Type: Exhibition case

Name: New Jersey College for Women

Detail: New Jersey College for Women (NJC, later Douglass College) opened in September 1918 and provided New Jersey women with an in-state establishment to obtain a higher education. Curricula in home economics and liberal arts were offered to the 54 students of NJC’s first graduating class. Mabel Smith Douglass was the dean of NJC from 1918 to 1933. During the school’s first month, Douglass decided that music should be included in the college curriculum and purchased a grand piano. One year later, music theory and harmony courses were offered as well as an Appreciation of Music course that met the fine arts requirement necessary for graduation. As time went on, NJC acquired a music faculty (including pianist Mary Schenck and bassist Homer Mowe) and offered accredited instrumental and vocal classes. An official music department formed in 1922 and was chaired by John Earle Newton―NJC’s first full-time music professor. Music also played a pivotal role in NJC’s campus life. Students sang during chapel services and at traditional ceremonies including Sacred Path, Yule Log, and Campus Night. Additionally, they joined ensembles including the Drum and Bugle Corps, Weeping Willows, NJC Glee Club, NJC Choir, and the Voorhees Chapel Choir. It is no surprise that NJC was commonly referred to as the “singing college.”

Type: Exhibition caption

Detail: First edition of the Quair Yearbook, published by the junior class of NJC, designed and printed by the Abbey Print Shop of East Orange, New Jersey, 1922. The Weeping Willows, also known as the Weepies, formed in 1920. The group was comprised of a small number of women whose “raison d’etre” was to amuse people. As the 1920 Quair Yearbook stated, “whenever the Glee Club’s more serious numbers begin to lag a little or a ... gathering grows dull this group may always be found ready with their ukuleles and a few sprightly songs.” By 1970, the Weeping Willows’ repertoire included music varying from contemporary songs to barbershop tunes. They sang at college events, held concerts, and helped raise money for charity.