In 1915, the North Adams Normal School, with a beautiful campus placed in the Berkshires, was an excellent school with much to offer the young women who made up the student body. The school’s main objective was to train teachers and offered courses in a wide variety of subjects from languages like French and German, to Science, to Civics, History, and Social Science, and everything in between. The school also had courses that pertained to daily life including the general running of the home, woodworking, and gardening. The campus was home to the Mark Hopkins Training school, which was run as an elementary school where the students of N.A.N.S. could practice their skills.¹

In comparison to today, tuition for N.A.N.S. looked like an absolute dream. For any Massachusetts resident who declared to teach within the Massachusetts public school system following graduation, tuition was waived completely. For others, the cost of attendance ranged from $50 to $100 and state aid was available. Board, which included laundry and food services, cost $160. Textbooks were provided free of charge.²

The N.A.N.S. Course Catalog was revised in 1915 and it is interesting to see that, even two years prior to the United States entering World War I, history and civics classes already take a rather patriotic bent:

History and Social Science 1. American History.
Aims: To distinguish the phases of human endeavor which are of most interest to children at their stages of development. To adapt instruction to the maturity of pupils. To cultivate interest and initiative in historical reading. To inculcate ideals of patriotism based on social justice. To realize that a state or nation is the creation of the people or is what the people permit or tolerate.³

Alma Mater

The class of 1914 was given a lovely class song by graduating student Blanche Whitmore and though the song was only written for that years class, one can find some recurring themes and feelings that would certainly apply to past and future students.

Once again for thee, dear Normal,
Answering thy call,
We thy true and loyal daughters
Gather in thy hall.

Thou has guarded us and guided
In our days of youth,
Thou has led us ever upward
Toward the heights of truth.

And now onward, ever onward
We must bear the flame,
For the progress, the honor
Of dear Normal’s name.

From our kind and faithful teachers,
Each one now departs,
Bidding them farewell with sadness
In our grateful hearts.

Ever cherished be the memories
Of our school-days here,
Never broken be the friendships
Of our classmates dear.

Oft in fancy we’ll revisit
Each familiar scene,
Of our days at Alma Mater
And nineteen fourteen.

Blanche Whitmore⁴

Extracurricular Activities

Besides academics, there was a wealth of fun things to get involved in at the Normal School. The most popular extracurricular activities were largely centered around sports or the performing arts, with the Basketball team and Glee Club being the most prominent.

Glee Club

Under Rosa Searle, the head of the Mathematics Department as well as the Music Department, the Glee Club at the Normal School flourished and saw an increasing amount of participation. Student and member of the Class of 1917, Lyle B. Chandler recalls an average day for the Glee Club:

This has been a prosperous year for the Glee Club. Never before have the members numbered thirty-six.

Promptly (?) at one o’clock every Tuesday and Thursday we began our preliminary exercises in the assembly hall, warbling up and down the scale by “lo” and sometimes syllables. During all these rehearsals we were effectively guarded by several people who sat at the back of the toom and who shook their heads vigorously at all intruders.

After the preliminary exercises, we were ready to begin real singing. Indeed, this year, in addition to the singing, we have ourselves the opportunity of displaying a small amount of dramatic talent, by choosing an operetta as a new feature for the Glee Club Concert. We do not forget, however, that this meant more hard work and patience on the part of Miss Searle. For this and all other service which she has kindly given to us, we bestow our greatest thanks and appreciation.

Lyle B. Chandler⁵

Basketball

As with any school in almost any period in history, sports bring a certain degree of pride, camaraderie, and competition to the academic atmosphere. The same can certainly be said for the basketball teams that passed through the Normal School. Team member Agnes O’Neill leaves some parting words to future players:

Click to read Agnes’s full account of the 1917 team.

In the name of the class, we earnestly beg the succeeding classes not to envy us too greatly, as we really could not help being so strong in the gym. If they will struggle a very great deal, they may come part way to our mark, but it is never to be expected that they will quite reach it. Yet the class of 1917 heartily wishes for the success of future classes.

Agnes O’Neill⁶

 

Browse the Images

 

Notes

1. North Adams Normal School Course Catalog, 1915. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.
2. Ibid.,.
3. Ibid.,.
4. Blanche Whitmore, “Alma Mater,” The Normalogue, 1914. Massahusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Libary Special Collections.
5.Lyle B. Chandler, “Glee Club,” The Normalogue, 1917. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.
6. Agnes O’Neill, “Athletics,” The Normalogue, 1917. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

Images

“Murdock.” Photograph, 1910. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

The Normalogue, 1914. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

The Normalogue, 1917. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

Dewey, Emma E. Photo Collection, 1915. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

“The Dining Room.” Photograph, 1903. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

“Natural Science Classroom.” Photograph, date unknown. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

“The Geography Classroom.” Photograph, date unknown. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

“The Library.” Photograph, date unknown. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

“The Mark Hopkins Training School.” Photograph, 1915. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.

“Kite Flying on the Normal School Grounds.” Photograph, 1910. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Freel Library Special Collections.