MacMurray College - Tartan / Illiwoco Yearbook (Jacksonville, IL)

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Looking around, she saw the wood stove — that winter morning tyrant — the strip of molding with nails that answered for a closet, the bed with the welcomed storage space beneath, and the table on which was placed one lonely candle. During the days of her college career she concentrated on her classes in such abstruse subjects as natural philosophy, Butler ' s Analogy, natural theology, or moral science, with a dash of Latin, botany, geometry, history, domestic economy, and similar courses. Particular attention was of course paid to composition, penmanship, and the art of being decorous yotmg ladies. A full schedule! Then at her candle- lighted table in the evening she endeavored to master the learning of the day. In the life of a genteel female of the fifties there was little place for play. Disgraceful athletic impulses were to be repressed. However, calisthenics with wands and dumb-bells, walking, or perhaps a game of Poor pussy wants a corner were con- sidered proper. Indoors, charades and tableaux were popular. Social highlights of the year were the spring picnic and a mid-winter reception, called the President ' s levee. The girls of these early years spent nine and a half months of the year under the school ' s protecting wing. Discipline was parental but strict and each young lady found herself under the close observation of her teachers. These first alumnae tvould be amazed and perhaps pleased to review the striking though gradual evolution through which our codes of conduct have passed. T hey would observe the fusion of good sense and consistency with the times which has always existed. And they would applaud the gradual swing of the pendulum toward a balance between the academic and social

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' helfand }nCoiragemenf of B.L., Phi Nu, and Dr. Marker, the tivo infants soon grew -iip to take their place in the campus ivorld. ' development of the modern college woman in the past century has been fjikAed by a mounting interest in athletics. Our Alma Mater has been no exception. %hat a great gidf between the hoop-skirted, hoop-tossing young ladies of 1860 and 0 r modern hockey enthusiast! By the turn of the century, the idtra-conservative knd very proper dumb-bells and dainty promenades had given way to a ivell-de fined athletic program. Favorite activities were basketball and tennis, both of ivhich stim- ulated lively competition. Hiking and track also became popular with 1. W. C. ' s bloomer girls. World War I brought to the college a vigorous new interest in ath- letics, with emphasis upon physical fitness. Backbone of this enthusiasm, the Athletic Association, founded in 1908, has worked energetically to keep the spirit of good- sportsmanship thriving. In 1945 the A. A. became knoxvn as the Recreational Asso- iation. But as these fragments of the past are revealed, our curiosity takes us back to tloe very beginnings. If an I. C. F. C. girl of the fifties could appear among us again, how surprised she ivould be! She ivould hardly believe her eyes ivhen she saw us arrive ,at our beautiful campus in automobiles or busses, enter our modern dormitories, flick a switch for light or a thermostat for heat, stroll unchaperoned into town, select our studies from a seemingly endless list, engage in a rousing game of hockey, or compete briskly in campus elections. Then she ivould tell us of her college life. Ihivin in a heavy wagon with her hair covered trunk and perhaps a feather bed roped in behind the seat, she approached the center of her new opportunity with awe. Here she found herself living with two or three other girls in a bare little room. Page Ten

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■ doscofing thJ years; ' silent spectator watches campus life unroll through f iccessive eras. She might visit a Civil War reception at which LC.F.C. girls hon- ored Jacksonville soldiers on their way to war. The turn of the century saw the college ' ' female become a woman. During World War I, Let us knit became a college slogan, and by gifts, stunts, and self-denying meals 1. W. C. raised substan- ' s tial sums for several tvar funds. Today the conclusion of World War II finds the MacMusray girl a veteran of loyal home front service through her purchase and sale of war bonds and stamps, motivated by such goals as the purchase of a bomber and of jeep parts. The heart of a college lies partly in its traditional celebrations. Founders Bay, Thanksgiving, and May Day are MacMurray ' s heritage. In 1909 Founders Day, Oc- tober 10, was first commemorated by students, alumnae, and friends. At first, a half- holiday, a lawn picnic, and a speaker of prominence (of whom William Jennings Bryan was one) ivas the order of the day. But as alumnae increased, a desire was felt for a simple and beautiful custom to bind together friends of the college wherever they might be. This desire ivas fulfilled through our Caudle Lighting Custom, ob- served on Founders Day and Alumnae Day. Thanksgiving Day has always found a beautiful expression on campus, and, through the years, have evolved our delightful customs of corridor breakfasts, dining hall decorations by the freshmen, and afternoon entertainment. Finally comes the climax of the year ' s social events — May Day. In 1908, the romance of Spring inspired I. W. C. students to celebrate in the traditional Old English fashion. Elaborate drills, tvinding dances around the May Vole, and the fioiver-sprinkled coronation of the Queen attracted nearly a thousand spectators to this colorful event. So successful was it that May Day became a tradition, which suc- ceeding generations have met tvith variety and ingenuity. Perhaps it is this web of traditions which winds pleasantly about the MacMurray girl, holding her forever close to her Alma Mater. Page Twelve