Friday, June 27, 2014

Sepia Saturday: Cooling Her Heels

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.




This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt is people standing in water.  

When my mother attended Shenandoah College from 1946 to 1948, there probably wasn't much for students to do in their spare time.  Saturdays found the co-eds hanging out on the school lawn

 
Shenandoah College Roommates 1946-48
Possibly Momma's roommates

Shenandoah College friends 1946-48
College friends
Momma is second from the left

















Or tickling their toes in nearby Cooks Creek

 












Or even walking in the creek.
Unknown friend




On the back of the photo to the right:
It's such a beautiful snap
I thought you'd like to have it.



















But sometimes that need to let loose took one college sophomore out of the icy river water right into HOT WATER with the college Dean.
 
Reprimand from the Women's Student Government Association
for making noise and keeping students awake

And not just once.

 
Oh no -- Campus Restriction!
No Snack Bar?  That had to hurt!

It seems my prim-and-proper-you’d-better-behave-or-else mother was sent to COOL HER HEELS before the Student Government numerous times.  Since she saved the index card reprimands, she must not have been too ashamed.

Somehow I doubt she would have found such behavior from me to be amusing though.


Wade into the soothing waters of Sepia Saturday




© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

44 comments:

  1. Such a clever play on words Wendy! Really fun post. I love finding little clues to ancestors (especially the close ones like parents) personalities as youth. Sometimes those clues are hard to come by, so those index cards of yours are priceless. It's funny to me that the ultimate punishment was to be restricted from the snack bar!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love finding a little insight into personalities too. And I agree -- denial of snack bar privileges was serious business!

      Delete
  2. Ha Ha Ha. She must have been proud of her little rebellion to keep the cards. Did she tell you about them or did you discover and get a giggle?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually the cards were in a manila envelope of pictures that were never hidden per se, but not anything I ever recall looking through or noticing really.

      Delete
  3. I wonder where that use of "hot water" came from.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK, you made me go looking. Apparently the expression has been around since the 1500s. One explanation is that one way to get rid of troublesome intruders was to throw boiling water on them. Another simply points to cooking since boiling was a way to break down food to make it edible. Nothing hurts like really hot water even in a bathtub. Well, that's the best I can do.

      Delete
  4. The summer after high school graduation I attended a summer music camp at the College of the Pacific (now University) in Stockton, CA. They had beautiful lawns on campus. In the summer it's very hot there & the way they kept those lawns green was to flood them with what seemed like a foot of water once a week, & of course when they did that, everyone took off their shoes & went wading! So cool & refreshing on those hot days. As for 'being in hot water' meaning to be in trouble, it probably comes from the Viking's use of hot water to prove or disprove a lie. The accused liar protesting their innocence had to place their hand & arm in a pot of boiling water. It was then wrapped in clean linen for 2 or 3 days. If, when it was unwrapped, it was found to be festering, it was assumed the person had lied. If not, they had successfully protested the accusation. Ouch!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh wow -- that sounds like the witch test: if she drowned, she was obviously innocent. "Sorry 'bout that!"

      Delete
  5. I too love finding those little hints of life before me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And you've found a lot with all those letters!

      Delete
  6. What great additions to knowing your mom, her college escapades!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think so too -- it took me a while to realize some of the photos were her college friends.

      Delete
  7. How clever going from cold water to hot water, girl! Yeah, Momma wouldn't have thought it ONE BIT funny if we had done any of this.

    She was probably laughing to have kept other girls awake. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if she had a partner in crime.

      Delete
    2. I am sure she did. I can't imagine Momma going down alone!

      Delete
  8. Your mother sounds like good fun. Nice finding out one's parents were human too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So that warning "this is going to be on your permanent record" was true!
    But I don't remember anything about it being available for the grandkids to read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it's a lesson to all of us to destroy all evidence!

      Delete
  10. Great post and a lovely insight into college life at that time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, no malls or slick night clubs or spas back then, I guess. They had to make their own fun.

      Delete
  11. What harsh punishment! I wonder if your mother ever told her parents about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Jo, I hadn't even thought of that. Now I'm wondering what Grandma and Granddaddy might have thought.

      Delete
  12. Nicely done; great wordplay and lovely snaps. What a rebel your mama was - thank goodness!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Marilyn. Yes, Momma seemed like more of an original the older she got, or maybe it was the older I got.

      Delete
  13. Your mom sounds like she was a lot of fun. I love it when I stumble onto something like those index cards.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, well, just consider it a diet aid before the next social event!

    Just priceless that your mom saved these cards...and actually kept them where you could find them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's why I think she must have thought it was funny rather than shameful.

      Delete
  15. Isn't it nice to know your mom liked to get in a little trouble. My mom was the same and I cherish that memory of her youth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's just such a contrast to the mother I had growing up who expected good behavior all the time. Or maybe I was just afraid of what she would do IF I crossed the line. So I didn't.

      Delete
  16. Can't match those reprimands although one report said 'reclines rather than sits at desk.' Hardly daring is it? I wonder what today's students would think of those cards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, such a bad boy! When I was growing up, chewing gum in class was a serious offense. Over the years, schools have had to choose other battles.

      Delete
  17. What an excellent connection to your family. I enjoyed your post and your unique take on the Sepia Saturday prompt. Good post!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I would love to find out that my mother was a bit of a troublemaker sometimes, but nothing has come out so far. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What will your children discover about YOU?

      Delete
  19. What a great post. I love that your mother kept those reminders of her reprimands. Imagine what the reprimands to college students would be these days. A little noise would be nothing!
    Nancy
    Ladies of the Grove

    ReplyDelete
  20. Looks like your mom was basically barred from having any fun for a couple of days from the sounds of the reprimand in the second case. Not only was she barred from the snack bar, but she only had 5 minutes to return from the dining hall and she couldn't go visit and talk with other girls in their rooms. Ya. That must not have been very fun at the time.

    ReplyDelete
  21. A super collection here. It's so funny to read those reprimands written in such neat handwriting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Neat handwriting doesn't seem as common as it used to. I know mine has gone to heck since the age of the computer.

      Delete