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Doug Coupe
Camper and Councilor from 1951 - 1964

    February 25, 2010 - After various fits and starts, coupled with an unusually cold winter here in South Carolina, I have finally found the motivation to provide a snap shot of my life since Hyde Bay.

    Upon leaving Hyde Bay in 1964, I resumed my “studies” at Springfield College.  Prior to my graduation in 1966, I was fortunate enough in the fall of 1965 to play on the only football team with a perfect record (9-0) in the twentieth century!

    Following my graduation, I was asked to join the staff of Governor Dummer Academy (now Governor’s Academy) to develop a program in Physical Education and teach history.

     Duty called in 1967 and I joined the US Army Reserve.  Following a three year stint at GDA, I returned to Springfield to pursue advanced degrees in education. While at Springfield as Resident Director’s of the first co-ed dorm, our son was born.  Two hundred women and 100 men became immediately available as sitters!

    With two more degrees in hand, I landed at a high school in Southeastern Massachusetts first as a guidance councilor, then as assistant principal, and finally as principal. With 2400 students and responsibility for two campuses 6 miles apart, life was not without excitement. Added to all of that, we welcomed the birth of our daughter born on my birthday!

    While enjoying my life as an educator, I became restless and began to look for new challenges. As a result of many skill sets developed while at Hyde Bay and college, I was able to make a successful lane change and moved on to work at State Street in Boston in our Investor Services Division for 20 years. During my tenure at State Street, I ran into two former Hyde Bay Alums, Harry Bowdoin and Tim Pitts. Naturally, in most cases, the” business discussions” focused on our days at Hyde Bay.

    During both my time in the schools and at State Street, I was able to focus for over 25 years, as a lover of rock and roll, on my alter ego. So during this time of my life, I worked as a professional disc jockey doing fund raisers, reunions, weddings etc. To have so much fun and get paid for it, I couldn’t believe it!

     Following three very different and successful careers, we moved to Bluffton, South Carolina (near Hilton Head) where we have been for the past 8 years in a golf course community. I served on our Board of Directors and in my final year as President actually served as interim General Manager for nine months.

     I have served proudly as a member of the Board of Trustees at Springfield College for a number of years and feel proud of all I have been able to do to “give back” to a place that took a chance on me.

     Of my days at Hyde Bay, there are far too many wonderful times to recount. Summers were just the best and made even better by all the experiences that so many were able to share together. Additionally the lifetime preparation we all received could not have been any better. Pride and satisfaction when one passed the E Test, exhilaration when jumping into the falls, sprinting onto Doubleday Field where mortals stood so many times, and overcoming the fear as the lights dimmed on the Hyde Bay stage, all of these and more were and are so special. Confidence, lust for life, appreciation for hard work, and knowing how to have fun all were a part of the culture that Hyde Bay and our experiences there provided.  As Mac Mellor and I often muse during his visits to Hilton Head, we both feel so fortunate to have shared in the Hyde Bay experience. It  was the best!

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