One of the main resources for information related to the history of Furman University and Greenville Woman's College and its student body are the yearbooks. There are no surviving yearbooks of the periods of their founding (1851–1854), but catalogs of the 1920s are still mainly intact. These almanacs grant a peek into the lives of students, highlight extracurricular activities, and illustrate how...
The Catalogue of the Greenville Female College of 1883-1884 shows both the exceptional opportunities, as well as the limitations of its students in their education and career. The courses taught at the college ranged from Music, German, to Physics and Mathematics. In that sense, the college provided women with an education that was similar to that of their masculine counterparts. However, the University...
A scrapbook from Zillie Workman Culbertson of 1908 showed the changing role of the students at the Greenville Female College between 1904 until 1908. In her scrapbook, Culbertson collected articles on the commencement ceremonies of each year, photographs of her “places of interest”and newspaper articles. Her collection of photographs of “Places of Interest” were not limited to places on campus,...
In July of 1857, Chicago’s “Charley H.” was the topic of an article in the Tribune. The article described his as a “hard-working clerk who lived in a boarding house.” The article reveals, however, Charley is actually a female-bodied person who dressed and acted like a man. The acquaintances of Charley H. were astonished that “Charley was a woman, yes a veritable woman in man’s apparel.”...
Ah the college life.  Something many today take for granted.  Back in the early 20th century not everyone had the opportunity to go to college, especially women.  At the time, it wasn’t seen as important for a women to have an education.  But this didn’t stop all women; some desired to be doctors, lawyers, and other such professionals.  So these women needed to go to school somewhere to get...
One morning in 1951, students at Augustana College in Rock Island were met with an unusual site: a set of stairs off 7th avenue that led up to the iconic academic building Old Main had a sign stretching across the top of it, reading “Crazy Connie’s Used Cars.” Accompanying the sign on the grassy lawn were several cars, all with for-sale signs. At least twelve male students at Augustana took it...
With fine fabrics and linens that were “soft and sunswept”, Leedy’s on Park Avenue had clothes for “discriminating girls of all ages”[1]. This advertisement reflects the changes in women’s fashion in the 1970s. After the 1960s, known as a decade of peaceful, nonviolent reform movements, the 1970s brought changes in gender roles. Many women demanded equal rights and advocated for careers...
During the 1970s, abortion became a hot topic that was either avoided in conversation or would lead to a heated debate. Even today, the debate over abortion is still present. When the Roe v. Wade case was being debated in court from 1971 until the verdict was decided in 1973, many protests broke out across the nation.[1] These protests divided people, men and women, young and old. In a Sandspur...
Following the riveting decade of 1960s, African Americans started to act upon the social and political equality that they were granted by the Civil Right Movements. Some of these freedoms include the desegregation of schools and public areas and African American assimilation into society. This great shift allowed women such as Eleanor Mitchell teach in private universities such as Rollins College....
On the outset of World War II, the demand for production in industries rose. With many men overseas in the military, women were called on the help the war effort by taking on nontraditional roles including industrial jobs. This was especially the case at the Glenn L. Martin Plant in Middle River, Maryland. The Glenn L. Martin Plant built many of the bomber planes used by American and British forces...