OAK GROVE SEMINARY, VASSALBORO MAINE PHOTO ALBUM 1920s

Item #725

12.25 x 9.5” faded black string-bound album with a torn emblem of “Oak Grove Seminary” on the front cover. Contains around 347 black-and-white photos dating from 1921 to 1923 that feature teachers and students of the school. There are also pictures of the school itself, but these seem to be clipped from a publication about the school. At the front of the album there are several loose sheets of paper that serve as annotations for the photos, most of which are numbered. There are portraits of students, sports teams, and some adorable photos of a dog named Buster. Towards the back of the album there are several graduation and commencement ceremony programs, as well as programs for senior banquets, reading programs, declarations, and concerts. There are also several letters and cards addressed to Florence M. Gifford, who likely put the album together. One such letter is from Edgar A. Guest, poet and reporter for Detroit Free Press. Other ephemera include a photo booklet entitled “Oak Grove Sanctuary Winners of State of Maine Interscholastic Basketball Tournament” and a newspaper article from 1927 entitled “Oak Grove Seminary Founded in 1846 By Group of Scholarly Friends.” Photographs measure between 1 x 1” and 9.25 x 7.5” and are held to the pages with corner tabs.

Example letters:
Letter from Edgar A. Guest to Florence M. Gifford (Detroit, Michigan, November 27, 1922)
My dear Miss Gifford:

Your letter of November 4th came while I was out of the City and this is the first opportunity I have had to reply.
I want you to know how much I appreciate your kind interest in me and my work. I was very happy to write on the slip you enclosed and it was fine of you to write me.
With every good wish to you, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Edgar A. Guest

Letter from Drew T. Hawthorn to Florence M. Gifford (July 10, 1923)
My dear Miss Gifford:-
I am looking for a new teacher of Latin for this school. The young lady who has been with us for two years is leaving for a new place in Conn.
I have heard that you are leaving Oak Grove this year. If that be true would you be interested in a position to teach Latin here and to direct our girls at Coburn Cottage (our girls’ dormitory).
Of course I do not know your plans so thought I would write and ask.
We have a fine school and the opening here is a good one for one who is looking for a pleasant place in which to work and for an opportunity to be of great service to a fine group of girls. I shall be very glad to hear from you.
Very sincerely yours
Drew T. Hawthorn

Letter from Hazel Curtis to Florence M. Gifford (West Harpswell, Me., Feb. 17, 1922)
Dear Miss Gifford;-
A month ago to-day we were in Waterville to-gether. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to have you there. When it seemed so hard you were right there to sympathize and yet help me to be cheerful when we were with her. I am so glad that I could be with her that last day. When Father told that she probably could not get well she was just as dear and brave as ever the tears came to her eyes but she did not break down and told Papa not to feel badly. He asked her if she had a message for the home folks and at first she said “no”; then after a minute she said “God Knows.” She understood that an operation was her only hope and that was very, very slight, but she wished it done. She took the ether like a baby and of course never came out from under it. I am glad that doctor did operate as it was her wish and we would never have been satisfied otherwise. It was hard for Mother not being able to go but when I told her that Rosalin did not ask for her and understood that she could not leave Joseph she felt better. She is bearing up under the sorrow wonderfully.
I think it was lovely that you had the service there at school for her. I know it was because as you said, “We all love Rosalin.”
The flowers from her class, the girls and Women Faculty and boys and Men Faculty were beautiful. I intended to acknowledge them formally. If nothing has been said to the Faculty and Student Body in that regard I wish that you would extend our appreciation for the lovely sprays of carnations & roses. They expressed a message of love, as only flowers can.
I am visiting some friends at West Harpswell for a few weeks. They are middle aged people and have no children but love young people.
Mr. Cobb was Rosalin’s Sunday School teacher. Mrs. Cobb was a train nurse. It is almost an ideal Christian home, my the spirit is splendid.
I am feeling rather better all the time. I regret to say that my brother’s condition is not improving.
It is my wish that everything is running smoothly at Oak Grove and you are having a pleasant year.
Please remember me to the old girls and give my love particularly to Mrs. Owen and Eileen.
Your Loving Friend,
Hazel Curtis.

Price: $499.00