University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

Page 23 text:

Every co-ed was trying to moke her seventy avei age . . . however, there were many opportunitit for relaxation from the old grind . . . LEWIS HALL Up on the hill in Lewis Hall, a dorm exclusively for freshman girls, there was an atmosphere of intense, scholarly endeavor during the early weeks of first semester. Every co-ed was trying to moke her seventy overage by Dean ' s Satur- day, and thus be free of the seven o ' clock curfew. During the week-ends, however, there were many opportunities for relaxation from the old grind and for participation in the gale social life of the campus. The girls in Lewis planned several open houses, invitation dances, and a series of teas to which they invited members of the faculty. Mrs. Churchill and the house counselors helped make living in a dorm a treasured memory of college life. th the e increased enroll sds took ove meriT ottresnmeh women, another dormitory, Knowlton hHouse, making a Itotai of four dorms for female students. P Dormitory seemed to lose its essential meaning, which any Latin scholar will recall is a place to sleep. It became much more than that, especially to the freshmen whose seven o ' clock curfews kept them within the portals of Lewis and Thotcher on vveek nights. The dorms were social centers and study halls, as well as the traditional networks of bedrooms which they had been considered previously. The freshmen were perhaps most impressed with dorm-life for reasons other than that they were compelled to remain there. Here was the first place to meet new friends — friends to be remem- bered long after four years of college hove passed. Proctors were not those domineering upperclass- men trying to get their charges into mischief, but they were friends, advisors, and tutors endeovoring to get the frosh off to a good start in this new life.

Page 22 text:

ABIGAIL ADAMS HOUSE There was a cosmopolitan aura this year about the Abbey, home to about a hundred and twenty uppercloss girls. Les belles jeunes filles of La Maison Fran aise took over half of the first corridor, which they embellished with exotic posters and French flogs. The chattering of facile French tongues resounded through the rooms. The rest of the dorm, however, retained its strictly American flavor. Bull sessions, invitation dances, knitting, a few hands of bridge, and study- ing now and then occupied much of the girls ' time. One of the features of the Abbey, which mode living there so pleasant, was the lovely center, on ideal place to make beautiful music, read the latest magazines, or entertain friends. . . . the lovely center, an ideal place to maki beatuiful music, read the latest nnagazines, o entertain friends.

Page 24 text:

mmu HOUSE This year the cloistered halls of Knowlton House took on a new atmosphere, for girls finally moved Into their new dorm. Among the changes that took place, the most out- standing additions were the new drapes and the pastel furniture for the center and the rec room. A sound-proofed telephone booth, towel racks, curtain rods, and hooks on the walls were also added to give the dorm that homey look. At the beginning of the year, the girls of Knowlton, under the guidance of Bettino hlollls and Mary Lowry, organized a variety show of local talent. The proceeds from the show and the dance which followed it were donated to the house for the purpose of buying a radlo-vlctrola. It wos this enthusiastic start which intro- duced a very successful year for Knowlton. with the increased enrollment of freshmen women, the co-eds took over another dormitory, Knowlton House . . . The dorms were social centers and study ha well as the traditional networks of bedroor Here wos the first place to meet new friends- friends to be remembered long after four yea of collge . . .