One legend suggests that the original moose head, displayed above the schoolroom desk in Fay’s Old Main Building, was a gift from President Theodore Roosevelt. After failing to secure the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1912, Roosevelt formed the Bull Moose Party. As a famously avid big game hunter, Roosevelt would occasionally gift moose heads as a unique form of self-promotion. Some believe he may have presented one of these antlered trophies to Fay during a visit to a relative at St. Mark’s around that time. Another account attributes the arrival of the moose to a trip taken by faculty member Doug Mann and Headmaster Harrison Reinke in the mid-1940s. According to this version, the two drove down to Long Island to collect a moose head from the home of Henry Harris ‘13. As Doug Mann’s son, Rocky, recalls, “I remember very clearly dad telling me about having to cut off one of the moose antlers to get the head into the car.”

However, it wasn’t until the late 1970s and early 1980s that the moose began to capture the imagination of Fay students, becoming a symbol of school spirit. The moose made appearances in cartoons in the Fay School Sentinel, inspired the Founders’ Day rally cry, “The Moose is Loose!” and featured in the playful “moose ears” version of the annual all-school photo. As the Schoolroom moved from Old Main to the Dining Room Building, and eventually to the Upjohn Building, the moose followed, overseeing the studies of generations of Fay students.

The moose has also been at the center of its fair share of antics over the years. Rumor has it that the playful birthday poems and limericks recited to boarding students at dinner are penned by the moose himself. One former faculty member learned firsthand just how formidable the moose could be after attempting a “sanctioned prank.” While taking the moose down from the Schoolroom wall in Upjohn, the faculty member was accidentally gored by an antler and ended up needing stitches.

The name “Mortimer” for Fay’s beloved moose originated with Fay students. When the new Primary School building opened in 2010, Fay grandparents Harvey and Arlene Steinberg approached then-Head of Primary School Anne Bishop about making a special gift to the school. Anne requested a large, friendly, stuffed moose. From the moment of his arrival, the Primary School moose became a cheerful presence, greeting students each morning, wearing signs about upcoming events, attending morning meetings, and visiting classrooms to see what students were up to.

 

Before long, it was suggested that the moose needed a name. Each classroom put forward their ideas, and after narrowing down the list to three finalists, Mortimer won by a landslide. He was such a hit that he was immortalized in print with the 2015 publication of the award-winning book A Day at Fay with Mortimer Moose.

Since his official induction as Fay School’s mascot this fall, Mortimer has brought plenty of energy—and high fives—to campus events. He’s been spotted rallying teams at Friday Night Lights, learning about Fay’s Core Values with Primary students, welcoming prospective families, and cheering on students serving as Head of School for the Day. Mortimer even travels with Susanna Waters and shares updates on his own travel blog: Mortimer on the Move! Mortimer has logged some serious frequent flyer miles already, visiting Fay community members in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Mexico. With such a storied history at Fay already, we can’t wait to see what adventures lie ahead for Mortimer at Fay!