Happy Haunted Halloween
This essay is another installment in a series of stories by Isabel Magnus ’27 about topics of interest to the SJA community.
To millions of Americans, Halloween means costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating, but how did this beloved holiday begin? Halloween originated about 2,000 years ago with the ancient Celts. For them, it was a day to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of the harvest on October 31st. They believed that the spirits of the dead returned to Earth that night, and the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was blurred.
But how do we modern people feel about the idea of ghosts lurking among us? And do any of these spirits reside at St. Johnsbury Academy? You may recognize the name Graham Newell ’33 from Newell Hall. Newell Hall was dedicated to Graham Newell, the former academy student, esteemed Latin and history teacher, and Vermont state representative, in 1996. Newell worked at the academy from 1938 to 1947 and again from 1982 until his death in 2008. Remarkably, he lived on campus and taught Latin classes to students from his own living room until his death at the age of 92.
Graham Newell went above and beyond as a teacher. According to Newell’s former student and current Academy teacher, Denise Scavitto ‘99, “Most of the time [in Latin class], in addition to grammar and reading Cicero or Caesar, we were learning about Roman culture and history. I knew my way around the Forum long before I visited in person. Many days that started with a grammar lesson ended with a meandering journey through history — of Rome and beyond.” Newell demonstrated this commitment to his students even in his final days by planning classes from his hospital bed just three days before he died, and his dedication to the academy extended beyond his lifetime, as well; He generously donated his home, now the alumni office known as The Straszko Center at Graham’s House, to the Academy.
It’s no surprise then that people wonder if Newell’s spirit roams Straszko House to this day. Steve Legge, Director of Marketing and Communications shared, “We joke that our building is haunted because it creaks at night. If someone is there alone, it sounds like someone is walking around… We call our ghost Graham.” Perhaps Graham is still wandering his old home and alma mater to ensure that the Academy’s devotion to learning is still being upheld. We can’t know for sure, but we do know that he and his life will never be forgotten.
