Scattergood to celebrate 125th anniversary

Scattergood Friends School & Farm will observe 125 years this June with a four-day anniversary celebration.

Quaker pioneers established Scattergood as a boarding school in 1890. It was closed during the majority of the Great Depression and functioned as a hostel for European refugees from 1940 to 1943.

It reopened as a boarding school in 1944 and has remained operation ever since.

The anniversary celebration will run from June 11 to 14 with attendees arriving after 3 p.m. June 11.

The event is open to everyone, including new visitors.

'This is a wonderful opportunity to expand our community, strengthen our bonds, and celebrate 125 years of a unique and extraordinary institution,” said Jody Caldwell, Scattergood's director of communications and giving.

Two ticketed evening events specifically will be for alumni.

Alumni who graduated between 1940 and 1970 will be able to go to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library for a wine and cheese tour. Afterward, they will have dinner at the Brick Arch Winery.

Alumni who graduated from 1980 and on will have a barbecue June 12 at Hoover Park.

'These events will be special times for these graduates to spend time together and reminisce,” Caldwell said.

There will be opportunities for ultimate Frisbee and soccer games throughout the long weekend, and meals will be prepared on campus with fresh ingredients from Scattergood's organic farm.

On June 12, Scattergood will plant a commemorative tree with alumni and other participants as part of a grant from Trees Forever.

There also will be a special showing of 'Hold These Truths,” a solo play about Japanese internment during WWII, on June 12.

Attendees can tour the farm June 13 and attend an all-school barn dance that night.

Before leaving June 14, participants will gather for the Quaker tradition of silent worship.

'It helps us feel connected as a community,” Caldwell said. 'It's also very accepting of all faiths or non-faiths.”