Education: Reading & Riding

In the fall of 1910 a tall, sandy-haired young Bostonian rented a house in the rugged foothills behind Santa Barbara, Calif., hired two assistants and opened a private school for nine boys. Headmaster Curtis Wolsey Gate, who had been an English master at nearby Thacher School, was convinced that the West could use another school that combined English-style private education with the rough & ready atmosphere of California ranch life. Last week, looking back over 40 years of his experiment, 65-year-old Founder Cate was more convinced than ever.

Santa Barbara School had long since moved down from the hills to a handsome...

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