Major Louis E. “Doc” Lamborn was elected principal in 1926. According to his son, Bob, he earned the name “Doc” during the time he was coaching at Friends School. Apparently, one of the boys hurt his leg and doctors said he would never use it again. “With a special concoction of his own and undisclosed techniques that he may have developed as Idaho’s first dairyman, he set out to do the undoable. By the end of the year, the boy was in good shape, and the coach was ‘Doc’ Lamborn.”
Among Doc’s first acts was to add a six grade Lower School, resulting in all 12 grades being taught at McDonogh for the first time. He also launched the riding program, fought to bring in more paying students, and made athletics compulsory. When “Doc” Lamborn was at the helm, the State Board of Education told him he did not have the professional training required to use the title “principal.” So, he changed his title to headmaster.
Under Doc Lamborn, McDonogh became accredited for the first time by the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Middle States and Maryland, allowing graduates to enter colleges and universities without additional training. The curriculum was divided into four tracks: college prep, business training, mechanical arts, and agriculture which included an Animal Husbandry program. Students were trained to become leaders, and faculty duties increased to include coaching athletics.
At Commencement in 1952, Doc’s retirement was announced and it was shared that he was elected Headmaster Emeritus—the first and only in the history of the school. The Collection of Louis E. Lamborn is available in the School Archives.
