Residence halls

In the subsection entitled "Women's Quarters at Denny Hall," Meredith gives us an insight to how rooms on the college grounds enabled day students (town students ?), commuters, and boarders to take advantage of the time spent on campus.
 
Located in the basement, the women's quarters at Denny Hall consisted of: a small washing room, a toilet, a small kichenette, and a rest room. Although she mentions that the rooms were clearly makeshift, she also says that they were comfortable and in good condition.

The subsection entitled "Metzger Hall," in Dean Meredith's historical account of women at Dickinson,  gives a general overview of the physical layout of the building. This subsection is followed by  another, more detailed account of specific rooms, their inadecuacies, shortcomings and some scattered suggestions for improvement.
 

In her essay, "History of Women at Dickinson," Dean of Women Josephine Meredith included a section entitled: "Value of Types." In it Meredith defines three types of students that attended Dickinson College. The description of each type briefly accounts for the value each group brought to the campus.

 
Types of Students:

Biddle House was formerly the home of Edward W. Biddle, a Dickinson College alumnus and trustee. The building was purchased by the college on December 14, 1946 for about $25,000. The first use of it was as a women's dormitory in the 1940s.

The December 1957 issue of the Dickinson Alumnus documents the college's acquisition of Mathew's House for the use as a women's dormitory. Mathews House was the home of Col. Philip Mathews and his sister, Anne. The house would provide rooms for 26 female students. Mathews House would be the fourth small residence for women, along with Gibbs, Biddle and McIntire Houses.

The Sentinel newspaper in 1962 documented the progress of the building of the new women's dorm, Adams Hall, at the ground breaking ceremony. The newspaper mentions that the 125-room dorm will cost around $850,000 and is to be completed by August 1963. Among the people involved in the ceremony was the dean of women, Barbara Wishmeyer, as well as three students from the women's dormitory committee.

This memo outlines the cost of furnishing a female student's room in Drayer Hall. Interesting to note that in addition to a bed, mattress, a chair with desk, female students also had the use of an arm chair, two lamps, a waste basket and a pillow! The total cost is $253.60, which in 1952 had the same (2009) buying power as 2046.56 US dollars.

In a pamphlet with photographs and information about the new women's dormitory, Drayer Hall, the floor plan for each floor of the building is included.  Among the four story dorm's features include multiple lounges, a parlor, a dining area, infirmary, laundry rooms, among other features, and could house 125 students in double and single rooms.

Drayer Hall, the first major building built by the college on the Benjamin Rush campus, was also the first building to be constructed with the women of the college in mind.  An unidentified newspaper clipping anticipates a successful celebration for the dedication of the women's dormitory.  The "celebration will be the first in the long history of the college arranged entirely for honoring Dickinson women."  The Women's Day festivities include high ranking guest speakers, a luncheon, the distribution of honorary degrees to "eight outstanding women" by co-ed student sponsors, and tours of th

Written by Martha Slotten, this history of Metzger explains the building's early beginnings as a Prep School for Girls. After Drayer was built in the early 1950s, only freshman girls lived in Metzger until it was sold in 1963 and later dismantled. The completion of Drayer offered a local housing option for female students who would no longer have to walk many blocks to classes.

Drayer Hall postcard advertising Dickinson College's all female residence, closer to campus than any prior female housing.

Drayer Hall is planned as Dickinson College's first purpose-built all female dorm on South College St.

Historical sign regarding Metzger Hall, a women's dormitory. "Metzger Hall: One of the Dormitories of Dickinson College, Erected in 1881 as the Metzger Institute, By the bequest of George Metzer of the Class of 1798.
Karen Barrowclough '66
Ruth Ann Dorfler
Mary Nolan
Priscilla Hinebaugh '66
Kim Larsen '66

Female students sunbathe outside behind Metzger Hall in May 1963, relaxing or perhaps studying. Swimsuits showing lots of leg obviously in style!

From the Wishmeyer scrapbook, this schedule of meals includes etiquette regarding when to say or sing Grace before meals, seating assignments, and dress code. All meals are family style and occur at specific times throughout the day, much unlike our modern cafeteria meal plans today.

Kim Larsen (Class of 66) returns indoors through a Metzger Hall window after being serenaded by a male student outside.

Jackie Jackson (Class of 1964) of Metzger Hall rushes to kill a bug that has found its way inside.

Kim Larsen (Class of 1966) and Sally Stevenson (Class of 1966) of Metzger Hall in its final years study for Spring semester courses.

An article from The Evening Sentinal on Feb. 8, 1962 announces the groundbreaking of a new women's dorm to be built on South College St. It was scheduled to be finished by August 1963 for the new academic year. It would have 125 rooms and would cost $850,000.

Included in Marion Bell's scrapbook is a song composed by the Metzger Girls about their Dean, Josephine Meredith:
I.
"We are the girls from old Metzger Hall,
We might as well be within prison walls,
For the "Creep" is always there,
Lurking behind each door and chair,
She never laughs and she never smiles,
She disapproves of us and our styles,
As we girls go screaming by
She utters with a sigh:
"Nice girls don't scream."
II.
In Metzger Hall we ain't got no mice,

Found in Marion Bell's personal scrapbook from her years at Dickinson College (1941-46), this document of six pages outlines female regulations in dress and socialization in games, bars, dancing, and dining, with a special section regarding social possibilities on Sundays. It also includes rules regarding curfews, tardiness, noise disturbances, and distinctions between freshman women and upperclassmen not "on rules- those having a 75 average." It even provides a section for transfer students.

Circa 1942, The Metzger Council divided itself into three new councils in addition to a fire drill committee to better provide for Dickinson's female students. A fire drill committee was created of Helen Kretchmar, Arline Mills, Nancy Tatnall, and Nancy Person in which regular drills would be planned.

This letter, dated September 5, 1945, was written by Esther Popel Shaw, the first African American female graduate of Dickinson College 1919, to Mr. Boyd Lee Spahr of the Board of Trustees. Writing from her post at the National Association of College Women, Esther Popel Shaw defends herself and her race against Spahr's "apparent lack of awareness of what constitutes acceptable designations when racial references are involved" as well as racial injustice when it comes to college housing for African American students.

In her "Women as Leaders" survey, Lynn Voss of the class of 1961 describes the living conditions for the women while she studied at Dickinson. She felt they were "excellent, with variety available." The women had meals served to them, along with tablecloths, proper "dressing" for meals, etc. Lynn Voss called mealtime "an oasis with close friends twice a day."

According to an article in The Dickinsonian entitled "WIC Revises Dorm Rules for Freshmen," the Women's Interdormitory Council voted to extended freshmen women's curfew to 11:30pm Sunday through Thursday. Freshmen women, reports the article, had complained that it was difficult--nay, nearly impossible--to return from Mermaid Players rehearsal, see a late movie, or go to the snack bar if they needed to return to their dorms by 11pm.

An article by Diane Voneida in The Dickinsonian, "Women Dormitory Residents Vote to Accept Honor Code," explains that over 89 percent of freshman, sophomore, and junior women voted in favor of adopting the honor code at dormitory meetings. The dean of women, Barbara Wishmeyer, approved of the students' decisions, thinking that it would create a more healthy attitude and atmosphere on campus. Under this code, women could appeal rules they thought unfair rather than disobeying them outright. The code also required personal responsibility from each woman for her own behavior.

Dickinson College planned to replace Metzger Hall, former home of the co-eds, with the new women's dormitory at the start of the Fall quarter. The building could house 168 women and would have 77 double rooms, 8 single rooms, and two triples. The dormitory had a center core of bathrooms and laundry facilities; rooms were equipped with built-in desks and bulletin boards along the side wall.

The Dickinsonian began a series of illustrations meant to function as a coloring book. In one of these illustrations, a woman in a tight skirt leans against a wall and appears to be either bored or asleep. The caption beneath this illustration indicates how Dickinson students may have felt about the rules and regulations governing female students: "This is a Dickinson Coed. The college protects her virtue with many rules and regulations. Color her bored."

An article in The Dickinsonian explained that construction on the new women's dormitory was ahead of schedule and was expected to be ready for the next year's class. Ground-breaking for the new dormitory took place on February 8, 1962, and the administration chalked up the early completion to good summer weather and the work of the construction company. The residence hall would have 125 rooms, suites for two house mothers, an air-conditioned recreation room, and a dining hall for 250 people. A federal loan and college funds would pay for the project.

An article in The Dickinsonian, "New Social Rules Changes Result from SREC Efforts," explained some of the changes adopted that the Social Rules Evaluation Committee proposed, including unchaperoned visiting hours for women in fraternity houses as well as more permissive visiting policies for men in sorority houses. The SREC's proposals also resulted in increased late hours and car privileges for upperclass women with a minimum grade point average.