Stanford Student Letters and Memoirs

[written] p. 26

[typed] Sunday - - Nov.8 - '96

My dearest Nannie,

If I let Sunday go by there is simply not a second all through the week in which I can write to my Nannie and last Sunday I slept greatly to from my astonishment from luncheon to dinner. What a quiet election! Mrs. Rice who mothers the Sigma Rho Eta boys asked Alice Colt, Miriam & me to spend the day with her as she would be all alone for all the boys were in San Francisco. So we did and had a merry time. Mr Bronco stayed home to help do the honors and he and Mrs. Rice hired a three seater & we drove to Santa Clara & back in the afternoon & came back to a delicious chicken dinner; in the evening Stuart Cotton unexpectedly came back from the city & thought he had found a young ladies seminary - we played cards and went to bed quite late. In the morning we came up to the quadrangle about half past eight before any of the boys came back, and we heard the glorious news of McKinley's election. At about eleven-thirty it was announced about the quadrangle that Tom Reed was visiting the university and would address the students in the chapel. Mr Bronco & I happened to meet and he piloted me through the growing mob to seats in the choir and there we waited for Mr. Reed. In the meantime Dr. Jordan asked Prof. Powers, to give his news of the election as he has been conducting the class in practical politics & was a _____ Bryanite, the joke was very much on him & the students fully appreciated for they cheered & cheered him with shouts of McKinley. Dr. Jordan as usual said the right thing expressing his joy by saying that now he would make his trip to Washington to report on the Behring Sea commission in a sleeper instead of a tourist. He excused Mr. Reed who was at the stock farm as being too tired to give any more addresses, the students mobbed the[written] guadrangle entrance & got a few elevating words of wisdom from him. Since then we have been having tremendously heavy work in Shakespeare & Wordsworth to much more than take up our time.

The Jordan party was very pretty and my gown came in plenty of time - the dearest sweetest dress I ever had, made beautifully & fitting beautifully too. It is quite a baby waist with small puff caps & little __shing around the neck with a bow on one shoulder and the ribbon tied around my waist in another beautiful bow:the skirt plain with the under skirt turned in two ruffles with a knife plated foot ruffle underneath. It is simply dear, or dearly simple either way. The morning after I remembered it was the last chance I had to use the San Mateo commutation ticket and as I had a lot of clean clothes for Lolie I jumped on the train in great haste & surprised the dear child; we had a very happy afternoon together & I came home in time for dinner. I had a glimpse of Mrs. Jowalman on the quadrangle one day, she looked so beautiful; & told me about seeing you this summer. Did I ever tell you that the Sigma Rho Eta's were the old Tizia whom we dined with during summer school? They were dissatisfied with their original charter & have withdrawn forming themselves with a local fraternity & probably waiting their time before applying for a very best national one. It was a very wise thing for them to do. They have made the strongest laws for themselves that no smoking, swearing, drinking or chewing be allowed in their house beside several other commendable sumptuary lawsbesides not talking with the girls on the quadrangle!

The Saturday evening after Thanksgiving the girls in the Hall are going to give a very swell dance have Mrs. Stanford & everything very scrumptous to celebrate the game no matter how it turns out.

[written] 21

[typed] Miriam braought back news from San Jose that Mr. Evans dropped dead right in front of our house on his way to church last Sunday morning. It was a stroke of paralysis. He was 80 yrs old. I had a letter from Gertrude saying next week she was coming up here to spend her vacation if she could find a convenient room and I am sure she can here in Roble for the Hall is not very full.

Dr. Jordan is back from his short Washington trip looking very well.

Now that this semester is so nearly closing the girls are beginning to see more clearly what they will be doing next year. Helen hopes to have a position to teach in the Sant Cruz high school for a year when she will go east to study in New York. Miriam will be home a year when she hopes to go east, and perhaps sooner. Alice Colt has applied for a school and Kitty Haskell and I are enthusiastic about teaching as soon as we can anywhere and anything and then soome fine I'll turn up east too. It is hard to see the girls go but it makes me in a hurry to take my degree too. Did I send you at Christmas time the little picture Helen and I had taken together? I have forgotten and if I didn't I am going to have some more finished up and can send one on to my dearest Nannie.

Bye bye your Rose.

[written] 38

[typed] November 27, '997 Sunday night

My dearest Nannie

Am just home from my "Thanksgiving jag" as the football song goes and such a good time I never did have before! In the morning of Thanksgiving day Edith Snow, Kittie Haskell, Mr. and Mrs Pierce (pronounced purse) Prof. Allardice, Prof. Young, Prof. Campbell and Mr. Snow took the special to the city. The coaches were all bedecked with red bunting and after the engine had tooted the Stanford yell, the fourteen cars set off. When we reached the city I found Theodora waiting for me and when the regular Flyer came in we met Helen looking more like a queen than ever. Mr. and Miss Snow,Helen, Theodora and I took luncheon at the University club and then proceded to the game. We had seats in the yelling section which was the most loyal Stanford place. It was certainly a "red" day and the poor Berkeley men could scarcely keep their feet before our invincible line. The brilliant colouring of the cardinal mingling with the blue and gold makes a never to be forgotten scene, with trumpeting, shouting and waving of ribbons and flags. No one was hurt and the score quickly mounted up though the U.C. men did well and they had one good player and runner but our team is the heaviest of any of the Universities in the east, and Brook our coach was sure that it could have defeated Cornell this year.

After the game Helen, Tedora, Mary Brunton, Fred Haskell and I had dinner at the Palace and then went to the vaudeville that is given each year. It was very poor but was redeemed by the speeches of the football team, of Dr. Jordan and the rest of the prominent men. I could have hugged Stuart Cotton our captain, and in fact I am not sure but what I did exchange embraces after the game with Mr. Searles and some of the old men whom I hadn't seen for sometime, not excluding Dr. Jordan who returned from Washington that day. Theodora and I stayed all night at the Myricks and early in the morning Lolie slipped out to catch the seven oclock train for San Jose where she had to see Mr. Gorbey. I found Mr. Young at breakfast and accepted an invitation from him to go thru chinatown with Mr. and Miss Snow and Mrs. Myrick and Mr. and Mrs. Pierce. It was such fun to go thru all the merchants shops and finally up stairs to a swell resturaunt. Tea was served in a long hall very oriental in its black ebony, settes and taberets. The tables were large and Round with tea set for the party and pickled fruits - oranges and plums, ginger and chinese salted almonds that were delicious. The tea was the best I ever had.

Mr. and Miss Snow came home with us to dinner and afterward we went to the theater to see the "Geisha" - a new Japanese opera that has been having a great run. The next morning Mr. Young took us all down to the water front to see the fishing boats and that was indeed a most picturesque sight, with such refreshing drafts of sea air. We all dined at the University club and in the afternoon Mr. Allardice took us to the Loan exhibit at the Hopkin's House. It was of the local artists and we saw many of Keiths and Jorgenson's that we liked. Edith Snow and her brother said goodbye to us there and I do not know when I shall ever see her again. It left me with a very lonely feeling for in her short stay here I have grown very fond of her. Mrs. Myrick soon went home too and Mr. Allardice and I visited Shreves, Vanderdices, etc enjoying the Xmas things so much, especially those with the Stanford seal on them. I went out to the Myricks very weary indeed and had a good nights sleep beginning immediately after