USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > New London > Mirror to America : a history of New London, New Hampshire, 1900-1950 > Part 18
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4The selection from Miss Colgate's speech of dedication is quoted from the original manuscript in her own handwriting. This document was kindly loaned to the author by Mrs. Susan Colgate Cleveland, a Trustee of Colby Junior College in 1950, and a niece of Miss Mary Colgate.
Further information on the naming of Colgate Hall and all other buildings on the college campus of 1950 is given in a Note to this chapter.
For many years during the Academy period the headmaster's residence was the one-time Nahum Greenwood house, which formerly stood on Main Street, adjacent to the Colby Lane House of 1950. This residence was purchased from The Colby Academy in 1911, and removed to Seamans Road. There it was rebuilt as the A. S. Little and Mark Shepard houses. The Greenwood house is notable in New London history as having pos- sessed the first hardwood floors of any residence in the Town.
5Rowe, op. cit., p. 227. Among the able teachers whom Mr. Wellman brought to Colby Academy were Julia M. Gay, preceptress, and Henry J. Hall, instructor in natural sciences; op. cit., pp. 218, 334, 341-345.
6There are 172 names of students and alumni on the World War I honor roll affixed to the wall of Colgate Hall adjacent to the auditorium.
7In the early years of the century the annual receipts of The Colby Academy were slightly over $20,000, and the institution just broke even in its operating costs; e.g., the annual financial report for the school year, 1908-1909, showed an income of $23,538.24, and a cash balance of $144.86.
8Mr. Barrett died in the autumn of 1946. One who knew him well
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wrote to the present writer: "He was always considerate with young people that most of the rest of us could see little use to bother with. Many with limited ability were encouraged by him to persevere and amount to some- thing. His influence will live on in many lives."
9A complete account of the last years of The Colby Academy is given in Rowe, First Century, pp. 196-375.
10Rowe, op. cit., p. 260. The actual name chosen in 1928 was The Colby School for Girls, but on April 12, 1933 it was changed by legislative enactment to Colby Junior College for Women; ibid., p. 394.
11The five States which in 1950 did not permit an A. A. degree were Louisiana and Wyoming with two junior colleges each; New Mexico with one junior college; and Nevada and Rhode Island with no junior colleges; summarized from "Education in Review," by Benjamin Fine, New York Times, March 26, 1950. See also the Junior College Directory, Washington, 1949, p. 36.
12In connection with the establishment and rapid growth of Colby Junior College, Trustee Charles E. Shepard has pointed out to the writer the importance of the organization of the New London Water System Precinct in 1925 and the municipal sewerage system in 1931. Without these facilities it is unlikely that the institution could have had its remarkable development since 1928.
13Colby's efforts in these matters is well summarized by Dean Charlotte D. Meinecke in President's Report to the Board of Trustees of Colby Junior College for Women, 1947-1948, New London, 1948, p. 10.
14"I am An American Day" is the third Sunday in May of each year. It was so designated by Act of Congress in 1940. Colby began its observance in that year, and built a reputation among New England colleges for its programs. See the National Municipal Review, July, 1945, p. 349, for a tribute to Colby's endeavors in this respect.
15Perhaps the most noted speaker Colby ever had on its lecture series was Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in October, 1941. In the single college year, 1948-1949, Colby offered its students lectures by such persons as Ely Culbertson, Stuart Chase, Erika Mann, and Louis Untermeyer; its music numbers that year included the duo-pianists, Whittemore and Lowe, the Juilliard Quartette, and the baritone, Julius Huehn.
16The Kearsarge Beacon, biweekly campus newspaper, made its initial appearance in 1942; the student literary magazine, Blue Quill, began in 1931; while the yearbook, The Colbyan, dated back to Academy days, the first such publication having been produced by the Class of 1923.
17For example, the New England Regional Conference of the Interna- tional Relations Clubs met at Colby in 1937 and again in 1941. On each occasion more than one hundred student delegates from thirty different colleges in the six New England States and in the Maritime Provinces of Canada were in attendance. Similar in emphasis, and also well attended, were the "International Friendship Festival" programs, directed by Miss Gladys E. Webber, and held at Colby in 1935 and in 1936.
18This endeavor was sponsored by Miss Marion D. Brown of the faculty; Rowe, First Century, p. 405.
19Rowe, op. cit., pp. 389-390, observes that this emphasis on music began in the first year of the junior college.
ור.מח
COLBY JUNIOR COLLEGE in 1950 The Back Campus The Chapel Choir
WHEN CLASSES ARE OVER!
Walking Down the Drive On the Tennis Courts Cross-country Ski Run
A Bridle Path Lunch on "Mountain Day" Heading for the Golf Course
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20 Jane H. Cary, '36, to the writer, April 4, 1950. A fine pictorial sum- mary of student life at Colby is presented in the Colby Junior College Bulletin, March, 1950. See also A. Turngren, "Prom Visits Colby Junior College," Senior Prom, June, 1950.
21Rowe, First Century, p. 345.
22The complete roster is contained in the Address Book of the College. New London, 1949, pp. 1-4.
23Mrs. Meinecke and her assistants worked out a highly integrated system of counselling at Colby, including "Senior Consellors" for incom- ing students, a faculty-student advisory program, and vocational testing and guidance.
24From the original minute books of the Executive Committee, January, 1935, in the files of the writer.
25In these various endeavors the Executive Committee was keeping step with progressive trends in American college education; cf. Theodore Brameld, Ends and Means in Education: A Mid-Century Appraisal, New York, 1950, passim.
26An interesting commentary on these professional curricula is pre- sented by Lois MacFarland, "The Girl Who Knows the Pulse of the Town," Junior College Journal, September, 1950, pp. 26-29; see also Colby Preview, March 1, 1951, p. 1.
27In 1950 the College owned forty-eight acres of land in New London. In connection with its real estate and buildings, the Trustees of the Col- lege faced a problem in taxation involved in the so-called "Exeter Cases." In 1940 and again in 1943 the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that the traditional tax exemption of private educational property could no longer be fully maintained: Trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy v. Exeter, 90 N. H., 472 (1940); and Trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy v. Exeter, 90 N. H., 473 (1943). Information from C. M. Gozonsky, Legislative Reference Librarian, The State Library of New Hampshire, in a letter to the writer, June 2, 1950.
28Personnel of this group included President Sawyer, Dean Amelia E. Clark, Marion D. Brown, Viola G. Pfrommer, Gladys E. Webber, Laura G. Shields, Guy F. Williams, and J. Duane Squires, Chairman. The Trustee committee comprised Mrs. Mary B. Macomber, Mrs. Gula G. Plummer, Mrs. Elizabeth B. Mckean, the Rev. William Reid, Dr. Winifred N. Donovan, the Rev. Charles L. Page, Oren D. Crockett, and Dr. William A. Hill, Chairman. A student committee numbered Evelyn Buker, Jane Perry, Elizabeth Spencer, Janet Fletcher, Mary Trafton, and Elizabeth Brett, Chairman. An Alumni committee included representatives from all classes back to 1884 and was headed by the Misses Mary C. Barrett and Genevieve Millar of the Alumni Office.
29The full story of the Colby Centennial has been set forth by J. Duane Squires, ed., The Centennial of Colby Junior College: A Record of the Principal Addresses and Events, Manchester, N. H., 1937, pp. 68-96.
30Dr. Rowe's history was published by the Harvard University Press in 1937. Miss Brown's beautiful pageant appeared in printed form that same year. The Speaker, May 8, 1937, devoted its entire issue to the Colby centennial. Under the editorship of Miss Signi Falk of the faculty a handsome revival of The Colby Voice was issued in May, 1937. The New
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York Times on Sunday, June 6, 1937, published a feature article on Colby. Frank W. Padelford, "Ninety Years for Girls and Boys, and Now Only for Girls," Missions, December, 1937, paid a glowing tribute to the College and to the Centennial.
31The Centennial of Colby Junior College: A Record of the Principal Addresses and Events, pp. 41-44.
32The Trustees appointed two committees to work on the Silver Anniversary program, headed respectively by David A. Paterson and May- land H. Morse. The faculty named a committee headed by J. Duane Squires. The alumnae of the College chose a group headed by the Misses Mary C. Barrett and Genevieve Millar. The alumni of Colby Academy were represented by a committee with Eliot G. Clemons at its head. The parents of the College graduates had a committee directed by William C. Teachout of Oakdale, Massachusetts; New London's citizens had an anniversary group headed by Everett C. Woodman. All the Class Agents of the graduating classes from 1930 to 1946 inclusive also voted on the program.
33The brochure, H. Leslie Sawyer: Twenty-fifth Anniversary as the President of Colby Junior College, New London, 1947, contains pictures of these twelve individuals and the texts of their tributes.
34The best summary of the 1947 celebration is in the Colby Junior College Bulletin, May, 1947.
35Two important monographs dealing with these matters are W. H. Thompson, A Follow-Up Study of the Secretarial Science Graduates of Colby Junior College, 1931-1938, New London, 1939, and Evangeline Markwick, Training Medical Secretaries in Junior Colleges, New London, 1944. Note also a feature article in the Boston Globe, February 20, 1949, and another in Senior Prom, June, 1950, pp. 44-46, 53-54.
36The published reports of these field trips were as follows: Report of the Seminar and Field Trip Through the Southern States, Second Semester, 1939, New London, 1939; Report of the Survey Project, 1939- 1940, The Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region of New Hampshire, New London, 1940; Report of the Survey Project, 1940-1941, The New London Area of New Hampshire, New London, 1941; Report of the Survey Project, 1941-1942, New Hampshire in a War Economy, New London, 1942; Re- port of the Survey Project, 1942-1943, Observations in New Hampshire about Wartime and Postwar Adjustments, New London, 1943; Report of the Survey Project, 1943-1944, Post-War Planning in New London. New London, 1944; Report of the Survey Project, 1944-1945, A Report on Three Hundred Alumnae, Representative of Colby Junior College, New London, 1945; Report of the Survey Project, 1945-1946, What's Ahead for New Hampshire, New London, 1946; Report of the Survey Project, 1946-1947, A Summary of the Field Trip Through the Hudson River Valley and the City of New York, New London, 1947; and Report of the Survey Project, 1947-1948, A Report of the Field Trip Through the State of Vermont and the City of Montreal, New London, 1948.
37 Colby Junior College Alumnae Directory, New London, 1948, pp. 80- 92. The first Twentieth alumnae reunion in the history of Colby occurred in 1950 when the original College graduating class of 1930 was honored at Commencement.
38A related project was the annual Book Fair, held at Colby in con- nection with the annual recurrence of National Book Week each autumn.
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Colby's librarians were active in professional library circles; note, for instance, the affiliations of Miss Frances Meals as listed in the President's Report to the Board of Trustees of Colby Junior College for Women, 1948-1949, New London, 1949, p. 22.
39For all these reasons, no doubt, Elmer Jenkins, ed., Guide to America: A Treasury of Information about its States, Cities, Parks and Historical Points of Interest, Washington, 1948, p. 375, included the fol- lowing entry for New London: "Pop. 1039, the seat of Colby Junior College for Women."
40In the spring of 1950 Colby activities twice appeared on a national television program, "The Camel Caravan." Through the years, beginning with the centennial broadcast over WRUL in Boston in April, 1937, Colby faculty and students frequently appeared on the radio, usually from Concord or Manchester, N. H. The AP often used articles about Colby, as did the metropolitan press.
41See Herbert G. Jones, Portland Ships are Good Ships, Portland, Maine, 1945, pp. 71, 92E, 97. The ship went all over the world during the closing months of World War II. After V-J Day, the SS SUSAN COLBY was taken over by the Moore McCormack Lines Inc., decom- missioned, and tied up in Virginia, where it still was berthed in 1950.
42These Summer Forum sessions were under the direction of Dr. Squires, Chairman of the Department of Social Studies. In 1942 there were eight speakers; in 1943, nine; and in the ensuing four years six each summer. Among the forty-one guests of the College at these Forum sessions from 1942-1947 inclusive were Edwin L. Neville, one-time U.S. Minister to Thailand; Hanson W. Baldwin, military critic of the New York Times; Dean Luther A. Weigle of Yale, President of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America; Henry I. Harriman, past presi- dent of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce; Bradley M. Dewey of the War Production Board; Manley O. Hudson, American judge on the Permanent Court of International Justice; Samuel Flagg Bemis, Professor of History at Yale University; Laurence F. Whittemore, then President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; and such notable women as Sarah Wambaugh, Miriam Van Waters, Dorothy Kenyon, and Vivien Kellems.
43The 1950 program for the Gordon Research Conference at Colby was given complete in Chemical and Engineering News, March 27, 1950, pp. 1047-1052.
44Wayne K. Wheeler to the writer, April 17, 1950. An earlier study of this nature was publicized in Neighborhood Exchange, May 17, 1948.
45 Located in the northeast section of the Town, the Colby Nature Sanctuary is an ideal place for picnics, bird study, and botanical ob- servation. A register kept there during the summer of 1948 showed more than two hundred visitors.
46The Speaker, April, 1940, tells the plans for the first summer's camp.
47The work of the Colby Weather Bureau is finely set forth in a feature article in the Boston Post, March 6, 1949.
48 Perhaps with some such thought in mind President James Bryant Conant of Harvard University in a significant address on January 12, 1950, called for a great expansion of two-year colleges in the United States; New York Times, January 13, 1950. See also Jesse P. Bogue, The Com- munity College, New York, 1950.
11
Mental Stimulations Throughout Half a Century
My major hope is that the local American community will grow in cultural self-sufficiency ... It is high time we started a program of deliberate cultivation of community life. We must admit that much of our thinking and feeling has been delegated to others by the domination of chain newspapers, broadcasting syndicates, and movie theaters. As one contribution to maintain- ing the dignity of the individual in this earthly colony of two thousand million fairly similar people, the small community, I hope, will continue to live and think and play to itself."
- Harlow Shapley
1. The New London Public Library
In a study made shortly after World War II, the New London Public Library met all standards expected of a com- munity library in towns of 3,000 or more population. Since this was a total more than twice the census figure of 1950, it is clear that the New London Public Library represented a remarkable civic institution.1 The story of its twentieth century growth is worthy of note.
The status of the New London Public Library in 1900 has been set forth in Chapter One. Town appropriations for library purposes that year totalled $100. The library was located in a room in the Grange Hall. Miss Emma Bartlett, a quiet but thoroughly competent woman, acted as librarian,
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a post she retained until 1919.2 In 1907 the New London Public Library was moved to quarters in the new school building erected that year on Colby Hill (on the site across from the Market Basket in 1950). The furnishings of the new rooms were given jointly by John D. Quackenbos, Amos H. and Sherman L. Whipple, E. W. Converse, and Mrs. Jane A. Tracy. In that year Town appropriations for the Library had risen to $200, and devoted friends of the institution like Mrs. Tracy and Mrs. Macomber gave generously of money and time to augment the public support. The Library was opened three afternoons and three evenings each week.
Following World War I extensive developments occurred in the New London Public Library. Miss Bartlett resigned in 1919, and Mrs. Allie J. Sargent was appointed as successor.3 Special efforts were made to interest New London's youth in good books. Annual reading contests were initiated, and a case of books was sent each week to Elkins for use of the youngsters in that village.4 By 1924 the Town was appropriating $400 annually, and the librarian's salary had risen to $199 a year. In 1926 Mrs. Tracy brought to reality a long-cherished aspira- tion. Earlier she had purchased the old Morgan homestead at the Four Corners of the Town; but, as indicated in Chapter Seven this had been used as the Hospital until 1923. Following the removal of the New London Hospital to its new quarters, Mrs. Tracy carried out extensive renovations in the old build- ing, transforming it into one of the finest small-town libraries in the United States.
At the Town Meeting of March, 1926, the voters received a deed for the Tracy Memorial Building, wherein the library would henceforth be housed. In a special Town Meeting in December, the voters thankfully accepted from Mrs. Tracy a $125,000 gift-in-trust for the maintenance of the new building and the library facilities.5 Mrs. Tracy retained a Boston architect to plan for the reconstructed building, and saw to it that the furnishings were of the finest materials. The new building was dedicated on October 3, 1926, with Miss Mildred J. Peaslee of Franklin as librarian." From the beginning the
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Tracy Memorial Building provided much more than quarters for books and magazines. It included a small but delightful auditorium capable of seating a hundred people, with a bal- cony for picture projection. The basement contained kitchen and dining facilities, and a fireproof vault with safety-boxes for rental to citizens of the Town. The book-stacks were like- wise fireproof, and were two stories in height. The second floor of the building contained a children's room and a well furnished committee room. The grounds about the structure were carefully landscaped, with a lily pool, terraces, and comfortable chairs in shady corners for summertime use.
The New London Public Library in its new quarters became a community center for all manner of activities. Mrs. Tracy's kindness in bringing Musician Alfred G. Plumpton to Town has already been noted in Chapter Six. In 1926 the Town's first outdoor Christmas tree was displayed on the Library grounds. The next year the little folks were thrilled to see Santa Claus climbing out of the big chimney on the end of the building. Many of the Town's organizations made the Tracy Memorial Building their regular place of meeting. Social affairs were facilitated by its fine provision for entertain- ing. From time to time art exhibits graced the auditorium. Members of the College faculty gave courses in such diverse subjects as commercial law, psychology, painting, and music. Melville Robbins, for many years the efficient custodian of the building, offered instruction in manual training. Mrs. Tracy, whose travels encircled the globe, on more than one occasion presented a stereopticon lecture on her journeys to far places. In addition to all these endeavors, the annual report of the librarian showed a gratifying circulation of books and patron- age of the building.7
In the second decade of the new building, however, signi- ficant developments occurred. While the Library still served as a community center, and while its facilities continued un- altered, the financial and legal arrangements for its support varied. In 1937 the Selectmen were authorized to reconvey the building back to Mrs. Tracy on the condition that, if it ever
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ceased to be used as a free public library, it would revert to the Town. In the autumn of 1944 Mrs. Tracy died. At the next Town Meeting, the voters appropriated $1,000 for legal coun- sel in an effort to protect New London's interest in her estate. The final disposition of the matter was not made until April, 1951. Meantime, the Town itself, cut off entirely from the long-time support of Mrs. Tracy, had to appropriate more funds from its own resources to maintain the Library. In 1950 the article as voted authorized a grant of $4,500 for the year.
Among the valued possessions of the New London Public Library at mid-century were the portrait of Dr. Anna S. Little- field referred to in Chapter Seven; the portrait of the Rev. Ira M. Baird; a facsimile of the U. S. Constitution presented by Mr. and Mrs. Herbert D. Swift; the original "Social Library" of the Town, already described; a copy of one among the seventy-seven groups designed by the noted American sculptor, John Rogers, between 1860-1893;8 a unique collec- tion of materials on New London Town history, including the multi-volume manuscript diary of the Rev. Job Seamans, New London's first minister; a scrapbook of data on the war- time record of all sons and daughters of New London covering the years from 1941 to 1945; and an up-to-date collection of books and periodicals. Those who have visited the building and the grounds, either on a sunny afternoon in the summer- time, or on a below-zero day in the midst of winter, share the same impression: the New London Public Library is one of the fine small-town libraries of the nation. Of that feeling every citizen and visitor to the Town can justly be proud.º
2. The New London Forum and the "Ask Me Another" Series
Two of the most characteristic intellectual movements of the United States during the 1930's were the tremendous de- velopment of adult education projects and "quiz programs" on the radio. As has so often been true in the history of New London, the Town witnessed a local application of both these nation-wide trends.
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In the winter of 1933-1934 the New London Forum was founded by Dr. Royce S. Pitkin, Headmaster of the New London High School, and Dr. J. Duane Squires of the College faculty. Beginning that year in a small way, it offered a series of ten Monday evening discussion meetings at the Tracy Memorial Building on the general theme, "An Introduction to American Civilization Today." The two founders alter- nated in presenting the topics, and from an initial attendance of a dozen persons those interested increased in numbers until by the end of the course thirty were regularly present. The next year the Forum offered a series of panel discussions on four topics: (1) "Is the New Deal a Success?"; "The World Court"; "Will the Progressives Make a Third Party?"; and "The Munitions Investigation of the U. S. Senate." Again, popular interest ran high and attendance at the sessions was excellent.
As the years slipped by during the later 1930's, the New London Forum became a regular institution on each Monday night of the winter months. It was widely known throughout New Hampshire, and was listed by the U. S. Office of Educa- tion as one of the leading small-town, adult education move- ments in the nation.10 In its third season, 1935-1936, it featured twenty meetings from November to April on the broad fields of current events, modern education, literature, and science. Headmaster Harold Truell, successor to Dr. Pitkin in the New London High School supported the project as heartily as had his predecessor, and many members of the College faculty took part. The fourth and fifth seasons, those of 1936- 1937 and 1937-1938, saw the Forum building up new mo- mentum, and offering the community fifteen programs each year. In the sixth season, Headmaster Albert I. Oliver, carry- ing on after Mr. Truell left, joined in sponsoring the Forum. Among the topics that year were such prescient themes as "Un- employment and Old-Age Security"; "American Policy To- ward the World"; and "Group Medicine." By 1939-1940 World War II was in full swing and Franklin D. Roosevelt was ob- viously preparing to run for a third term. The Forum that
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year emphasized the issues of the wars in Europe and in Asia, and domestic political problems. Its eighth season, 1940-1941, saw the same themes stressed in a series of earnest panel meet- ings, featuring prepared talks by seventeen persons.
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