Logo Nostalgia

Introducing Brooklyn Friends School's new visual identity is exciting, yet it also makes us fondly recall logos from our past. Let's take a look back at what can be considered our main logos through the years, beginning with today's and ending with our earliest-known visual identity.

"The Inner Light," 2014

In our new visual identity, the banner represents academic excellence, a core value of Brooklyn Friends School, while the eight-pointed star signifies the inner light of every BFS student. The star also reflects our Quaker heritage: an eight-pointed star was first used by British Quaker relief workers in the Franco-Prussian War and later adopted by the American Friends Service Committee in its own logo.

"Windows into BFS" 2006 to 2014. Over 20 different images provide glimpses into the BFS community, ranging from student artwork to BFS scenes; a few are below. "Windows" also saw BFS begin using the phrase "Inspiring minds and hearts since 1867."

 "Schoolhouse" ca. 1995 to 2005. Designed by long-time BFS employee Anne Garland, this logo referenced early 1990s artwork by BFS students which had previously been adopted for occasional school print materials.

"Friendship" ca. 1975 to 1994. Designed by BFS alum parents Leo and Diane Dillon, noted artists and illustrators. This image was, at times, modified by students to reflect both our school's and our student body's commitment to equity and social justice.

"School Seal" earlier than 1926 to 1975. Our school seal's earliest known print usage is on a 1926 literary magazine, though it was likely around long before. The school seal was incorporated into the Class of 1927's graduation gift to BFS, an artistic rendering of the Brooklyn Meeting House, still found on bookplates in some of our library's oldest books.

"Gift of the Class of 1927"

Printed materials at BFS did not always incorporate our school's visual identities. BFS letterhead apparently did not include images of any kind until 1975. Additionally, images were not used consistently in school letterhead during the 1990s. During this school year, BFS looks forward to fully incorporating its new visual identity into daily life of the school. 

BFS and the 1971 Bomb Scare

It proved to be a false alarm the morning of March 1,1971, at our historic home of 116 Schermerhorn, when BFS received a ominous phone call threatening, "There is a bomb planted in your building." The fire alarm was soon activated and the buildings were evacuated, searched, then given the all-clear and BFS was able to resume a normal school day. It all took about a half-hour in 1971 - seems amazing today, but it was a smaller building and we had fewer students and employees. The March, 1971 edition of The Life tells the story and readers can learn about one of the earlier middle school carnivals which raised funds for worthy causes.

Thankfully, it was only a scare at BFS in 1971, but a planted bomb was certainly possible at that moment: bombings and bomb threats seemed to be happening all too regularly, and often at colleges and schools. In fact, two very real bombings occurred only the night before the BFS bomb threat and are mentioned in The Life article. The first was the well-known bomb explosion in the U.S. Capitol building by the Weather Underground to protest the U.S. bombing of Laos. The second was closer to home that night before: the New School for Social Research in Manhattan was the victim of a pipe bomb explosion that was allegedly planted by Puerto Rican nationalists according to 2005's Political Violence and Terrorism in Modern America: A Chronology by Christopher Hewitt.

In case you choose to read The Life online, many articles in The Life at BFS, particularly after 1968, were written with tongue-in-cheek and were not meant to be taken literally.  "Bomb Scare Strikes School" seems to have been very straightforward reporting.

Do you remember May Day at BFS?

The First May Day, 1928

Some readers may recall BFS May Day celebrations held at Friends Field and perhaps at Pearl Street. May Day was a huge lower school event that began in 1928. Each year had its own unique theme such as early U.S. settlers, nations around the world, the circus, toys, candy, and 1945's theme of international peace and friendship. Each lower school class worked diligently on their individual class performances and costumes, there was dancing around the May Pole, king and queen of the May from the organizing-it-all 6th grade class, a picnic lunch, and the lower school was divided into school-color teams for the afternoon's sporting events. Taking the entire lower school, kindergartners to 6th graders, to the Field required buses, so the gasoline rationing of World War II apparently kept the festivities at Schermerhorn for at least 1944 and 1945.

For many reasons, including the uncertainty of the weather, May Day was not always held on May 1. And, as happened in 1929, the rain sometimes forced BFS to call an early end to the festivities, only to have the sun come out once all were back on Schermerhorn Street.

This May Day Cartoon from page 43 of the 1929 BFS Yearbook provides an early example
of the work of the late Aldren Watson '35, artist, author, and much more.  

Your friendly historian does not know when the last May Day was held and could use alumni help to figure it out, but does recall very vague early lower school memories of a May Pole at Pearl Street and thinking of dancing around one while looking at a coat rack in the 7th floor music room, all memories ca. 1973-1978. Perhaps memory is off and it was really the Art Festival found on page 7 of The Life, May, 1974.

The May Day Court, 1936

For Earth Day, join BFS for an Earth Hour today, 1:30-2:30 pm Eastern

The Earth Flag

Today is Earth Day. 44 years ago on this day, BFS students were part of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and you can read all about it on page 6 of the May, 1970 edition of The Life and journalist Stephen Magagnini, BFS Class of '72, briefly recalled that first Earth Day in his 2002 BFS Alum Profile. Many of our Upper School students attended rallies throughout New York City that day, joining millions in raising awareness of the need for environmental protection and stewardship. One of the concerns students raised in that article was that BFS itself did not recognize Earth Day school-wide in 1970, but we do today as we have done for several years and we so hope you will join BFS today! 

In 2014, BFS reduces, reuses, and recycles as much as possible every day, but Earth Day offers a special opportunity to educate the BFS community about our environment and our world. Individual classes often approach Earth Day uniquely, but among our larger school-wide initiatives are several of note:

The amazing team in our Cafeteria has responded to Upper School students suggestions by providing strictly vegan offerings for the entirety of Earth Day, a first at BFS. Chef Tom Buckley wrote to our faculty this week: "This is probably the most ambitious Earth Day project that my department has ever been asked to be a part of...  Please show your support for what these upper schoolers are doing..." 

Also happening in the BFS cafeteria, middle and upper school students will compete in a food weigh-in to raise awareness of food waste. Lower and pre-school students have been welcomed to join the effort in their classrooms and several of our juniors are creating a video PSA to explain more. Waste is deeply rooted in the economics of our food system and between one-quarter and one-half of the United States' food supply is wasted or destroyed every year. A food weigh-in can help raise awareness of what it takes to get food to our tables and reduce food waste. 

And finally, please join BFS as it observes an "Earth Hour" from 1:30 to 2:30 pm today. All it takes is for you to shut off your lights, power down your devices and reduce your use of electricity for one hour. As Janet Villas, BFS science teacher and environmental action coordinator wrote of Earth Day this week, "... green initiatives should be part of our daily lives and not wasting food and shutting the lights for one hour is something we all can easily do."

And, if you can, get outside today. Whether it's sunny or rainy, we can each take a moment to renew our commitment as stewards of this planet Earth and in the hope of making every day Earth Day. 

BFS "head" count. Heads of school, that is...

Stuart Smith, 1968 to 1978

Since 1867, BFS has had 19 heads of school, not including interim heads. Over the years, the title of our school's highest administrative role has evolved from principal to headmaster to today's head of school. The history of each administration is unique, fascinating and lengthy, so today I'll only give the list of BFS heads of school and a few facts I find interesting, including the fact that only nine of the nineteen BFS heads of school were Quakers. 

History, Weiss Style - 40 years ago...

Welcome back to a new year at Brooklyn Friends School! For those who may not have attended opening days at BFS this year, Head of School Larry Weiss pointed out that it has been 40 years since he first came to BFS, at the start of the 1973-74 school year. Our former student newspaper The Life actually published the article below about Larry in its November, 1973 edition.

From the kitchens of BFS

Teachers' Treats Cookbook, published 1984-85

Some of us will remember the BFS cookbooks produced by members of our community, most often our teachers and parents of the PAT.