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Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry

1920s in the United States1930s in the United StatesBryn Mawr CollegeHistory of labor relations in the United StatesHistory of women in Pennsylvania
History of women in the United StatesLabor schoolsWorkers' education
Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (cropped)
Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (cropped)

The Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (1921–1938) was a residential summer school program that brought approximately 100 young working women—mostly factory workers with minimal education—to the Bryn Mawr College campus, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, each year for eight weeks of liberal arts study. As part of the workers' education movement of the 1920s and 30s, the experimental program was unique in several ways. It was the first program of its kind for women in the United States; it was conceived, directed, and largely taught by women; and it was hosted by a women's college. Originally the brainchild of Bryn Mawr president M. Carey Thomas, the program was funded by philanthropists such as John D. Rockefeller Jr. and taught by distinguished faculty drawn from local institutions. Under the direction of Hilda Worthington Smith it evolved into a successful workers' education program that served as the model for several others. Many of the students, who came from diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds and worked in a variety of industries, went on to become union leaders. For political reasons, the program fell out of favor with the college board of trustees and was terminated in 1938. The school is the subject of a 1985 documentary by Suzanne Bauman and Rita Heller, The Women of Summer.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry
Airdale Road, Lower Merion Township

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N 40.02405 ° E -75.31397 °
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Bryn Mawr College

Airdale Road
19010 Lower Merion Township
Pennsylvania, United States
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Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (cropped)
Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (cropped)
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Bryn Mawr College Deanery
Bryn Mawr College Deanery

The Bryn Mawr College Deanery was the campus residence of the first Dean and second President of Bryn Mawr College, Martha Carey Thomas, who maintained a home there from 1885 to 1933. Under the direction of Thomas, the Deanery was greatly enlarged and lavishly decorated for entertaining the college's important guests, students, and alumnae, as well as Thomas’ own immediate family and friends. From its origins as a modest five room Victorian cottage, the Deanery grew into a sprawling forty-six room mansion which included design features from several notable 19th and 20th century artists. The interior was elaborately decorated with the assistance of the American artist Lockwood de Forest and Louis Comfort Tiffany, de Forest's partner in the design firm Tiffany & de Forest, supplied a number of light fixtures of Tiffany glass. De Forest's design of the Deanery's so-called 'Blue Room' is particularly important as it is often considered one of the best American examples of an Aesthetic Movement interior, alongside the Peacock Room by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. In addition, John Charles Olmsted, of the Olmsted Brothers landscape design firm, designed a garden adjacent to the Deanery, which also contained imported works of art from Syria, China, and Italy. The Deanery's beauty and rich history established the Deanery as a cherished space on campus and an icon of Bryn Mawr College.From 1933 until 1968, the Deanery served as the Alumnae House for Bryn Mawr College. The building was demolished in the spring of 1968 to make space for the construction of Canaday Library, which stands on the site today. At the time of its demolition, many of the Deanery's furnishings were re-located to Wyndham, an 18th-century farmhouse (with several later additions) which became the college's new Alumnae House.

Drinker House
Drinker House

The Henry S. Drinker House was constructed in 1902 on the campus of Haverford College. Located just beyond Founder's Green, the house is situated directly next to Haverford's soccer pitch and across Walton Road from Gummere, which houses freshmen. Drinker was originally built for Haverford professor William Comfort, who became president of the College in 1917. Over the years, it became home to many important professors at Haverford from its construction until its conversion to the music building in 1961. At this point, it was renamed in honor of Henry S. Drinker '00, a former cricket player at Haverford who went on to a distinguished law and academic career, and as a noted musicologist. In 1974, Drinker was converted to student housing. The house has two floors and holds eighteen residents.Since it began to house students, Drinker offers its facilities for social gatherings and various annual events. The house traditionally holds the first party of the year, known colloquially as "First Drinker," and a holiday party. As of recent years, students have sought after more enticing gatherings which are generally hosted at the Haverford College Apartments. In the spring of 2007, Drinker was the site of a hoedown party, replete with bales of hay in the back lot. In 2006, Jeffrey Suell '08 organized the first annual Drinker Toy Drive, which collects presents for Operation Santa Claus, a charitable organization in Philadelphia that distributes toys to underprivileged children during the holiday season.