Exoniana: The Hill Bridge

I was “baptized” by some kind seniors as a prep. I remember walking back to Merrill after and thinking that the bridge would forever be my favorite place. Jumped every spring that I was there. Then at our 10-year, a few of us jumped again.

Libby Nunez Houghton ’93

I was a senior, living in Peabody in the fall of 1975. I was just getting to know a classmate who lived next door in Soule. As a sort-of-flirtatious dare, I asked if she might join me for a very early morning jump off the Hill Bridge. She was game. With campus dark and silent at 6:00 a.m. on a cold November morning, we met outside, ran out to the bridge, climbed up on the south (upstream) parapet, held hands and jumped. Yikes! It was the coldest water I’d ever swum in. We stumbled up onto the bank, threw on our sneakers, and raced back to our dorms for hot showers. The outside door of Peabody was still locked at that hour, so I had to throw pebbles at a window to wake a dormmate to let me in. It was my good fortune that my jumping partner became my girlfriend very soon thereafter.

Tim Borstelmann ‘76

Don’t remember which science class it was, but once I was shown the lamprey, the allure was gone.

Hassan Adams ’01

Security lining us up in a row with headlights on us after they caught us bridge jumping in the dark before check-in.

Catherine Mao ’13

Kept a postcard picture of the bridge on my office bulletin board for about ten years. Think it’s in my desk drawer as we speak. Jumping off one single time my senior year was a big fear-conquering moment for me.

Victoria Levin ’01

A late-night plunge with Ann, Sue, Alison, Linc and Fred after enjoying beverages at Ho Kong’s.

Jono Cobb ’75

Inviting Andover’s cycling team to jump with us after E/A!

Josh Hemintakoon ’17

As a rule follower, it took a little convincing to finally get this 4-year senior to jump off the bridge. I remember the exhilaration — and then coming up for air in that ICY COLD still wintery water despite the “spring” appellation to the term, trying to catch my breath.

Scott Finn ’73

Jumped off that thing about 20 times, 1977 to ’81. Probably not the brightest idea.

Troy Miksen ’81

Used to jump off after soccer.

Edward Pfeiffenberger ’74

Most vivid memory: the sound of dozens of cleats crossing the bridge. Treasured memory: jumping once every spring each of my 4 years.

Terry Cowdrey ’78

Responses originally emailed or posted on social media.

From the Editor: When the Plimpton family purchased and gifted the 250-acre Gilman Farm in 1911 for playing fields, the only route to the parcel from campus was a long walk through town — or a swim. George Hill, class of 1865, solved that by donating $5,000 (about $165,000 today) to construct a bridge over the river.

The reinforced-concrete structure stretches 100 feet and was completed in 1914.

Almost immediately, leaping off its walls into the black water below became a rite of passage for Exonians. Every leap broke the rules. The school prohibited the practice in the E-Book, and scofflaws risked reprisal.

The custom ended with the removal of the Great Dam downriver in 2016. The dam’s elimination drastically dropped the water level; the river is just a few feet deep most days. Today, bridge crossers must be content with keeping their shoes dry on the way to the game.

Do You Remember?

Station Manager LeRoy Little ’65 announced the Academy’s first radio broadcast at 9:25 p.m. on Sept. 10, 1964. Do you recall those early broadcasts? Do you have a fond (or funny) memory of listening to WPEA or being a DJ?
Email your reminiscences to bulletin@exeter.edu. Responses will be published in the next issue of the Bulletin.