Academy Bids Farewell to Wetherell Dining Hall
By TEDDY CAPOZZI and LILY RAMPE
On March 2, students gathered to say farewell to the Wetherell Dining Hall — a campus staple for over fifty years.
Wetherell was the Academy’s first dining hall, located on the Northside of campus. The second dining hall — Elm Street — remains on the Southside. Wetherell was a place for students, faculty, and administration to dine and chat, and was a central breakfast and lunch spot for many students given its proximity to academic buildings.
The Farewell Wetherell event welcomed students, faculty, and administration to enjoy some baked treats and learn about the history of the Academy’s oldest dining hall.
The Exeter community was fortunate enough to have members of the Wetherell family come and commemorate the building. Among them was Chuck Wetherell, a recently retired machinist. While starting a new chapter of his life in retirement, Chuck has found a strong fascination in genealogy. Last year he learned about his cousin and the dining hall he gave to the Academy.
At the Farewell Wetherell event, Chuck was able to enjoy the various selection of baked goods, fruits, and refreshments offered, as well as interact with a piece of his family history. During his speech, he discussed how he admired the building and Exeter’s rich history.
“Well, I don’t live here or anything, but I feel right at home here,” Wetherell said. “Driving around Exeter, you can see all the history, and they try to hold on to that as much as they can. It’s just a beautiful town, and a beautiful school.”
Heidi Dumont, who serves as the Manager of Dining Services, explained what went into planning Farewell Wetherell.
“We created a dining planning committee with volunteer dining team members to help with ideas for a fun event,” Dumont said. “We also invited archivist Magee Lawhorn to research the history of dining and display her findings on the walls in [the] North and South [sides of the building], as well as [display] the motto “Goodbye for Now” on the wall. As we were planning the Farewell event, we were also planning the move out for the renovation project and thought to move all the tables and chairs to create a dance space[, which] was the original idea.”
Students enjoy a variety of snacks at the Farewell Wetherell event. Hillary Yoon / The Exonian
Overall, students seemed to enjoy themselves at the event. Prep Jesse Ball said, “It was a chill and peaceful event, quiet, and interesting. I toured the basements and enjoyed learning about the history of the Wetherell family.”
Prep Corinne Welling also expressed her appreciation. “I love that the staff wanted to share their farewell with us because I can only imagine how it would feel for someone that has been working in Weth[erell] for 20+ years to have to say goodbye.”
A crucial part of the event was the vast food selection, which consisted primarily of baked goods made in Wetherell’s bakery. “We wanted to showcase our bakery and the work of our bakers Cindy Amabile and Mary Smith because it is very rare to have an in-house bakery on campus,” Dumont said. “The executive chefs, Cindy and Mary, and I decided on all the sweets menu.”
Students generally liked the food and the variety of treats offered. Welling said, “I absolutely loved all of the mini snacks and desserts. They were so cute! I am so thankful towards the staff that took the time to make us all that stuff.”
Students on the north side of campus have generally enjoyed the convenience of havingw Wetherell nearby. Upper Hansen Tsai, who resides in Ewald, said walking to the Elm Street Dining Hall has been very time consuming for him. “I think it’s better than Elm Street because of its proximity to classrooms, and it’s also closer to EPAC (Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center).”
“Well, I don’t live here or anything, but I feel right at home here.”
Upper Lianna Yang found that the Wetherell experience was more intimate and provided a sense of home for her that she felt is missing at Elm Street. “Just the onset is so much more homey and comfortable than the design that Elm has. It’s sort of anxious and stress-inducing just because of how cold the design is with all the brick and concrete. It’s not really a warm and welcoming environment.”
Students enjoy the Tiki decorations in the Fishbowl. Hillary Yoon / The Exonian
Students also appreciated the versatility of Wetherell’s (north and southside) dining rooms, as well as the student-dubbed “fishbowl” dining room in between. Upper Emilie Carranza designated each side for different occasions. “Eating, socializing, and department meetings are for the right side.” However, Yang and Carrazana said they strictly eat on the left side for their habitual breakfast. “We go every morning at 7 a.m. when it opens, and we are on the left side at one of the roundtables working. It was a really nice place to work and not having that has made me less productive.”
Students are slowly adjusting to dining in Grainger Auditorium, which is being used as a temporary dining hall in lieu of Wetherell. Prep Asha Masoudi said, “I think it’s definitely strange without Weth[erell].”
“While we still have Grainger, it’s a lot more cramped and chaotic. Weth also had amazing ice machines that I’m gonna miss.” Carranza said, “I feel like the food in Granger is just always the same. Like it’s just the quality of the food has gone down.”
Other students seem to be enjoying the dining experience at Grainger Auditorium. Ball said, “I find Grainger now to be more conveniently located for me and my classes.”
Welling shares a similar sentiment.“I really like being able to get food in between my classes. Grainger is so accessible.”
In terms of the new dining hall’s renovation plans, Dumont said, “The renovation will take 16 months. We hope to get some drawings of the renditions so we can display them to the community. The dining team has worked with the architects and design team to create a dining experience that will be welcoming and updated to be efficient, and I cannot wait to see the final project done in the fall of 2024.”
Attendees were able to make speeches at the event. Hillary Yoon / The Exonian
