded but different environments together. Like everything else, maybe some initial growing pains, but for all, it was much better in every regard.”

Said Penn Noble: “What we have now is a wonderful school, and a real asset to the Miami community.”

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RE founder Paul Ransom, circa 1903

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REmembering the Merger

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