Stories in Ink
Discovering 1934 campus life through my grandmother’s diary
As students head to campuses this fall, I’m traveling back in time to 1934 and my grandmother’s first year of college. My portal is her diary, a little book where her handwriting sets the scene for a year of discoveries, friendships, and new adventures.
Sunday, Sept. 23
1934
I love it! – That’s my main impression of this first day at Smith. I just love it all – the campus, my room, the girls, the town, the atmosphere, everything.
I liked, and will always remember this evening after supper, when, in MY room, I heard ringing beautifully over the campus a sort of angelus – a lovely chime of bells coming through the dusk. It was truly beautiful. The same chimes strike each hour, and I can imagine how I will grow to love every note of them.
I hope they are ringing for me; I hope their chimes are singing, of four happy, useful and satisfying years at Smith College.
I can’t help but wonder what the rest of her year will reveal — the friends, the classes, the little moments she chose to capture.
Do you have diaries or journals tucked away in your family? I’d love to help you capture those stories through Cursive Transcription – Story & Artifact Co.