08/22/12 Culver Academies welcomed 262 new students to campus at its annual matriculation ceremony on Monday, Aug. 20, marking the official start of the school’s 119th year.
Classes started on Tuesday, Aug. 21, with 806 students, 462 boys enrolled in Culver Military Academy and 344 girls enrolled in Culver Girls Academy.
The ceremony and opening convocation kicks off the 2012-2013 school year, which will feature two significant centennial celebrations: Culver Military Academy students assisting the residents of Logansport during the 1913 flood and the Black Horse Troop’s first ride in the Presidential Inaugural Parade.
Culver’s student body hails from 36 states, the District of Columbia, and 20 countries. Drawing primarily from the Midwest, there are 255 students from Indiana, followed by 97 from Illinois, 37 from Texas, 36 from Ohio, 34 from Michigan, and 25 from California. There are 163 foreign students, making up 20 percent of the student population. Countries represented include China, Mexico, Canada, and South Korea.
At the matriculation ceremony each new student walked through the Logansport Gate and was welcomed by the Head of Schools John Buxton and his wife, Pam Buxton, CGA Dean Laura Weaser, CMA Commandant Col. Kelly Jordan, CGA Senior Prefect Lauryn Robinson (Arlington, Va.) and CMA Regimental Commander Brock Frazer (Noblesville, Ind.).
Passing through the Logansport Gate represents the beginning of each boy and girl’s Culver experience. They will end their Culver experience by graduating through The Iron Gate (CMA) or Graduation Arch (CGA).
Monday morning the new students were bused to Logansport to see firsthand the site where nearly a century ago cadets helped to save residents from the flood of 1913. New CMA cadets also experienced first-hand the difficult task of rowing boats similar to those used by the cadets in March 1913.
Logansport city officials called upon Culver to help rescue residents trapped by the flooded Wabash River. Culver sent some 40 cadets who were experienced in handling the summer Naval School’s four cutters, each boat about 25 feet long and weighing more than a ton. Over a 48-hour span the Culver cadets carried hundreds of people to safety who were stranded on rooftops and on second stories.
A campus landmark, Logansport Gate was a gift in 1914 from the city of Logansport in gratitude for the rescue efforts provided by Culver cadets. The gate was refurbished as a gift from the Class of 2001.
Photo: New freshman Anna Tompos, of Culver, walks through the Logansport Gate and on to the Leadership Plaza at Culver Academies.
