In this Book
- Golden Days: Reminiscences of Alumnae, Mississippi State College for Women
- Book
- 2008
- Published by: University Press of Mississippi
Golden Days includes twenty oral histories of women who graduated from Mississippi State College for Women (now Mississippi University for Women) at least fifty years ago. From Mary Ellen Weathersby Pope's (1926) description of a teaching career beginning just before the 1927 Delta flood to Juanita McCown Hight's (1934) account of campus conversations with violinist Jascha Heifetz and writer/adventurer Richard Halliburton, these stories illustrate the profound influence of the nation's first public college for women on the lives of the storytellers. Vivid reminiscences about life on campus recall a different world of blue uniforms, rigid rules, and demanding faculty.
Even after many decades, these women still clearly remember particular teachers who inspired and pushed them to succeed, midnight dormitory pranks played on long-suffering "social advisers," and the spring Zouave marching drills directed by the indomitable Emma Ody Pohl. Whether they graduated in 1926 or 1956, there is a common thread running through these memories: an appreciation for academic life, strong leadership, cultural experiences that enriched lives, a recognition that the university gave self-confidence to pursue unusual or difficult careers, and a gratitude for remarkable friendships which have lasted a lifetime.
The Southern Women's Institute of Mississippi University for Women provides a foundation for research and inclusive outreach through the study of women in both traditional and non-traditional roles. The Institute's research focuses on the history of MUW and the position women hold in the culture and foundation of the South both today and in the future.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- pp. ix-xxiv
- Juanita McCown Hight, Class of 1934
- pp. 49-68
- Carmen Pearson Ronken, Class of 1937
- pp. 95-110
- Emily Eugenia Summer, Class of 1945
- pp. 111-138
- Mary Glynn Williams Lancaster, Class of 1947
- pp. 139-156
- Frances Mildred Bethea Dent, Class of 1950
- pp. 157-170
- Lenore Loving Prather, Class of 1953
- pp. 197-218
- Sylvia Camille Duck Clark, Class of 1956
- pp. 251-272
- Barbara Ann Garrett, Class of 1956
- pp. 273-296
- Janet Carol Davis Gray, Class of 1957
- pp. 315-334
- Beverly Stuart Koch Jones, Class of 1957
- pp. 335-350
- Donette Dunaway Lee, Class of 1957
- pp. 351-362
- Nell Ann Pickett, Class of 1957
- pp. 363-378
- Barbara McMillin Webb, Class of 1957
- pp. 379-393