Rand Eddy Winters enrolled at Phillips Academy Andover in 1920 as a junior. His scrapbook covers the three years he spent at Andover, 1920-1922. In 1921, he repeated his junior year, likely falling behind in his academics or getting into a bit of mischief. This is suggested by a receipt of the faculty’s vote to place him on the “No Excuse List,” which meant that he could not leave town or disobey study hours rules, or else it would count as a “special offense,” until the end of the term during his first winter at the school. The repetition appears to have paid off as Winters achieved Class A in classics for his Lower Middle year, as indicated in the 1923 Pot Pourri yearbook. His hometown was Bay City, Michigan, but there is not much other information about his family or home life. The scrapbook trails off in the year 1922, with the exception of a 1924 certificate of completion of the Boy Scouts of America curriculum in Bay City, and there is no record of him at PA in the Pot Pourri yearbook after 1922, which implies that he withdrew during or shortly after that year.

The scrapbook, a product of The College Memorabilia Company, is quite messy and has a tattered spine. It is held together with twine and a faded blue cover embossed with a white “A” for Andover. Many pages are empty, and those with items pasted in are disordered or falling apart; photos unglued from their original positions, or loosely placed into the book without glue. The majority of the contents of the book are photographs of sporting events and campus scenery, but there are a few pieces of ephemera. The first few pages consist of collections of quotes and illustrations that appear cut out of a newspaper or magazine or perhaps even typed by Winters himself or a classmate. Additionally, there are countless theatre pamphlets and playbills, which imply Winters’ love for theatre, though he was not listed as a participant or member of any theatrical ensemble on campus in his time at Andover according to the Pot Pourri yearbooks of his years there. The scrapbook also includes dining and dressing tickets and a program from a performance by the Harvard Glee Club at the chapel of Phillips Academy. Perhaps the most interesting pieces of material, however, are those out of the ordinary: an advertisement for rubber shoe soles, which is included twice on two separate pages, and a strip of pajama material with the caption “What is left of a pair of pajamas” in Winters’ script.

Winters seems to have enjoyed spectating. His scrapbook suggests this not only with copious theatrical and musical pamphlets and tickets but also from the inclusion of photos of the crew squad, track and field action shots, images of each of the soccer players, and game schedules and rosters. There is also a large printed “O” on cardboard, perhaps one Winters held at an Andover-Exeter contest to spell “ANDOVER” while sandwiched between six other classmates. Full articles of the Phillipian which cover Andover-Exeter sports contests and scores from Ivy League games are included. Near the final pages of the book are autographed portraits of nine of his classmates, addressed to him. The final entries detail a visit to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he attended a theatre show and a Congregational church service. The final image is possibly a self-portrait.

One can only imagine whether Winters was dismissed or left on his own accord.

by Natalie Warren, class of 2018

Scrapbook Box 93