Mount Vernon College - Bell Cote Yearbook (Washington, DC)

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JjMstorp of tfje cfjool many hours of his time in service to the congregation. The daily rituals of the school at that stage were stiff but useful in training of the young ladies. The following quota- tion from the book Elizabeth J. Somers by Faith Bradford, best illustrates a typical day at 204 F Street: Seven o’clock was the rising hour, half after seven, breakfast time. The spirit of the morning table was appropriate to the beginning of a new day. A verse of Scrip- ture was required of each gi rl, and woe betide the miss who too frequently pro- duced one noted for its brevity. A walk followed breakfast, then devotional exer- cises; the serious business of learning was pursued until one o’clock luncheon. From three until five was a study period; half an hour was allowed for dressing for din- ner. Dinner brought with it a require- ment that seemed a task at the time, but in later years was a cause for gratitude; each pupil was obliged to present in the course of natural conversation, some sub- ject of art, science, or general current in- terest. Quaint as such a custom seems six- ty odd years after, it was a step toward the acquisition of useful information, and a nct-to-be despised training in the art of conversation.

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J istorp of tfje fetfjool . — i lHE story of the life of Mount ||| Vernon is a long and vividly interesting one, dominated by the omnipresent memory of Mrs. Elizabeth J. Somers, the founder and beloved inspiration of the school. First, it must be said that Mrs. Somers was a born teacher, with that certain knack in her blood. When a Judge Cooley, who was spending the winter in Washington, asked her to tutor his three daughters, she couldn’t refuse. And these three little girls, Clara, Minnie, and Mary, were the first of countless numbers of young ladies who were to become Mrs. Somers’ girls”. The wide, sunny room, in which Mrs. Somers taught, was at 204 F Street. So it was that in 1866, she embarked upon what was to become a pleasure-filled ca- reer, and one in which she contributed much more than mere book-knowledge to the lives of her many students. After the Cooley sisters came six girls who were slightly older. At one time the number of this group was increased by one, when a Japanese prince joined the lessons fer a short period. It was in 1875 that Mrs. Somers opened her first organized school, naming it Mount Vernon Seminary, for the Mount Vernon Place Church in Baltimore, where her brother Dr. Thomas Eddy devoted { 8

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$istorp of tfje cfjool After dinner there was social relaxa- tion in the parlors until seven o’clock. On Friday nights, callers were allowed, a privilege that was something of an ordeal for the young man who found himself for a time the only masculine creature in the presence of all the young ladies and Mrs. Somers herself! . . . On school nights there were prayers in Mrs. Somers’ room — unforgettable ex- periences . . The amusements provided for the young ladies were limited and relatively quiet: concerts, lectures, simple excur- sions, sight-seeing, and an entertainment at the White House by Mrs. Hayes, a close friend cf Mrs. Somers. The school began to grow, evidence of this being the increase from one graduate in 1876 to five in 1877. The latter year’s graduation took place in the Metropolitan Church. In 1878, the graduating class numbered only four, but they had pro- vided themselves with a motto and class color (blue). The motto Vincit qui sc vincit” became the motto of the school. In the summer of 1880, Mount Vernon Seminary moved from 204 F Street to its new location at 1100 M Street. The first graduating class was in 1881. The school remained at this location for thirty-seven years. During this time, an entire build- ing for classrooms and chapel was built on 11th Street, and 1104 and 1106 M