Photos through the Decades at Meredith College: 1920s

According to the yearbook editors, senior Mary Fisher White "loves to talk" (Oak Leaves, 1920.)

Five young women relaxing in a dorm room. They are wearing mob caps to protect their hair and dressing gowns in which they can relax (1920.)

A student paints outdoors (Oak Leaves, 1920.)

An annual tradition for many years was "Sophomore Night Off" - which often coincided with Halloween. The Class of 1922 commemorated their day with a photo for the 1920 Oak Leaves. 

Students on horseback pose in front of Main Building (Oak Leaves, 1920.)

A group of students study together, possibly in one of the society halls (Oak Leaves,1920.)

A view in the library of the downtown campus. When the campus opened in 1899, there was no library; students were expected to use the nearby public library. But gifts from benefactors soon began to fill the shelves with suitable volumes (Oak Leaves, 1920.)

Students hike during their participation in a Baptist conference in the mountains of North Carolina.

Packed for travel during the early 1920s. 

Chemistry Club (Oak Leaves, 1922.)

A pair of Sophomores (Oak Leaves, 1923.)

Vera Milton (right) saved this 1923-24 snapshot in her college scrapbook. 

A celebratory school barbecue on the grounds of the future campus, remembered in the 1923 yearbook.

To see the image in the yearbook (where it can be enlarged), go to: 1923 Oak Leaves, pg. 90, "Barbeque Memories"

The "Most Stylish" senior of 1923 boldly poses in a coat with a fur-trimmed collar and cuffs and a cloche hat. 

Relaxing with friends on the old campus. 

An image from Vera Pearl Milton's scrapbook, now in the Archives. As a member of the Class of 1925, Milton was in the last class to graduate from the downtown campus. Here, her friends demonstrate behavior discouraged by college administrators - hanging outside a window and potentially attracting the attention of the passing townspeople.  

The Walking Clubs of the 1920s were likely holdovers of the military-inspired walking "companies" during WWI and the flu epidemic (Oak Leaves, 1924.)

Posing on the downtown campus grounds. 

A tradition on the downtown campus was the annual painting of the Sophomore class numbers. The sophomore men from "N.C.S." (North Carolina State) would paint the year on the street and then would engage in an exchange of cheers and shouts.The painting took place in September 1925 and this collage was printed in the 1926 Oak Leaves.

In January 1926, the school moved to its new location - and an immediate rivalry broke out when the men of Wake Forest made a move to paint the water tank with those same Sophomore numbers - " '28." The Sophomores were thrilled, according to the newspaper account - especially since this time it was their "own brothers from Wake Forest... come to make their debut in painting the Sophomore numerals," Unfortunately, the escapade came to the end when President Brewer revealed that the State men had already asked and received permission to repeat their tribute. So, for now, the numbers in gold and black were painted over. For a couple years, it is unclear where the painting took place, but according the reporting in the Twig, the two colleges, State and Wake Forest, were celebrated in March 1929 for sharing space on the water tower tank. 

Visiting the new campus under construction (1924-25), a student poses with a wheelbarrow.

One of the "Freshman Snaps" from the 1924-1925 Oak Leaves - members of the Class of 1928 pose on the lawn of the old downtown campus.  

Snow on the long driveway into the new campus (1927.)

Two rather bold looks from the 1927 Oak Leaves. 

For several years, the Friday of the State Fair was a school holiday listed in the Student Handbook. This student holds a poster from the 1928 fair.