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Page 11 text:
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Dear Mrs. Resnick: We the staff of the 1975-76 Bell Cote along with the student body of Mount Vernon College, dedicate this book to you. Your willingness, friendship and patience are unending. W ' hen we are tired, when w-e need a haven from the never ending noise, w ' hen we have fantastic news to share or a problem to make us cry, you are there to listen to us, to laugh and to cry with us, to share with us. Simple thank you ' s have never fully expres- sed the gratitude we have wished to extend to you. We hope that in dedicating this yearbook to you we can further demonstrate our sincer- ity and appreciation. With our deepest love. Bell Cote 1976
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Page 12 text:
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A Glimpse of The Past . . . Mount Vernon College began its life in 1875 when Mrs Elizabeth Somers founded a small school which she called Mount Vernon Seminary using the name of a Methodist Church in Baltimore which had been restored by a brother of whom she was very fond. Mrs Somers ' school, as it became known in Washington, quickly attracted students, among them the daughters of Alexander Graham Bell who invited the students of the school to demonstrate his newfangled machines. The portrait of Mrs. Somers which now hangs over the fireplace in Post Hall is of a woman with unusual understanding, kindness, humor and grace. She gave our college a flying start. W hat was the pattern of life in those early years of the life of the institution? What did students do when they had no electric light, no stereos, no televisions, no movies and greatest mercy of all, no telephones or automobiles? They went to lectures and concerts, visited ice cream parlors, and, during the administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes, they visited the White House, as Mrs. Somers was a close friend of Mrs Hayes. On Friday nights they could receive young men in the parlor where there was usually present Mrs Somers and the whole student body. If you think that Mrs. Somers ran a finishing school, think again. The preparation for college level work was so thorough that the President of Vassar wrote to Mrs Somers after receiving one of her successful pupils, to say that in the future Vassar would admit any student from her school without examination. In the 1898 catalog entry for the Collegiate Department of the school, the following subjects are listed: JUNIOR YEAR Required Art History, English Literature and Composition, Logic Physiology SENIOR YEAR: Required American Political History including Parliamentary Usage, English Literature and Composition, Psychology, Astronomy, Arithmatic Reviewed One cannot help wondering whether the young women of 1900 who survived this rigorous training were not in fact better educated than their counterparts today? It is interesting, too, to see evidence of the selective admissions policy pursued by the school in 1903-4. Pupils deserving admission to the school must be introduced favorably by present or past patrons, and must present certification showing progress in the studies pursued in the school last attended In 1880 the school moved from its original location on F Street ot 1100 M Street, and by that date there were 120 students Mrs Somers knew that the school would grow and so she bought a tract of land on Nebraska Avenue, and in 1914 she leased the school to Mrs Hensley who had worked with her for 15 years. In 1916 the school was incorpo- rated and the move was financed by unsecured notes guaranteed only by the good reputation of the school. This campus, which now belongs to the U S. Navy, was made up of brick buildings and boasted a Great Hall which was furnished with many of the pieces now in Post Hall A chapel dedicated to Mrs Somers was added in 1925 and a bell was given in honor of Miss Ames. In the school catalogs for those early years, there are some fascinating details of social and intellectural history. In the regulations for boarding pupils for the year 1875-76 there is the following statement: Pupils will receive such calls as are approved by the Princi- pal, on Friday evenings from 8 00 until 10 (X). and on Saturday afternoons. No visits will be made or received by students on the Sabbath or during any regular study or recitation hours ' What would these pupils have made of our open parietals? A glimpse of the very different standards of dress and decorum is also instructive. In 1912 the catalog reads The supply of underclothing should be generous, substantial, and simply made. For dinner wear, two or three simply made dresses of summer silk or voile, or some fabric easily laundered. It is a long way from wash and wear shirts, denims, and Dr Scholl ' s. The Year Books, as they were called, of those early years are written in an elevated style which reflect the highminded aims of those who served the school. In 1900 the entry under discipline read Fine ideals of womanly earnestness and dignity of character are kept constantly before the pupils, and the cultivation of the social graces and courtesies of daily life are ever emphasized. The system of chaperonage is cautious without being un-American and affected The relation between teachers and pupils is close, frank and cordial, and there is such harmony in the work of the school that almost no force is wasted, and few pupils can resist the steady, combined pressure in the direction of order, truth, and noble living. Miss Cole, who followed Miss Hensley was responsible for forming the Alumnae Council, and the appointment of the first alumna trustee to the Board She also presided over the Golden jubilee in 1925, the year in which the Nebraska Avenue Chapel was built as a memorial to Mrs. Somers. From the early years, a Mount Vernon student had to study for six years in order to earn a diploma; in the thirties the Junior College was established as a separate part of the institution Mr. George Lloyd, who had taught history for many years, became President of the whole school when Miss Cole retired in 1937. Mrs. Lloyd taught Mathematics and later became Principal of the Seminary. Mr. Lloyd had the distinction of being the first male faculty member of the school. On his first morning of teaching, he was tapped on
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