The last taps Historic military school surrenders to financial

BOONVILLE, Mo. -- In April, Kemper Military School had its military ball, an elegant night of dancing and tradition anticipated annually by students, parents and alumni of the oldest military school west of the Mississippi River.

The ball's theme was "A Night to Remember," an ironic twist given that the book of the same title by Walter Lord told the story of the slow sinking of the Titanic.

If the president, Ed Ridgley, knew of the school's impending closing, he was putting on an optimistic face. But he conceded that the surge of patriotism after the terror attacks of Sept. 11 had not generated increased interest in military education.

When school ended, there were only 124 students. Tuition and fees at the school cost more than $20,000 annually.

Before the summer term was to begin, the school announced it was closing for good. It had been struggling with financial problems for decades, axing its junior college program two years ago. A plan to remain solvent by boosting enrollment and increasing private donations couldn't save the school, now owned by the Citizens Bank and Trust of Boonville.

About 70 people lost jobs, and Boonville lost a part of its history.

Cadet Briana Hosking and Quartermaster Mary Holtzclaw were at Kemper on the last day of May when taps was played for the final time.

They described the school in the warmest of terms.

"I'll always remember how much we loved the staff and how much they loved us," said Hosking, who does not know where she will spend her senior year.

Cadets called Holtzclaw "Grandma." She frequently takes road trips to visit former cadets who are in college and to attend athletic events involving Kemper grads.

"Because we showed them love, they showed us respect in return," said Holtzclaw.

Getting closure

Columbia resident Sam Easley, a 1980 Kemper grad, also was on hand when Kemper's flag was lowered for the final time. Admitting freely that he had not been among the alumni who worked to save the school in the end, Easley said his feelings about the school were mixed.

"I didn't come here to close the place down. I came here to get closure," he said.

Like many Kemper students over the years, he hadn't been getting along with his family when he was sent to the boarding school. After graduating, Easley said he had nightmares about still being a cadet.

It had been a place where showers were cold, meals were repetitive and he was forced to cut his hair every two weeks.

It was also a school that vested responsibility for discipline with older cadets.

"I was hazed, and I hazed," he recalled with laughter.

He remembers a scheme in which he had to jump in the air and spell his name while a cadet punched him in the chest and into a wall. He claims a classmate had to go to the hospital after a different kind of hazing.

"But he's a better person for it, and so am I," he said.

F.T. Kemper opened the Boonville school in 1844 with just five students. It wasn't until 1885 that the school institutionalized military training.