In August of 1927, a student named Frances A. Janney wrote to President Morgan requesting the name of a woman she could baord with in town. According to Janney, the woman lived accross from Metzger Hall and often takes in female boarders. The woman was recommended by Dean Meredith, the Dean of Women at the time.
The subsection entitled "Metzger Hall," in Dean Meredith's historical account of women at Dickinson, gives a general overview of the physical layout of the building. This subsection is followed by another, more detailed account of specific rooms, their inadecuacies, shortcomings and some scattered suggestions for improvement.
Â
In her essay, "Women at Dickinson," Dean of Women Josephine Meredith included a section entitled: "Value of Types." In it Meredith defines three types of students that attended Dickinson College. The description of each type briefly accounts for the value each group brought to the campus.
Â
Types of Students:
Written by Martha Slotten, this history of Metzger explains the building's early beginnings as a Prep School for Girls. After Drayer was built in the early 1950s, only freshman girls lived in Metzger until it was sold in 1963 and later dismantled. The completion of Drayer offered a local housing option for female students who would no longer have to walk many blocks to classes.
Telephone usage was only allowed during specified times during the day. The only phone in Metzger Hall was located in the Dean of Women's office.
Historical sign regarding Metzger Hall, a women's dormitory. "Metzger Hall: One of the Dormitories of Dickinson College, Erected in 1881 as the Metzger Institute, By the bequest of George Metzer of the Class of 1798.
Karen Barrowclough '66
Ruth Ann Dorfler
Mary Nolan
Priscilla Hinebauch '66
Kim Larsen '66
Female students sunbathe outside behind Metzger Hall in May 1963, relaxing or perhaps studying. Swimsuits showing lots of leg obviously in style!
From the Wishmeyer scrapbook, this schedule of meals includes etiquette regarding when to say or sing Grace before meals, seating assignments, and dress code. All meals are family style and occur at specific times throughout the day, much unlike our modern cafeteria meal plans today.
President J. H. Morgan wrote to the Dean of Women, Josephine Meredith, about an instance of "class interference" at Metzger Hall informing her of what her actions should be. The President informs Dean Meredith that an incident of the sophomore and freshman classes terrorizing each other had occurred before, about thirteen years ago, and announced that no such interferences would be allowed. Any young woman who would participate in such events would be considered "Wise to withdraw from the College" because it is in the College's interest to keep up a good reputation.
Alice Watts, Priscilla Hinebauch (Class of 1966), Elizabeth Wagner (Class of 1966, and Joanne Harris (Class of 1965) dress up for Saint Lucia Day in Metzger Hall, January 1963.