William Housum Jr - Former Faculty

There is a saying that some enlightened non-Mainers like to quote: “I wasn’t born here, but I got here as soon as I could.” To which William Trevenning Housum Jr., would have added: “And stayed as long as I could.”
William T. Housum Jr.

The Grand State of Maine, the magnificent White Mountains and Fryeburg, Maine, in particular were fundamental to Bill’s identity, starting with his childhood time at Camp Ettowah. A cousin, G. Britton Holmes (Britt) ran the boys camp on Kimball Pond, so Bill was allowed to attend at age 6 — a year early — and did not miss a summer for 20 years, until he joined the Army.

Later as a young father, Bill would take his family back to Ettowah for a month every summer, filling in for counselors and helping out as needed. His daughter Julia grew to love this time in Maine, eventually becoming a summer camper herself at Camp Arcadia.

Born in Reading, Pa. on Sept. 7, 1930, Bill grew up in the nearby small town of Wyomissing, Pa. A strong student and athlete at Wyomissing High, he went on to Albright College, graduating in 1953 with a degree in English. Enlisting in the Army that November, he was sent to the Army Language School in Monterey, Calif., to learn Korean. He saw active duty in Korea as an Interpreter in Military Intelligence with the 8157th Army Unit.
After discharge in 1956, Bill returned home and began substitute teaching, but Maine continued to tug at him. He wrote to Fryeburg Academy, and was hired immediately to teach math.

In August 1958, he married Jane Brumback on the steps of Belle Grove, an historic home in Virginia on land farmed by her father. As newlyweds, the couple became FA dorm parents, with Bill on the faculty as English and math teacher, and JV basketball coach. They then followed Headmaster Jack Mitchell to North Yarmouth Academy, teaching English, Latin, and coaching varsity soccer.

When his mother died, he and Jane moved back to Pennsylvania to support his dad, and Bill earned a master's in guidance and counseling from Temple University before becoming associate director of admissions at Albright College. They started a family there, with Julia born in 1960, and Jonathan in 1964.

In the 1960s, the state of New Jersey was investing heavily in their two-year college system, and Bill accepted the director of admissions post as part of the team that planned and opened the newly-created Cumberland County College. Staying until 1973, he then held several additional interesting education jobs over the next five years, including the area director for Gavilan College, where he oversaw educational programs for ship-board Navy personnel and at naval bases from Virginia to Connecticut, and coordinator of Veterans’ Affairs for Camden County College.

Fortuitously, Maine called again in 1978, when Headmaster Ron Hill offered the director of admissions and alumni post at the Academy, bringing Bill full circle. With Jane becoming FA’s home ec and health teacher, and Bill later teaching English, the couple were mainstays of the academy community until their retirements in the late '90s. Students and residents could set their watches on Jane & Bill’s morning Main Street walk to school, and in 2019, the Academy honored him with induction into their Hall of Excellence.

Bill’s love of Maine brought out his best, as, in addition to his passion for education, he was perhaps happiest being in the outdoors. He loved hiking, especially in western Maine and the Presidentials, and later in Connecticut, passing on the tradition to his grandsons Britt and Chance Housum.

He was a decades-long member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, serving as trails chairman of the Delaware Valley chapter in the 1970s. He loved camping. After their retirement, Bill and Jane took cross-country trips to Alaska and the Southwest, driving from National Park to campground across the country, stopping to pitch the tent, walk, have Happy Hour and dinner, and then retire for the night.

Inspired by a book talk at L.L. Bean on "Walking the Swiss Way," he spent the summer of 1988 hiking the Alps with his children. He biked, skied and snowshoed. A huge fan of FA athletics, he drove the ski bus, officiated at track meets, and was delighted to act as ball-boy at soccer games.

He was a long-time member and supporter of the Mt. Washington Observatory, and among the many service activities of his later years, one of his favorites was to work with their Valley Volunteers crew, assisting with administrative and fundraising tasks alongside a delightful group of like-minded area folks.

He and Jane were thrilled to have twice done week-long “tours” cooking for the Crew at the Summit Observatory itself, riding up in the snowcat, facing the hurricane force winds, and reorganizing the entire kitchen to Jane’s specifications.

And finally, and deeply, Bill believed in supporting his community. He worked in the information booth at the Fryeburg Fair, served as Treasurer of the Fryeburg Public Library, and was a Gallery Docent at the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center.

He was a quiet, reliable and generous donor to Fryeburg’s Police Department, Fire Department, Rescue Squad, and Recreation Programs, Fryeburg Dinner Bell, and of course the Academy. Equally important, he was a friend and cheerful visitor to many of the good people working hard in these organizations. Until just the very last few years Bill was frequently seen walking about town, including the 2-plus miles from the Village to his dear friend Ginny Noftle’s Highland Park Road house.

On Feb. 11, 2024, after a brief illness, with family at his side, in the excellent and kind care of the staff at North Conway Memorial Hospital, and in the shadow of Mount Washington, Bill Housum died. He will be much missed by his family, his friends, and his community.

Characteristically, he requested no services; however, donations in his memory to Fryeburg Academy will be gratefully received.

"And though we seek, far and wide, Our search will be in vain,
To find a fairer spot on Earth Than Maine, Maine, Maine!”