Abstract
Beverly Anne Calderwood begins this interview by explaining her parents’ self-made careers—her father’s opening of an iron foundry and her mother’s self-education. Calderwood describes her two-year experience as a Pembroke College city girl– a female day student who attended Pembroke but did not live on campus, Pembroke’s regulations and “gracious living” practices, and organizing a dormitory for commuting students.
Initially intending on majoring in math, Calderwood recounts her mid-college switch to English literature and the following satisfaction with her bold decision. She reflects on the Pembroke-Brown merger, May Day, Ivy Day, graduation ceremonies, and the pressures and challenges of writing a graduation speech as the senior class president.
In Part 2, Calderwood discusses advising, the importance of Convocation and chapel, her involvement in volunteer and political work in Seekonk, Massachusetts, and her feelings about having attended Brown.
Part 1
Part 2
Recorded on May 16, 1988 in Seekonk, MA
Interviewed by Brian Cunkleman
Suggested Chicago style citation: Calderwood, Beverly Anne. Interview. By Brian Cunkleman. Pembroke Center Oral History Project, Brown University. May 16, 1988.
Biography
Beverly Anne Calderwood was born on December 26, 1930 in Providence, Rhode Island. A first generation college graduate, she earned her A.B. from Brown University after attending Gorton High School in Warwick, Rhode Island. Calderwood married Russell James Hart, her childhood sweetheart, with whom she had three children. Calderwood worked as a teacher for the Rehoboth School District, teaching math, art, English, and physical education. She was involved with numerous community organizations including the League of Women Voters and Women’s Club of Seekonk. She passed away on August 26, 2021.