Lenoir Rhyne College - Hacawa Yearbook (Hickory, NC)

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fe§L».: 2.%: ' v.- s- j: s. 29S4 1932 INTERVIEWER: What was dating like? How did the boys and girls get together? NARRATOR: Oyjce a month we were permitted to have call night. The boys wrote formal notes to their girls asking permission to call. The girls responded in the same formal mamier, accepting or rejecting. And for those who were going steady as Craig and I did for the last two and a half years we zvere there, why, it was different. Craig continued to write the formal note each time. And he was very precise and sedate, but he ended it by saying, if it was alright and I would accept for me not to bother to answer And so I didn ' t answer. Aside from formal dates, another time we could talk with one another was in the evening after dinrier All the students got out and walked back and forth — rather, strolled up and down the Warpath, which was the driveway from Old Main to the entrance of the campus, at the corner down where St. Andrew ' s is. We couldn ' t ivalk with the boys, but they walked just behind us and we could have many good talks together. Back and forth and back and forth we strolled. There was also another (pause) date that we had each spring, we had a faculty-student picnic. It was out on the Catawba River There was no dam on the river then, so there was no lake. The College furnished the picnic lunch. That was always a happy time, a gala time because we were with our lovers all day long. We walked to and from the river It was a delightful time. 19

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Group picture of student body during the ' l900 ' s. 1916 We never needed to ivorry about clothes for Sunday. We all wore uni- forms. Each fall the girls were lined up and measured for dark blue serge suits. When spring came many bolts of white material were ordered, a heavier type for skirts, a daintier type for blouses. They were made by a Miss None Miller who lived on campus in a house which stood where the south side of Cromer Center now stands. Girls could not walk up town or anywhere off campus unchaperoned. Walking behind them must either be a faculty member or a senior wearing cap and robe. Also caps and robes were worn by the seniors to church during the senior year in college. It was definitely against the rules for the boys and girls to have dates, except each first Monday night which was termed ' call night. ' At that time the boys went to the dormitory and rang the bell. It was answered by an especially appointed person who asked whom they wished to see, then the girl was summoned. s However after call night if the boys and girls were permitted to attend a performance together, as a lecture, a musical or debate, the next call night was cancelled. Everyone attended church on Sunday. Sunday afternoons were lovely. We were not supposed to study on Sunday. It was sinful. We had no classes on Mondays. That day was set aside for studying, cleaning rooms and washing any clothes necessary. There was no visiting between boys and girls on Sunday, except brothers and sisters could visit during certain hours. It was rather amusing to see some students who claimed relationships with others. On Sunday afternoons the students walked back ' and forth for hours on what was then called ' The War Path. ' This path (dirt) be- gan on the corner of the campus next to St. Andrew ' s Church and curved around by the girls ' dormitory and back to the starting point. The students were not supposed to stop or talk, but one would be amazed at how notes, etc. could be passed from one hand to another without stopping or saying a word. 18

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The old St. Andrews Church 1921 INTERVIEWER: Were your rooms checked to see if you were in the bed? NARRATOR: Yes, they would usually check once in a while, and if you were making too much noise, they loould come and shoo us down. And if we were in another room after ten o ' clock, we were supposed to be in our rooms by a certain time, and if somebody slipped up from another hall, you know, from the back hall came up to the front — if they were in the wrong room, sometimes they ' d land up in the closet and hide. And the teachers would look in, they didn ' t find them of course, so they would go on. They checked to see that ev- ery one was in their rooms at a certain time. 30