The Wolverine Den Receives Alumni Support
During their free time back in the day, Bridgton students would often venture across the street from the Academy to the shop known as Ryerson’s Store, now the home of the North Bridgton Post Office. Ryerson’s served burgers and drinks and featured a highly popular jukebox and pinball machine. It was a place for students to get away from school for a bit, a spot to relax and hang out with friends.
Recently, members of the Class of 1967, with fond memories of this favorite getaway spot in mind, decided as a class that they wanted to do something to support the experience of Bridgton students today. A project idea soon formed to offer some upgrades to the Wolverine Den, the Academy’s student union space and “Ryerson’s Store” of today.
Working together, the class has raised just under $25,000 towards these enhancements. This work included the purchase and installation of a new TV wall and home theater system last spring. This fall, other additions included a new Godzilla pinball machine, a Golden Tee Golf game, a new Chex bubble hockey machine, and the installation of the Academy’s first-ever “Nintendo Nook,” featuring a Nintendo Switch complete with vintage games spanning the decades. Some space renovations are also underway as part of this gift funding.
“Over the last 15 years, Bridgton Academy has worked hard in the development of the Wolverine Den as a place where students can gather and create bonds with other members of the student body,” shared Dean of Students, Tim Atwood. “Unfortunately, COVID-19 put a pause on that evolution for a short time as the Den transformed from a community gathering space to an auxiliary dining hall and classroom to help in the social distancing practices brought by the pandemic. We have been so glad to recently invest back into the Den in hopes of getting student traffic back to where it was pre-pandemic. The new big-screen TV system has allowed us to offer sporting events and movies, and the new games are a huge addition to this space. The hard work by many within our community, as well as the support of the Class of 1967, has allowed Bridgton to provide opportunities to our students that they greatly appreciate and I’m very excited to see this.”
Our tremendous thanks to the Class of 1967 for their loyal support of Bridgton and for making such a difference in the experience of today’s Wolverines.
