Early Dorm Life
Harold Harvey ’12
Dormitory A, my first rooming assignment, was formed of alcoves separated by walls about eight feet high, a very useful design that permitted throwing whatever you did not want into the next alcove. There was one toilet, I believe, for 18 boys, and one bathtub. No showers. The bathtub was filled with cold water each morning and many hardy souls leaped into this, one after the other.
There were ample calories in the food and ample appetites to demolish anything served. The days were spent routinely at classes all morning, exercise, chapel twice a day, and study hall in the big school room in the evening.
Variations from the routine were few and not calculated to help dispel the feeling of institutional living. Being read to by Mr. Olmsted (The Count of Monte Cristo), brief and rare visits to the homes of married masters, girls up as visitors twice a year, our own dramatic effort once a year.
