Pets at Western Reserve Academy...a photo reflection

It used to be that faculty/staff pets were more visible at WRA than is the case nowadays, but I was reminded of this fact by a couple of stories in the media about how many people adopted pets as a way to ride out the pandemic. There are probably many pets still around our campus, but we don’t get to see them the way we did before they were restricted. There was a time when faculty pets were even permitted in the classroom but that ended several years ago. 

There was a time when Bert, the longtime pet of faculty member Jim Fraser, was considered a campus favorite, and when he disappeared for a day, there was a search for him by students who had come to love the furry favorite who wandered at will around our campus. He was here from 1976 until 1990 and we have several charming photos of Bert including one of him snoozing on a campus picnic bench. Russ Hansen in Biology had a pet dog named Rufus who was often in the Biology wing of Wilson Hall as is noted in the photo taken of Hansen with Rufus in 1998. 

Bert

Bert

Bert

Rufus

Rufus

Rufus

Then there was Boo, the little Pekingese dog who was with Librarian Judy Fitch Waring at the library over in the Chapel. He was known to library users and everyone on campus. Nancy Harris’s falcon probably was a rare bird indeed as this photo of Nancy from 1965 attests. Nancy was married to English master William “Bucky” Harris. Mrs. Natalie Harper, the Secretary to Headmaster John W. Hallowell and the typing teacher, is shown with her daughter and two collie dogs outside their house in 1957. And speaking of the Hallowell family, they also had goats as pets, as evidenced in a photo of Elizabeth Hallowell. 

Boo

Nancy Harris's falcon

 

Natalie Harper's collies

The Hallowell Family's goats

Who can forget BJ, Marie Fiedler’s longtime pet dog who would spend the day with her in the Chemistry classroom, then join her on the practice field where Marie coached field hockey? BJ used to have a special “treat” drawer in the old library when it was in Wilson Hall and came to collect in the late afternoon. And what about all those exotic pets that were kept in the biology lab by teacher Tien Wei Yang ’41? He was on the faculty 1952-1966 and had many pets that were known to students such as a gila monster, an armadillo, a Western Diamondback rattlesnake, a kangaroo rat, turtles and other species that were part of regular lab work. For a time, Tien Wei Yang maintained the Natural History Museum in Seymour Hall. 

BJ

Tien Wei Yang's armadillo

Finally, we have a photo of a very large and friendly St. Bernard dog that we know belonged to a faculty member probably in the early 1960’s. He is seen on the baseball field. We wonder if anyone can identify the dog and its owner. 

Do you know who I belonged to?

Most recently, WRA teamed up with current students, faculty and staff, to produce High School Pet Project, a movie featuring a joyful rendition of our beloved family members. We are committed to spreading happiness!