The McCallie School

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The McCallie School is a boys college-preparatory school located on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The school was founded in 1905 and now has 322 boarding students in grades 9–12 and 657 day students in grades 6–12.^[1]

School History

Brothers Spencer Jarnigan and James "Park" McCallie founded the school in 1905, which remained under the control of the family until a board of trustees assumed management of the school in 1937.^[2]

Founded as an all-boys school, McCallie became a military school in the wake of World War I, with students wearing uniforms and participating in military drills.

In 1970, McCallie dropped its military program as a result of admission challenges during the Vietnam War.^[2]

Like most schools in Tennessee, the McCallie School was formerly racially segregated. While the school's board of trustees agreed to allow the admission of African-American students beginning with day students in 1969 and boarding students in 1970,^[3] the school did not admit its first African-American student until 1971.^[4]

McCallie has a close relationship with Girls Preparatory School (GPS). One of the co-founders of GPS was Grace McCallie, sister to Spencer and Park. McCallie has maintained a formal coordinate program with Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga since 1985. Students at the two schools participate in a variety of organized social events and coordinate some academic programming, particularly in music and theater.

Dramatics at McCallie

Founding

From Volume I, number one of the Pennant (April 1907): The McCallie School Dramatic Club was organized on Monday, March 4, 1907. Earl N. Wester was elected president; Wm. Milburn, secretary, and treasurer; L.W. White, manager, and Lawrence Lynch, assistant manager. The honor of inaugurating this club belongs to Mr. White. It had its beginning in the fifth-year English class, which presented a play so creditably that a permanent organization was formed. The object of the club is to study and to render plays. The club has rendered several new plays, one of which will perhaps be given as a feature of commencement exercise. The play “Between the Acts” was given on Washington’s birthday in the school chapel to a large audience. The cast of the play is as follows:

“Dick” Comfort - Earl N. Wester

Geroge Merrigale (Dick’s friend) - Harry Thompson

Alex Meander (Dick’s uncle) - Eugene Bryan

Harris (Comfort’s new servant) - Will Campbell

Edith Comfort (Dick’s wife) - Lawrence Lynch

Mrs. Celmentina Meander (Dick’s aunt) - John Divine

Sally (Mrs Meanders maid) - Wm. Milburn

This play is unique in that all the female characters are played by boys and so fooling is their make-up that several of the stagehands would not believe that the young actors were boys until they took off their wigs. Mr. Earl Wester in the leading role, Dick Comfort, made a great hit and did some clever work, his fine stage presence suggesting the matinee hero, or in the words of a spectator after the show, “Wasn’t he grand.”

Mr. White

Mr. White, the founding advisor to the dramatic club, soon died after the organization's founding. In the second volume of the Pennant, in June 1907, the dramatic club wrote the following in the memorial:

Whereas, the McCallie Dramatic Club has lost in the death of Mr. White its leader and promoter; be it resolved: 1. That the club as a body expresses its extreme regard and esteem for Mr. White. 2.. That the club as individuals express their affection and love for their lost friend. 3. That the club will strive to express its regard to Mr. White by fulfilling his expectations of them. 4. That the club have a copy published in “The McCallie Pennant” and a copy be placed in the minutes of the club.

(Signed)

W.F. Milburn, Chairman; John Divine, Eugene Bryan

History of the McCallie Theater Department^{[5] [6]}

• March 4, 1907. The McCallie Dramatics Club is organized following the presentation of their students' first play, Between the Acts.
• Fall of 1923. In the Fall portion of the Dramatics Club, a two-act play, Up Caesar's Creek, is presented by the younger McCallie students. The play is presented for the training it provides to the boys. Without charge to the public, the play is presented at Pine Breeze, Benny Oakes, and before the parent-teacher association of the Missionary Ridge School.
• Spring of 1924. As a final play for the school year, the older McCallie students, assisted by young ladies of the city, present a play named A Strenuous Life. Both the casts of Up Caesar's Creek and A Strenuous Life are directed by Mr. Johnsonius.
• December 5, 1931. From The Pennant calendar "At last the play, The Prince Chap  is put on after much effort by Mr. Dunlap. It was a wow, everybody said."
• February 19, 1937. The annual McCallie play, Seventeen, is presented in the school auditorium; actors include A. L. Burns and W. L. Pressly.
• Fall of 1960. The McCallie Dramatics Club presents A Man Called Peter.
• Winter of 1960. The McCallie Dramatics Club, under the direction of Mr. T. F. Walker, presents a total of four plays. Students perform two-night performances and members of the faculty make performances in McCallie daily assemblies. The plays are Camp Keep-Off, Circumstances Alter Cases, Why am I a Bachelor?, and A Mad Breakfast.
• Fall 1961. "The Rainmaker" was the Dramatics Club's first presentation of the year on December 1. Mr. and Mrs. Walker directed, with assistance from Ralph Thornbury, props; Pat Thomas, sound effects; Bob Renwick and George Harrison, set moving; John Ellis, and George McCall, lights.
• Fall 1965. "The Little Foxes" was the Fall theater production and follows the rise and fall of an avaricious Southern family. The show was performed during Patron's weekend. Both the Fall and Spring plays this school year were directed by Mr. and Mrs. T.F. Walker, with sets being designed by Mr. Jay Grow.
• Spring 1966. The Spring play "Our Town" was a parable of life and death. Seniors featured in the productions were Henry Williams, Joe Conger, Tim Taunton, Randy Ball, and Allan Stalvey.
• Fall 1966. The Dramatics Club, along with the ladies of GPS, presented two plays for the 1966-1967 school year, both directed by Mr. and Mrs. T.F. Walker, along with Mr. J.H. Warncer, with Ted Lannom making the sets. The Fall play was Holiday for Lovers, shown during "Patron's Weekend", which was about an average American family traveling throughout Europe.
• Spring 1967. The second play that school year was Spring Fever, a farce depicting life in a boarding house of a small college.
• Fall 1968. The Dramatics Club presented two comedies this school year, and in the Fall that play was "Mr. Barry's Etchings", directed by Mr. Tom Walker, and Mr. Stan Gillespie. This play ran during Patron's Weekend.
• Winter 1969. In February the 18th century comedy "She Stoops to Conquer" was presented. The Pennant noted how "Actors were given costumes appropriate for that era.", and that great performances were given by Robert Chambers, Herb Pritchett, Matrty Stofner, Tom Howell, Jean Gilderslieve, and Gale Graham.
• Fall 1975. The Hunter Theater opened with the Petrified Forest in the fall and winter of 1975. The theater department performed the bi-centennial production Our American Cousin. Mr. Royer was the director for both the Petrified Forest and Our American Cousin.
• February 17–19, 1983. The play See How They Run is performed in the Hunter Theater for a run of three nights.
• Fall of 1994. The fall production of the McCallie's drama department is My Three Angels. The plot centers around humor and murder.
• Winter of 1994. The McCallie drama department, under the direction of Mr. Royer, performs Catch-22. The first performance on Friday night at the Hunter Theater is so well attended that additional rows of chairs are brought in to accommodate the audience.
• Spring of 1995. A musical production, South Pacific, takes place at Girls Preparatory School's (GPS's) Frierson Theater. The cast consists of the talents of 80 McCallie and GPS students serving in acting roles, orchestra, and as stage crew.
• Spring of 1995, the student-directed play, The Life and Death of Almost Everybody, is produced, raising theological questions about God and man's relationship with him. Student directors are Will Leonard and Josh Sanders.
• October 21, 2004. McCallie's Ridgedale Gym is converted into the Walker Black Box Theater (named after long-time theater teacher T. F. Walker). It opens with The Petrified Forest, the same play that opened Hunter Theater in 1976.
• Fall of 2019. Romeo and Juliet is produced at McCallie, while Antigone is produced at GPS.
• Spring 2020. Night of the Living Dead is canceled at McCallie due to COVID-19, along with The Sound of Music.
• For the 2020-2021 school year, all coordinate productions with GPS are canceled, which makes all plays during this time completely male. In the Fall of 2020, The Dumas Project, an original play written by Mr. Stevie Ray Dallimore, is produced. The play blends the social issues of 2020 with the French hero Dumas in the 18th century, to create a play with great social commentary.
• Spring of 2021. Night of the Living Dead is performed by the McCallie theater department after previously being canceled the prior year due to COVID-19.
• Spring of 2022. At McCallie, the Spring play is Love Sick, with the lead actor being Ben Johnson. The Spring musical held at GPS, having been canceled two years prior, is The Sound of Music, with Fletcher Ard as the male lead.
• Fall of 2022. At McCallie, Our Town is produced with Morgan Wills as the lead actor. The drama production, Radium Girls, performed at GPS boasts an array of talented actors. GPS's Ellie Odle is the female lead and McCallie's Duke Parker is the male lead.
• Winter of 2022. The 9th annual 10-minute play festival is produced in McCallie's "Black Box" with 8 student-written plays being produced.
• Spring of 2023. At GPS, the Spring musical production is Mamma Mia, with Chase Raynor as the male lead. At McCallie, the comical play Puffs with Dandy Reynoso Diaz as the male lead.

Hunter Theater (McCallie) 1976-2004

• Even though the Dramatics Club was founded in March 1907, for many years there was never a dedicated space for the theater program. Instead, they used different areas around campus, such as the third floor of North Hall (original academic building), a drama stage, and where the chapel was held until 1955. This continued for the first 69 years of the drama program's existence. That was until April 9, 1976, which saw the dedication of the George Thomas Hunter Arts Center. As Martha Watkin noted in the 1976 Pennant "I've been in other plays at other schools, but their facilities just couldn't compare to this building." This building was one of three built during a campus makeover, which also saw the construction of Tate Hall (the Junior school building which has since been razed) and the modern academic building, Maclellan. The original building had a large lobby, which faced Maclellan and is currently divided into two separate areas (one part housing the Graphic Design department, and the other housing the band room's lobby.) The band room which is now in the building, was once the Hunter Theater's stage and was the home of the theater department until 2004 when Walker Theater opened.

Evans Center (GPS) 1998-present

• The Evans Fine Arts Center is one of the three theaters that McCallie and GPS use and it is located at GPS. It was established in 1998, by the Evans Foundation in honor of GPS alumnae Peggy Johnson Laney ‘58, Mollie Johnson Nelson ‘60, Nell Johnson Stone ‘61, Anna Johnson Chase ‘66, Margaret Austin Curtis ‘83, Mabs Curtis Sanok ‘85, Cynthia Mary Nelson ‘98, and in loving memory of Douglas A. Nelson. While as of 2023 the theater does not hold one of the two main productions, specifically the Fall production and Spring musical, the theater nonetheless acts as a classroom and rotates with the McCallie Black Box hosting the Winter short plays festival. Before it was repurposed for the 2023-2024 school year, the GPS Fall production was held in the Evans, while the musical was held in the Frierson.

The Scott Langley '68 Dramatics Collection

• Donated to the theater department the Scott Langley Drama Collection is a comprehensive collection of theater books, which is located in the rehearsal room. This collection is still updated to this day, and is one of the best assests of the theater department.

A Brief, yet Rewarding History of McCallie Theatrical Awards

• In a 1966 edition of The Pennant on page 108 we see that the first annual David C. Scarborough Dramatics Award was given to Henry Williams. This award appears to be the first theater award at McCallie, or at least the first one to be consistently given out.
• The Theater Award that is given out to students each year since 1992 is the T.F. and M.L. Walker Dramatics Award. While this award has often just been called the Walker Dramatics Award, it is officially the T.F. and M.L. Walker Dramatics Award. Named after longtime theater teacher Thomas F. Walker (also the person whom the Black Box is officially named after, hence Walker Theater.) The award started in 1992, and there was no major equivalent before this time, excluding the Scarborough award. The M.L. in the award's name is for Mr. Walker's wife, who served as the associate director of the McCallie players, the theatrical group of the school. Besides running the theater program Mr. Walker was also a Spanish teacher, and Mrs. Walker was in charge of helping students with reading through tutoring.

T.F. and M.L. Walker Dramatics Award winners:

• 2023 – Dandy Reynoso Diaz
• 2022 – Ben Johnson
• 2021 – William Hanley and Mason Calhoun
• 2020 – Nate Dallimore
• 2019 – Willem de Waal Dryden
• 2018 – Micheal Maloney
• 2017 – Walt Buzzini
• 2016 – Liam Goldman
• 2015 – Carter Harbin
• 2014 – John Eric Miller
• 2013 – John Eric Miller and Jones Kolbinsky
• 2012 – Samy Lyons
• 2011 – Mark Taylor
• 2010 – Lee Cotton
• 2009 – Dylan Hays
• 2008 – John Harris
• 2007 – Nick Givens
• 2006 – Joseph May
• 2005 – Lars Nelson
• 2004 – Jared Pitcock
• 2003 – Daniel Clayton
• 2002 – Owen Sizemore
• 2001 – William Valadez
• 2000 – Adam Belvo
• 1999 – John Herndon
• 1998 – Trey McArver
• 1997 – Ban Salling
• 1996 – Christian Catlin
• 1995 – Bob Peterson
• 1994 – John David Harr
• 1993 – Alvin Chen
• 1992 – Brett Odom*

*Brett Odom was the first winner of the award.

Walker Black Box Theater, Pennant 2005:

“In the 2004-2005 school year, Ridgedale was renovated into a grand new drama center; the former location of the Drama Department was housed in Hunter Theater, built in the 1975-1976 school year. When first built, Hunter seemed more than enough to accommodate various school activities, but with the expanding of dramatic performances and the recent movement of art and music into Hunter, a new facility for drama was required. Upon entering the beautiful lobby, which was built in a style that resembled the new Dining Hall, one can see the changes that make Ridgedale a perfect location for the new theater. It is equipped with very spacious dressing rooms, a large stage area for various drama productions, a prop storage area, and a rehearsal room. Ridgedale Theater allows more flexibility in student productions, more collaboration and preparation for its productions, and its vast space leaves plenty of room for the Drama Department to organize projects on almost any scale. This addition to McCallie is a dream come true for both the Drama Department and McCallie students alike.”

Varsity Athletics

McCallie has a proud Athletics tradition that dates back to the early 1900s when the school was founded.

McCallie School presently sponsors 17 varsity sports including baseball, basketball, bowling, climbing, crew, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, mountain biking, soccer, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, Ultimate, and wrestling. Including Middle School, there are 45 sports teams that make up the Blue Tornado athletics program.

Of those varsity sports, all but climbing, crew, lacrosse, mountain biking, swimming and diving and Ultimate are governed by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA).

McCallie has outstanding on-campus facilities for each of its sports programs with the exception of the bowling and mountain biking teams which compete off campus. Mountain biking, along with our entire mountain sports program, benefits from the numerous off-road trails, hills and mountains in and around the Chattanooga area. The squash teams are the beneficiaries of McCallie’s new eight-court on-campus Squash Center.

The school’s new Outdoor Program Center has several challenging climbing elements, but climbing competitions are held at several top-notch climbing facilities in the area. The crew team shares a newly-constructed, state-of-the-art boathouse on the banks of the Tennessee River with the rowers at Girls Preparatory School. The boathouse is the home to both McCallie’s and GPS’ boats and equipment and serves as the centerpoint for the teams’ training sessions and local competitions.

The golf teams spend valuable time in the on-campus golf training facility year round, and both practice and play at some of Chattanooga’s most prominent golf courses.

McCallie has a tremendous roster of coaches, each with a wealth of experience in their areas of expertise. The coaching roster numbers are close to 100.

McCallie has won nearly 200 team and individual state championships since 1969.

Here is a list of the team state titles on record:

STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (94)

Baseball (3)  1976, 2014, 2022

Bowling (3)  2005, 2006, 2010

Crew (1)  2023

Cross Country (10)  2001, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Football (5)  2001, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023

Golf (3)  2002, 2010, 2011

Lacrosse (9)  1996, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2022

Soccer (7)  1971, 1974, 1977, 1982, 1999, 2017, 2019

Tennis (12)  1976, 1977, 1991, 1994, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023

Track & Field (1)  2021

Swimming & Diving (23) 1969  1970  1971  1973  1975

1976  1977  1978  1979  1980  1981  1991  1998  1999  2000

2001  2002  2003  2004  2019  2020  2023  2024

Wrestling  (9 state tournament titles) 1976, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2024

  (7 dual meet state titles)  1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2003, 2006, 2024

In international competition, McCallie boasts two former student-athletes who have competed in the Olympic games.

Michael Bingham ’04 was a track and field sprinter who was on Great Britain’s 2008 Summer Olympics team and raced to a third-place finish in the 4 x 400 meter relay.

Sean Ryan ’10 is the most decorated swimmer in Blue Tornado history. He competed for the United States in the 2016 Summer Olympics, swimming in the 10km Open Water event and placing 14th.

McCallie student-athletes compete to win. But all of the programs are equally committed to winning the right way, the McCallie way. Which means the goal is to always adhere to the school’s longtime principles of Honor, Truth and Duty. Our administrators, coaches, and athletes strive to follow those words in everything they do.

McCallie believes that athletics can be a wonderful opportunity for young men to learn to contribute toward a common goal, to put others before themselves, to be effective leaders, to build confidence, and to earn respect. McCallie expects its student-athletes to exhibit good sportsmanship, fair play and teamwork at all times, while also excelling in the classroom.

Boarding Life

McCallie has always been a boarding school, with the first dorm being Founder's with 8 initial students. But in 1907 after a record enrollment of 110 students and a fire that destroyed the frame of Founder's, the school required an additional dormitory. That Summer, our founders borrowed $6,000 and added a $5,000 loan from an unnamed benefactor to construct two-story Douglas Hall on Kyle Street. Named after the family of Reverend McCallie's wife, it accommodated 35 boys and also served as the headmaster's office and Park's residence. Later in the early 1950's the school constructed North and South Hutch, along with Maclellan Hall (originally a Freshman dorm before being used as a bookstore and post office.) Later in 1962, Belk Hall was dedicated as the Senior dorm, and at the same time Founder's home was being renovated to allow for more housing, giving the building its iconic pillars. And finally when work on Belk and Founder's was completed, the school tore down Douglas Hall, and constructed Caldwell Hall on its site. Later to address the growing boarder population, Pressly Hall was dedicated in 2007, and Burns Hall was dedicated in 2010. And now the boarding population makes up half of the school community, with it continuing to grow each year, and it cementing its place as a critical part of our school's culture.

Rankings

In 2016 McCallie was ranked as the top private high school in the state of Tennessee by Business Insider.^[7] In Niche's 2023 high school report, McCallie was ranked the number one boarding high school and best high school for athletes in Tennessee. Nationally, McCallie was ranked the 35th best overall all-boys high school and 123rd of 418 best boarding high schools.^[8]

Summer programs

McCallie School offers seven boarding camps and 18-day camp options. Programs are offered in enrichment, sports, or leadership camps (for children aged five years old and up).^[9][10]

Notable alumni

• Sean Ryan '10: Olympic American athlete (competed in 2016 Summer Olympics in Men's 10 km Open Water Swimming)^[11]
• Michael Bingham '04: Olympic medalist in track and field^[12]
• Jon Meacham '87: Pulitzer Prize winner, former editor of Newsweek, contributing editor at Time, and best-selling author^[12]
• Giovanni Alberto Agnelli '82: CEO of Fiat Group^[13]
• Zach Wamp '76: Former member of the United States House of Representatives of Tennessee,^[14] former candidate for Governor of Tennessee^[15]
• Marshall Fletcher McCallie '63: United States ambassador to Namibia from 1993 until 1996 under President Bill Clinton^{[citation needed]}
• Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. '58: Former Governor of South Carolina^[16]
• Ted Turner '56: Founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting System, former owner of Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, and Atlanta Thrashers^[17]
• Bill Brock '49: Former United States Senator and Secretary of Labor^[18]
• Preston Henn '49: Founder of the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop and race car driver^[19]
• Pat Robertson '46: American media mogul, televangelist, political commentator, former Republican presidential candidate, former Southern Baptist minister, and founder and Chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and host of The 700 Club^[20]
• Howard Baker Jr. '43: Former Senate Majority Leader, White House Chief of Staff, and Ambassador to Japan^[21]
• John M. Belk '39: President of Belk Department Stores, Inc. ^[22]and former Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
• Sonny Montgomery '39: Former member of United States House of Representatives for Mississippi^[23]
• James Rhyne Killian '21: Former president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Ralph McGill '17: Pulitzer Prize winner, anti-segregationist, and former editor of the Atlanta Constitution^[24]

References

External links

• School website
• The Association of Boarding Schools profile