Our Kind of People: The Story of an American Family

During his tenure as headmaster (rector) of Chatham Hall, Bill Yardley was another parent ("in loco parentis") for a couple of thousand teenage girls. Each of those had their own unique relationship with Bill and Helen Yardley, and this book will both bring back memories, and open new insights into some of the leading influences in their own journey from child to adult. I was one of them, class of '66. Although I never met Jonathan, the author, his youngest sister Sarah was one of my classmates. And, of course, Mr Yardley -was- Chatham Hall for me. If the school had a personality, during the Yardley Years, it was his. And the one thing that I believe, then and to this day, is that Bill Yardley truly loved his Chatham girls. Reading the book, I was fascinated to learn some of the back story. But in some of the really personal elements, especially in Helen and Bill's relationship with each other and their later years, I kept having the feeling that I was where I shouldn't be. Each girl was invited to the Rectory once a year (at least) for their birthday dinner, but other than those occasions, we did not go there. I kept imagining i had slipped into the Rectory and was rummaging through their private papers, and at any moment Helen Yardley would appear in the doorway and catch me. As much as I enjoyed the book, that did leave me with a faint sense of unease. I wonder if other Chatham girls would feel the same? But in "the rest of the story" that I learned from the book, I did find one piece of personal delight. Jonathan Yardley mentions that he discovered certain salacious books in his father's library, and mentions specifically "My Life and Loves" by Frank Harris. That book was mine. Chatham Hall girls were not prohibited from reading -any- books, although comic books, movie/confession magazines, and similar periodical "trash" was banned. So in my senior year, I was quite surprised to find a note from my housemother to see Mr Yardley, in the place where my book had been lying. I went to his office and asked him to return my book. He asked me whether or not I thought it had literary value; I told him that I'd be able to tell him more when I finished it. After a conversation/debate that lasted 30 minutes or so, we came to the point that he would return it after HE finished it. But that was spring term my senior year, and soon I was caught up in graduation. So I never got my book back. It was a hoot to read that Jonathan discovered it on his shelf. Anyone whose life was touched by Bill Yardley, and especially any Chatham Hall girl, should read this book.

Although this book is out of print it is worth the search if you like family memoirs. I happened upon this little treasure when looking for Angela's Ashes at my favorite local library. What is particularly striking about Yardley's book is the candor with which he presents his parents and his family. Yardley, a book critic for the Washington Post, tells the story of his father who was a long-time headmaster of a private, all-girls school in Virginia.