the
garnet letter

Volume IV
Number

3

M A Y, 1940

2

T h e G arn et L etter

ALUMNI UNDERTAKE MANY PROJECTS IN 1939-40
Innovations in Organization Resulting in G reater Activity
Much of the academic success of Swarthmore has been
due, indirectly, to the support, both financial and moral,
of the graduates of the college. To assure the continued
welfare of Swarthmore, it is essential that the ever in­
creasing alumni body be brought into close contact with
the ideas and policies of the administration and with the
work and enthusiasms of the present undergraduate.
That this contact between the alumni and the college
has been strengthened and encouraged during the past
year is attested by the increased attendance at alumni ac­
tivities, by the greater activity of alumni projects which
have been or are about to be completed. The Alumni
Council has given much time and thought to alumni prob­
lems and is responsible for much of the success of alumni
events. To Allin Pierce, President of the Alumni Asso­
ciation, the college and alumni owe thanks for the enthusi­
astic and conscientious job he has done, not only as Presi­
dent of the Association, but also as member of the com­

mittee which is choosing Mr. Aydelotte’s successor. In the
latter capacity he has been in a position to come in contact
with the administrative policies of the college; as Presi­
dent of the Association he is in a position to explain these
ideas to the alumni at large. Under his leadership, thought
has been given to the creation of an Alumni Fund which
will mean an added source of income for the College. The
Swarthmore commemorative plates are well on their way
to actuality. There is increased alumni contact with the
undergraduate through the cooperation of various alumni
scholarships. All of these activities make the alumni more
enthusiastic about the college because with the perform­
ance of these activities, they are making themselves a liv­
ing part of it.
The appreciation of the alumni goes to Allin Pierce for
his service to them in two capacities in the past year and
for his generous and successful performance of his tasks.

NEW YORK ALUMNI CLUBS GIVE PRESIDENT AND

ALUMNAE CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA

MRS. AYDELOTTE TESTIMONIAL DINNER

TO HONOR MRS. AYDELOTTE AT LUNCHEON

The members of the Alumni and Alumnae Clubs of
New York City paid tribute to Mr. and Mrs. Aydelotte
at a testimonial dinner at the Biltmore Hotel, in New
York City on April 6. About one hundred and twenty
five people were present.
Clarence H.

Yoder,

President of the Swarthmore

Alumni Club, officiated as Toastmaster. The program
consisted of testimonials for Mr. and Mrs. Aydelotte,

On Saturday, May 18, at one o’clock the Swarthmore
Alumnae Club is holding a luncheon in Collection Hall at
Swarthmore College in honor of Mrs. Aydelotte. Arrange­
ments are in charge of a committee of Club members
headed by Alice Sullivan Perkins, ’04. Other members of
the committee are Ruth McCauley Clyde, ’27, Elizabeth
Pollard Fetter, ’25, Lydia Clothier Maxwell, ’00, Virginia
Newkirk, ’38, Elizabeth Miller Ritschard, T 8, Lily Tily
Richards, ’29, Lydia Williams Roberts, ’97, Edith Wilder
Scott ’96, Lois Thompson, ’27, Nora Stabler Worth, ’03.
Reservations are being made through Jean Creighton, TO.

recitatives by Cornelia Stabler Gillam, ’20, two piano
solos by Stanley Baron, ’43, and general singing lead by
Ed. Palmer. The testimonials to the President and his
wife were given by Henry C. Turner, ’93, Amos Peaslee,
’07, Fred Redefer, ’26, Allin Pierce, T 9, President of the
Alumni Association, and Sarah Powell Huntington, ’30.
Cornelia Stabler Gillam who has performed

for the

Roosevelts, gave her impressions of the W hite House on
New Y ear’s Eve, and the details of her experience there.
Telegrams of congratulations to Mr. Aydelotte, and of
regret that the senders could not be present, were received
from many alumni and friends of the college.

Mrs. Aydelotte has always been generous in her hospi­
tality and enthusiastic in her response to any appeal from
the alumnae in their activities connected with the college.
Every two years the card party which the Club holds to
raise funds for the Swarthmore Alumnae Scholarship o f­
fered by the Philadelphia and New York groups, has been
held at the Aydelotte’s home and there has never been any
service to perform which she considered too much trou­
ble. Every year she extends the same cordial hospitality
to Mortar Board which holds it initiation and alumnae
meeting at the president’s house.
This luncheon will be expressing but a small measure
of the esteem and appreciation which Swarthmore alum­
nae feel for Marie Aydelotte.

3

T h e G arn et L etter

ALUMNI DAY TO BE CELEBRATED SATURDAY, JUNE 1st
L U M N I D A Y will be observed at the College on
Saturday, June first, and for the second consecutive
year, Tom Nicely, ’30, will have charge of the program.

A

The Garnet Letter had hoped to announce the appoint­
ment of a new Swarthmore president with a subsequent
statement that Mr. Aydelotte’s successor would be pre­
sented to the Alumni at the Association meeting on Sat­
urday morning. W e are advised, however, that no selec­
tion has been made as yet. There is a strong likelihood
that the appointment will be announced before June first.
I f so, arrangements will be made to have our new pres­
ident as the guest of honor at the late morning meeting.
So successful was the alumni golf match last year, that
the event will be repeated on Friday afternoon, May 31st.
Arrangements have been made at Rolling Green and the
first foursome will tee off at 2 :30 P.M . Reservations
can be made by writing Sam Eckerd, ’26, at the College.
Saturday’s program begins with a meeting of the
Alumni Council at 9 :30 A.M . followed by the Associa­
tion meeting at 11 :00 A.M . in Clothier Memorial. There
is a note of special interest in this year’s meeting of the
Association with many vital and interesting topics up for
consideration.
Informality will be the keynote for the alumni luncheon
which will be served buffet style from 12 :30 to 1 :30 P.M .
Tables will be "arranged in the usual place between T ro t­
ter and Beardsley Halls. During the meal President Allin
Pierce, T9, will introduce special guests. The parade fol­
lows at 2 :00 P.M . and during the afternoon a tennis match
and baseball game will entertain the sport lovers. R e­
union dinners are at 6 :30 P.M . and the evening will be
devoted to dancing and a College Sing. So much for the
program itself.
W ith all this fanfare one would suppose every alumnus
within reasonable distance of the College would lay plans
to be here— but we warn against such optimism. Some
old timers will fake a directors meeting, a slight indispo­
sition, or an unexpected call out of town, and in each case
will refuse the invitation with “sincere regrets.” A few
of the early 1900 group will have been ‘out of touch with
the college so many years I wouldn’t recognize the place’

TENNIS
Alumni interested in playing against the Varsity
and Junior Varsity on Alumni Day should send
their names and adresses to Albert L. Hood, Jr.,
12 S. 12th St., Phila., Pa.

and they choose to remember it as it was. But the real
problem children can be found in the era of ten to twentyfive year graduates. They don’t like honors work; they
had a neighbor whose daughter was refused admission as
a freshman; they’d come back if we got a few real games
on our football schedule and some players like those in
college in ’ ??. The more recent graduates have about two
stock excuses but these they use with great regularity.
W ith them it’s usually the problem of what to do with
the young folks at home or the fact that its “too darn
hot for me to be on my feet all day long.”
W ith such a series of obstacles we sometimes wonder
how anyone manages to put in an appearance at all. But
just as our depression is reaching its lowest depths we
are exhilarated by more pleasant thoughts. Here is the
one day in every year when you can best recapture
Swarthmore as it was when you struggled with calculus,
Chaucer, and Crum Woods. Many of the old crowd will
be there to help with your reminiscing. Poster fights in
retrospect can be more violent than ever they were in re­
ality. Most anyone will be ready to' substantiate your
exaggerated version of being chased off the Pet (and this
landmark will be back in its old place of business, thanks
to a remodelling by the class of 1914). Then there is the
one about the cow in Parrish, and for the old timers, noth­
ing can be more exciting than a recounting of the fire of
’81.
But this isn’t all. There are many new things to see.
The College has made marvelous improvements to
grounds and buildings. In addition, the old professors will
be available in their most friendly moods and the new
faculty members are always on hand and waiting for the
chance to make another Swarthmore acquaintance.
So let’s find someone to take care of the kids and make
plans at once. Nearby alumni can have added pleasure by
arranging a party with out of town classmates. For those
at a distance we call attention to the nominal charge of
fifty cents for rooms at the college. Better yet, we sug­
gest a try at diplomacy which may result in an invitation
to stay with a friend living near Swarthmore. In any
event, let’s all make a sincere effort to be on the campus
Saturday June first. It will be another long year before
the opportunity presents itself again.

GOLF
Make reservations for Alumni Golf Match by
May 28th with Sam Eckerd, ’26, Swarthmore Col­
lege, Swarthmore, Pa.

4

T h e G arn et L etter

SWARTHMORE COMMEMORATIVE

PLATES TO BE AVAILABLE IN FALL

Six College Buildings Reproduced on W edgw ood
C C O R D IN G to a recent statement by the
Alumni Council, an interesting series of
Swarthmore commemorative plates will be avail­
able for distribution sometime before the end of
this calendar year. The plates will be made in
England by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ldt. and
will be handled by their American agents, Jones,
McDuffee and Stratton Corporation in Boston.

A

Commemorative plateware was first adopted
by Harvard a number of years ago and since then
the idea has spread to many colleges, universities,
and private secondary schools. Some colleges
have received the idea so enthusiastically that
they have gradually issued a whole set of china.
However, the ten and a quarter inch service or
dinner plate is the only size Swarthmore is plan­
ning to issue at the end of this year, but designers
in Boston are now at work on supplementary
pieces which will be announced at some later date.
The Swarthmore plate is cream colored and
has an embossed border whose design was sug­
gested by an original idea of Fredric Klees, a
member of the English Department. In this bor­
der the traditional Wedgwood fluting separates three me­

most appropriately chosen a very becoming and dignified

dallions surrounded by oak leaves. A Quaker maid and a

pose of the “lion and wild kangaroo” impressively taken

Quaker lad are pictured in two of these medallions and

against a stage background which sets off their scintilla­

the college seal composes the third. The whole is beauti­

ting personalities to great advantage.

fully blended with the center design by an inner border
of ivy which is done in color. The designs which com­
prise the center of the plates consist of six college build­

The Women’s Executive Committee of the Alumni
Council was the committee in charge of selecting the de­
signs. Headed by Anna O. Eberle, T3, the members

ings. These are Parrish Hall, the Library, W orth Hall,

were: Mary Ann Parrish, ’30 Hilda Lang Denworth, ’17,

the Meeting House, Martin Biological Laboratory, and

Reba Camp Hodge, T5, Elisabeth Hallowed Bartlett, T2.

C lothier' Memorial, and will be reproduced in under­
glazed garnet. -Most people will probably want the plates

The border design and those of the six center subjects

in this color but if the garnet doesn’t blend with other

have been sent to England where the plates will be fired.

china, the plates will be available in green and blue.

This process will take about three months. By the end of
August the College expects to have actual sample plates

As a distinguishing feature of the “first edition” the
two hundred dozen plates first ordered will have a back-

which will be put on display at the Fall Homecoming.
Electrotype reproductions of all six plates will be on

stamp. The various colleges have chosen as themes fig­

display Alumni Day and orders can be placed at that

ures of traditional significance for the individual institu­

time for future shipment. Due to present uncertainties in

tion. Amherst, for example, uses a small figure of Lord

England it has been difficult to establish a definite price

Geoffrey mounted on his charger and Swarthmore has

but it will not be in excess of eighteen dollars per dozen.

T h e G arn et Tetter

5

A NEW DORMITORY FOR SWARTHMORE WOMEN
BY FRANCES BLANSHARD

U R new W omen’s Dormitory is taking firm shape.
W e know the place for it,— above W orth Hall where
the tennis courts used to be, running from College Ave­
nue south to complete the great square of the W orth
Quadrangle. W e know how the rooms should be ar­
ranged to have plenty of sun and air. Miss Ethel Stilz
has thought of all the gadgets which will make it a mir­
acle of convenience,— such as basement rooms for typing
late at night, storage space for bicycles, sleds and skiis,
a well equipped laundry and kitchenettes,— even a few
tall communal closets where long evening dresses may
hang uncrumpled. She has sketched floor plans which
could be turned over to an architect tomorrow. There is
nothing to keep us from laying a corner stone at Com­
mencement except,— F U N D S ! W hat we need is a Bache­
lor Uncle or a Grateful Father with a large fortune, or
a whole clan of sisters and cousins and aunts ready to
work for ‘equal rights’ for Swarthmore women!

O

The present inequality of housing goes back to the
purchase of three buildings from the old Swarthmore P re­
paratory School which were converted into dormitories
for men. This additional space made it desirable to in­
crease the number of students in College. To keep the
sexes at the same number, in conformity with Swarth­
more tradition, the number of women has had to increase
along with the men. W e have taken care of some of the
overflow by using two converted houses on Walnut Fane,
— Woolman and Bassett Houses. A few girls are tucked
away in the guest rooms in the Women’s Class Dodges.
But these arrangements are only makeshifts and interfere
to some extent with the full participation of the inmates
in college life. The French Department is helping to alle­
viate the situation this year by turning Bassett House into
a Maison Française where a member of the department,
Miss Marion Monaco, will live, assisted by a French ex­
change student, Mile. Mally Prinz. It is hoped that the
house will become a social centre for both men and wo­
men who are interested in improving their conversational
French, and thus serve a very useful function at a time
when trips abroad are unhappily impossible. But of
course it would be better if we could do so, to house all
the women students on the campus; it would be easy to
retain a Maisoa Française in the form of a section of
W orth Hall. Furthermore, Parrish is a crowded residence
hall in comparison with the accommodations offered by
colleges with newer dormitories. W hile most of the
rooms on transverse have always been used as doubles,
they are by present standards adequate only for singles.
W e are reluctant also to continue to house students in the
North W ing behind Collection Hall, especially as that
space is badly needed for other purposes.

What we should have now, specifically, is a dormitory
for seventy-eight to eighty-four women. It need not be
so beautiful or costly as W orth Hall, although it must be
handsome enough not to look like a poor relation, since
the two will stand side by side. W e are not yet ready to
mention the exact sum which must be raised, in view of
the constant increase in building costs. W e realize, too,
that President Aydelotte could not now take steps which
would seriously commit his successor to a definite build­
ing program. But we hope that when any possible succes­
sor is being looked over by the Committee, his views on
women’s dormitories will be firmly investigated!
At the moment, all Alumni are urged to be on the look­
out for Potential Donors, ready to contribute anything
up to $200,000. Please bring them to visit the .College
tw ice: once on a beautiful day in May when the Campus
is so lovely with lilacs and cherries that they will yearn
to have a part in the place; again on a rainy morning at
half past seven. Then you should drop them at Bassett
House and leave them to walk to Parrish for breakfast!
If you know someone who is impatient to give a dormi­
tory, and you would like to share the pleasure of asking
for it, please call on the Chairman of the Household
Committee, Mary Lippincott Griscom, 1901. She is the
patron saint of this enterprise and what she would have
to say about it would carry conviction to anyone.

Early indications point to a large percentage
of our graduating class being placed in perma­
nent positions by Commencement Day. A de­
tailed accounting of this placement will appear
in the July issue of the Garnet Letter.
Alumni have been unusually cooperative in
this vocational work and through their efforts
a number of positions have been made avail­
able for our Seniors. The college appreciates
the knowledge of openings for the men and
women yet unplaced. Address such information
for women to Nora Booth and for men to the
Alumni Secretary. A particular need is felt for
summer jobs for the underclassmen whose
abilities lie in every conceivable field. Tutors,
child companions, department store clerks, en­
gineers, lab assistants, chauffeurs, camp coun­
selors, farm hands, salesmen, and life guards
form the beginning of a list of the kinds of
work which can be recruited from our under­
graduate ranks.

6

T h e G arn et T etter

THE DIX PLAN FOR COLLEGE

REUNIONS

BY HILDA LANG DENWORTH, '17

T T H E annual meeting of the Alumni Association
held in June 1938, the suggestion was made by an
alumnus that Swarthmore consider adopting the D ix Plan
for college reunions. There has been since then some dis­
cussion of the plan in Alumni groups. In October 1939,
Allin Pierce, T9, president of the Alumni Association,
appointed a committee to study the advantages and disad­
vantages of the plan for report and recommendation at
the meeting of the Alumni Association to be held on June
1, 1940.

A

Until about twenty years ago, class reunions at colleges
throughout the country were held, almost without excep­
tion, on the five year, or quinquennial plan, classes re­
turning to college for fifth, tenth, fifteenth year reunions
and so on until the fiftieth, sixtieth or even seventieth re­
unions. About 1920 there was introduced a new scheme
of class reunions, called the D ix Plan, the basic idea of
which is the holding of reunions by college generations
rather than by individual classes. Accordingly, under the
D ix Plan, each class returns with three other classes
which were contemporary with it in college. Groups of
four successive classes are so arranged that in nineteen
years every class meets all the other classes associated
with it in college. Reunions are held every five years with
the exception of every fourth reunion when the interval
is four years. In applying the plan, colleges devise charts
to show successive reunion y ears; these charts vary some­
what according to the year the plan is initiated. To illus­
trate : in 1940, according to a typical D ix Plan chart, the
class of 1925 would hold reunions with 1926, 1927, and
1928. In 1945, the class of 1925 would return with the
classes of 1924, 1926 and 1927; in 1950 with the classes
of 1923, 1924 and 1926; in 1955, with 1922, 1923 and
1924; and in 1959, again with 1926, 1927 and 1928.
Under the D ix Plan as originally outlined there were no
special reunions as the twenty-fifth or fiftieth; as a matter
of practice, however, almost all the colleges using the plan
have adopted modifications so that such special reunions
may also be held. The class of 1915 could, for example,
hold its twenty-fifth reunion this year. Its next reunion
would be in 1943; other 1915 reunions would be held in
1948, 1952 and 1957, a total of five reunions in seven­
teen years.
At the Twentieth Annual Conference of the American
Alumni Council held in 1934, Mr. Foster M. Coffin, of
Cornell, presented a report on “The D ix Plan of R e­
unions”. His summarization of the advantages and disad­
vantages of the plan is as follow s:
“The advantages of the D ix Plan seem clear, with
the opportunity of returning with contemporaries;

of possible economies as well as enhanced pleasures
in planning j oint class entertainments; the chance to
develop games and other competitions between
classes that knew each other in college. The propon­
ents of the D ix Plan point out that the scheme can
be modified to meet local needs, that provision is
made for reunions by 25- and 50-year classes, and
that classes usually preserve their individual identi­
ties during a reunion by holding separate class ban­
quets and other meetings. They are inclined to scoff
at the objection that no alumnus can remember when
he is scheduled to come back, and must be reminded
by his class secretary and the alumni office. They say
the schedule is simple once you look at it. It just
sounds difficult. The opponents of the plan, on the
other hand, point out that the time-honored, easy-toremember, quinquennial plan is more desirable if for
no other reason than because under it alumni in all
parts of the world can the more easily plan, years
ahead, for their return to the college and can arrange
for necessary trips and furloughs. They claim that
the D ix Plan increases the labors of the class officers
without increasing the total attendance; and they ar­
gue that with so many classes, particularly of the
older alumni, reluctant to abandon the old quinquen­
nial, the result is a combination of the two plans to
the general detriment of reunions, and that it is far
better to have good reunions on the quinquennial
basis than only fair returns under both plans.”
The committee of the Swarthmore Alumni Council en­
gaged in making a study of the D ix Plan has written to
the alumni secretaries of thirty-five colleges throughout
the United States. In this number are included fifteen
colleges using, according to the latest available reports,
the D ix Plan ; five colleges that had followed it but dis­
continued it use; and fifteen selected because they some­
what approximate Swarthmore in size, in being coeduca­
tional, or in other ways. Nothing was known of the re­
union plans of this latter group of colleges. Replies from
thirty alumni secretaries or other college officials (86%
of those addressed) have been received. The information
contained in these letters and in the reports of the Amer­
ican Alumni Council is being tabulated and evaluated by
the committee and will be presented to the members of
the Alumni Association at the annual meeting on June 1.
Meanwhile it is hoped that Swarthmore Alumni will fam­
iliarize themselves with the relative merits of the Dix
Plan and of the five year plan so that a considered de­
cision may be reached in June as to the plan to be fol­
lowed for reunions at Swarthmore.

16

T h e G arn et L etter

ALUMNI REGISTER TO BE PUBLISHED IN SUMMER
The 1940 Alumni Register will be published sometime
during the summer and will vary somewhat in format
from former editions. The process of gathering new ad­
dresses is still going on and was greatly aided by the
quick and cooperative response to the plea put forth in the
last issue of the Garnet Letter.
The major change in the register will be the omission
of the class and geographic lists of former students and
graduates. The book will contain a single alphabetical list
of all alumni with cross references for the married
women. This is the kind of list which will he of most use
to the alumni at large most of whom use the register for
individual friends’ addresses. A t first glance, the reaction
may be that it is necessary to have class lists for purposes
of reunions but due to the fact that addresses change so
quickly and in such large numbers, it becomes necessary
for the class officers to get class lists from the alumni
office even though the register is comparatively recent.
F or the same reason, a geographic list is obsolete almost
as soon as the book is published and with the new geo-:
graphic addressograph file, the alumni office is able to fur­
nish geographic lists to Alumni Clubs without much
trouble.
Each alumnus will have his name listed, followed by his
degree and class. Then his additional degrees, if any, from
other institutions which will be followed by his home ad^
dress or the one which he has on file at the college.
■ The July Garnet Letter will carry information about the
exact publishing date of this new volume and, if you are
interested in receiving a copy, send us your name and ad­
dress on a penny postal card.

COMMENCEMENT WEEK PROGRAM
(Daylight Saving Tim e )

Friday, May 31, 1940
10:30 A.M.

Ivy Planting— Newell Alford, Ivy Orator

1 1 :00 A.M.

Class Day Exercises— President’s Lawn

12:15 P.M .

College Luncheon

2 :3 0 P.M .

Meeting of the Board of Managers
Alumni Golf Match— Rolling Green
Country Club

5:00 P.M .

Annual Meeting Swarthmore chapter of
Phi Beta Kappa, Bond Memorial

6 :0 0 P.M .

College Dinner

9 :0 0 P.M .

Senior Class Dance, Collection Hall

Saturday, June 1, 1940
ALUM N I DAY
9 :3 0 A.M.

Meeting of Alumni Council in Board of
Managers Room, Clothier Memorial

11 :00 A.M.

Annual Meeting of Alumni Association,
Meeting House

12 :30-l :30 P.M .

Alumni Buffet Luncheon

2 :3 0 P.M .
3:30 P.M .

Parade of Reunion Classes to Alumni Field
Award of Prizes

4 :0 0 P.M .

Baseball Game— Drexel vs. Varsity
Tennis Match— Alumni vs. Varsity

6 :0 0 P.M .

College Dinner

6 :3 0 P.M .

Class Reunion Suppers

8:15 P.M .

Commencement Play— “Patience”

9 :0 0 P.M .

Dancing, Dining Room and Collection Hall

10:00 P.M .

College Sing, Front of Parrish

11 :00 A.M.

Baccalaureate Sermon, Clothier Memorial
Patrick Murphy Malin, Speaker

Sunday, June 2

1 :00 P.M .

College Dinner

4 :0 0 P.M .

Members of Faculty at home to alumni,
seniors and friends in Clothier Cloister's.

6 :0 0 P.M .

College Supper

7:00 P.M .

Last Collection

8 :0 0 P.M .

Phi Beta Kappa Address— Meeting House
Thomas Mann

Monday, June 3
COM M ENCEM EN T
11 :00 A.M.
12 :00-l :00

DAY

Commencement Exercises, Clothier
Memorial. Speaker, Frank Aydelotte
College luncheon