College of St Marys of the Springs - Yearbook (Columbus, OH)

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if H EWWL SWL QRWL KWWL Us 'fllllli' Mm WIHRWL U ul flx'lNf 'fNflmf 'aff ,xii L . v- N .. - 2 .. 1 Q .. 1 2 .. svgjr.. sv: .. :VA .. sv! .. 3-rw-FQ-fiQ+L fZ+1c.J.+Q+w+Q1+Q+i+ic Jmwsi J.+Q2+w+M1+Lm+L dismay of this official may be imagined when she discovered that a girl who on Monday had only a wee wisp of washed-out-looking hair, appeared on Tuesday with a rippling, riotous, luxuriant mass of dark brown or golden-hued curls. Several days pondering on this phenom- onen of nature afforded no explanation. Stands were diligently searched for bottles of mar- velous hair restorer, but to no avail. At last one night, the Prefect, having occasion to enter an alcove after the retiring hour, caught sight of three or four long, black, hard looking ob- jects. No amount of scrutiny gave a clue as to their composition. Finally it was necessa- ry to question the occupants of the alcove. Why, Sister, came the ready response, that's my switch done up in old ribbons so's it'll be curly tomorrow. So here was the solution of the mystery. An amendment was forthwith added to the original decree, and ere long switches were laid side by side with the vanquished rats. The hair question disposed of, a vigorous campaign was opened against the tight skirt. Who will ever forget the day when the Inspector General made her review of reviews? Just one week was given to the unfortunate possessor of a tight skirt, either to insert panels in the front, back and sides, or invest in an entirely new garment of sufficiently wide proportions to meet requirements. Fringe was absolutely tabooed on these expanded creations. Pupils from a distance were facing a serious proposition, for how could they obtain an entire new outfit in a week? What were they to do? Visions of themselves garbed in bed spreads were but transient, as the presence of fringe debarred these as a make-shift. Next a box-pleated skirt was prescribed with pleats several inches apart to give room for the insertion of voluminous gathers. This particular mode was selected as a precaution for the preservation of the lives of the young ladies while out on their daily constitutional along the macadam boulevard south of the institution, which highway is not infrequently infested with autos going at a rapid rate of speed. The dimensions of these skirts give the wearers thereof free and unimpeded motion, which greatly conduces to a hasty removal from the path of the speeders. Though hair-dressing and skirts were the leading questions at issue in this twentieth cen- tury reformation in a teapot, minor details of the toilette were not overlooked. Collars evoked a standing regulation-apologies would not be accepted. The prescribed height was 9 3-8 inches in the back, gradually sloping to 9 6-I6 inches in the front. A special contrivance was invented for loosening this neck environment when throat expansion became necessary., Sleeves were to be long, extending at least to the second joint of the index finger. Shoes, too, came under the executioner's ax, but contrary to conventional form the winged heel and not the sole took flight. Even those little aids to nature which we so inno- cently used to enhance our charms and which we took care not to display too ostentatiously on our dresses were always found missing. Turn where he would, there was never means of escaping Fashion's avenging Nemesis. Such then has been the radical dress reform effected at St. Mary's this memorable year: rats, heels and cosmetics have decreased: collars, sleeves and skirts have increased, and in the midst of this contraction and expansion, this action of opposing forces, we find our- selves. not disturbed or tossed about, but in an attitude of stable equilibrium towards our Alma Mater and the fearless stand she has taken on a vexed question-an attitude of pro- found respect and devoted loyalty. BLANC!-IE DUNLAP, '12, 39

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-A NWI6, i :WIC :MQI6 5 XWIC f SMH: Q :WIC Z Xwlc BWI: XWIC Q Dl'QSS RQTOYIII df Sf. mdl'V'S 5 ,ff A X N HE. world is constantly undergoing changes. Reforms, polit- ical, social. moral, are being ardently advocated by the gen- Wwf 'Wm eral publicg but especially pronounced just now is the agitation on the question of dress reform. The crying, if not howling, need of some variation from the present styles is patent to all. One has only to stand on the prominent street corners of our - large cities and watch the absurdities and monstrosities that are 'rs . X'-if .' 7 constantly buzzing, shuffling or flitting by to be convinced that 5 :VI fc QVCUNZ2 i N GT we have almost attained the height of the ridiculous in the mat- 7 ik' 7 ter of fashion. This article, however, is not intended to excite a dress reform. .nor even to serve as an indictment of prevailing fashions: it is a history, pure and simple. It owes its origin to the fact that the dress reform movement, spreading daily over more extended areas, at last penetrated the calm and repose of our peaceful convent life, and set in action the cerebral springs of our legislative body: so that while magazine and newspaper editors were spending their vital force in unprofitable talk, those that guide the destiny of St. lVfary's of the Springs, Shepard, Franklin County, Ohio, two and one half miles from the city of Columbus, not only advocated and attempted reform, but actually carried out their views and designs, as the student body will vociferously testify. , This Renaissance of Simplicity began in the year 1910-I l, and was completed most completely in the present year of grace, 191 I-IZ. In its early stages, the reform was of the suggestive kind-coaxing and persuasion mingled with mild ridicule and gentle reproof were the means employed: but as time wore on, more drastic measures were resorted to. Last year it was, Will you do it P This year it is You will do it. The warfare first began against the rats. The battle was fast and furious, but finally terminated in favor of the wagers of the crusade. The banishment of the rats resulted, of course, in a sudden drop of pompadours, What once had been a lofty tower, all at once became a wide-spreading bungalow. As a solace for their woe caused by the sudden decrease of these puffs of hair, the young ladies resorted to the wearing of a comb in their small pompadours, thus pushing the hair down over their f0rC heads. and producing a charming vestibule effect, the fringe of hair doing dutv HS H portiere. Just at this stage official decrees passed from the negative state of prohibition, to the positive state of injunction. A regulation was made requiring everyone to wear her hair skinned back tight and hanging down her back. No matter how hot the day 01' i10W Stupid the lesson, there was no inclination on the part of HHYOHC to Ci0Z6. 33 the tightness of the hair made the closing of the eves a difficult. not to say, an impossible undertaking. The.second clause of the decree. if unwelcome to the pupils, gave great satisfaction to .the Sister in charge of the study hall. who congratulated herself that it would n0W be P0SSliJie I0 distin- guish the young ladies from the rear of the room bv the length fmcl thickness of their hail'- This means of identification would obviate the difficulty of having I0 perambulate up and down the aisles in order to find out iust who waS miSSing and who was performing antics suffi- ciently droll to cause all shoulders in her immediate VlCm1tY to shake convulsively. But the 38 Wi m nfl R

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ww NWI 1 ww ' pw! ji ,Wu f NMC N016 P ,Nui 1 Wig 5 RQIIIINII of SI. mdl'V'S Hlllllllldt flSSOCldIl0ll T FOI' l9ll N ideal June day, in l9l l, found many old pupils eagerly as- sembling in the halls of dear St. Mary's, to renew their school WWW WW friendships and repledge their loyalty to their loved Alma Mater. At half past nine in the convent chapel, the day's pro- gram was fittingly opened with a high Mass, sung by Rev. D. Pendergast, assisted by the convent choir. At the end of . , . the mass, a business meeting was called, presided over by the Wf Alumnae president, Mrs. Rose Leonard Byrne. Mrs. Byrne z, - addressed the members present, with her usual quiet charm, T welcoming in the name of the Sisters, all old pupils to the scene of their bygone school days. The annual election of oflicers was held, resulting in the re-election of Mrs. Byrne, as presi- dent, with the following assistants: First Vice President, Mrs. Mary Lawler MacNamee: Second Vice President, Mrs. Olive Leonard Roberts: Third Vice President, Mrs. Sophie Dill Burwell: Recording Secretary, Mrs. Fannie J. Harmon: Corresponding Secretary, Miss Madge McCarty. At one o'clock, a luncheon, charming in its appointments, was served in the artistically decorated dining hall, made more beautiful for the occasion through the efforts of the girls of nineteen hundred eleven. Mrs. Grace Henderson Orr, very gracefully, presided as toast- mistress, giving the following toast, written especially for the occasion: PNIOQIIQ When mighty Greece. in splendor bright, Held sway o'er all the Aegean Isles, Her fabled gods, in marble halls, Set high on proud Olympus' height. Gave forth their knowledge to the sons of men,--- 'Tis thus the legends say. Music there was, whose chords divine, Falling like dew on the souls of men, Made them to feel the joy again That comes of life and living. And too, there came from that same source, The mighty wisdom of the starry course, That gives to men the power to trace The myriad worlds through trackless waste. Or yet foretell upon what hour The sun shall slip his brightness off. And day by night be shom of power. 40 1 AQWX .lllif ' ' uv, . ,, .yro ' ' Xhpgk 'H-' Jvigfr' Wg