Abstract In this interview conducted in 2012, Teresa Elizabeth Gagnon ’39, discusses her auspicious start at Pembroke College at the age of fifteen. She remembers being interviewed by Dean of Admissions Eva Mooar and being denied Spanish classes by Dean Margaret Shove Morriss because they were full of men. She also recalls the character of […]
1930s
Teresa Elizabeth Gagnon, class of 1939 (interview 1 of 2)
Abstract Teresa Elizabeth Gagnon begins Part 1 of this interview by discussing her early experiences at Pembroke, including freshman orientation week and the embarrassing experience of taking posture photographs. She also talks about the academic curriculum at Pembroke, her passion for languages, and the strict physical education requirement. In Part 2, she talks about the […]
Margaret Mary Porter, class of 1939
Abstract Margaret “Peg” Mary Porter begins Part 1 of her 1988 interview discussing her family background and her motivation for both going to college and choosing Pembroke College. She reflects on what is was like to attend college during the Depression years, Franklin Delano Roosevelt becoming President of the United States, and the beginnings of […]
Elaine Barbara Frank, class of 1939
Abstract In this interview, Elaine Frank ’39, the daughter of a Providence-born father and Lithuanian-born mother, describes herself as a “City Girl” and discusses her decision to attend Pembroke College as a transfer student from LaSalle Junior College. She details her involvement in various dramatic societies at Hope High School, Pembroke, and throughout Rhode Island. […]
Clara Elizabeth Goodale, class of 1939
Abstract Clara Elizabeth Goodale ‘39 is the niece of Nettie Goodale Murdock who was a member of Pembroke College’s first class in 1895. This interview captures the memories Murdock shared with her niece of her time at Pembroke. In Part 1, Goodale explains that she and her sister, Barbara ’37, lived with Murdock while they […]
Virginia Belle Macmillan, class of 1938
Abstract Virginia Belle Macmillan begins Part 1 of her interview by describing her childhood and family in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. She recalls her years at Pembroke College, in particular her role on the Pembroke Record staff, and as President of the Student Government Association. She also discusses life as a commuter student, attending college during […]
Josephine Mary Russo, class of 1938
Abstract In this interview, Josephine Mary Russo, class of 1938, explains that she had wanted to attend college since the age of ten. When she came of age, her parents required her to remain in her home state of Rhode Island, so she chose to attend Pembroke College. During the interview, Russo discusses the Great […]
Eleanor Mary Addison, class of 1938
Abstract In this interview, Eleanor Mary Addison begins by considering the difficulties of being a commuter student, not being able to build a community on campus, and the financial strain of living in a dormitory. She recalls participating in choir, correcting math papers, and tutoring, all for money, in order to continue studying at Pembroke […]
Eleanor Rosalie McElroy, class of 1937
Abstract In this interview, Eleanor Rosalie McElroy, class of 1937, begins by describing her family and educational background, emphasizing the liberal-minded nature of her single mother that encouraged her to attend Pembroke College and study American history. She also briefly describes a teaching fellowship that she received after graduation, in the midst of the Great […]
Katherine Virginia Faulkner, class of 1936
Abstract In this interview, speaking nearly fifty years after graduation from Pembroke College, Katherine Virginia Faulkner begins Part 1 of her interview by describing the intellectual difficulty she encountered in her transition from public schools in Henderson, North Carolina. She explains choosing to attend Pembroke for the different culture it fostered compared to that in […]
Harva Zelda Fisher, class of 1936
Abstract In this interview, Harva Zelda Fisher explains her reasons for attending Pembroke College, particularly citing geographic proximity to her home and small student population. She recalls Dean Margaret Shove Morriss, Physical Education Director Bessie Rudd, and Professor George Downing, but says one of her favorite professors was Israel Kapstein. She gives a brief educational […]
Beatrice Wattman, class of 1935
Abstract Beatrice “Bea” Wattman was the daughter of a jeweler who immigrated from Moldavia in 1895 at age 18, and a mother who came from Austria as a young child. Raised in Providence along with two younger brothers, she attended Hope High School, where her classes in the “Classical” curriculum track were taught by several […]
Ethel Colvin Nichols, class of 1934
Abstract Ethel Colvin Nichols begins her interview discussing her plans for the future and speaking of her wish to return to the workforce despite discrimination based on ageism. Also in Part 1, she reflects on classes at Pembroke College, her relationship with Dean Margaret Shove Morriss, training to become a dean herself, as well as […]
Esther Amelia Dick, class of 1934
Abstract Esther Amelia Dick begins this interview by speaking of her childhood in Reading, PA and struggling with Meniere’s Syndrome. She recalls her reasons for attending Pembroke College and discusses campus rules, requirements, clothing standards, alcohol and smoking restrictions, and access to the Brown campus. She gives her opinions of several professors and talks about […]
Ruth Lilian Wade, class of 1933
Abstract In this interview, Ruth Lilian Wade begins by sharing her biographical and family background. She talks about her mother who was a supporter of female suffrage and determined that her daughter should attend Pembroke College. In Part 1, Wade also describes her experience at as a “city girl” from Central Falls and the attitudes […]
Ruth Estella Sittler, class of 1933
Abstract In this interview, conducted over fifty years after her graduation, Ruth Estella Sittler begins by describing her childhood in Uniontown, Pennsylvania and the difficulty of her parents’ divorce in 1929. Sittler explains that her older brother graduated from Brown University in 1930 and that she was determined to follow in his footsteps. In 1929, […]
Mary Manley, class of 1933
Abstract In this interview, Mary Manley discusses her family’s decision for her to attend Pembroke College despite entering at the beginning of the Great Depression. She mentions life as a City Girl and the assumed superiority of the girls who lived in the dorms and specifically recalls required courses and her decision to major in […]
Katherine May Hazard, class of 1933
Abstract In Part 1 of this interview, Katherine May Hazard begins by discussing daily life at Pembroke College. For her, this meant commuting to campus and becoming used to the regimented life at Pembroke. She explains some of the requirements, what it was like to date mathematicians, and her involvement on campus. Outside of class, […]
Clarice d’Almeida Pitta, class of 1933
Abstract Clarice d’Almeida Pitts begins Part 1 of her interview by describing her family including her father’s job as a surgeon and her mother’s job as a homemaker. She explains that she ended up at Pembroke College because she flunked her exams for Radcliffe College. Pitta describes beginning college at the start of the Great […]
Bella Skolnick, class of 1933
Abstract Bella Skolnik’s interview provides a passionate story of activism in health, education, and welfare. She begins by reflecting on her thoughtful and supportive family and her childhood and moves on to tell vivid stories of her freshman year at Pembroke College, including her college friendships, house mother, dating, dormitories, “gracious living,” and seeing the […]
Katherine Perkins, class of 1932
Abstract In this interview, Katherine Perkins talks about her family and her upbringing in East Providence and how she came to attend Pembroke College. She discusses her travel as a day student to campus, the courses she took, extracurricular activities, the one Black woman in her class, and the Great Depression. Perkins describes her first […]
Rose Beatrice Miller, class of 1931
Abstract In this interview, Rose Beatrice Miller discusses the reasons she attended Pembroke College, her graduate studies, and career in bacteriology. She recalls Deans Margaret Shove Morriss and Eva Mooar, and biology professor Magel Wilder, her sole female professor at Pembroke. Mikker also shared memories of sex and dating, attending Pembroke as a “city girl,” […]
Mary Bernadette Banigan, class of 1931
Abstract Mary Bernadette Banigan begins her interview by discussing her family background, her experience at Classical High School, and her reasons for attending Pembroke College. Throughout Part 1, she describes her favorite professors, and postgraduate options for an English major at Pembroke. She ends the section by explaining her time at Chapel and her extracurricular […]
Jeannette Dora Black, class of 1930
Abstract In this interview, Jeannette Dora Black discusses her family, her education at Providence’s Classical High School, and her reasons for attending Pembroke College. She remembers her requirements and classes at Pembroke, her feelings about coeducation, the Pembroke administration, and Dean Margaret Shove Morriss. Black recalls working at the John Hay Library and the effects […]
Dorothy Allen Hill, class of 1930
Abstract In this interview, Dorothy Allen Hill starts by discussing her aunt, Mary Hill, who graduated from Pembroke College in 1904, and her father’s early insistence that she attend Pembroke. She recalls mandatory chapel and physical education, making friends, and smoking cigarettes on campus. She also remembers mentorship by senior class members, teas, and working […]
Cecile Lena Kantrowitz Israel, class of 1930
Abstract Cecile Lena Kantrowitz Israel begins this interview by explaining her Russian heritage and Jewish upbringing, her father’s career as a Hebrew teacher and cantor, and tracing her roots to Baal Shem Tov. She discusses her education at Classical High School, her mother’s liberated beliefs, and why she chose to attend Pembroke College. Regarding her […]
Helena Patricia Hogan, class of 1930
Abstract Helena Patricia Hogan was born in Ireland and was a student in 1928 when the Women’s College in Brown University became known as Pembroke College. She worked her way through school as a commuting student, or “city girl,” who came to campus every day on the trolley. In her interview, Hogan describes buildings on […]