As we observe our significant anniversary, our legacy of good journalism is worth reflecting on.
In January of 1904, The Anvil published its inaugural issue. The newspaper, much like the school itself, was in its infancy. Pioneered by editor-in-chief Landon Thomas ’05 along with his team of six boys, the journalistic legacy began:
“Today The Anvil appears for the first time before the world. The editor and his assistant are inexperienced, and perhaps it is but natural for them to be anxious concerning the success of this project, and to wonder whether their fellow students haven’t made a mistake in choosing them to carry it out.” –Opening lines from the first editors of The Anvil, January 1904
The tentative optimism of these words still drive this paper.
The small team produced monthly issues creating something lasting. The Anvil was a reflection of the school it served–a small, ambitious, and fervently patriotic boys’ school in rural Massachusetts.
As the World Wars and technological innovations shaped the world, The Anvil persisted, chronicling happenings on campus in the midst of global events. During World War I, our paper was published in book form, rather than broadsheet, to reduce costs. For the first decades of the paper’s existence, The Anvil published creative fiction from the likes of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. ‘20, arguably one of Middlesex’s most illustrious alumnus.
The paper also published athletic scores and team records, and an informal sense of humor permeated historic issues with relatively high student-body involvement and an active “Letters to the Editor” section.
However, The Anvil decades later dwindled to publishing only three articles a year. It is doubtless that campus sentiment towards the paper suffered as a result. In the late 1990s, the paper consisted of a lone editor and a rag-tag assembly of itinerant contributors.
In 1997, Andrew Beaton ‘98 took it upon himself to bring consistency to the publication. Reaching out to classmates whom he thought would contribute regularly and aid in furthering the paper’s standards of excellence, Andrew, along with his father Jim Beaton who became faculty advisor to The Anvil in the same year, established the chief writers group that still exists today. Mr. Beaton also established the tradition of formally sending out invitation letters at the end of the school year to welcome and introduce the fresh batch of students on the Anvil staff. He still fondly recalls the chaos and camaraderie of when editors were “always a frenzy when getting down to the publication time.” They would show up at his house close to midnight, scrambling to get the issue in on time. In 2000, the election of the first female editor-in-chief, Rebecca Lemaitre ‘01, brought fresh energy and a more diverse group of writers.
As technology evolved, so did The Anvil. In the early 2000s, the publication transformed visually with the introduction of more sophisticated and aesthetic layouts. The paper shifted to color printing after relentlessly pleading to the school for a more generous budget.
The Anvil’s development was also spurred on by fears of being outshined. In the 1990s, a group of students, including Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and columnist for The New York Times Bret Stephens ‘91, established a rival publication called The Circle. But The Circle never gained long-term traction, and The Anvil and its monopoly over Middlesex journalism survive.
The late 2010s saw another revival: a digital version of the newspaper was launched before the Covid pandemic. Our strong writing and English program also helped produce talent for The Anvil. The editors of The Anvil maintained the paper’s core values of writing with care and journalistic integrity. Ms. Lemaitre even went so far as to describe each issue as her baby, as if an overprotective and possessive mother with “strong maternal instincts.”
This legacy of excellent journalism ensures that The Anvil remains as a forum in which writers are free to express ideas without fear of being held back or unfairly criticized.
According to Mr. Kester, an Anvil alumnus, has always had a “soft spot” for The Anvil. He did not anticipate the freedom The Anvil provided him in experimenting with his writerly voice. Not every article succeeded; some fell flat while others were met with criticism, but that was part of the beauty. The Anvil allowed for a place where writers were allowed to fail, to grow, and to hone their craft in a safe and supportive low-stakes setting. Mr. Kester’s writing, which would go on to appear in The Harvard Crimson, The New York Times, and his own two books, began with this paper. “It all starts back with The Anvil, truly,” he admits: “it was everything.”
The Anvil stands apart from all other student organizations on campus. Few other groups at Middlesex can claim a 120-year legacy. The reputation The Anvil has earned is a testament to these pages’ dedication to producing accurate and entertaining journalism.
Jessica Wu
Indresh Chandel