Grace Hall, is the last remaining building of the Todd School, in Woodstock, Illinois, where Orson Welles studied, wrote, and essentially formulated his whole future life and career, under the direction of headmaster Roger Hill.

The Woodstock City Council will meet on April 21 2009 to decide the fate of Grace Hall. Some options include demolition(!!) or adaptive reuse.

There isn’t much time, since they are meeting Tuesday night, but I just happened across this piece from Time Magazine in 1942 about Orson’s Alma Mater. It might be a simple and effective way to let your view be known by simply copying and sending this piece from Time to the Mayor and City Council Members.

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Orson’s Alma Mater March 9 1942 – Time Magazine

Prize alumnus of the Todd School for Boys in Woodstock, Ill. is a chub-cheeked young precocity named Orson Welles. Silver-haired Headmaster Roger (“Skipper”) Hill, watching Orson’s progress, has hoped ever since to turn up a few more like him. Last week Orson Welles made the lightning stroke more possible by giving his alma mater a check for $10,000, enough for five two-year scholarships.

The boys (preferably ten to 13 years old) will be nominated by public-school principals. Headmaster Hill will choose the five winners by simple criteria: they must be well-balanced emotionally, possess out standing aptitude in some, particular field. But dramatic ability is not one of them.

Says Mr. Hill “We have no valid tests on this… Besides, the precocious child-actor is apt to be pretty much of a brat.” Roger Hill, who was born there, inherited Todd School from his father in 1928. He believes that budding geniuses should be nurtured. Todd’s curriculum is designed to prepare boys for college, but extracurricular activities are Hollywoodian: boys paint, act, design stage sets, make sound films, radio speeches.

Orson Welles has formed a sort of educational partnership with Headmaster Hill.

Their collaboration, when Orson was 17, on Everybody’s Shakespeare, a simple adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays for high schools, has sold over 100,000 copies; their collaboration on Todd has greatly stepped up its extracurricular activities.

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Here are the e-mail addresses of the Mayor
and City Council members:

His honor The Mayor: Dr. Brian Sager:

mayor@woodstockil.gov

Woodstock City Council Members:

Richard D. Ahrens: rahrens@woodstockil.gov

Julie Dillon: jdillon@woodstockil.gov

Maureen Larson: mlarson@woodstockil.gov

R B Thompson: rthompson@woodstockil.gov

Michael A. Turner: mturner@woodstockil.gov

Ralph A. Webster: rwebster@woodstockil.gov