From the Archives

“From the Archives” appears in every issue of the Blue and Grey. On the top is an article from the back issues of he Blue and Grey, and on the bottom is a present analysis from one of our staff reporters. the column highlights the historical value of our publications and links the past to the present.

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby?

Compiled By Carole Benson ’82

The Blue and Grey, March 11, 1982

(No news is good news, right? Wrong.  Not when you’ve got a cannibalistic editor who hides behind the door to the Blue and Grey room, pouncing on unsuspecting reporters as they attempt to slide their late copy under the door without detection.  You guessed it…I was the one who got caught sneaking out of Shriner this week.  So here I sit, chained to a hardback chair with nothing but a warm Tab and an ashtray full of cigarette butts to keep me company.  “Write me a story,” the editor chortled, just before she padlocked the door. “A story about what?” I whimpered. “I don’t care,” she retorted hastily.” Just be creative…,” she added while smashing my head into the keyboard. And before I could so much as cite the Geneva Convention, she was gone, the sound of her hideous laughter still ringing in my ears…)

The bits of news and nonsense which you are about to read were gleaned en toto from back issues of The Blue & Grey.  Truth is indeed stranger than fiction…

Five years ago at Hood…

—March 10, 1977. A large group of Hood students gathered in Coffman Chapel for a “student caucus” in protest of overcrowded campus houses, a sub-standard security force and the proposed elimination of Hood’s riding program. Students issued demands for improved health and food services, and for the implementation of a Black Studies program and a campus women’s center. The lack of communication between students and the administration was also discussed. On March 14, Dr. Church held an all-campus meeting to discuss these and other issues with students and faculty members.

—March 1, 1977. A group of interested students had begun to explore the possibility of starting a radio station on the Hood campus.  Kirkley Beal, student chair of the committee, stated that a radio station would be a means of improving communication between students and the administration, and cutting down on the cost of advertising on-campus events, and would create jobs and internships for communications majors and other students.

—March 17, 1977. The Frederick News-Post reported on recently disclosed germ warfare activities at Fort Detrick.  It was further announced that Hood College contributed to the germ warfare program through subcontracts.

Fifteen years ago at Hood…

—March 10, 1967. The Handbook committee proposed the revision of a variety of social rules. Under the new rules, students over the age of 21 would be permitted to consume alcoholic beverages…off campus. However, Hood girls would still be subject to the double reporting system “if found to be under the obvious influence of alcohol.” It was also recommended that “over-cutting chapel” be removed from the list of punishable house council offenses, and the College found that it could no longer require students to wear skirts while walking through the Frederick business district.  Smoking privileges were to be extended to allow students to smoke in the lobby and stairwells of Tatem, the coffeehouse, Hodson outdoor theatre, and in faculty offices (with the permission of the faculty member, or course.) But as one member of the administration commented, “Students should continue to use discretion when smoking off campus.”

Thirty years ago… (you think mixers get dull?!)

—March 14, 1952. The class of 1952 announced its plans to hold a St. Patrick’s Day card party to benefit the senior class fund. The party, to be held in Gambrill Gymnasium, was to feature musical entertainment by the Hood College Octet. Door prizes to be awarded included dusting mitts, ashtrays, and several sets of salt and pepper shakers.

—March, 1952.  The Riding Club announced its plans to sponsor a square dance in Gambrill Gym. “Blind dates from the University of Maryland and Camp Detrick will be arranged by Grace Santleman ’54.

Forty years ago at Hood… (Oh, my brilliant career…)

—March 6, 1942. Student air raid wardens visited Edgewood Arsenal and watched a demonstration of bombs being made and used.  At the same time, and all-campus survey indicated that the majority of students felt that Hood should continue its four year plans of study despite the immediate need for civilian defense workers.

—March 6, 1942.

“STUDENTS REVEAL INTERESTING REASONS FOR DESIRING TO BECOME FUTURE TYPISTS.

Have you ever stopped to think why you are taking typing? Although those persistent typists who plug away so energetically in the typing class do so because they find it a help in typing that term paper or have hopes of a summer job, these are by no means the only reasons. For instance, Anne Pearce would like to know what it is like to sit on a businessman’s knee. Likewise, Peg Traver would like to be a Laplander this summer. Nan Newman likes the tinkle of the little bell at the end of the line. Phyl Stover wants to type as well as her roommate (so her roommate insists!)

On the serious side, Ann Snyder says that a college degree means little to a business man without the ability to type. Dilly has to type many, many term papers and is tired of looking at the keys. Ada Anderson things it may help her have beautiful hands. Phyl Green considers typing an inexpensive way to spend Friday evenings. Tony Dye is learning typing so that she can help her husband, and she added, “That is, when I find one!”

From the Present

By Andrea Haines

Once again I am barricaded in the library, frantically searching for an interesting tidbit from Hood’s past as the deadline got further and further away (sadly this doesn’t mean a magical extension, but instead signifies that I had procrastinated to the point of lateness).

In this age of email, it is all too easy to track exactly when an article is submitted, so for time’s sake and a lack of the perfect inspiring article, I give you … wait for it…a “From the Archives” within a “From the Archives.”   Today, as I poured through old articles, I found several interesting articles, but none with enough substance to base an article around or with a subject that could possibly break through writer’s block.

For example, I learned about a spontaneous streaking event that occurred on the quad, and about a “riot” that was really more of a silent protest.  There were political commentaries and press releases about important instances in the history of Hood, but nothing really motivating, until I came to an article that exactly described my predicament (and conveniently contained a list of interesting instances of Hood College’s history).

This article was written roughly 30 years ago and pulls from articles that were published in the month of March between 35 and 70 years ago.  My predecessor to the position of archive analyst extraordinaire (at least that’s what I like to call my current role), Carole Benson, chose articles that demonstrated how far Hood has come, and these articles are even more effective today.

For example, blazer radio has long been established, prizes at Hood events have evolved to game systems and electronics, social events are about as far from a square dance as you can get, and typewriters are thankfully no longer necessary to write a paper.  Having never thought about it before, I realized how glad I am that every line I type is not announced with the sound of a typewriter bell. -ding–