Davidson will be getting a new movie theater in 2010 – 95 years after the first films were shown in Davidson and 55 years since the last theater burned.
Compulsory Thanksgiving – A most preposterous thing?
The December 1895 issue of the Davidson Monthly contains an editorial protesting required attendance for a Thanksgiving service. After noting that a survey the year before had revealed 78% of the student body opposed compulsory attendance for religious services, the editorial defended daily chapel before going on to declare, ” A most preposterous things it is, to try to make a man thankful when he is not, and equally as preposterous, if he is thankful to make him declare his thankfulness in a way he would not.” and “evidently if thanksgiving be under constraint, it is no longer thanksgiving, but a mockery and a sham.” (click on the image for the full editorial).
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WWI, Veteran’s Day, & Davidson College
Davidson’s connection to Veteran’s Day comes in two ways. First, it was President Woodrow Wilson (Class of 1877) who signed the proclamation establishing November 11, 1919 as the first Armistice Day. The date celebrates the signing of the treaty ending World War I. Davidson College’s involvement in the war was limited but had long-term effects.
Bringing Color to Davidson
It’s November and the trees on campus are still full of glorious color – reds and golds flashing against blue (and sometimes) gray skies. But this week, we’re talking about a different kind of color in support of the Alumni Redefining Davidson: A Celebration of Diversity weekend events.
Love in the Archives
As an archivist, I can’t resist that title and I hope others will find it appealing as well– as it is the title of a lecture by David Cecelski being co-sponsored by the History Department and College Archives (Monday, September 28th at 4:30pm in Hance Auditorium.) The full title is Love in the Archives: the Search for Abraham Galloway–Slave, Abolitionist, Union Spy – and both the story of Galloway and the research journey to uncover his life are fascinating.
If you enjoy the History Detective type programs, you’ll enjoy this talk. And if you’d like to see original documents from Davidson College from the 1860s and 1870s, we’ll have some on display.
Perplexing Pledge
A recent donation brought in materials from students in the classes of 1872 and 1886. Along with the usual speeches and college publications was one very unusual item.
Road trip
The semester is almost over, and all students are preparing to for the final exams. No students more so then the seniors, who must finish their exams by Monday May 11th. The period between the end of senior exams and their graduation is now known at Davidson as “beach week” and is a time for seniors to hit the beach or have other types of fun.
80+ years ago Davidson College seniors felt the same urge to get away. The Davidson College Archives is fortunate to have photographs from a trip made by 4 seniors in 1923 when they toured the United States after graduation in a Model T named the “Sally Ann.”
Colleges are tolerable extravagant places
Student letters asking for money have become a great source of jokes, but it wasn’t always a laughing matter for strapped students.
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