- A third steamer Cape Girardeau was christened 100 years ago (3/26/24)
- Cape Girardeau christens its namesake (3/19/24)
- The humanist philosophy of Lester Mondale (3/12/24)1
- Cape Osteopathic Hospital opens its doors (3/5/24)
- 8 killed and a million dollars damage done in 1924 tornado (2/27/24)1
- Jackson's militant priest, county recorder at odds over marriage licenses (2/20/24)
- Streaking fad comes to Cape (2/13/24)2
True to their founding, Facultyettes stage a fun hat revue
Funny hats always catch my eye. But perch them atop the heads of some of the most dignified ladies of the 1963 Cape State College faculty and you really have my attention.
I happened upon two photos in Garland Fronabarger's collection of mature women wearing hats assembled out of their own imaginations. I just knew there had to be a story behind them.
Published May 18, 1963, in the Southeast Missourian:
WITH HOMEMADE HAT REVUE
RESOLVED: THAT FACULTY FEMALES HAVE FUN
By GLADYS LESEM
Missourian staff writer
"The spring has sprung
The grass has riz,
I wonder where
The flowers is!"
Not all, but many of the blossoms bedecked original creations which coiffed The Facultyettes of State College at their recent spring dinner party. In Memorial Hall Ballroom members turned out en masse and in accordance with a portion of the invitation which read:
"Just for fun
Make a hat,
Cloche or bonnet,
Or something like that.
Wild imagination
Is yours to use
Have I given yu
Any clues?
Wear your hat proudly
And it may be you
Who is the winner of
Our Hat Revue."
What a diversity of models they wore. There were large hats, small hats, short hats, tall hats. Erect or tilted, forward or backward, all were paraded with great aplomb in the gala revue. They depicted the comical, the beautiful; vocational fields, hobbies, odds and ends. They were the epitome of all that is fashionable in the realm milady's headgear.
Hat Revue winners from left to right are: Dr. Irene D. Neu, Mrs. Marvin Webb and Mrs. Nell Beall. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)
The spring season was proclaimed loudly by myriads of flowers and notes brimming of a large model worn by Mrs. Edwin (Bertha) Stevens' "Spring Song," and in "Spring on the Range," an eye-catcher worn by Mrs. Mary Helen Flentge. "Plastique" By Fair -- turkey feathers, with a bluebird in an apple orchard heralded the season in the original model of Miss Verda Farrar.
After spring, summer. It brought forth the "First Rose of Summer," a cloche-type created of large yellow petals by Mrs. Marvin (Imogene) Webb, the incoming president
Advancing summer
Advancing the summer further was Mrs. Christine Wheeler Heil's cute lampshade sprouting long-stemmed red roses for the "City of Roses" model, and Mrs. R.L. (Helen) Sheets' unusual hat of fresh snowballs representing "snowball winter, or the blooming idiot."
Ingenuity was called for to create and strong necks were a necessity to support originals of Mrs. Nell Beall, who patterned her hat along homemaking and hobby ideas; Mrs. Richard (Delores G.) Snider's the "Kent Library Review;" Mrs. Ila A. Holmes' showing Dearmont Quadrangle girls, and Mrs. R.L. (Blanche) Huff's "Do It Yourself" model, a home decorating idea.
Among outstanding toppers suggestive of their vocations were Mrs. Leslie (Grace) Hoover's "Bread Basket, Rolls and Wheat Stalks," "A Data Processing Creation," by Mrs. Kenneth (Joyce) Pitchford; originals of office personnel, Mrs. Fred (Linda) Peacock's "Grapes of Wrath" and Mrs. Alice Hulett's "Office Supplies and Things." "Chore Girl" was the subject for Mrs. Glenn (Bessie) Stevens.
Dr. Irene Neu scored with her hat, "Bubble Dancer," Mrs. John (Dorothy) Statler with a smocked gingham dress and hat. Odd was Mrs. Homer (Reva) Collin's real wasp nest hat, and useful was Miss Clara L. Hoffman's "Ice pack hat to be used after overeating such an appetizing meal."
Because she had forgotten to create a hat for the occasion, Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Magill was given a tall, dunce cap made from a newspaper. This she labeled "... Am a dunce!"
Creations of note were modeled by: Mrs. Edwin Stevens, left, Mrs. Christine Wheeler Heil and Mrs. Carroll Walker, in Center and Miss Verda Farrar. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)
What is the origin of The Facultyettes? How did the group get its name. Excerpts from minutes taken from a scrapbook dating back to 1924 reveal those facts and, as well, afford interesting reading. This is the story:
THE TIME: An afternoon in September 1924.
THE CHARACTERS, in order of appearance: The librarian, Sadie T. Kent; two secretaries, Edna N. Wilson and Christine W. Randolph; a professor of English, Martha C. Shea.
A debate
RESOLVED -- That the Women of the Faculty ought to have some fun.
For the alternative: The librarian, the two secretaries, the professor of English.
For the negative: 0.
THE DECISION -- Unanimous, in favor of the affirmative
Organization
THE TIME: An afternoon in September 1924.
THE PLACE: A shady spot on the campus, west of Academic Hall.
THE CHARACTERS: Twenty-five Fair Ladies (faculty).
PROPERTIES: Twenty-five bottles of milk, 50 sandwiches, 150 cookies, one bushel fruit, one large basket of doughnuts. Much merry-making (business of eating).
TWENTY MINUTES LATER: Twenty-five Fair Ladies; 25 milk bottles empty, one large basket empty.
A GREAT DISCUSSION: When, where and how to have some fun.
RESOLVED -- That this group does hereby organize a club.
RESOLVED THAT OFFICERS BE ELECTED: Miss Sadie Trezevant Kent, president; Miss Martha Catherine Shea, vice president; Mrs. Christine Wheeler Randolph, secretary; members...
RESOLVED -- That this club must have a name. Since this proposition proved too important to be decided hurriedly, it was agreed that each members should propose a name, these suggestions to be voted on at the next meeting and a prize given for the name selected.
October 1924.
A wiener roast at the Brucher Farm. Hostesses: Mis Brucher, Mrs. Eicholtz, Miss Rehkopf, Miss LeMasters, Mrs. Townsend.
A great bonfire. Wieners, bacon, tomatoes, buns, coffee, apples, persimmons, pumpkin pie covered with 3 inches of whipped cream. After doing justice to this feast, the bonfire was replenished and by its light the list of names proposed for the club was read and voted upon:
1. As You Like It. 2. Beavers Turned Butterflies. 3. Belles Serene. 4. Come Play Awhile. 5. Drop Your Dignity. 6. The Faculty Flappers. 7. Faculty Follies. 8. Fun and Frolic. 9. Merrymakers. 10. Happy Thought Club. 11 Out for Fun Club. 12. The Pleasure Seekers. 13. The Touchstone Club. 14. The Village Vamps. 15. THE FACULTYETTES.
Vote of 20
There was a scattering vote in favor of several of the names (and) a close race between "The Faculty Flappers" and "The Village Vamps," but both of these dignified appellations were far out distanced by "Facultyettes," and by a vote of more than 20 the club became THE FACULTYETTES.
President Kent called upon the originator of this idea to arise. Miss Esther Knehans modestly stepped fo0rward to claim the honor and the prize -- a box of sparklers. President Kent then commanded that as Miss Knehans had kept her light hidden under a bushel all this while, she now must assume the attitude of the Goddess of Liberty and sparkle for the edification of her colleagues here assembled. This scene was so effective, the pose and lighting so becoming, that all the Facultyettes were envious. Miss Knehans generously divided the sparklers, all participated in a beautiful tableau, and the wiener roast was brought to a brilliant close..."
Of the founders, only Mrs. Heil (then Mrs. Randolph), was present for the Hat Revue. Today the membership totals some 75 and is constituted mostly of unmarried women of the instructional staff and of the non-instructional personnel.
Today, as in the beginning, The Facultyettes Club is instituted primarily for having fun. Dinner meetings are featured at the three or four gatherings each school year and with them, generally, is presented some novelty type of entertainment.
"It appears," said Mrs. Beall, retiring president, "that our 'founders' met more often than we do at the present and played a lot of bridge." Left unsaid was that next year is another year which will bring with it other gay parties and funfests for The Facultyettes.
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