Student housing

In a letter dated March 1, 1922, Mary Dubson writes on behalf of the Women's Student Government to thank President Morgan for improvements to Metzger Hall and Denny Hall. Dubson wrote that President Morgan's "kindness and interest" was much appreciated.

This is a "Notice of Social Event Form" for Metzger Hall. One had to fill in the type of social event, time, day, number of people, character of the event, names of chaperons, and the committee in charge.

This document lists the names and addresses of women who lived in Metzger Hall during the 1920-1921 school year. The list includes Names and home addresses. The women come from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey.

This document lists the last  names of 88 women who lived in Metzger Hall. The date of the document is unknown.

This document lists the names and addresses of thirty women who lived in Metzger Hall in 1924. The list includes names and home addresses. The women came from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey.

In his letter dated September 29, 1920, President Morgan responded to a complaint mad by S. Louise de Vilaine, instructor of French and House Mother at Metzger Hall. According to the letter, de Vilaine believed President Morgan's decision to not promote her to a a full professor was unfair. President Morgan took offense to this and told de Vilaine to remain calm and explained his stance.

After accepting the position as both house mother and instructor at Dickinson College, S. Louise de Vilaine wrote to President Morgan and expressed her disappointment. She wrote, "I accept your offer although it is not as generous as I had expected. My work is worth more and still count on your raising it to $1400 before the year is over."

In a letter dated June 28, 1919, S. Louise de Vilaine, a French instructor at Dickinson College, accepts the house mother position at Metzger Hall. She wrote President Morgan requesting more information regarding the position, house rules, her teaching agenda, and whether or not she will recieve room and board.

On August 4, 1927, President Morgan responded to Frances Janney's letter requesting the name of the local woman who lives accross the street from Metzger Hall and boards female students. He explained that the woman's name was Mrs. J. W. Wetzel and she lived on North Hanover Street. He explained that with the college's recommendation, Mrs. Wetzel should accept Janney.

In August of 1927, a student named Frances A. Janney wrote to President Morgan requesting the name of a woman she could baord with in town. According to Janney, the woman lived accross from Metzger Hall and often takes in female boarders. The woman was recommended by Dean Meredith, the Dean of Women at the time.

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:

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.

Telephone usage was only allowed during specified times during the day. The only phone in Metzger Hall was located in the Dean of Women's office.

Construction finished, Drayer Hall's first residents move in and Drayer becomes Dickinson's first dorm built just for women.

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

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.

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.

Tardiness required suitable excuses or punishments were inevitable! This is report to the House Council in Barbara Wishmeyer's (the Dean of Women) Scrapbook for Zelda Clutch on January 4th, 1963. She was 5 minutes late on this Friday night for curfew because she had an argument with her date.

The only foreign student at Dickinson during the 1962-3 year was Hsiao Mei Tsou from Singapore. She remarks in this article on the differences between America and Singapore, most notably that girls never talked to boys back home. Very studious, she works often in the library but wishes that it were open later, but finds the Dickinson students very helpful. In Singapore, about half of children go to school and even less complete post secondary education. Hsaio loves the United States and thinks she wants to stay after graduation.

"Suggestions Considered Requisite by the Students of Dickinson College For the Improvement of the College," labelled the "Atrocity Sheet Circulated by Dickinson Students" in Marion Bell's 1941-1946 Scrapbook lists many student complaints including those against Dickinson's food, service, and need for a President, but most notable are those against the Women's Dean, Dean Josephine Meredith.

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.