Part I

ABBOT AND MISS BAILEY

CHAPTER VI

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

IN this chapter the important subject of health training has been treated not as one unit in the curriculum but as an essential foundation for the whole program. Miss Bailey, feeling this, gave alert consideration as in other departments to the development and gradual expansion of the existing program and facilities in the light of changed or changing theory and practice elsewhere. An instructor in the Department in later years has told of frequent conferences with the Principal, of her keen discernment in the matter of adopting new policies, and of her tactful explanations when she felt the time was not ripe for a suggested change.

This record is drawn chiefly from changes in statement in the annual catalogues, and from news items or comments in the Courant, which often expressed students' reactions. The training was planned to affect the "health, grace, and morale" of every girl in School. Signs of the modernizing tendency are seen in the immediate substitution in the catalogue of the term Physical Education for Physical Culture, in the increased emphasis on outdoor exercise, and the spirit of play in games and dancing rather than on the rigidity of conventional gymnastic drill. The stress on military training and on wartime activities was only temporary and helped to heighten morale during the war period. Reference in formal announcements to the zest afforded by athletic contests, and the enumeration of various winter sports, with an allusion to the Intervale holiday, are specific examples of the new attitude.

In the way of health promotion, there was an early change in the daily two-session schedule to provide an hour of exercise in the sunshiny part of the day before lunch, and make up for it by an hour of study or classes in the late afternoon. In the spring term outdoor sports were substituted for indoor exercise.

The salutary effect of good posture on health and therefore on academic work was recognized with measures taken to make it general. Some years later a posture honor roll and other devices made students more posture-conscious. To be sure, passing fads had to be fought, a "slump" or a "slouch" or what not! A clever pencil sketch made by a student about 1920, showing a group of girls rolling on the floor, poked fun at "reducing" to insure the right silhouette. So history repeats itself.

Increasing attention to those unfitted by physical limitations or defects to be in the regular classes was given by definite corrective work for individuals or groups, first mentioned in the catalogue of 1919-20. Often improvement was shown in a short time. In a few cases long and patient practice was necessary but was rewarded by surprising gains. With the acquiring of good physical poise, there was naturally also an upswing in morale. After 1918 the catalogue included the name of an examining physician in the Faculty list. A doctor's examination was made obligatory before a student could take part in heavy exercise. Talks on general hygiene, usually three in number, were given on Saturday afternoons each year by the instructor or physician. Later the doctor's talks included mental and sex hygiene.

Early improvements in facilities included two new tennis courts, a new basketball field, several large "flexible fliers," also a movable toboggan slide, given by a student's mother. This much later proved most acceptable as a ski jump! A concerted move or campaign for a new hockey field south of the grove was vigorously begun by the students in 1915 and, though delayed by war conditions, was renewed and the field made ready for use in 1923.

The Athletic Association was given increased importance and prestige by stricter parliamentary organization and by the recognition of its president as a member of Student Council. Presently the Courant refers to the systematizing of all athletics, with a leader elected for each regular sport who should be responsible to the Association under the supervision of the instructor. Competing divisions in School sports, however, followed for some time yet the old field day system of seniors versus senior middlers, each team with its underclass adherents. Obvious disadvantages were the likelihood of uneven ability in such arbitrarily selected groups and the transient nature of the personnel. These were met after a few years by significant changes, as will later be shown.

Important in morale building was the development in sports awards. "Athletic A's" were given at first only to those who were elected to play against Bradford, or later only for a definite number of athletic points. These were given by the Athletic Board with the approval of the Principal, and presupposed good conduct and cooperation as well as scholarship. Something higher and requiring the utmost effort was the coveted "Honor A," which, though first awarded in 1916, according to the Courant, for certain qualifications, was formally recognized in the catalogue of 1922 by a statement that the recipients of this highest honor awarded by the School were limited to those "who have shown qualities of character and leadership which promise to make them in later years worthy representatives of Abbot Academy." In time athletic ability came to be of less importance in the estimate of general fitness. The candidates for this high distinction were chosen by the unanimous decision of their student peers and Faculty members comprising the Representative Committee of Student Council. An "A Society" was formed which included both Athletic A's and Honor A's, and is often mentioned as having picnics, dinners, theatre parties, and other good times. Officers of this Society were printed in the Courant in 1923. Illustrative of the attitude toward the Honor A is the incident of a girl who was temporarily suspended from the Society and her precious arm band taken away. Her dismay and her penitence for her misdoing led to an intensely loyal devotion thereafter to the best interests of the School. After Miss Bailey's death, another graduate said that when she had confessed how much the loss of the coveted honor had meant to her, Miss Bailey had replied, "Much more important are the Honor A's of life, my dear, and I am counting on you." She has been worthy of her trust.

Much of the expansion and development of the Department had been made possible by a "long-desired change" made in 1916 when the teaching of elocution, heretofore linked with that of gymnastics, was given over to a separate instructor. A definite departure from past policies in physical education, though one in accordance with the trend of the time, was the increased emphasis on the aesthetic element. Folk dancing had been introduced shortly before the beginning of the new administration. It may here be mentioned that sixty years before, under one of the first woman principals, the Virginia Reel and the Spanish Dance had their place in "Calisthenics" Now dancing became an integral part of the School program. Indoor classes in the winter and outdoor training in the spring led to the first pageant, the "Masque of the Flowers," arranged by the physical education instructor and presented on the lawn by the Old Oak in 1914. There were solo and group dances in graceful, colorful costumes before the May Queen and her attendants. A little later a "Pageant of the Open Fields" inspired, so the program read, by Hamilton Mabie's "Under the Trees," was produced by the instructor.

In 1916, the same year that elocution and gymnastics were separated, a course in Rhythmic Expression was introduced, which continued under the direction of successive non-resident instructors, all graduates of the Noyes School of Rhythmic Expression in New York. It was described as a form of exercise in which co-ordination of mental and physical faculties is brought about through rhythmic response to music. Fundamental aims of flexibility and control of the body were scientifically planned. The resulting relaxation from these exercises had elsewhere proved highly beneficial even in emotional disturbances. About half the girls chose the new course, which could be taken in place of regular gymnastics twice a week. They were enthusiastic over it. One participant expressed in the Courant her delight in dancing on the grass near the Grove, "happy and carefree." The work included individual interpretations and preparation for the annual masques or recitals, more or less elaborate, performed with many lovely effects indoors or outside. The aesthetic training when introduced was in interesting and wholesome contrast to the earlier military drill. The course, for nine years under the direction of Constance Ling, 1920, was kept in the curriculum until 1935, when stringent financial conditions resulted in reducing the number of teachers. After 1935 the aesthetic element appeared in the gradual development of the modern dance, again in accordance with a general movement in schools and colleges.

 

Development of Games and Sports

From year to year the tendency grew here as well as elsewhere to mitigate the old prescribed drills in various and often ingenious ways. New ideas were introduced by successive competent instructors, rousing fresh enthusiasms. Athletic games, indoors as well as outside, and so-called minor sports began to be adopted to give inducement to girls who were indifferent or physically not ready for the heavier sports.

Take for example walking, long recommended and enjoyed casually and required in certain amounts. In 1913, cross country walking was named among the sports that could be substituted in the spring for indoor gymnastics. In 1920 it was remarked, "Abbot is decidedly a walking school," with fifty-two arm bands given out in June to those who had accomplished a given number of designated walks. These walks were later classified and printed in 1927 in the Athletic Association Handbook, with sensible rules for group hiking and for student "hike leaders," who were selected for maturity and experience, usually taking the place of Faculty chaperons. Among the thirty walks listed were Prospect Hill (later renamed Holt Hill), the "two-mile circuit," "short" or "long" Sunset Rock, and Carter's Hill (now part of the Cochran Bird Sanctuary).

Riding comes in and out of this history, really from 1844 when the Principal gave riding lessons. In the period under review, availability of horses was the sine qua non. No riding in war time, then later possible again. In 1931 horsemanship passed from a minor to a major sport, and on Field Day was given ratings for form, for drill, and for riding games. The next spring a Gymkhana was a special feature of the first Visiting Day, described later. Of course, tennis, basketball, and field hockey were always at the front, counting as major sports whatever others were added.

Miss Mary Carpenter was Director from 1925 through the following ten years of the Bailey era and until 1945. The progress in providing equal opportunity for all girls in athletic activity, and in training for good sportsmanship was greatly advanced by the formulation and adoption in 1926 of the new Point System and the subsequent changes in the program. In addition to general scores, additional points were earned for prescribed effort, for "making" teams, walking or riding. These led to awards: numerals, letters, chevrons, blazers, and continuing Athletic A's and Honor A's.

At the end of the year the Director divided the School into two fairly equal groups, which became the basis of the new Clubs, Gargoyles and Griffins. These elected their own captains, subject doubtless to approval. In the fall, after entering students had been graded by means of sports tryouts, there was a ceremony with speeches and éclat, when the captains had the responsibility of choosing in turn new members for their sides from the group lists given them. This made continuity possible and the candidates had the pleasurable feeling of being chosen. The highest aim, as in other such plans in the past, was the strengthening of the esprit de corps. Examples of attitudes toward defeat and reward are seen in statements about Field Day by two Club officials in different years. "No matter who is victorious, we shall all have had a great day!" "Better than the awards was the grand pep and spirit."

Several factors gave zest and sparkle to the new arrangements for competition. Names for opposing teams had been used, such as Iroquois and Chippewas in 1914, for a limited period only. Now Gargoyles and Griffins quickly came to life in grotesque insignia and their well known slogans. This idea of a special loyalty that should endure not only through school days but on into the future was a thrilling one. The brilliant orange and green colors contributed to this end and the songs, more or less notable, always delivered with vigor and snap. A shield trophy was inscribed at the end of each year with the name of the winning Club, the announcement of which was the climax of Last Chapel before Commencement. There was suspense and cumulative excitement because the decision depended not only on the known number of athletic points but took account of good School spirit. Another asset was the social element, the Clubs entertaining each other in alternate years with gay doings in such settings as a ship's deck, a diner, or a circus tent. A tea dance for the sports group is mentioned.

An important event occurred at New Year's, 1926, when the Trustees made possible a winter playground on Abbot Street well beyond the School grounds. A pond --- or the makings of one at the confluence of two brooks---had been the gift of Mr. Homer Foster. All kinds of winter sports now received an impetus. "A sprinkler pump kept the pond free from snow accumulations, resulting in an unexcelled skating surface," said the Treasurer's Report for 1930-31. The toboggan slide was moved from the campus to the slope from Abbot Street to the pond where a longer course was possible. Seniors made ready for Intervale delights. Carnivals, held if and when ice or snow conditions favored, provided jolly, colorful, and exciting scenes, with original events, floats, and stunts, all adding points for Gargoyles and Griffins. Later further land was acquired, and in 1932 a cement dam at the lower end of the pond was completed, making the pond available for swimming and the use of canoes. Sometimes in the spring there was opportunity for instruction and practice in paddling. That year of 1932 warm weather came early enough for the girls to enjoy this as their own swimming pool with as many as sixty signing up on some days. Later, unfortunately, it became gradually impracticable to use this recreation center so freely. When the long-time rivalry with Bradford came to an end, an intramural competitive scheme was ready to fill the gap.

Gradually the influence of the Club ideals began to permeate the campus. It spread from purely athletic activities, with tangible results in added points, to other interests where the values could be felt rather than recorded, but where there was undoubted effort for the honor not only of the Club but of the School. Sometimes of course there were times when there were falterings and slippings from the high standards, but even then as in other departments capabilities were strengthened and potentialities discovered by a discerning and youth-loving instructor.

In the later years of the administration, this linking of physical education with the everyday life of the individual, and a consequent flexibility of program, was definitely in line with contemporary practice. Recreation for all was the aim instead of intensive work for the few with the rest looking on, and the urge to become proficient in sports for future enjoyment, either alone or with others, was steadily encouraged.

In 1935 at a morning assembly, the Physical Education Department staged an amusing historical parade of costumes, including the voluminous gym suits of Civil War and "Abbot Journal" days. Through World War I and for a decade after, the Peter Thompson type prevailed in drill and team uniforms, bloomers and middy blouses with the swinging Windsor scarf ties. Then in 1926 the blue jersey came in with white collar and short sleeves. The long black stockings, later so ridiculed, were still used in other schools of the Abbot type, though discarded earlier at some of the women's colleges. The trend in play clothes was toward utility and convenience, influenced more or less by prevailing styles. For example, the brightly colored and sensible ski suits were adopted and greatly enlivened snow scenes.

 

Abbot and Bradford

A marked feeling of friendliness was notable in the long series of athletic competitions between Abbot and Bradford, from the time in the fall of 1901 when Bradford challenged Abbot to the newly adopted game of field hockey. Two meets yearly, one for each sport, were scheduled from 1905 to 1913 when the spring contest was omitted and hockey and basketball alternated in the fall for a few years. With a greater number of students and a strengthening of the Athletic Association, the sports program at Abbot was expanding. In 1919 and for a decade following, the fall event became a field day, with tennis, croquet, archery, and relay races added, and twice at least riding. This arrangement meant a larger number of participants and fewer mere spectators. The scores over a period of years were even enough to keep up the exciting suspense of the exchange visits, and each school seemed to have gained in unity by the contests.

What thrilling days those were! The white chrysanthemums and the yellow, the big banners, the transportation in packed special trolley cars or, as time passed, in buses, the welcoming songs by the crowd in white with blue scarves and caps, later spoken of as berets, or in turn by the yellow-decked girls of the opposition. Then began the clash of arms, with tension at high moments and lusty songs and cheers. Time called and pairing off of hosts and guests for sightseeing round campus and for eating. A "lap luncheon" indoors at Bradford, a picnic at Pomp's Pond here with hot dogs cooked over bonfires, and as a climax a barbecue at Bradford in 1928. The autumn afternoons passed only too quickly and twilight sometimes cut short the last events. Then choruses of goodbys and the start for home, although seniors stayed at times for tea and teams for dinner. There was fair weather but there was also foul. There were interruptions in regular programs twice because of illnesses nearby, in 1918 influenza and in 1928 infantile paralysis. At the end of the exhilarating day there would always be at Abbot the much anticipated awarding of letters in the Recreation Room, with speeches from Miss Bailey as well as the Director and members of teams. Although the general mood would be more hilarious after victory, as one alumna has said, "Even after we had won overwhelmingly Miss Bailey made it so much more important to have been good sports and good hostesses than to have won."

In 1929, because of the change in status of Bradford to a junior college, a Play Day was instituted when instead of competing as usual the girls were divided into color teams irrespective of schools. On the first occasion the Abbot Circle was a gay sight with bright pennants flying from tall white poles. The composite Abbot-Bradford groups took their places under their several assigned colors and as the music sounded moved into the steps of an English country dance. At this time, besides the "big three" --- hockey, basketball, and tennis --- there were volley ball, German bat ball, kick it, cage ball, dodge ball, clock golf, croquet, and teniquoit. After supper came singing and dancing. This plan was carried through for several years, though not with the old-time zest, and at last came to be a mere exchange of amenities. In 1934, with the last meeting, the thirty-three-year-old Bradford-Abbot tradition, honorable and long to be treasured, passed into history.

 

CHAPTER VII

DEPARTMENT DEALING WITH SPEECH

THE development of the department dealing with the "spoken word" well illustrates two tendencies of the times, increasing specialization in the teaching of subjects and emphasis on the dramatic element. "Elocution" was separated from "gymnastics" and a new teacher provided for it in 1916-17. Therein was the obvious advantage to the Department of having the undivided attention of an instructor. From 1917 to 1948 the same competent instructor, Miss Bertha Morgan (later Mrs. Gray) provided a continuity in training and consequent building up of routines and ideals which made for excellent results. The heading "Elocution" gave place in later catalogues to the terms Reading and Speaking, Spoken English, and Vocal Expression.

The cultivation of the voice came to be of greater practical application when in the debates of the twenties presentation of topics by the newly formed Honor Societies, news reports and the like began to take an important place in School life. This was comparable to the emphasis on the ability to write English clearly as a necessity in all branches of study.

As regards dramatics, the situation in 1912 was like this. It was only for a few years that there had been adequate provision for the production of any sort of formal effort. Before 1905, when Davis Hall became a reality, the French and German plays and others were given in Abbot Hall under limitations of stage space and with makeshift equipment that called for strong imaginative powers on the part of both actors and audience. After 1905, to be sure, senior class plays of literary worth, often Shakespearian comedies, and less formal senior middle plays had come to be given regularly each year, with enthusiastic appreciation of the facilities of the new stage.

It was not, however, until the beginning of the new regime that these plays were recognized in the catalogue as part of the School program. Annual issues mark the growth in importance of the subject from time to time by milestone changes. For example, after a while, 1925-26, "dramatic work" is said to have been found of value in different departments of the School. Writing of one-act plays was required in the senior Academic English course (some of which were chosen for production), and French, German, and Spanish plays were given as well as dramatic episodes by the Bible study classes. In 1923 the Abbot Dramatic Society was founded as an Honor group for drama, as described in the next chapter. Thereafter the members regularly presented classic or modern plays, often with noteworthy success.

With this new decided interest in the drama, it came about quite naturally in 1924 that the Draper Readings (established by Mr. Draper in 1868 in honor of Mrs. Draper) became Draper Dramatics, under which title two or more short plays were given annually as part of the Commencement schedule. Minor theatricals, corridor stunts, skits, and farces provided fun as always and sometimes experience for future acting and stage managing.

In later years, that is after 1932, the heading Dramatic Training and Production is used in the catalogue to describe one portion of the work in Spoken English. In preparation for presenting plays there was careful study of characterization and training in poise and in expression. Even with somewhat unlikely material, good effects were produced and with uniformly good casting, and when there was considerable natural talent in the group, a finished performance was the rule. Both the discipline and the inspiration for artistic creation were warmly appreciated by those who took the work seriously.

In this review mention must be made of certain distinct assets. To begin with, too much cannot be said of Miss Bailey's unfailing support and her ready expressions of appreciation after the play to the instructor and to all concerned in its production. One aid to good staging was the loyal cooperation of the School staff. Mr. Scannell, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, studied books in the Library on the subject and was most ingenious in planning for the material at hand. The man spared no thought or pains in order to make each set as perfect as possible for the situation. When someone exclaimed, " That is the best scenery we have ever had!" Mr. Scannell is said to have replied quickly and characteristically, "Then the play ought to be the best that Abbot ever gave!"

Of great value were the opportunities to see outstanding plays and actors in Boston. To be noted also was a brief visit from Lady Gregory, the gifted Irish playwright, who came to luncheon one day in 1916 and spoke to the students informally afterwards. Most notable for the School were the intimate contacts with those distinguished artists, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Rann Kennedy (Edith Wynne Matthison) on their several visits. They gave freely of themselves in Mr. Kennedy's plays and in Shakespearian roles. In the course of fourteen years beginning with 1916, Mrs. Kennedy came no less than ten times, accompanied on five occasions by Mr. Kennedy. She seems to have had as warm a feeling for Abbot as the successive audiences of girls showed for her by their eager responsiveness. It was she who was selected to represent the Drama in that memorable discussion of Scholarship and the Arts which concluded the Centennial in 1929, when she put into words, directly and sincerely, what she felt the understanding of this art might do in giving beauty and meaning to daily living.

 

CHAPTER VIII

KEEPING UP SCHOLASTIC STANDARDS

ONE of Miss Bailey's first definite moves to encourage good scholarship was to introduce in 1913 the practice of issuing an honor roll of students whose rank reached at least 88 per cent. Some years later the list was broadened to include those whose grades were particularly high in one subject. The names were read in Chapel and posted on the bulletin board. The aim given was not to increase competition but to incite each girl to do her best, to compete with herself. The Courant remarked that although there had at first been doubts as to whether the girls would show the right spirit, all fears had been allayed.

Other incentives for high standards were later offered by the "Athletic A's" and the coveted "Honor A's." With the founding of the Gargoyle and Griffin Clubs and the introduction of the new Point System in 1926, what had earlier been simply individual achievement became important also because of its contribution to the score of the Club.

As one means of arousing deeper concern for learning, a number of departmental societies were formed, spoken of later as honor or special interest groups. Something of this sort had al ready been functioning since 1906 in Odeon, which was composed of students with marked ability and interest in the study of literature and literary expression. One by one five other similar societies for regular voluntary work outside the classroom were founded, representing different fields, each with a student chairman and a Faculty sponsor as guide. An inter-group social element was provided by an annual banquet held in the spring, with each society in turn acting as hostess.

The general plan was to have informal sessions fortnightly and open meetings once or twice a year for Saturday afternoon "Hall exercises" or in the evening in Abbot Hall or Davis Hall, with occasionally an outside speaker. Twelve members from the upper classes were the rule for each club, elected by the group from names proposed by the Faculty. As seniors or others left School at the end of the year, the gaps were filled in the same way, the results being announced at Chapel, usually in the late fall. An advantage besides the value to the members was that the other girls hearing their peers discuss in public, or often indeed in private, these definitely intellectual subjects, were thus painlessly exposed to different branches of knowledge, and might become more or less familiar with some great names. As the scheme developed, some very creditable work was done by the groups, but it varied especially in the informal meetings according to the resourcefulness and conscientiousness of the members, and probably also to the amount of supervision that could be given by the Faculty adviser. After all, these girls were not adults nor yet even of college age, and although definitely interested in the subjects might well find it difficult with all the distractions of everyday school life to initiate and carry through worthwhile programs without mature leadership and some prodding. In order to give an idea of the scope of the work covered by the societies up to 1935 and of their contributions to the general good, some details are here recorded, often because related to events or conditions in the outside world.

Odeon (formed in 1906): members wrote and presented to a student public one-act plays; read contemporary plays from a literary rather than a dramatic point of view; studied and commented on modern American poets; read and reviewed contemporary novels (one year by Priestley, Rolvaag, Galsworthy), sometimes from the Book-of-the-Month Club, discussing, for instance, in open session the work of the Pulitzer Prize winners. At Chapel once on February 22, they gave readings from Lowell's Commemoration Ode and papers on the character and administration of Washington. One May morning in 1929 they told the School what they had gathered by careful research in original sources about Abbot alumnae who were distinguished for literary or other accomplishment. At another time they gave scenes from The Bright Land, a novel by Janet Ayer Fairbank, depicting life at Abbot in very early days.

Q. E. D. (1920): It was formed, it may be assumed, as a natural outgrowth of broadening contacts and influences during the war years to include, as was stated, students who showed an interest in past history and more especially in history in the making, to the end of developing an understanding of world affairs, ability to speak to a point, and courage to defend an opinion. After practice debates in private, a member of Q. E. D. in 1924 met one from Odeon before the School. Later the senior and senior middle teams of the Society argued in Abbot Hall and were judged by two Trustees and a Phillips Academy instructor. Subjects for debate were varied. One debate inside the group was about a political labor party, others in public were about the policy of the United States in Panama, Mussolini as a menace to world peace, whether the submarine should be abolished, and the readjustment of the frontiers of Hungary. In 1932 talks given to the School were on political conditions and leaders in England and Germany, social problems arising from the depression, and also before the presidential elections on the party platforms. Group discussions under Miss Chickering were on American problems --- unemployment, war debts, and so on. Later, as a public exercise, there was a panel form of debate, two opposing speakers on the policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt being followed by a third who gave a balanced view.

The Abbot Dramatic Society (1923): Resulting in part doubtless from increased emphasis on that phase of speech study, it served as a play workshop. Scenes from a Shakespearian drama were presented in the fall of 1924, usually two short plays before Christmas, sometimes especially fitting to the season. Among the better known names of authors are noted Lady Gregory, Milne, Christopher Morley, and Lord Dunsany. Thereafter in private sessions dramatic monologues and a variety of plays were studied and discussed with Mrs. Gray, as for example the Oberammergau Passion Play, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, and were often produced informally with parts read in costume or arrangements worked out for scenery, costume, and make-up. Twice puppet shows were prepared and produced. Among practical accomplishments were: purchase of new scenery from admission proceeds; initiation of a movement resulting, with the aid of contributions from other School organizations and friends, in a handsome blue drop curtain in time for use at the Centennial celebration.

Philomatheia (1924): This was formed under Miss Mason's guidance for science-loving students, to gain a better knowledge of scientific advancement and new theories, a characteristic aim of the Department. It may properly be noted here that in 1904, the year after the discovery of radium, a Trustee chemist, John Alden, brought a minute bit to be seen through the microscope, and a Wellesley professor gave a lecture on radioactivity.

Soon after the founding, the student chairman reported enthusiastic group discussions on various subjects. Members subscribed to a scientific magazine and talked over the articles; shared their findings with the School by presenting scientific news or information in the dining room at regular intervals and by reporting once or twice a year results of individual or group research. Subjects: The Atom (1928-29) and Helium; Edison's life and inventions with moving picture film; developments in aviation; the vastness of the heavens and the minuteness of the atom; the history of communications down to radio; the study of color with the spectroscope and its scientific basis in interior decoration and photography, with practice in developing and printing.

For contact with specialists, besides some well illustrated public lectures, there were occasional speakers before the group, and attendance at lectures at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with demonstration by experiments introducing the students to current theories about such mysteries as supersonic vibrations. At least one visit was made to the Agassiz Museum at Harvard. Once in order to aid in the understanding of a lecture which was to be given by an Austrian scientist on theories about the inheritance of acquired characteristics, the members prepared and read papers on the subject of evolution. To spread their newly acquired information, they provided amusing sketches or posters relating to practical scientific phenomena.

Beaux Arts (1926): This originated in the special arts class for those interested in the study and appreciation of art or, as later expressed, the graphic arts. The first public appearance was in the showing of stereopticon pictures of famous paintings in European galleries, with comments by members. Twice famous masterpieces were reproduced in tableaux in Davis Hall, and twice puppet shows were prepared and presented. Subjects considered in different years: phases of modern art; woodcuts; interior decoration; and the relation of color to everyday life, which was interestingly illustrated before the School by the modelling by members of different color schemes in dress. The Society provided a bulletin board near the library door and supplied it with reproductions of art work of various kinds, usually chosen from the collections assembled by Miss Dorothy Hopkins, the Librarian. Japanese prints, for example, might be used to illustrate balance in composition. On the practical or creative side were: life drawing in the studio; pen and ink individual bookplates, which were afterwards printed; linoleum block prints for Christmas cards; and a sketching party at Pomp's Pond.

Aeolian (1927): This was for the musically trained, with Miss Friskin as adviser. In 1928 there were group study and open recitals for voice and piano, recognizing the Schubert Centennial; the same method for other subjects, including an historical survey of different schools of music with papers on their chief representatives; modern composers---French, Russian and others --- using sometimes victrola records in group sessions; development of the opera, studying Handel, Mozart, Wagner. Often there were ensemble piano numbers in the illustrative recitals, for four, six, or once for eight hands. Enlivening or charming touches were often introduced for the delectation of the members no less than for the student audience, such as the costuming for the selections, from the Mikado, and the flowered dresses and hoop skirts worn by eight girls in ensemble playing for a spring recital; sometimes a toy orchestra; one year a program of rounds, catches, and canons with explanations of the differences; once the members with Miss Friskin's help made bamboo recorders and played them on a May morning in Chapel to accompany old English songs. After the study of Debussy there was a presentation of his ballet music with dances coached by a recent alumna. Trips to Boston for music events were often prepared for by special study, as for example the Mikado and Wagner operas.

 

The Courant

To these five honorary societies was in time added a sixth, the editorial board of the Courant, chosen for ability in writing. Among their special contributions, in addition to their work for the magazine, was reading at morning Chapel of unpublished poems and stories, and presenting an original, clever skit.

 

Cum Laude Society

For the definite "encouragement and reward of high attainment" in scholarship, a chapter of the Cum Laude Society, functioning in secondary schools like Phi Beta Kappa in colleges, was established in May, 1926, with nine seniors as charter members. Requisites were an honor record up to the time of election, and rank in the first fifth of the class. For the first ten years, to 1936, the average number elected was six. At the ceremony of initiation held at Last Chapel the candidates were presented to Miss Bailey, as Chairman, by the secretary of the Chapter, who pinned on the keys. Seven of the Faculty were charter members. In the fall of the founding, President Pendleton of Wellesley introduced the new society to the student body and explained its purpose and ideals in an address in Davis Hall on "The Rewards of the Intellectual Life."

In the spring of 1930 the custom was initiated of having an annual formal dinner in John-Esther Gallery to which former members of the Society were invited to join the Faculty representatives and the candidates for election. At this first gathering thirteen out of a possible twenty-eight alumnae were present. In the following years after-dinner speakers included two women's college presidents and two deans on subjects such as "A Lady and a Scholar," a sketch of the change in women's education through the years; "Qualities of the Scholarly Attitude"; "The Search for Beauty." The speakers were wont to ask questions that led to free discussions and the exchange of ideas and experiences or of difficulties encountered. At the first dinner, for instance, the college seniors were the first to respond, each eager to tell of her major interest and how she hoped to carry it on. Usually in the fall a recent graduate member spoke briefly to the School at morning Chapel on the significance of the Society.

At a regional conference of Cum Laude Society representatives, held at Phillips Academy in 1933, when the Chairman asked for opinions as to what the Society might mean to students, an Abbot senior spoke up quickly, giving instances of stimulus to study and the love of learning in her own school life.

 

Intelligence Tests

A significant and timely addition to routine procedure in the School was the introduction of intelligence tests as distinguished from those requiring mere information. It was an indication of the influence of wartime conditions on educational practice that as early as April, 1917, when the United States was just beginning to send troops overseas that had been in training camps, an Efficiency Test was given at Abbot, based evidently on those used in the Army and designed to show readiness in memory, arithmetical reasoning, and power of observation. Soon a general Information Test was given, followed shortly by a similar one to find out if students would correct mistakes they had made in the first. In 1920 a psychology examination is featured in the Courant, given by Dr. Fuess of Phillips Academy, who had directed a personnel board in an Army camp. After that standardized tests became a definite method of measuring individual differences in mental capacity, although they were not mentioned in the annual catalogue until 1925-26. Through these tests it was possible to recognize early in the year the students of superior ability and to hold them to high standards. They helped also to bring to light the needs of the slower ones with the aid sometimes of individual examinations.

It may be well here to record the successive tests used through this era in the order of their appearance: Terman, Dearborn D, Stanford Revision of Binet-Simon (for certain individuals), Haggerty Reading, Otis Advanced, National, Otis and Terman Group, Columbia University Research English, Iowa Silent Reading. Although Miss Bailey authorized these tests, she was not one to rely on them credulously, realizing that they should be supplemented and confirmed by other data and by observation of the individual student's work.

 

Teaching Force

With the introduction of the College Preparatory Course, Miss McKeen's practice of giving preference, in the selection of teachers, to alumnae was reversed, only very few graduate names being found in the catalogue after 1892. This change was natural because as Abbot was then avowedly a finishing school, not many alumnae had taken training to qualify them for such teaching. This policy was beneficial in bringing fresh ideas and methods. College degrees began at once to dot the Faculty lists, becoming each year more common. In the new regime the proportion was increased and kept at a high level. Master's degrees more often appeared, although the degree itself was not considered more essential than personality and teaching ability, which made some who did not have the magic letters highly valued. Specialization in subject matter of teaching had already been somewhat increased and was further prompted as far as possible with existing funds.

Although some of the means here discussed for promoting scholastic excellence were for various reasons later discontinued, the concern for encouraging individual effort remained high.

 

CHAPTER IX

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND
RESOURCES FOR THE FACULTY

As one means of adding to the resources of the Faculty, Miss Bailey initiated in 1930 a scheme which was doubtless due, in part at least, to the invigorating influence of the great Centennial celebration of the previous year and the impetus it gave for looking forward and studying means of growth in the new century. The plan called for a series of conferences or round table discussions in the Faculty meetings relating to different phases of educational theory and practice and to the different departments of School study. They were designed to have a practical bearing on teaching and to cause each member to have a better understanding of the purposes and problems of the others. Programs were arranged by special committees. These are here outlined consecutively in some detail and include the year of the interregnum, 1935-36.

The schedule for the first year covered consideration of the junior college movement; a talk by Mrs. Beatrice Van Ness, teacher of drawing and painting, on art expression in connection with school subjects; reports on recent books treating of modern trends, one on the psychology of the adolescent girl, a report by Miss Camilla Moses. At a meeting on "The Library as a Laboratory," Miss Hopkins gave a survey of the facilities of the Library, with suggestions as to how teachers and the Librarian might work closely together, as for example, by familiarity with the resources on a subject before an assignment. There was a display of assembled books relating to the function of a school library.

The first Faculty meeting of the following year was in charge of the Department of Music, covering talks by Miss Friskin on technique in piano playing, on voice building by Mrs. Ruth Burnham, and one on music education in the schools by Walter Howe, Music Director, that opened up interesting questions such as the possibility of coordination with other subjects, as history, literature, and the languages. Three non-academic departments of School life were next brought to the front by staff members in charge: first, household matters by the House Superintendent, Miss Florence Butterfield, showing how changes in the outside world affected employment conditions and food prices, and even how income was lessened from "extra" laundry work for students when by fashion dictate "shirtwaists" were out. Next came health concerns by the Resident Nurse, Mrs. Hannah Duncan, enumerating the advantages of Infirmary conveniences, not only for real illness but for isolation and care of incipient cases, for senior weekend privileges, and for consultation for minor ailments, but not emphasizing her own vigilance in promoting good health; last, a summary by the Financial Secretary, Miss Hope Baynes, of the manifold responsibilities of her office and the intricate detail of the different funds and accounts in her charge. At a later meeting, the new instructor in science, Miss Ruth Morgan, spoke on Science and Modern Life and recommended additional study before entrance to college; and Miss Bertha Grimes (later Mrs. Sargent) on the basic principles of the Household Science Department, and the modification in practice due to the discovery of various vitamins.

In the fall of 1933 two problems were considered. One, that of making students intelligent about world and national interests, was referred to the instructor in history, Miss Helen Bean (later Mrs. Juthe), who had charge of a voluntary current events group, meeting out of school hours. Other teachers were likewise on the alert and in many ways furthered this endeavor. Sometimes, when feasible, time was taken for this purpose from class work. Topics for source themes in upperclass English courses are recorded, "The Child Labor Amendment," "Warfare against Disease," and "The Work of the C.C.C." (Civilian Conservation Corps). Second, there was discussion of ways to correct poor methods of study, especially by improving reading habits. This and the study of reference material on the subject assembled by a special committee was followed by a practical presentation of the subject by Miss Helen Leavitt, secretary to Dr. Walter F. Dearborn of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, authority on reading habits, whose tests had already been used in the School. The value of certain eye-training methods was explained, a mechanical device for testing the speed of eye perception tried by everyone present, suggestions given for aiding poor readers, and the important influence of reading ability in scholarship emphasized. (Even as early as 1837 moving the lips in study was considered a misdemeanor!)

In the last year of these conferences, 1935-36, after Miss Bailey's death, there were at one meeting reports from departments not before represented, by instructors in the history of art and design (Miss Mary Gay) and in speech (Miss Catherine Stone). At the request of the Trustees a special session was held for a consensus of ideas for modifying and improving the academic and non-academic set-up of the School, which might be passed on for consideration by the new administration. Possible changes were discussed in the hours of the daily schedule, and in the size of classes to allow closer attention to individual differences. An alternative for the Wednesday holiday and recommendations in regard to material equipment were proposed.

The committees for these round table meetings had arranged also for talks by educators from secondary schools and from colleges, more especially those concerned with students from Abbot. The first of these was on student government by Mira Wilson, 1910, Principal of Northfield Seminary, and newly elected Alumnae Trustee. Miss Katharine Lord, head of Winsor School, Boston, spoke on the importance of attention to the needs of abler students, and preparation for the added leisure likely to result from changing industrial conditions. Officials in charge of college admissions spoke on their kindred policies: Miss Frances Knapp of Wellesley; Miss Dorothy Littlefleld of Wheaton; Mrs. Ruth Crawford of Smith, who discussed modifications in the college curriculums because of the changes in entrance requirements, and described efforts to determine capabilities of prospective students by individual consultations and careful tests. Miss Florence Jackson of Wellesley spoke on "The College Considers the Individual," and Miss Margaret Christian, Assistant Dean of Residence at Wellesley, related instances of larger freedom given to college students in the way of social privileges.

Phillips Academy, Andover, and the Phillips Exeter Academy were represented, the first by Dr. Fuess on changes in curriculum, both in content and emphasis through the years, and the opportunities for students in art made available by the cooperation of the Addison Gallery and the Holmes Library; and the latter by Professor Cushwa of Exeter's English Department, chiefly on changes resulting from the Harkness gift, such as more teachers and hence smaller class units, provision for more intensive individual work and for illustrative material in classrooms.

Besides these speakers on definitely educational subjects, there were the usual visiting lecturers, often persons of distinction. In addition to the outside contacts thus provided, members of the Faculty were sent to represent the School at meetings of general educational or departmental interest. Delegates were sent regularly to meetings of the Association of New England Colleges and Secondary Schools after 1928 when Abbot was made "the first institutional member." The Modern Language Association, the Classical Association of New England, and the several library associations are among others mentioned. History teachers went to the School of Foreign Affairs, in Cambridge. Representatives of the English and Mathematics Departments attended consultations of the Secondary Education Board in regard to uniform entrance requirements and curriculum changes; and when the Board met at Phillips Academy in 1934, several Abbot teachers had the opportunity of being present at departmental conferences. Miss Bailey attended the meetings of the National Association of School Principals, of the Progressive Education Association and, of course, the Headmistresses Association, in which she held office at different times, and which in 1932 she had the privilege of entertaining at Abbot. The New England School Libraries Association was welcomed by Abbot and Phillips in a joint session in 1930, and The Massachusetts Library Club in 1934.

There is frequent mention of study and sometimes of teaching by Faculty members at summer schools, and of summer travel overseas; and in 1927 and later there were leaves of absence for study and travel abroad. The appearance of different teachers as speakers before educational groups afforded good publicity.

The foregoing account of opportunities offered the Faculty shows that they were in touch with current thought and practice educationally. Additional sources of information were supplied by the Library in the purchase or loan of new or important books and by subscriptions to magazines. In the lectures as well as the reading matter at hand, the emphasis on provision for individual differences appeared like a brightly colored thread woven into a fabric. 'When conditions were favorable, teachers experimented somewhat with new theories. The Contract System (extra assignments for ranking students) was tried with Academic seniors in general literature and American history, also with Latin (translations from Virgil in the period being studied); "free study," modified for use in a small class in Latin composition, where students were gradually brought to the point of deciding on their own lacks and of setting to work on them. This was advantageous in elasticity but frequently limited in use by its need for small class sections, the time at the command of the instructor, and sufficiency of library facilities.

Miss Bailey, while often approving in general the aims of the new techniques, was apt to reserve her opinion, as a teacher of long experience who had seen the rise and fall of educational experiments, but she became increasingly open-minded. It is true, however, that in her later years she was sometimes criticized for her conservatism.

Efforts to unify the work of different departments or separate studies by correlation resulted in some interesting dovetailings. Some of the most natural of these were: literature with history of art (Greek, mediaeval, and modern periods) and with history of music (Shakespeare's songs); English with many subjects, science, modern language, and world events. Real teachers have always tried to relate different fields of study when the same person taught many subjects. Now the student's attention was caught and fascinated by the idea.

 

CHAPTER X

PUBLICATIONS

THE Abbot Courant, founded in 1873 by the Class of 1874, had been the major source of historical material for about forty years, perhaps even giving aid to Miss McKeen for her History. It not only described happenings in the School life and gave personal news of alumnae, but also supplied, in editorials and even in the literary portion of the magazine, information as to prevailing attitudes or habits of thought. The importance of Miss Chickering's connection with the Courant as Faculty adviser and its literary excellence will be taken up later. After 1924 her connection was less close as students by their own request were given full responsibility. Because of various changes its value historically ceased, though the alumnae news, provided chiefly by Miss Kelsey and the Alumnae Secretary, was still retained.

The magazine, however, reached only a limited number, perhaps ten per cent, of the alumnae body because there was a subscription price ($1.00 and later $1.25). After the Alumnae Bulletin (established in 1923) had been sent free to all past students for nearly a decade, the pressure from the alumnae public for the transfer to it of the class news became too strong to be longer ignored, and in November 1932, the thing was accomplished. It was so long delayed because of the delicacy of the situation and the reluctance of the small group of subscribers to give up this cherished feature.

The only other publication before 1912 was the Class Book, founded in 1900 by the senior class, and named in 1917 the Abbot Circle. This gradually became useful for local color indicating, for example, the influence of World War I; the issue of 1918 was dedicated to "Abbot Girls in the Service." Toward the end of the era (in 1928) greater freedom was apparent in the inclusion of jokes about Faculty members!

Published after 1912 were the General Catalogue [1913], the Register of Addresses [1928], and the Bulletin.

Regarding other publications, sufficient emphasis cannot be placed on the value of the Abbot Academy Sketches, prepared by Miss Kelsey as described elsewhere, which appeared in the Centennial year. Covering, as it does, the twenty years of the two previous administrations, it affords opportunity to note the beginning of developments which came to completion in the Bailey era. It was written with the warmth of personal reminiscence.

Brought out also in 1929 was The Cycle of Abbot Verse, compiled by Miss Chickering and her committee and containing about a hundred poems, mostly from past issues of the Courant. A chronological arrangement made possible a comparison of youthful creative efforts in widely different periods.

The story of one publication, The Journal of an Abbot Academy Girl, though mentioned elsewhere, should be told here in its entirety. To the fiftieth anniversary of the Class of 1876, Harriet Chapell Newcomb brought her lively diary kept through her three years' stay, illustrated by her quaintly crude pen-and-ink drawings. The Chairman of the Loyalty Endowment Fund, always on the lookout for money-making schemes, got wind of it and secured her permission to publish it. The expense of printing was met by alumnae of the seventies and eighties so that the selling price was kept at a dollar. Mrs. Newcomb's own feeling about the matter, as expressed in a letter, was natural enough. "I cannot comprehend how that old journal's tales and chatter could draw any amount of interest." A contemporary alumna when consulted had the same idea! She also was too near to the incidents depicted to be an impartial judge. When Mrs. Newcomb was asked to autograph copies to be sold at double the price, she agreed, saying, "A strange idea but beneficial to the Fund!" This was true indeed, for the yield from the sale came to $400 in a few months and continued slowly.

 

CHAPTER XI

THE SCHOOL AND THE ALUMNAE

THE story dealing with the alumnae must begin with a recognition of Mr. Flagg's vision in foreseeing in amazing detail possible ways of increasing the interest of alumnae in the School. This is shown by the statement in his annual Report to the Trustees as Treasurer in 1908-09. The items are numbered for reference.

1. It becomes highly necessary in my judgment that a uniform system be adopted whereby the School may be brought into closer touch with the alumnae who have taken up their various lines of activity in the world at large. It seems wise that we should have a keeper of our alumnae records, essentially an alumna of the School and one who may give to the position a permanent character. Her name should be entered among the School officials so that an alumna may know with whom to correspond touching Abbot interests.

2. The School should endeavor at least once a year to reach every member of the alumnae with a brief, businesslike recapitulation of the School's activity and its methods.

3. At certain periods, say every five years, an alumnae list, carefully revised and supplemented to date, should be issued.

4. The Treasurer desires to see a more complete organization of the alumnae steadily going forward, the formation of new associations [meaning new regional Abbot Clubs?]. These should participate often with the School on matters of current interest, and the work of a Keeper of Alumnae Records provides a needed step in this direction.

5. The appointment of visiting committees from various college faculties seems to me desirable. Their duty should be to visit the Academy and advise regarding its equipment, curriculum, organization, and aim. It should be the function of such committees to exercise friendly powers only. This would be a decided benefit to the institution and the students in its charge.

It is possible now to show how these recommendations were carried out, since fortunately enough different contemporary accounts included in later Treasurer's Reports referred to them as accomplished facts. The suggestions will be taken up one at a time.

This chapter dealing with the organization of the alumnae and the Alumnae Office describes the development in great detail since this was pioneer work at Abbot and shows also that Abbot at this time was in the front ranks of secondary schools or even colleges as far as organized alumnae work was concerned.

 

Keeper of Alumnae Records
     Point 1 of Mr. Flagg's plan: Keeper of Alumnae Records.

The next year after this Report, 1909-10, the Treasurer announced the appointment as Keeper of Alumnae Records of Jane Carpenter, 1892, an alumna of Andover who had had some experience in this work. The title was used from now on, and she began at once in the fall of 1909 by attacking the job of bringing up to date the card files of names, married names, and addresses of past students, prepared ten years before by S. Jane (Abbott) Marland, 1863. Mrs. Marland was most helpful in aiding this project. Results were soon apparent, for in the next Report addresses had been used by the Trustees in locating alumnae who might be asked to help in securing prospective students and in raising a lectureship fund. "Miss Carpenter has appeared before the School and acquainted them with matters pertaining to her work and to the history of the School." Questionnaires were distributed to the students at that time, and to new students each year thereafter, to be filled out with names of parents and other facts which would have been most useful in identifying earlier alumnae if such records had been preserved.

 

Bulletin Beginnings
     Point 2 of Mr. Flagg's plan: News Circulars.

"In December, 1910, Miss Carpenter sent out to the alumnae a pamphlet embodying matters of interest to the School." This included besides some news items Mr. Flagg's talk before the Abbot Club of Boston, giving information about the finances of the School which he thought all alumnae ought to know. Not long after this the Treasurer again brought up the subject. "It is hoped that once or twice a year hereafter a circular may be forwarded to every alumna with reference to general School conditions, stating its doings, the excellence of its work, and its needs." In 1918, Miss Bailey's address before the New York Club on the "Aims of Abbot Academy" was distributed. "With this was enclosed a postal card asking for permanent address, war service, and other news items and the names of persons to whom literature about the School might be interesting. The response was most gratifying in the number replying who had not before answered such questions and in expressions of appreciation and loyalty. There were also numerous requests for catalogues." Excerpt from Treasurer's Report, 1918-19] These were forerunners of the Bulletin which, however, did not materialize until 1923, as will be shown later.

 

Point 3 of Mr. Flagg's plan: Periodical Publication of Alumnae Lists.

Progress on the records was such that according to the Report of 1911-12 the foundation for a General or Biographical Catalogue of the alumnae had already been laid by sending printed blanks, to be filled out with certain data, to the 2500 past students whose addresses had been definitely learned or assumed. This was to be the first of the series at five-year intervals. The only previous undertaking of this kind was the Semi-Centennial Catalogue issued in 1879, compiled by a committee of alumnae, who gave their time freely for the big task of listing maiden and married names of all students in the fifty years since the beginning of the School, with a few biographical items included. This early book was prepared under heavy odds and hence was incomplete and not without errors. School catalogues from which the names were taken were issued irregularly, too little time was given to the prolonged research required in many instances, and this without the aid of many town and State records afterward available. It was a great disadvantage to later work in this line that the returned questionnaires and letters were not preserved. Fortunately, however, Miss McKeen had seen to it that interleaved copies of the book were kept, in which changes and corrections were inserted, based certainly in part on her own private correspondence.

 

The 1913 General Catalogue

The 1913 General Catalogue covered the whole period from 1829, with brief accounts of individuals, their further education if any, full names of husbands, dates of marriage, and names of children, with dates of birth. The research for this material came at a highly favorable time, as was told in the 1952 alumnae Register: "When in 1909 Jane Carpenter began her research for the 1913 biographical Catalogue, there were many people in and near Andover who not only remembered these earliest students but remembered them well. [A list has been preserved naming twenty-five who helped in this way.] As she went from door to door hearing tales, she took many notes so that names and dates, marriages and deaths could be reliably recorded and colorful details preserved, a living link with the past. Shortly after this mission of hers, many of these older women died but the facts and their reminiscences live for us today."

Another stage in the research was in finding what became of the girls who entered the School after the early catalogue was issued in 1879. This was fascinating business. Miss Carpenter was allowed entrance to the Bureau of Vital Statistics in the Boston State House, where she could consult the big volume, well indexed, containing the marriages, births, and deaths in Massachusetts towns. Sometimes a dozen marriages, not previously recorded by the School, would be found in one day. There also were the records of deaths of earlier alumnae, not previously known. Not long after this the Bureau was closed to visitors. Other sources of information in Boston were the Congregational Library for Genealogies, and for later alumnae the Public Library, with its town directories and telephone books. Not to be forgotten was the aid of kindly town clerks all over New England. Family Bibles also afforded needed dates. Newpapers published lists of "lost" people who had been enrolled from their vicinities.

A thousand copies of the completed book were sold so that it became a means of communication between alumnae as well as a constant convenience in Office work, providing names for Club, reunion, and other committees. A supplementary pamphlet was published each year, which added class lists and home addresses as students left School. These, however, were not circulated generally.

As an aftermath of the issuing of the General Catalogue (1913), 4000-odd individual folders for past students were set up, high school girls helping on Saturdays, and news items about alumnae and the School from Courant and Townsman issues clipped and filed. These all took time but were of great value for reference. From now on routine procedure meant watching newspapers and the alumnae magazines, when accessible, of the principal colleges to which the girls went, for marriages, deaths, and other news. Cards, cards, cards, and again cards for the record of these vital statistics. Most important were those for the ever changing addresses.

 

Register (1928)

After the General Catalogue came the Register of names and addresses in 1928, published soon after the opening of the Alumnae Office in its new quarters in Abbot Hall. This was no small job since so many years had elapsed. A salaried assistant in the Office was engaged by the Trustees and several alumnae helpers spent many hours in checking and rechecking in the card files and the stencils of the new addressograph names and addresses with the postal card returns of last minute changes. The still hunt for "lost" people went on endlessly. Besides class lists and the alphabetical index, there was a geographical one, valuable in the Office and enjoyed by alumnae, who were likely to find classmates living even in the next block.

There was only one answer to the many letters expressing disappointment that the names of children had not been included, and the same held good later for the frequent requests for a new biographical catalogue. With the expansion of duties in the Alumnae Office, there was not time enough in the world, what with larger classes, the results of the greater publicity furnished by the Bulletin --- then in existence for five years --- and especially the extra work involved in the fact that people no longer stayed put in the same place but moved overnight.

 

The Bulletin

To return to the development of point 2 of Mr. Flagg's plan. In the May, 1948, Bulletin (its twenty-fifth anniversary) appear these paragraphs:

By gradual steps this pet idea of Mr. Flagg's progressed at long last to fulfillment. In the spring of 1923 the project of a "semi-annual bulletin service replacing the alumnae circulars," to be financed by the School, was acted upon at a Trustees' Meeting and placed in the hands of a committee, consisting of the Principal and Treasurer, to consider the matter. Then in June these two with a group of representative alumnae decided to print one issue as an experiment.

So much being settled, the next step necessary was to decide what should be the relation of the new paper to the Courant. One evening in October the Draper Hall drawing room was lined with Faculty, Trustees, and members of the Alumnae Advisory Committee (described later), which was making its annual visit to the School. Miss Bailey presiding, asked one and another to express an opinion. It was readily agreed that material appropriate for such a periodical would naturally contain general School and alumnae news, announcements, and the like. The point at stake, however, was the inclusion of the alumnae notes, but although it was obvious to the Committee that the logical place for them was in the Bulletin, it was in the end decided to leave them where they were---in the Courant --- and there they stayed, as has been said, until 1932.

Not long after this round-table discussion, the modest, tentative little Bulletin made its first appearance, asking, "Do you like it?" "If yes, other numbers will follow." The response of alumnae of both earlier and later periods was so heartily and definitely approving as to be sufficient reason for continuation. It was indeed high time for some sort of regular system of official communication between the School and the widely scattered body of alumnae. The Centennial Loyalty Endowment Fund was already well started on its ten-year course, and it was naturally important to give whilom students who perhaps had not been back for years a true picture of Abbot at the moment, to present the need for furthering its scholastic excellence by including a strong teaching staff, and for providing means adequate to make the dreams and hopes of long years come true. The Bulletin would carry out this general purpose and advertise money-raising activities, Club meetings, and reunions---but without class notes! Incidental costs of the Fund Campaign were being covered by the School treasury. Now the proposed Bulletin was to be a free gift to everybody listed on the Abbot rolls. Financial backing for alumnae enterprises was part of Mr. Flagg's policy of "wisely considered and directed publicity," not to spare such expense but to consider it an investment. This generous habit of the Trustees may often have been taken too much for granted by the alumnae, yet when an early editorial said, "Instead of a subscription price, the Bulletin asks for cooperation. Will you give it?" the multiple answer was not so much in words as in unstinted effort. Committee and group work, the formation of fresh friendships and the renewal of old ones, soon brought about the "increased solidarity" that had been hoped for.

How much the fledgling Bulletin owed to Miss Bailey! Her warm interest, her pertinent suggestions, her constructive criticisms and, more than all, her constant and unfailing encouragement fostered and strengthened it. So it may be said Mr. Flagg originated the Bulletin and Miss Bailey nurtured it. All honor to them both!

In the words of one report, the Bulletin "was a strategic move at a most important moment." When appeals were being made for gifts to the Centennial Loyalty Fund, begun in 1920, it was obviously only fair to provide some way of informing alumnae in general of events and conditions at the home base, showing why such contributions were essential for continued growth. Publicity for reunions and for meetings of the new Abbot Clubs founded by the Director of the Fund, Alice Twitchell, 1886, soon resulted in increased cooperation on the part of the class and Club officers and individuals. Of course, after the introduction of class notes, the response was more general, and although changes in address became more and more frequent, they were sent in more promptly. During much of the period the Librarian, Miss Hopkins, was of great help to the Editor. Her fine literary taste, her knowledge of School interests, and her experience in publicity were a great asset.

 

Abbot Clubs
     Point 4 of Mr. Flagg's plan: New Alumnae Organizations.

When after the General Catalogue was issued in 1913, a geographical index was being considered, Miss Bailey suggested it should begin with the middle and western states, to see what basis there might be for new Abbot Clubs. Several years later Alice Twitchell, in her travels for the Fund, added to the Boston and New York Clubs ten more in the middle west and four in New England. A section of the new Bulletin was devoted to the Clubs as they increased in number, giving names of officers, announcements and reports of meetings. From this source often came news items and changes of address. This was only one of the reasons why it was essential to keep address cards corrected.

 

Alumnae Association

"The more complete organization of the alumnae" was brought about in two ways. The first, as the alumnae "Annals" records:

The year 1913 marks the beginning of a practical linkage between the Association and the School in the election, as Assistant Secretary of the Association, of the Keeper of Alumnae Records (Jane Carpenter), a School supported officer since 1909. It was convenient now for the Association to have on its staff someone whose business it already was to act for the School, who could carry out the suggestions of a committee headed by Miss Kelsey for promoting reunions. Headquarters were arranged at Commencement in McKeen Hall in 1915 and thereafter where information and hospitality were dispensed.

The practice of encouraging five-year reunions, as in colleges, was now begun by this doubly-titled executive with emphasis on twenty-five and fifty-year anniversaries. Personal appeals in advance to class officers tended in time to make them feel the importance of urging attendance and the assurance of welcome. Later Commencement invitations and programs were sent to the members of these classes, and the Reunion Committee made arrangements for accommodations for those who returned. After the Bulletin came into being, names of chairmen and news of class plans could be printed to arouse interest.

Twice something most unusual happened in the way of fifty-year reunions. In 1927 all surviving members of the Class of 1877 were present, and in 1936 the same was true of 1886, both groups noted for strong class spirit. In later years when war restrictions necessarily limited social gatherings, class groups met in different centers, and the older and smaller classes greatly enjoyed reunions through the exchange of letters.

As time passed, careful study was made of ways to increase alumnae attendance at Commencement. A Reunion Reorganization Committee, working for several years from 1934, improved the machinery by preparing a definite procedure for class chairmen, studied the question of the Dix System carefully, but decided the time was not yet ripe for adopting it at Abbot. Alluring changes for 1935 were Alumnae Day from Monday to Saturday, to suit the current week-end habit, Alumnae Headquarters from McKeen Hall to the spacious and more convenient rooms of the John-Esther Gallery, and an evening "banquet" instead of an informal luncheon.

A second step in alumnae organization consisted of changes in the setup of the Association. Life membership was --- for most of the Bailey era as from the beginning --- secured by the payment of five dollars, an absurdly small sum by current standards. When in 1921 a committee of four, Secretary Agnes Park, 1858, as Chairman, was appointed to amend the Constitution, which had in several ways become outmoded, Miss Bailey, the Faculty member, drafted a revision, not changing the conditions of membership but making provision for the needed expansion, with a greater number of active officers and more workable regulations. This was an important change because of the death in 1922 of Miss Park, who had served for forty years as Secretary and Treasurer, and also had provided the agenda for each figurehead president. The rapid growth of the Association in the next years made it increasingly necessary to keep its members in touch with the School.

The fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Alumnae Association had been celebrated in June, 1921, with a luncheon in McKeen Hall, attended by three hundred guests of nearly all the classes from 1854 down. There were birthday greetings from the Boston and New York Clubs, the only ones then in existence. Present were Charlotte Swift, 1858, and Agnes Park, whose combined services as Secretaries spanned the whole history of the organization. Miss Park gave some interesting details about the early days, which she had gleaned from the yearly reports.

After colorful reminiscences by two older graduates, there were talks by "representative alumnae." "The Opportunity of the Abbot Girl," by Dr. Jane Greeley, 1884, who had in World War I patriotically taken over the work of doctors who had gone overseas; "Abbot in World Service," by Jane Pearson Stanford, 1876, whose Abbot training had been adjudged acceptable for teaching in a Japanese college while all the others on the staff had college degrees; "As a Loyal Daughter," by Alice Twitchell, 1886, who had then just begun her arduous but gratifying business of fund raising.

It was in December 1919, that Miss Bailey presented to the alumnae in a circular letter the tentative plan for a ten-year movement for raising money, this to culminate in the Centennial year. After discussions in conferences representing Trustees, Faculty, and alumnae, a Director was appointed, Alice Twitchell --- and what a propitious choice it turned out to be! The project was passed on to the Alumnae Association to be initiated and carried on, although with expenses underwritten by the Trustees, so that all gifts could be invested in full.

In a personal letter to Miss Twitchell, Miss Bailey wrote frankly, "I don't know the least thing in the world about raising a fund, but I am backing you to any extent." Whereupon she gave several practical suggestions for organizing the enterprise and added, "There is nothing like giving people work to do to bring them together."

The Centennial Loyalty Endowment Fund, as it came to be called, was to grow by gifts of any amount, with the emphasis on pledges for the ten years. The objective, as stated, was a fund for instruction, though at the last this was broadened to cover other educational needs. The story of developments as given in the "Annals of the Alumnae Association," prepared in 1946 for its Seventy-fifth Anniversary, is freely used here.

The moving spirit of the enterprise was Alice Twitchell, whose unflagging energy and sturdy confidence in the rightness and importance of the cause swept aside all obstacles and discouragements. A secret of her wide influence lay in her intense interest in people, which made her innumerable letters not only friendly and appreciative of even the smallest gift, but delightfully individual and personal --- and all written in long hand. This attitude was strikingly evident as she moved round the country forming or reviving local Abbot Clubs, from Maine through the middle west. She remembered faces and names, stored up bits of news to pass on to others, thought to ask about jobs and children and parents, sympathized and rejoiced in turn. Her visits at the School brought her in close touch not only with seniors, whom she thought of as prospective alumnae, but with underclass girls and the Faculty. A definite sum was not fixed, but always as gifts reached a temporary goal, she triumphantly raised it a notch higher, as they lift the bar in vaulting. More important to her than money returns was the interest roused in the future well-being of the School.

A central committee with an active chairman and rotating membership prepared or supervised publicity, thought up ingenious ways and means, secured district leaders, helped with correspondence, and otherwise supported the Director. The chief projects originating in the Committee were the Staffordshire Abbot plates, in charge of Annis Spencer Gilbert, 1889, and The Journal of an Abbot Girl, consisting of extracts and drawings from the clever diary of Harriet Chapell Newcomb, 1876, which was published through the efforts of Flora Mason, 1889. Various other souvenirs brought in lesser returns, and all sorts of group and individual projects, such as bridge parties, silver teas, and musicales, added to the Fund. Included in the general Fund were sums for two special purposes, a foundation for the Agnes Park Chair of History, and the Laura Watson Art Fund, named for the former Principal.

Another fitting memorial was established much later, in 1939, the Alice Carter Twitchell Guest Room in Abbey House. Miss Twitchell had died in 1933, and as she doted on young alumnae, it seemed peculiarly appropriate that they might be made free to come back for field days and such great occasions while they still had friends in School.

A great help to the Fund was the Bulletin, which appeared in 1923, nearly four years after the establishment of the Fund, giving information about School doings, and encouraging Fund activities. By that time the unifying effects of working together with a common purpose had become apparent. From the intensive work of regional committees and of Clubs, old and new, came addresses long unknown, and hence newly interested alumnae. Nothing seemed too hard to the workers. When a job was proposed, the reply would be, "Glad to do what I can" or "Use me wherever I can fit in best."

What the alumnae alone never could have done for the Fund was achieved by the wholehearted cooperation of the Faculty, students, and often their parents. Miss Bailey was in all ways an unfailing source of confidence, strength, and courage.

An important step forward was made when the School was able in 1927 to provide a room in Abbot Hall where alumnae activities could be centered. The Assistant Secretary of the Association had already been made Corresponding Secretary (1920) and, as duties broadened, became in 1931 General Secretary, as was the common practice. Much later this title was changed to Executive Secretary. As a School officer, however, she bore the title of Alumnae Secretary. In these ways the affiliation between School and Association was made still closer.

The effect of thus centralizing alumnae interests in a definite place was surprising and gratifying. The Alumnae Office soon became a clearing house. Alumnae found it convenient to send "blanket" checks in ordering the Register, the Abbot Journal, Blue Plates, and what not all together.

Some method of continuing the good habit of annual giving came under consideration as a natural aftermath of the Fund plan. The idea was promoted by Edith Dewey Jones, 1889, former Association President, who had been the able executive secretary of the Central Centennial Committee, and was carried to fulfillment after her death, under Annie Smart Angus, 1898, as President in 1932 against the odds of a depression period. This was a very important change. After prolonged and thoughtful consideration by a special committee, with study of methods in other institutions, it was voted to throw open membership to all past students on leaving the School without payment of the previous initiation fee. Instead an "Alumnae Income Fund," a substitute for an old plan, was set up for voluntary gifts, with a committee in charge and a faithful Secretary-Treasurer, Ruth Childs Young, 1899. The first thousand dollars was thus raised, half of which was allocated toward a music scholarship in memory of Mrs. Jones. Later grants were for emergency tuitional aids and Association expenses usually borne by the School.

In the lean years of financial stringency, Abbot was glad of help in the increasing of enrollment. "Visiting Days" were introduced in the spring of 1932, when the School held open house with exhibitions and demonstrations of the lighter side of School life as well as the academic. Alumnae within motoring distance cooperated heartily by bringing friends with daughters who might become pupils. Constance Parker Chipman, 1906, whose pronounced efficiency as Association President at the time of the Centennial, combined with her long familiarity with School interests through family connections, had led to her election as a Trustee, was made Field Secretary, and undertook the program of visiting Abbot Clubs in other parts of the country. These groups responded helpfully by spreading the word in their vicinities.

 

American Alumni Council

The Association was honored in 1929 by membership in the American Alumni Council of colleges and secondary schools. This brought valued opportunities for Association representatives to attend conferences of alumni secretaries at different colleges and hear practical discussions of problems and techniques, all of which was professionally stimulating. There were hardly any other secondary schools which accepted the invitation to become permanent members.

 

Item 5 of Mr. Flagg's plan: Historical Data.

Material about forgotten periods of the School was collected bit by bit, as has been described earlier in this chapter, and much of it preserved in Bulletin articles (and now again put into print in Part II of this book). Changes in buildings and grounds, special events and gifts were included, also gossipy incidents about individual girls and, more important, stories of early students who bravely took up work in fields not previously open to women. These articles seemed to be a natural way of keeping alive oral traditions and reminiscences.

It is interesting to note that a contemporary writer, Janet Ayer Fairbank, studied quite carefully the early history of the School in producing a period novel, The Bright Land. This might serve as an argument for preserving present day material for future novelists, poets, or scenario writers.

The time spent in all this research and in classifying and filing the findings for convenient access was proved quite worth while when requests were received for general and specific information which otherwise could not have been so easily supplied. For example, Miss Jean Pond, preparing the history of the sister school, Bradford Academy, came for consultation since the two institutions had many interests and problems in common. Three people asked help who were writing biographies --- of Professor Edwards A. Park, President for many years of the Board of Trustees; of Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward, 1858; and of Alice French (Octave Thanet), 1868. In preparation for the Centennial it required time and effort to select pertinent information for President Woolley's historical address, and to produce not only facts but color and atmosphere for Miss Kyle's Pageant, including suggestions for costumes from the many photographs on file.

After the Centennial celebration, for the sake of the reluctant stay-at-homes, the names of the nearly seven hundred alumnae present were copied for the Bulletin and the many new addresses, some of which had been previously "lost," recorded from the registration list.

 

Item 6 of Mr. Flagg's plan: Visiting Committees.

In the Report of 1913-14 was another provocative suggestion.

The appointment of visiting committees from various college faculties seems to me desirable. Their duty should be to visit the Academy and advise regarding its equipment, curriculum, organization, and aim. It should be the function of such committees to exercise friendly powers only. This would be a decided benefit to the institution and the students in its charge.

This suggestion was literally carried out in a measure by the active participation of President Pendleton in Trustee discussions about School policies. But it led to the initiation in 1912 of a rotating Visiting or Advisory Committee of alumnae, appointed by the Association President, consisting of a few representative alumnae of different periods, who came at the invitation of the Principal and were shown the everyday life and workings of the School. Those who came showed a lively interest and an appreciation of the welcoming hospitality and sometimes, as had been planned, made constructive criticisms, as for example in a statement printed in the Treasurer's Report of 1913-14 in addition to the mention of minor matters, "The larger question of gymnasium and a special gymnastic teacher is still in our thoughts." The special teacher was appointed in 1916, but it was forty years before the building became a reality! The George Ezra Abbot Gymnasium was dedicated in February, 1956. The Advisory Committee functioned until 1939 when it gave place to a more widely representative group --- the Alumnae Council.

And so gradually Mr. Flagg's early forecast came true.

MR. FLAGG AND JANE CARPENTER

 

CHAPTER XII

THE LIBRARY

THIS vitally essential aid in the educational development of the School was definitely built up during the years of Miss Bailey's regime. Previously under the administration of both Miss Watson and Miss Means a distinct disadvantage was that the person in charge of the Library served also as Secretary (and "Asst.") to the Principal, sometimes coached in sports and was indeed a general factotum. In 1912 the first step in advance was taken when a full-time secretary to the Principal was engaged. A teacher, however, had to fill the role of Librarian even though with slight experience in that field.

This situation was greatly improved in 1920 when Miss Hopkins with her degree in library science came as full-time Librarian. Her term of office in this capacity was the longest, fourteen years, in the Bailey era. She was listed in the annual catalogue simply as Librarian and for a time was able to devote her whole attention to her proper work. She began the businesslike practice of submitting yearly statements to Mr. Flagg, which were printed in his Treasurer's Reports. These contained not only accounts of routine accomplishments but ideals to be reached and the difficulties involved.

In the way of time-consuming tasks, the Library card catalogue was completely revised and amplified, newly-typed cards and analytical cross references making the use of books easier. One of the important duties of the Librarian was the instruction of students for the intelligent use of the Library, including what was called "laboratory work," which made them familiar with source material and thus less dependent on the Librarian. It was realized that a new free access to shelves was likely to make students feel at home in the Library, and an effort was made to keep the rooms as little institutional as possible, with flowers in season and an inviting hearthfire on cold days. To encourage the girls to acquire libraries of their own there were exhibits of privately owned collections, loaned perhaps by students or members of the Faculty. New accessions or library books relating to events in the outside world were often on display.

Not long after Miss Hopkins came, the newly organized library was obviously in smooth running order, although in reality there were always projects awaiting her alert attention. It came about as in earlier days and for the same reason, lack of sufficient funds, that the Librarian became also a sort of handy man. Her various jobs, taken reluctantly, included reporting School affairs for the press, supervising students in giving news reports in the dining room and coaching them in parliamentary procedure for business meetings, chaperoning the girls while riding, and taking care of the Art Gallery. One important piece of work was in itself rewarding to her, that of selecting and preparing the girls for taking part in the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter services.

The Librarian had the advantage of connections with general library organizations such as the New England School Libraries Association, of which Miss Hopkins was at one time President, and the Massachusetts Library Club, where she also held office. The opportunity thus afforded of attending conferences, visiting other libraries and meeting the librarians, was of distinct value. When an official questionnaire was sent out in 1926 to many private schools all over New England, the returns revealed that Abbot was one of only twelve girls' schools having a trained librarian, and the details given showed the superior work done here. Soon afterwards the Massachusetts Library Club printed an account of the methods in use at Abbot, recognizing that the objective was not numbers of books but suitability for student and Faculty use. The number of books was then approaching the ten thousand mark. In spite of the crowded conditions in limited space, the Massachusetts Library Club felt, on its visit to Abbot in 1934, that the Library "had a delightful atmosphere."

A word for the record should be said here about the "Susanna E. Jackson Library Fund." In 1912 a sum of about $800 was presented to the School by Miss Jackson, an alumna, '82, and former teacher, the income only to be used for the purchase of books. These were placed in the Reading Room in cases enclosed with glass doors and designated in the card catalogue only by the letter J added to the shelf number. This isolation kept them from being readily used and was much deplored by successive librarians. Finally in 1929 the glass doors were removed but the collection still remained a separate unit. The problem was not wholly solved until much later (1937) when, with the consent of the heirs, the books, suitably inscribed, were merged with those of the main library.


Chapter Thirteen

Table of Contents