Until 1987, for the sake of efficiency, there was no lunch line in the dining hall, and meals were served “family style” with students as table waiters, known as biddies. Younger students did the “bidding” of older students. Fifth and sixth graders served as Middle School biddies and ninth and tenth graders were the Upper School biddies. The first biddies had the role of getting the food and replenishing empty bowls at the bidding of those at the table. The second biddies were tasked with cleaning up everyone’s dishes and glasses and taking them to the dishwasher. Depending on the dynamics at the table, a first biddy could be treated compassionately or they could endure a workout. Between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, biddies averaged 90 minutes a day serving their table of eight students, bringing trays of utensils and food, and clearing the dirty dishes.
Being a Middle School first biddy when pizza and french fries were on the menu pushed the first biddies unmercifully. Dan Stackhouse ’94 recalled that as soon as he delivered the first tray of pizza and bowl of fries they were gone in seconds, and he was ordered back to the kitchen for more. Because most other biddies had been similarly ordered, the line for seconds was long, and there was little empathy for the biddies who had not received firsts. Biddies learned to put their foot (and tray) down to resist the demands. Jon Aaron ‘72 recalled a similar experience although two decades earlier. He said, “A first biddy would take his plate to the kitchen on a second or third run, and on the way back to the table would shuffle a slice of pizza and handful of fries onto his plate!”
