1:1 Traditions – The History of Thanksgiving Soup

Every November, students and alumni look forward to Thanksgiving Soup. Here is a little history of one of BCD’s most beloved traditions:

The idea of Thanksgiving Soup emerged over 25 years ago, when former faculty member Rachel Hennick and her second grade class were asked by then Head of School Peter Buttenheim to create a Thanksgiving assembly that brought the entire school together. The book Stone Soup

influenced the early concept, but what emerged was and continues to be uniquely BCD.

When Soup first began in the early 1980s, the second grade class was charged with brainstorming what vegetables would be good for the soup. Once they picked their “favorite” vegetables, the students handwrote a letter to each class, asking them to contribute a particular vegetable for the soup. The students then delivered the letters to the various classes, which, according to Mrs. Hennick was “a rather a big deal, especially when the second-graders had to visit the ‘big kids’.” As the vegetables came in, the students brought them to the second grade homeroom, where along with parent volunteers, the second-graders spent the day before Soup chopping up vegetables and simmering the soup.

In the early years of Soup, the main kitchen was located in Albright Hall, off of the library. As the event approached, pots of soup would be strewn all around the school, volunteers dashed around with hotplates using any outlet they could find that would not blow a fuse, and everyone tried to avoid accidentally burning themselves on the old gas stove. The smell of soup permeated the buildings and anticipation continued to build. The assembly was held in Furey Hall in the years before Fitzpatrick Hall was built, always with the older students serving the soup. The assembly varied in the first few years, including mixing the ages of the students at each table so young intermingled with old(er), adding bread or pumpkin bread to the meal, and singing a few traditional songs. Of course, it was always followed by eating the soup. 

The process of getting ready for Soup has evolved over the years, with each generation of students adding their touch. For one thing, handwritten notes are a thing of the past; now, families are notified of their needed contribution via MyBCD. We’ve also moved the preparation of soup off-site to the kitchen down the road at BUTI, which provides ample space for parent volunteers to dice, slice, and sauté the ingredients needed to make soup for over 400 students, alumni, and guests. Another exciting addition to Soup is BCD’s new organic vegetable garden, planted two years ago behind Fitzpatrick Hall. BCD’s garden now provides such ingredients to the soup as potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and herbs, making our soup that much tastier and special.

As much as things change, some things remain the same. Thanksgiving Soup continues to attract young alums that look forward to this opportunity to return to the BCD campus to catch up with their friends and the faculty. This past November, over 80 alums returned for Soup (often skipping classes to do so!). We also continue to use the occasion of this gathering to say thank you to members of our community, and acknowledge the many ways students have raised money in support of others and our community causes. And, we continue to end this special day by coming together as a community to sing “Over the River” and the BCD song. After all these years, Thanksgiving Soup continues to be a favorite tradition among students, faculty, parent volunteers and alumni. See you next year at Soup!