Dear Hampshire County Alumnae,

With the bugs at bay, we enjoyed a delightful evening at the annual President’s Picnic (members, guests and “new” Hampshire County students) on Th., August 20, 2009. After having celebrated the Club’s success at our Annual Meeting on Th., June 4, 2009, it was great to see everyone again after the brief hiatus. Smith College President, Carol Christ, spoke of Smith in the media by highlighting books written by and movies about Smithies.

While Smith accomplishments, the start of a new Hampshire County Smith Club year and the welcoming of new students are all wonderful reasons to celebrate, the Club and the Board need your help. The Club has operated without a Nominating Chair (and Committee) and without a Ways and Means Chair (and Committee) over the past year and this winter the Membership Chair will be vacated. The Board is dedicated to serving out remaining terms but is in dire need of volunteers to fill the current (and future) positions. Below is a recap of the aforementioned Board positions and what they entail; please give me a call or write me an email (see contact info below) if the Board may provide you more insight on any of these positions. We appreciate your help!

Membership Chair - mails annual membership appeal in May/June to all area alumnae and follows up with members who have not renewed; maintains membership roster and submits reports at the monthly Board Meetings and to the Newsletter Editor for each newsletter; needs 2 people to help with mailing and calls to those who have not renewed

Nominating Chair - solicits and contacts people for possible Board positions (resources the Board and Membership); reports at monthly Board Meetings

Ways and Means (fund raising) - develops and implements a fund raising project for the Club (currently would market and “host” eBay auction for the Smith College commemorative plates); reports at monthly Board Meetings

As you probably know, Hampshire House is not actually a house on the Smith campus but rather the name adopted by local students who live at home and commute to Smith. Their numbers are small. In looking through the file folders for Hampshire House in the Smith Archives, I learned that the number of local students 2,802 for 2008, local students represent a very small percentage of the student body – less than 2%.

What you may not know is that in 1920, the local students decided to form a social organization, which they called Luba. The letters stood for Let Us Be Acquainted. By 1937 the club had become integrated into the college’s housing system and the clubs’ president was required to attend meetings of the House of Representatives. In 1943, the organization began to participate in the inter-house sports competition, and, in 1946, the name was officially changed to Hampshire House.

In the beginning, their meeting place was a room in the gracious old Student’s Building. This building, which has since been torn down, was an early version of a campus center. In 1952, due to the need for more space, Hampshire House was moved to a room in Hubbard House and in 1955, was moved again to the basement of Albright House. Albright remained their home until 1969 when they were give half of a two story brick building behind Mary Ellen Chase House. Local students had a kitchen, a large lounge area, a spacious study area upstairs and two bathrooms. They were involved in the design and color scheme for their new home. This location provided ample space for meetings and for entertaining friends, faculty and staff. In 1990, Hampshire House was moved into space at the back of the old Quill Bookstore on Green Street. Their former quarters became Unity House, the Multicultural Center on campus. The advent of the massive building project on Green Street a few years ago to house the engineering program at Smith, meant that Hampshire House students now without a designated home base. The college allows local students to use either the new Campus Center or the Ada Comstock Lounge for meetings and social occasions.

I have fond memories of the Friday teas in the basement of Albright House, as well as the occasional bridge game and the lively house meetings. The academic life was enormously challenging to this local student and that single room identified as Hampshire House provided comfort and support. Perhaps with Facebook and MySpace, and the beautiful new campus center, local students have found new ways to connect and support each other.
As for me, I was rather sad to learn that there is no longer one place called Hampshire House. But I enjoy attending Smith Commencement, and I cheer loudly for the seniors marching under the Hampshire House banner.

This research led me to wonder – what percentage of the membership of the Hampshire County Smith Club are former Hampshire House students? It’s been more than 40 years since I graduated from Smith and with time comes a bit of perspective. Living close to the campus and auditing classes tends to bring back memories. If you’d be interested in sharing memories of your days as a Hampshire House student, please contact me at kathryn@sonixproaudio.com.

Contrary to popular belief, Sophia Smith’s will made no provision for a scholarship for local students. But it is true that providing an affordable education for women was something the founders of the college sought to promote. In one of his newspaper articles, the Reverend John M. Green wrote that it was the desire of the trustees to have the cost of education be small enough that even the poorest girl would obtain the benefits of a college education if she had “industry, economy, perseverance and the needed talents.” But it was not until 1919, nearly 50 years after the founding of the college, that the trustees voted for a full tuition scholarship for students who fulfilled a residency requirement of five years in either Northampton or Hatfield and met the entrance requirements. These awards were to be renewed as long as a student maintained academic work of diploma grade - a 2.0 grade point average.

Over the years the structure of what is known as The Trustees Grant, has changed. In 1962, the year before I entered Smith, the tuition scholarship was $1,200 of the $1,500 fee. It covered 80% of the tuition. That scholarship was the only way my family was able to afford my college education. Today the Trustees Grant covers 50% of tuition. For the 2007-8 academic year, tuition costs were $33,940. That leaves the families of Northampton and Hatfield students with a considerable financial burden. All of which brings me to my main point – the Hampshire County Smith Club’s Endowed Scholarship Fund is needed now more than ever. Each year one local student receives a scholarship of $5,000 because of your generosity. If you were a recipient of a Trustees ’ Grant, then this might be the time to help support our club’s Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Program Updates
HCSC to auction commemorative Smith plates
Book Award Program

HCSC has received a generous donation of 12 Wedgwood Commemorative Smith College plates to be auctioned for the benefit of the Scholarship Fund. The donor, Pat Olmstead, was given them by her aunt, Louise Michael ’12, who was an active Smith alum and lived in Buffalo her entire life. Pat put them on the top shelf of a closet and forgot about them until cleaning out her house for her recent move to Syracuse, NY. (After her kind donation to the Club, Pat passed away earlier this year.)

Smith commemorative plates were first sold by the St. Louis Club in sets of 12 different views of the college. The funds raised were given to the General Scholarship Fund. According to College Archivist, Nanci Young, the club needed 300 orders to break even and by 1931 had over 700. The original price in 1932 was $15 for the set of 12.

The views, in green on a cream background, are: Grecourt Gates, College Hall, Observatory, Dewey House, Seelye Hall, Lanning Fountain, John M. Greene Hall, Paradise Pond and Mt. Tom, Smith College Library, Great Tower in the Quad (Wilson House clock tower), Sage Hall, and the Sophia Smith Homestead in Hatfield, MA.

Today, single plates are sometimes available on the internet or in antique stores but a set of 12 is very rare. They appear to be in brand new condition (pictures below).

More information about the eBay auction (PayPal preferred) will be available in the late fall/early winter. Inquiries about the plates can be directed to: Autumn (Ronco) Storozuk ’03, HCSC President, at autumnronco@yahoo.com.