Celebrating a Semiquincentennial
I’m fortunate to be writing to you at such an interesting point in history — just days ahead of the semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. By the time you read this, most of the fireworks will have been spent, but I do think there will be some residual celebrations in many of our communities.
The bicentennial celebration in 1976 was huge, as many of you recall. Tall ships, fireworks, and red, white, and blue everything. In my childhood bedroom, I had red, white, and blue shag carpeting! Can you imagine? Hey, I was 5 years old, so it wasn’t my fault. But to be honest, I think I liked it.
Home décor is a bit more muted these days, but those three colors have nevertheless found their way into our lives this summer. I think it’s buoyed a bit by the continuing success of the U.S. Men’s National Team in the World Cup; as I write this, they remain alive in the “last 16,” and that helps create a focal point of national unity. That feels good.
There are things in this issue of The Lawrentian that also feel good to me. We celebrate Celeste Mellet ’94 P’27 ’30 and Heather Elliott Hoover ’91 P’20 ’23 ’24, the first women in Lawrenceville history to earn the titles of president of the Board of Trustees and winner of the Distinguished Alumni Award, respectively. We celebrate the stunning success of Surfside canned cocktails, which has seen Stateside Brands CEO Clem Pappas ’92 catch lightning in a can, so to speak. And speaking of the World Cup, we celebrate Duke Lacroix ’11, who helped lead the Haiti national team to the world’s biggest sporting event for the first time in 52 years.
And we haven’t forgotten about the semiquincentennial, either. The pivotal year of 1776 predates our School’s founding, but inside, you’ll also learn just how close the site of The Lawrenceville School was to the harrowing revolutionary action.
So, fire up your grill, reflect on this milestone point in history, and be grateful for the ones who make us what we are. At Lawrenceville and beyond, it’s always about the people, and that includes you.
All the best,
Sean Ramsden H’65
Editor
sramsden@lawrenceville.org
Setting the Record Straight
Many of you reached out to say how much you enjoyed our pictorial feature, “The Hidden Lawrenceville,” in the Winter/Spring 2026 issue, but it does appear that we erred on page 39. The icehouse was not located in the basement of Haskell House, but rather, beneath the ground on the southern side of the building. The space we portrayed, which later served as an electrical transformer housing, featured an accessway to the subterranean icehouse, but was not itself used for cold storage. The editor was chilled to learn this and apologizes for the error.