Lasell College - Lamp Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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X Q... I 54.1 ,iii i A-'iff X S' x I fi X i s if ' ,rf ll mu S -T-will V J Page four Fifth Regiment, M. V. M. These companies of martial-looking young women could be seen drilling on the front lawn, looking very trim in their uniforms of blue serge with Norfolk jackets with leather belts, and knots of white ribbon at their throats. Atop their pompadours they wore regulation blue caps with LSB in silver monogram on the front. In those days of strict social etiquette, when young ladies were kept close to the home, there were no proms, no weekends, no dates, but by no means was there a lack of fun. For leisure amusements, the girls organized two secret so- cieties, the S. D. Society and the Lasellia Club. These two clubs were great rivals. They held regular meetings, maintaining al- ways the strict procedures of formal assemblies. The ceremon- ies of initiation were always very solemn. There were secret oaths, codes and meetings. These groups were entirely social and strictly non-academic, but it was eventually necessary to abolish them. Not all the girls were invited to join and this made for hurt feelings. However, the absence of these clubs was not felt too strongly. There were numerous other activities to pass away any leisure hours. There was a Canoe Club which was open to any student who could pass a swimming test. The girls would meet on the shores of the Charles River, dressed in white and with straw bonnets atop their up-do hair. At the close of the season, there would be a race, and the winners received sweaters with the letter L . There was also a society of singers, the Orphean Club, which held weekly rehearsals and an annual concert. There were Saturday evening frolics when the girls and fac- ulty gathered in the gymnasium for games and entertainment. The Dramatic Club gave presentations, there was singing, and sometimes a few brave couples would do a polka or gavot to the delight of their audience. The excitement of today's Lasellites on the eve of the depar- ture for Bermuda or the White Mountains is comparable to that of our elder sisters of the 1890's as they packed their carpet bags in preparation for their Washington trip. Then there were no excursions to Bermuda nor skiing in the White Mountains but any girl, who possibly could, went on the annual visit to our Capitol. The girls would start off for the Auburndale station, umbrellas unfurled, their skirts dragging in the mud. They were in a hurry, as Lasell girls usually are. They traveled from Boston to Washington on a steamer. Some of them, as the journey on water progressed, felt a little queer and as the queerness continued till they reached Washington, it rather dampened their spirits. But once their feet were safely back on terra firma their excitement soared again and they set out for their hotel where there were apartments reserved for the Lasell party. The girls dined in a little, private dining-

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young women with weak backs, lame sides, and delicate lungs were given special and thorough attention. Every girl was given such training as to increase her symmetry of form and give her an elastic, erect, and healthy body. Twice a week, just as we do today, the girls hurriedly jumped into their gym suits for their required period of gym. Their gymnastic costumes were of dark flannel and perfectly plain, but the more coquettish girls were allowed to trim their suits with bright braid. The young ladies would do their strenuous exercises on the ropes and bells, enveloped in skirts that could be not less than an yards in width and long enough to reach six inches below the knee. The blouse was a Garibaldi . To insure perfect free- dom of movement the belt of the costume had to be at least four inches larger than a close-fitting measure. There were also drawers on the Turkish style which had to be worn under the flannel skirt. These drawers were full and drawn in with an elastic below the knee so that they fell over a la Zouave . Then to complete the costume, these young ladies wore thick woolen hose. Thus befitted the girls gathered in Carter Hall for a strenuous game of dodge ball and keepaway. The Administration suggested to mothers that their daugh- ters' school dresses be simple and comfortable to wear. Thus the impeccably-dressed Lasellite of the 1850's made certain that her wardrobe included a walking skirt, free from the ground and not so heavy as to exhaust the strength she needed for pur- poses other than carrying her garments. Lasell Lou, in the days of no central heating, wore warm underflannel, night bonnets, and heavy, black hose. She never stepped out on rainy days without her walking-boots and water-proof leggings. Several years after the Seminary was founded, the Adminis- tration decided to do away with long, semester examinations. The young ladies took their work so seriously that the mere though of an exam threw them into a state of nervous exhaus- tioni The girls were then marked on daily work and short tests in c ass. Any student who at the end of one term had average marks of 95-100 was enrolled on the list of Self-governed , and took the following pledge: I will try so to act, that, if all others followed my example, our school would need no rules whatever. In all my relations with my teachers and schoolmates, I will throw my whole influence in favor of what I believe to be right, and for the good of the school. From then on such a student did as she pleased, as long as she showed herself worthy of the honor. This privilege included being able to take Walks outside the school grounds. In 1887 Lasell again took a step forward and offered a Mili- tary Drill as substitute for the conventional gymnastic exercise. There was a battalion of girls made up of two companies, A and B, under the supervision of Major George H. Benyon of the .1 '19 fN'1 .Page three -5 Ji

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room. The tempting menu, the five colored waiters in starched, lily-white coats, who anticipated every wish, were a novelty as well as a luxury, after six months of boarding school life. They were up bright and early the next morning to start their tour of sightseeing which lasted throughout the four days of their stay. In the summer, there were Lasell-guided trips to Europe. The tales the girls brought back could, no doubt,iconstitute another and just as humorous Our Hearts Were Young and Gay edition. Before women were given the right to vote in national elec- tions, there was a time-honored custom at Lasell to hold a make- believe election. The girls cast their votes a day in advance of their more tardy brothers. The Gym was arranged like a poll with booths for secret ballots, poll protectors, and ballot boxes. It troubled them not at all that they could not materially in- fluence the election and they entered their dainty blue silk booths and cast their votes as if a nation's fate hung on their decision of a candidate. All the afternoon, girls could be heard cheering the various candidates, and heated discussions arose as to who was the better man of the two. In the evening, after the votes were counted, there was ice cream and cake to celebrate the victor. At the end of the year, Lasell held an auction day, somewhat similar to our Faculty Bazaar, with the difference that the pur- pose for raising money was not a Building Fund but some needy person or a charitable work in Boston. At this sale the con- tents of the lost drawer were auctioned off. The lost draw- er l What was that? Well, it was the drawer in which stray handkerchiefs, gloves, rubbers, pencils, all things lost by the girls were kept, and there they remained until the owners re- deemed them. These articles were given to the highest bidder. There was another auction held sometime during the year, but at this sale only papers and magazines from the library read- ing room were auctioned off. At this particular auction, the Seniors, who seemed to have realized that their school days were gradually diminishing, bringing them nearer household duties, bid the highest for such magazines and books as The Good Housekeeper and The Heathen Woman's Friend. These auc- tions were always a great success, and the girls usually made tremendous sums of money: some years, in fact, they were lucky enough to put together as much as seventy-five dollars. In 1893, Lasell was given a booth at the Chicago World's Fair in the Women's Building. The Lasell Seminary received this honor as a recognition of its fine work in the educational field. Lasell was a pioneer, being one of the first schools to offer such courses as cooking, millinery, Military Drill, and housekeeping. Lasell's room at the Fair looked dainty and home-like with light-blue draperies. Over the entrance were the words, Lasell Seminary for Young Women, Auburndale, Massachusetts . ...Z .4 C -fx' 'l .lax 1 r p .I 32 K l VV r l 2 1 0 I L lx WX L alt, t ,. Z v ,Qi ...NYM Q ' lv fi X. N Y. Page five