Life for the students of National Park Seminary  was a
mixture of close regulation and restrictive rules and reminders of the
privileged places in society that they were being groomed to accept. The girls' comings and goings were tightly controlled. Schedules
were to be posted on dorm room doors along with notes explaining where they were if not in their
rooms. The girls were not allowed to travel to D.C. or to meet young men except
under the watchful eye of chaperones. They were not allowed to ride on
streetcars. After 1909, they wore uniforms ("Peter Thompson" sailor suits), were not
allowed to wear cosmetics, and were not allowed to wear jewelry except for simple pieces with
formal wear. They were expected to walk 100 miles per year.
Mondays were routinely a day for the girls to travel
by train en masse to Washington, where they would shop at Woodward & Lothrup. For
safety's sake, the train would back out from Union Station so that it would be pointed in the
right
direction when the girls were on-board. The routine was reversed on the return trip.
The school calendar was filled with special events, dances,
dinners, pageants, etc. For instance, it was a tradition to have the employees come
forward for Christmas bonuses at the annual Christmas dinner. The girls always cheered Charles Bullock, a favorite. Dinners were usually attended by
fifty uniformed serving maids. At special dinners, there were also uniformed waiters, often college
students from Howard University who earned a little extra money this way. The
dining room was furnished with beautiful tables and over 350 Chippendale chairs. Girls
were expected to dress in formal attire for dinner. In the early days, no one was
permitted to leave the table until all had finished. The girls were permitted a half
hour
of dancing (females only) after lunch and dinner. NPS was also famous for certain food items: the
sticky buns and "Lord Baltimore" layer cakes baked for each girl's birthday by
Mrs. Julia Smith.
There are still a number of alumnae living who keep
alive the traditions of NPS. The National Park College Alumnae
Association publishes a newsletter and sponsors annual "house parties" for the
alumnae. It can be contacted through Mrs. Charles Seitz at (203) 869-8168.
|
