Cynthia Rogers Barnhart letters

The Cynthia Rogers Barnhart letters comprises the personal correspondence of Cynthia Rogers Barnhart, ex-member of Bryn Mawr College class of 1956. These letters describe Barnhart’s experiences at Bryn Mawr from 1952 to 1955.

The collection is composed of three folders containing numerous letters from Barnhart to her parents. The folders are labelled by academic year: “Academic Year, 1952-53,” “Academic Year, 1953-54,” and “Academic Year, 1954-55.” There is also a 1992 letter at the beginning of the collection from Barnhart to Caroline Rittenhouse, then the College Archivist.

The letters from “Academic Year, 1952-53” discuss Parade Night and Lantern Night, the heavy workload at Bryn Mawr, and Barnhart’s participation in choir, the hockey team, and the Athletic Association. The letters from “Academic Year, 1953-54” discuss the new first years, planning for Hell Week, and Barnhart’s job writing to Hull’s foster children. The letters from “Academic Year, 1954-55” discuss Barnhart’s participation in the Junior Play, her difficulties with the Bryn Mawr workload, and her frustrations with Bryn Mawr and feminists.

Barnhart’s letters provide an overview of Bryn Mawr’s academics and athletics during the early-to-mid fifties, as well as insight into some of Bryn Mawr’s largest traditions, Parade Night, Lantern Night, and Hell Week. They would be of interest to those studying women’s colleges in the fifties, or traditions, academics, and athletics at Bryn Mawr.