{"id":2740,"date":"2015-08-30T15:06:14","date_gmt":"2015-08-30T19:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/?p=2740"},"modified":"2020-10-22T23:05:55","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T03:05:55","slug":"the-faculty-dont-furnish-towels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/the-faculty-dont-furnish-towels\/","title":{"rendered":"“The faculty don’t furnish towels . . .”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The waning days of summer: faculty are preparing for meetings and fall classes while students are finishing their shopping and summer reading \u2014 or in a few instances, starting it.\u00a0 School opens in less than two weeks, with all the joy, angst,<\/em> and tradition associated with the event.\u00a0 Once upon a time the tradition included a tea for new students, hosted by the Headmaster’s spouse and a phalanx of faculty wives.\u00a0 In 1966, a well-scrubbed and tightly necktied “newboy” myself (yes, it was one word then), I was present at this event.\u00a0 A woman of extraordinary warmth and empathy, Mrs. Stevens really did help to take the edge off of the noisy and sometimes impersonal first week of school.\u00a0 On the other hand, many of her guests had never tasted tea, and when offered cream or lemon, took both.\u00a0 Having lived in England the previous year, I knew better, but after 49 years I’ve never learned to like the stuff.<\/p>\n

\"new<\/a>
Mrs. Phillips Stevens at the New Boys’ Tea, September 1966 (Dorothy Potter Associates)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These days we have student arrival and orientation organized and personalized down to the last detail.\u00a0 It was not always so.\u00a0 There is certainly no suggestion of the gentility evoked by Mrs. Stevens’ tea-party in the following letter, by Charles Carroll Carpenter, class of 1856, to his father.\u00a0 Carpenter, of Bernardston, Mass., was a new student in the spring of 1854.\u00a0 (Original spelling and punctuation have been retained.)<\/p>\n

Williston Seminary, No. 39<\/span>
\n Easthampton, Ms. April 20 1854 . P.M.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Father,<\/span>
\n The bell has rung for evening study hours, and I will improve the signal by penning a few hasty lines homeward.To speak of events, historically, I arrived safely at No. H. on Tuesday morning.\u00a0 On the way, met (in the cars) with a young fellow, like myself, Williston-bound; Leavitt, of Charlemont,1<\/sup> son of Roger H. Leavitt, Esq.\u00a0 Had to wait in No. H. all day\u2014crowds of students came up in the train\u2014and several stages and teams were in readiness to convey them over.2<\/sup>\u00a0 Ten of us got into a three seated wagon, with my distinguished townsman, Mr. Moore, for a driver.\u00a0 It was most terrific going\u2014mud and melted snow formed a horrible coalition\u2014Could hardly get out of a walk, a single step.\u00a0 We suffered the greatest trouble, however, in fear that other students would get ahead of us and engage the rooms; but after two hours we arrived\u2014\u201cput\u201d for the \u201cSem.\u201d\u00a0 The Chief Boss of the Institution, Mr. Marsh,3<\/sup> is absent, on account of dangerous family sickness\u2014 and everything went hurly-burly.\u00a0 I engaged however of the pro tem. janitor, a room, for safety\u2014and then went to President Hubbard\u2019s.4<\/sup>\u00a0 That official is very pleasant and courteous; and when I informed him that I had written to Mr. Warner,5<\/sup> he called me by name, and said he had engaged me a room, and gave me other useful information.\u00a0 Then returned and found Pres. H. had bespoken me an excellent room, in the Brick Seminary\u2014I obtained the keys to it, and at once, with young Leavitt, moved in \u201cbag and baggage.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The campus that Charles Carpenter knew. The “brick seminary,” familiar to later alumni as Middle Hall, is second from left. (Click to enlarge.)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rooms are small\u2014have one window\u2014one bed and bedding\u2014a table\u2014a desk-like shelf, for books and writing, and a small stove.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a closet in the room, with hooks for clothes; a washstand and a bowl, pitcher and two\u00a0 pails; a looking glass and a woodbox, I believe completes the list of furniture supplied by the Institution.\u00a0 Have to pay about 2.75 each for the use of the room.\u00a0 We board at the Boarding House for $1.67 per week\u2014then there are fuel, lights, etc.\u2014Leavitt brot a lamp, which will be enough for us both.\u2014I forgot my boot-brush\u2014As I shall need that, I think you had better send it \u2014As the \u201cFaculty\u201d don\u2019t furnish towels, wish you would put in a couple\u2014coarsest crush you can get if you please; or pretty coarse.\u2014You can do them snugly up together, and send them by Express, I think.\u00a0 Guess Gillott will not ask me more than ninepence \u2014direct to me at Express Office, Northampton\u2014and I will walk over Wedns. afternoon and get it.\u2014Perhaps send Monday or Tuesday\u2014Believe Gillott goes down on P.M. train\u2014not sure.\u00a0 Pay him\u2014and I will make it right.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think he\u2019ll make chg. more than 18\u00bd or 19\u2014Slip in a some matches, if you please, and the silk that Mother cut out for a pen-wiper and which I forgot.\u00a0 They ask enormously for everything here\u201412\u00bd for a box of 5 ct. matches\u2014and at that rate\u2014If there are a few of those carpet tacks left, put in a few\u2014not particular.\u00a0 My trunk, it will be recollected, is the one without the handle.\u2014Wrap three or four old newspapers tightly around them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our wood is greener than the imaginary dress of the milkmaid in the spelling book, and we have to use a good deal of paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the school, cannot say much yet\u2014did nothing yesterday but take names and classify \u2014 I shall take nothing but Latin and Greek\u2014and go away back in both \u2014I should take Algebra, but it conflicts with other recitations.\u2014I am fearful I shall study too much, and therefore start lightly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Am vastly grateful to all, particularly Mother, for trouble, toil, and labor in \u201cgetting me off.\u201d \u2014Love to all\u2014Please write soon.\u00a0 I am in haste as must get in a lesson yet tonight.\u00a0 Have not seen Mr. Moore yet.\u00a0 Regards to inquisitors.6<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

Suppose me, to be, very rapidly, none the less Truly,<\/span>
\n Yr. aff. son, C. C. Carpenter<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/sup>Either Henry Leavitt or Joseph Leavitt, both class of 1856, both from East Charlemont.<\/span>
\n 2<\/sup>[Added to left margin of first page:]There is a railroad in progress from No. H. through here. It goes near the old canal \u2014 where to, I know not.<\/span>
\n 3<\/sup>No one named Marsh was on the faculty.\u00a0 Could Carpenter have meant Principal Josiah Clark?<\/span>
\n 4<\/sup>Eli Hubbard, Associate Principal and teacher of mathematics and natural philosophy.<\/span>
\n 5<\/sup>Probably the Rev. Oliver Warner, teacher of English and \u201cintellectual philosophy.\u201d<\/span>
\n 6<\/sup>[In left margin of last page:] The snow\u2019s all gone here, and mud fast drying up.\u00a0 You may also put in my Greek Testament. [In right margin:]Washing will probably cost me 50\u00a2 per wk.\u00a0 Have made no particular inquiries.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the year of the school’s centennial, we published the following, probably to use up a century’s accumulation of extra words.\"newboy2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"newboy3\"<\/a>
Another personal memory from 1966: I recall a “selected group of old boys” going from room to room with a bogus form, attempting to collect money for the rental of “radiator keys.” Dean Hepworth was not amused.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"newboy4\"<\/a> \"newboy5\"<\/a> \"newboy6\"<\/a> \"newboy7\"<\/a> \"newboy8\"<\/a> \"newboy9\"<\/a>After all that high-toned verbiage, this single page, from Northampton School for Girls in the mid-1940s, seems a bit more practical.<\/p>\n

\"nsfg<\/a>
(Kathryn Wood Lamb ’47 Papers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you’ve read this far, you might also enjoy “Rules for Bucks!”<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The waning days of summer: faculty are preparing for meetings and fall classes while students are finishing their shopping and summer reading \u2014 or in a few instances, starting it.\u00a0 School opens in less than two weeks, with all the joy, angst, and tradition associated with the event.\u00a0 Once upon a time the tradition included … Continue reading “The faculty don’t furnish towels . . .”<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,96,453,12,43,25],"tags":[175,380,247,379],"class_list":["post-2740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-northampton-school-for-girls","category-student-letters","category-student-life","category-williston-academy","category-williston-northampton-school","category-williston-seminary","tag-archibald-victor-galbraith","tag-charles-carroll-carpenter","tag-new-students","tag-sarah-stevens"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2740"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4987,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740\/revisions\/4987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}