In Honor of Mr. Palmer

Adirondack Chairs: SOLD OUT $1,000 contribution payable over two years or in one payment, your name plate will be affixed to the chair. (Only 11 chairs available.)

Japanese Cherry Trees, SOLD OUT as requested by Mr. Palmer: $750 contribution, your name will appear on a tree marker.

Brick Walkway: $500 contribution (or $41.66/mo.), your name will appear on a brick. July 31, 2019 is the deadline to purchase a brick. You may set up a recurring gift by clicking here.

Landscaping: Contributions up to $499 will be directed to the landscaping of the garden, which may include drift roses, arborvitae, azaleas, loropetalum, and liriope.

A donor wall in the garden will include the names of all contributors to the project.

Mr. Palmer has that rare gift of being able to teach a subject year after year, period after period, with the same enthusiasm of someone who was seemingly experiencing something powerful for the first time. It was like he was on the journey with us as we absorbed great literature.

Everyone knew, and I’m sure still knows, that a good grade in a Mr. Palmer class was going to be a hard slog. I don’t think anyone would argue with the fact that you have to work in Mr. Palmer’s class. He holds the long view, however, that hard work pays off and that the value of great writing and knowing the classics is priceless.

There is no doubt that Mr. Palmer taught me how to write. Even now, I think of the “Palmer Rules” for writing in my job – limit the use of “to be” verbs, avoid the passive voice, etc. Mr. Palmer was a transformational figure for me and countless students throughout the decades.

—Jack Gray ’03