
Send to mother.
Mother send to me as I am not going to write up my diary. Ill just stick this in Return pictures and program. Glad Fayth sent such good reports. Try for brown dotted stuff again.
Wednesday May 11, 1921
Dearest Marion,
At last the strenuous weekend is over and my elocution speech too. Really, I haven't written a letter in

so long I don't feel at all natural doing it. I have no idea when I wrote last and have not been keeping up my diary so hardly know where to begin first. Guess I'll begin with yesterday and go backwards. Last night I went to three one act Boar Head plays written by Syracusans. They were awfully good. One by Emily Lamb, another more or less of a detective story in which there is a woman who can hear and see, but cannot move a muscle of her body except her fingers. She reveals the murders by scratching with her nails the Morris code. She was in bed and it was the spookiest thing. O'Donnel wrote that one. I went with Wallhart, an SB, and a person whom Aunt Emma praised to the skies. He came over to see me last Saturday afternoon. Very fine fellow.
Yesterday afternoon I gave a real swell spiel over 8 minutes on S. U. Afterwards I went up to the house. Dottie was having the most terrible pessimistic time in Hat’s room. Every man she has asked to the formal can't come. She's afraid she'll get some old raspberry and is perfectly killing. Hattie is going to Dartmouth after the formal. She's having a new dress made for that. Orange georgette crepe with zigzags on the bottom of it. So I am going to wear her dress that I wore to the SC formal. It is darling and I am crazy about it. Wonderful shade of old rose georgette crepe over pink satin skirt. Full panels of rose georgette crepe with gold figures on sides that are sewed to edge of skirt so puff haram effect there. Long waisted. “Immensely” wide gold cloth girdle with tails on right side below the skirt. The waist part is of the figured like this and soft.[diagram] There is a tight straight piece that goes under it and the little V piece is gold cloth. I have gold pumps to go with it.
I just adore Hat and she is always wonderful to me. Yesterday morning I slept until time for my 10:00 o'clock. Went to hear Mr. Clauson on “The Main Street Mind”. You want to read the book. I have. He preached a sermon on “the Baptist Church on M. S.” He says M. S. is a state of mind bounded on one side by self content and on the other, by suspicion of anything that is different. Monday night I worked on my speech and went to bed at 10:30.
Sunday night up at the House, most everyone was out riding or picnicking, so we picked up our own lunch, lettuce, tomato, olives and salmon sandwiches and cake the result. Sunday AM as I got out of bed, I had a nosebleed. It did not bleed hard nor long, but did not completely stop until after dinner. At 2:25 I called up and found Louise’s train went at 3:05. We fired her things in and Glad took her to the station. Grace had a darling friend here from New York to who went at the same time.
Saturday night, the kids went to the play “Adam and Eva.” I went to the big Regatta dance in the gym with Bob. It was so crowded. They had two orchestras, one upstairs and one down. Saturday PM. I all spiffed out invite in my little short sleeved organdy waist with a little round collar on it.[diagram here] We all went to the lacrosse game and the track meet. All very good. The parade moving up day was great. I took quite a few pictures and will send them to you. Please return those of the girls. Saturday a.m. I slept right through until it was so late that all the kids had gone to the crew races up at the house. Didn't phase us any, and Louise and I started out alone, but we met some other kids. They were terribly exciting. Imagine the Freshman beating. The Juniors were about two shell lengths ahead of the Seniors. The Freshman about half ahead of Sophs and then the Frosh took over length of Juniors. All day Friday and Sat and nights too, Winchell had a booth on the corner. We took in over $300. Had hot dogs (cooked inside then kept in big pans on grills), popcorn balls, peanuts, ice cream cones, pink lemonade, coffee, lollipops, and fudge. The girls just had to keep making the fudge every minute. Sold it in bars and there seemed to be a great craze for it. I was on the committee, but I'm afraid I wasn't around the booth as much as I ought to have been. I had charge of the posters though, so I wasn't expected to do as much. Friday night was the big affair–in other words the SC formal. it was out at Sedgwich farm and I had a wonderful time. I was the only one that had flowers. Isn't that thrilling? They were the most wonderful sweet peas and just matched my dress wonderfully. Our favors were the cutest black leather belts with silver buckle and SC.
Friday afternoon we kids stayed after the pageant awhile for the Penn Lacrosse game. It was sure exciting, but we had to leave. We had marvelous weather. The pageant was in the stadium with white canvass screens as background. Flora made a wonderful queen. I'll send you the program and you can see how it all was. I was in the Italian dance. We went in, flourishing tambourines, etc. I was in a real cute costume. I'll send pictures.
The track meet was lots of fun. I am going to enter next year. You know very strict rules were laid down about moving update this year, no roughhousing and we had to submit our plans to the seniors for approval. The dirty sophs, after we were so tired out and so many guests in the hall and everything, got us up at 5:45. We had to find 23 pieces of their banner hid in our rooms and put it together. Being as how we were up early, we decided we would go down to May morning breakfast early as we had 8:00 o'clocks. It was wonderful down on the bridge with the sun coming through the trees, everything good as usual and same menu.
The intro class was nice. It was down in teachers college grounds. Our song, music and words were written by a blind girl in Haven. The harmony was beautiful, but we didn't work it up well enough. The Sophs had ukes with their song. We sang Girls! Girls! Girls! there being no other left for us. The Sophs sang “In Those Dear Old College Days”, the Seniors, The Women’s alma mater and the Juniors “2” for her spirit song and formed the “S”. The Seniors were wonderful. Afterwards, the Frosh sang to each class and then we snake danced all the way up Union Rd to the lantern ceremony. We were the only ones who kept together. The lantern ceremony was lovely, but there wasn't the effect of marching all around the stadium and the Juniors just seem to break up after they completed the letters, and when I saw it, the two classes met and sang the alma mater. Couldn't get the effect where they passed them over. People rallyed around hanging together.
That night, after it was over, we sat up and finished our costumes. We felt like doing something desperate when we heard all the Soph and Frosh men out around. So in our night gowns and coats, we went up on the roof and watched the fun. It was definitely understood that that was one thing we were not to do. All morning up plans had to be submitted to a senior and she was responsible. All of us were Frosh that went up except one Senior and Junior procter. The Senior heard us up there and after we got down she called up to the other two and said she knew they were up there. They stayed up there in the dark for about 15 minutes.
Thursday afternoon, Glad, Louise and I went downtown. We bought Louise a coat and I got a marcell. Louise came With Mr. Foster in the am.
I didn't tell you what we did to the Sophs, did I? We had a red plaid table cloth, paper plates, fruit knives, tiny tin spoons, tin cups on their table for dinner. We sent a box of dandelions, fake W.L. notices, fake telegram, and then we had a letter read at dinner with a slam for each one. Also, half the fried cakes on their table were stuffed with cotton.
I guess I've told you most of the important things. Grace Miller, who was bid, but has not decided yet is a peach. Also, I like Joe Hillman’s looks a lot—great big black eyes, straight black bobbed hair, and sort of Indiany complexion.
Everything is going fine in the fraternity. I can't think of anything definite to tell you, and I know that is what you are interested in most. I understand G.S. does not have her pin, but you would never know the difference. I sent the oranges to B and then she sent them to you.
Is Miss E. leaving Millville next year? New girls in N. J. At least some are getting 14 and $15. Edithe Thompson is one I think. I would never stay there if Miss E. is not going to be there.
Your finances are terrible. Can't you do anything? Thanks for your part of initiation for mother is sending balance and money for formal. Why don't you do something about a summer camp right off? I am willing to go to S.B. and if I had only known I was going to be in the ball for sure and think I would have been one to go from here. Lots of love. Bet
Send to mother. Mother sent to me and I am not going to write up my diary, I'll just stick this in. Return pictures and program. Glad Faythe sent such a good report. Try for brown dotted stuff again.

Editor's notes
The Main Street Mind is referenced in the attached piece by Robert W. Frank. This is likely a reference to the book “Main Street” written by Sinclair Lewis and published in 1920
“Marcell” may refer to Marcelling. This is a hair styling technique in which hot curling tongs are used to induce a curl into the hair.
If you're new to this project, please consider going to our site and catching up with a few letters from the 1900-1910 era. The letters only take 3-5 minutes to read and you'll find the characters more fully develop if you read the letters chronologically.
John has excellent handwriting. However, in some instances, I cant decipher it. If I can't, I simply mark the spot with "xxx"s to signify thank the word isn't decipherable.
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