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.)

Another mode of transportation (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 image in her scrapbook from her college years. 

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. 

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

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.  

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, the last full year classes were held there. 

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.