Page:Shimer College History 1853-1950.pdf/10

 stories, school and alumni news as well as ads, many of which played up the good points of the sewing machines, pianos, organs and other musical instruments Mrs. Shimer sold on commission to replenish the exchequer.

In the closing years of the Seminary a lively German Club made its bow and put on some delightful programs.

The forerunner of the present Shimer Alumni Association was the Reunion Society, founded in 1859, which presented an alumni program followed by an on-campus picnic every year at Commencement time. The Carroll County Alumni Association continues this traditional gathering.

Ante-dating the campus Y.W.C.A. was the weekly prayer meeting and a Missionary Society started in the early years. This society supported a Hindu boy in a Missionary School in Assam, who took the name Carroll and turned out to be an effective native missionary worker in India.

Seminary girls rose at 6:30, breakfasted at 7:00, started the school day at 8:00, attended chapel daily at 10:00, took outdoor exercise at 4:00. Those who did not play tennis or croquet went for a bracing walk outside the Seminary grounds, two by two, a teacher at the head and one at the tail of the double line. Dinner was at 5:15; freedom 6:00 to 7:00 (in winter the girls danced in the gym); study hours, each girl in her own room, 7:00 to 9:00; 9:30 lights out, all quiet for the night. Simple life, early hours and good nourishing food spelled health for Seminary girls.

Mrs. Shimer, always sympathetically interested in aiding worthy, needy, promising girls to secure an education, offered a Normal Department scholarship to one future teacher in every county of the state and every township in Carroll County, while daughters of ministers, soldiers, and Chicago fire sufferers were given reduced rates. Ambitious students earned part of their expenses working in the Manual Labor Department.

"Regulations" were stricter in those days; no leaving school without request from home; no calls or travel on the Sabbath; students expected to attend church and Bible school; clothing "must be plain and neat, extravagance in dress and jewelery particularly deprecated;" pocket money for students deposited with Principal, kept in safe; borrowing and lending money or clothes strictly forbidden;" occupants of rooms paid for all damages; correspondence restricted to parent-approved list; "no young lady will receive calls from a young gentleman of the town unless introduced by the Principal" and "no stranger received as a visitor unless known and approved by parents."

As Mrs. Shimer neared her 70th year, health and strength waning, she spent more and more time at her DeLand, Florida, winter home, faithfully attended by Miss Joy or Mrs. Hazzen, or both (whom she lovingly called "Joy" and "Pet"). Miss Gordon, a Seminary science teacher, also devoted herself to Mrs. Shimer as a sort of secretary. Here in the Southland Mrs. Shimer supervised the cultivation of her very fine orange groves. With these in healthy, bearing condition, she felt she could generously endow the school when she might be obliged to relinquish it. Unfortunately, while perfecting plans to turn over the school to the University of Chicago, a killing frost practically wiped out her valuable groves.

Mrs. Shimer had offered the school to the Baptist Women of the Northwest if they would raise an endowment of $100,000, an offer which was considered but never accepted.

Methodists and Presbyterians each hoped to arrange to take over the school. Being a Baptist, Mrs. Shimer favored bringing the school into such relation with the University of Chicago as would assure its future. Dr. Shimer's estate, worth some $100,000, had been left at his death in 1895 to his widow to be used for educational purposes. Subsequently, some of his kin broke the will,