Visit by Humphrey Fry's Granddaughter

by Ginny Moore

Humphrey L.G. Fry, also known as Captain Fry, taught at St. Bernard’s for thirty-six years and is perhaps the school’s best dressed and one of the most popularly beloved masters.  On August 3, Capt. Fry’s granddaughter, Billie Bidelman Little, and her husband, Joe, visited 98th Street for their very first time. Little’s paternal grandmother, Dini, married Fry.  Rather than visit her grandparents in New York City, they came to her family for a month or more each summer in Michigan.  When Bartle Bull ’51, Fry’s former student and current trustee, learned about Little’s forthcoming visit the morning of, he arrived at St. Bernard’s within the hour to greet her.

In the headmaster’s office, Mr. Bull and Mrs. Little shared stories and passed photographs of the captivating 6 foot 4 inch English gentleman.  Mrs. Little recalled how even in the hot summer, her grandfather dressed for dinner in slacks, a white dinner jacket, and a cummerbund.  She described him as a natural story teller, with the perfect blend of intellect and entertaining conversation.  Mr. Bull agreed and added that students did not want to leave his classroom after the bell rang.  Mr. Fry charmed many and was admired by students and faculty alike, and his legacy continues at St. Bernard’s.

First on the Littles’ school tour was the Humphrey L.G. Fry Reading Room, where his uniquely tall portrait hangs. Capt. Fry, an English teacher, was a writer and a huge proponent of reading.  He spearheaded the Shakespeare tradition, so naturally the David King-Wood Shakespeare Teaching Theater was another highlight of their tour.  The most personalized stop though was the far corner of Mr. Moraitis’ Grade VI classroom, where there hangs a black and white photograph from 1913 taken outside Christ’s Hospital of the first Grade XI class.  Listed in the photograph is a “Fry R. L. G.”, who is thought to be Capt. Fry’s brother.

We would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Little and Mr. Bull for visiting and for sharing their personal stories on the great master, Capt. Fry.