Letters, Freshman Year Semester I , 1917 October-December

This span of letters describes the first semester of Henrietta’s freshman year. Topics found in these letters that may be useful to researches interested in the effects of World War I on college campuses, Henrietta’s short trips across Pennsylvania and New York state, her various creative writing projects and personal essays, performances she attended, and events and traditions at the college.

Henrietta discusses students’ methods of support for the war effort, including fundraisers for the New Liberty Loans, the Students Friendship Fund, as well as volunteering for the local Red Cross. Occasionally, her letters include small details of the daily impact of World War I, such as the high cost of navy blue fabric (due to the demand for Navy uniforms), seeing large crowds of “khaki and blue” in New York City, and knowing a few young men and women who signed up for (or desired to) military service in France. Henrietta also notes academic and social life. She describes the themes of several writing projects, including “The Inspiration That Didn’t Come”, “Going Home”, and “Should the U.S. Government Fix the Price of Flour in Wartime?” An obvious fan of theatre productions as a form of social engagement, Henrietta attended several off-campus performances of The Wanderer, Hitchy-koo, and The Boomerang. Examples of student-created traditions mentioned include the Banner Show (a comedy/variety show that included jokes speculating about a possible romantic relationship between then-President M. Carey Thomas and Dean Helen Taft Manning), the Sophomore Dance (a nautical-themed social dance that featured female students cross-dressing as male sailors), and Senior Reception.

Henrietta sometimes refers to herself as Henny and to her mother as Muddy.