News Articles & Feature Stories

Former Hoosac Prefect and alum David Bliss ‘54 visited Hoosac during Prize Day & Commencement Weekend and shared many delightful stories about his time during the transition from old to new campus. David was happy to see the Prefect Boards reconditioned and placed back along the Tibbits grand staircase. Director of Advancement Sherri Klein asked the current Senior Prefects to write a letter to the former prefects. David was particularly impressed with Lehakoe Tserane’s letter. “That young lady is going somewhere. She is a very talented writer,” he said.

During breakfast on Sunday hosted by the Delaney House in North Hoosick, David shared stories about his mentor Father Meredith B. Wood, who was rector at the school for many years. “We were a class following on the heels of the second great war, so for this or other reasons, many of the boys lacked a father figure at home. They looked up to Father Wood as that father figure and many of us sought guidance from him long after leaving Hoosac.” 

The Father Meredith B. Wood Foundation was the idea of David’s classmates, John Pulsifer and Keith Adams. “Both Keith and John have passed away, but Gerry Guild and I drove up to Portland to visit John in his hospital room before he died. We visited him for probably an hour and he was holding court because he had many of his former employees who were also visiting him. After the employees left, he got down to the Meredith B. Wood Foundation and passed the torch, so to speak. Pulsifer said, Guild, you’re the numbers guy; you handle the money. Bliss, you’re the guy who writes, so you do the promotion. So Gerry and I took over from Keith and John.”

David recalled the long hikes around the Owl Spring south of Hoosick and many fond memories of adventures shared with his fellow classmates. He was one of only a handful of students to be selected to live in the then-new dormitory at Tibbits Hall and was the last jester to appear in the Boar’s Head and Yule Log Pageant at old campus. 

Following Hoosac, David attended Brown University, majoring in American Literature, though he joked, “I have a confession; I actually prefer British Lit.” He went on to sell books for Odyssey Press Inc. in New York City. He later found himself working in advertising for news publications, and then soon found himself learning the intricacies of clock and stringed instrument repairs. 

Today he is enjoying his retirement and concluded his trip north with a visit to see his brother Malcolm, a Hoosac graduate of the class of 1957. We look forward to seeing David and his family at next year’s reunion. It will mark 70 years for David and his class!