College Women

Facets: Bryn Mawr (Pa.)Philadelphia (Pa.)
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College Women was a consortial project of the libraries and archives of the institutions formerly known as the Seven Sisters. The project began in the spring of 2014 with a Foundations Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support the development of an online portal, which continues to be accessible at https://collegewomen.org. This collection includes diaries and letters of several Bryn Mawr College alumnae/i originating from several personal paper collections held in the Bryn Mawr College Special Collections.

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6 items [showing 1 - 6]
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1924
Title:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1924
Description:
Lucy Taxis Shoe Meritt's diary from the spring semester of her freshman year (January 1924) through the fall semester of her sophomore year (December 1924) at Bryn Mawr College. In this diary she discusses the weather; coursework; SGA (Self-Government Association) and class meetings; and time spent studying and with friends. She also mentions the different religious services and lectures she attends, and gives descriptions of extra-curricular events like athletic tournaments, folk dancing, and of traditions like Lantern Night, May Day, and Garden Party. Meritt also writes about the time she spends at home in Austin, Texas during winter and summer vacations and how she occasionally feels homesick for Bryn Mawr. At the end of this diary she includes an entry "1924 in retrospect" in which she reflects on her first year keeping a diary and how she feels she is growing up at college.
Date:
1924
Collection:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt Papers
Letter from Helen Calder Robertson to her family, March 19, 1916
Title:
Letter from Helen Calder Robertson to her family, March 19, 1916
Description:
Helen gives characteristics to other people in top 10. She went to the fellowship dinner and visited Philadelphia with friends to do some shopping and get class pictures taken. She also describes the lecture by Laurence Housman.
Date:
1916-03-19
Collection:
Helen Calder Robertson Letters
Dorothy Burr Thompson diary, August 8, 1920-April 9, 1922
Title:
Dorothy Burr Thompson diary, 1922
Description:
Dorothy Burr Thompson's diary, in which she writes about her sophomore through junior years at Bryn Mawr College. She records her impressions of and interactions with friends, classmates, and teachers. She discusses books and authors she is reading (Wilde, Hedda Gabler, Moliere, the Iliad, the Odyssey) while rarely making the distinction between classwork and books she reads for pleasure. She writes of trips into Philadelphia to see the ballet, opera, concerts, as well as performances at Bryn Mawr. She also discusses her struggle to settle on a course of study, her concerns about being at the top of her class, and her anxieties about developing and maintaining friendships.
Date:
1920-08-08 - 1922-04-09
Collection:
Dorothy Burr Thompson Papers
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1927
Title:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1927
Description:
Lucy Taxis Shoe Meritt's diary from the spring semester of her senior year (January 1927) through the fall semester of her first year as a graduate student (December 1927), all at Bryn Mawr College. In this diary she discusses her coursework and exams; the SGA (Self-Government Association) and class meetings; and extra-curricular activities like athletics and folk and Morris dancing. She also discusses taking photographs and working on the class book, and Bryn Mawr traditions including May Day and Bonfire Night; and includes details about Commencement, Garden Party, and her final time singing on the senior steps. The diary also includes descriptions of her daily activities during school vacations and her family's move back to Austin, Texas from Philadelphia and their efforts to fix up their new house. Throughout her diary, Meritt describes her interactions with friends, family, classmates, and professors. Meritt is reflective in the first half of this diary and writes about how much Bryn Mawr has meant to her. The latter half reverts back to her everyday descriptions of life at school, attending classes and lectures, interactions with friends, etc., but she does mention missing some friends from the class of 1927 who she no longer sees on a daily basis.
Date:
1927
Collection:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt Papers
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1926
Title:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1926
Description:
Lucy Taxis Shoe Meritt's diary from the spring semester of her junior year (January 1926) through the fall semester of her senior year (December 1926) at Bryn Mawr College. In this diary she discusses the weather; her coursework and exams; and the SGA (Self-Government Association), including undergraduate and class meetings. She also writes about studying and spending time with friends; extra-curricular events and activities like folk dancing, Glee clubs, and athletics; and about college traditions like Lantern Night, May Day, senior singing, and Garden Party. This diary also includes descriptions of her daily activities during her winter and summer vacations. She frequently describes time spent with family and friends, reading, and studying, and preparing for her return to school. The end of this diary includes five pages where Meritt has extended her remarks for certain dates.
Date:
1926
Collection:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt Papers
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1925
Title:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt diary, 1925
Description:
Lucy Taxis Shoe Meritt's diary from the spring semester of her sophomore year (January 1925) through the fall semester of her junior year (December 1925) at Bryn Mawr College. In this diary she discusses her coursework, particularly archaeology and Greek classes with Rhys Carpenter; spending time with friends; attending class meetings, undergraduate meetings, and hall teas; and college traditions. She frequently references her concerns regarding her family's move from Austin, Texas and the uncertainty of their situation. At the same time, she comments upon being home for Thanksgiving for the first time in three years and is able to attend church services and visit with her family throughout the semester. At the end of this diary she includes the continuations of two diary entries from earlier in the year (March 20 and May 1).
Date:
1925
Collection:
Lucy T. Shoe Meritt Papers