Letters home, December 1916

The third folder in the Natalie Gookin papers holds letters from December, 1916, Natalie’s freshman year at Bryn Mawr College, written by her to her parents and aunt. They are arranged chronologically. In this collection of letters, Natalie details her highlights of December: her wonderful trip to New York with the Blodgett’s, a dinner with her professor Mrs. Carver, reacting to a Vita article in the college newspaper about what she had said, and of course the Sophomore-Freshmen dance where she danced with her beloved “Hel” Harris. During the month of December, Natalie’s devotion to Helen Harris escalates even more to the point that she refers to her as the “divine one”. These letters would be of interest to anyone studying student life, female relationships, and women’s colleges. It is interesting that Natalie finds that “having a dance without men is nice”, the same dance in which she danced with Helen Harris.