We have very few pictures of the early years of Jones College in the Woodson (and even fewer written materials) so I was happy to find these images from December, 1959 in the Houston Post collection today. I can’t properly express what a joy it is to find this new source of information about Rice and how grateful I am to have access to it. It’s invigorating. I haven’t had time to look at the Post microfilm to see why these pictures were taken but my best off-the-top-of-my-head guess is that it was some sort of human interest story about the Rice co-eds at the end of the semester.I’ll check on Monday.
I love the campus scene on the wall here. I’ve never seen anything quite like it and I wish I had it myself. And if I’m not mistaken that studious young woman at the desk is Evelyn Thomas Nolen ’62, who provided distinguished service to Rice and to the historical profession for over thirty years as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Southern History:
This was my favorite of the bunch. I’m not sure how this would work out in practice, though. What if you had classes in different buildings??
The photos were dated December 9 and it looks like they’re just getting started on the Christmas decorations:
Bonus:
Old-school tandem, probably made by combining a boys-bike and girls-bike frame with that connecting bar.
The photo of the three co-eds is reversed — you can tell by the lettering on the books and the way the blouse is buttoned. The other photos may be reversed, too, if you copied them the same way.
Yes, the bike drive chains are reversed. That one is backwards also.
Yup. Evelyn was not left-handed, the chem lecture hall is on the wrong end of the building, Fondren is clearly reversed and the physics building was never south of Lovett.
I sent this post to Gertrude Abel (Trudy) Hester ’60, and she replied as follows: “I could be wrong, but the other 2 with Evelyn look like Judy Poinsett (left) & Sandy Smith. Kneeling at the bike is Lyn Whitaker & I believe that’s Marion Morrison standing. And then, Margie Moore & Mary Lacey.”
Marion Morrison? Also known as John Wayne?