Louise Head H’56
The fact that our family has been part of this school for four generations — that’s shocking to me! My mother attended Miss Doherty’s School for Girls, though she didn’t talk to me about her experience there very much. I was Lotspeich Class of 1950
and Hillsdale Class of 1956. I started at the school in first grade, and at that time, Mrs. Lotspeich was the head. She was very physically imposing, and she was very definitely the head of the school. There were very few discipline problems because you’d look up at her and that was your motivation to behave.
I had a fabulous experience there. If it was snowing, instead of classes, there were sleds and we’d spend the morning sledding down the hill. Mrs. Lotspeich’s idea was that fresh air makes you think better. As I’ve understood it, that’s why every Lotspeich classroom today has a door into the room and also a separate door to the outside, so students can easily go outdoors. Mr. Wuerfel was the assistant Head of School then. If it was a gorgeous spring day, Mr. Wuerfel would say, “Fold your books, we’re going outside for a bird walk,” and we did that all the time. We’d walk around, the sun would be shining, and it would be a science lesson on foot.
We had assembly every day in the library. We’d sing songs and then Mrs. Lotspeich would give a little homily about life
experiences and how to deal with them.
My favorite teacher was Mrs. Sheffield. She was a huge supporter for me. I was dyslexic and stayed in during recess a lot, because they were giving me remedial reading. Mrs. Sheffield was the one who said, “You really have potential here.” She helped me love to learn.
All these years later, I’ve had 11 grandchildren attend the school. The youngest two are still there. I’m just wildly proud of how Seven Hills has maintained its core values. It’s an unusual school. It believes everybody has something to contribute.
