80
LILIAN L. STROEBE
1875-1959
When Miss Lilian L. Stroebe retired in 1945, at the age of
68, in good health and undaunted in her zest for an active
life, she turned German Department historian. She re-read
forty German Department annual reports, studied statistics,
compiled a list of publications of members of the depart-
ment, and read over all her diaries, A Line A Day, kept
diligently through thirty years. The College published
her 43 page essay, The Teaching of German at Vassar College
in Peace and War. A Retrospect 1905-1943.
She came to Vassar in 1905, and it can be said that those
early years of this century may well be regarded as the be-
ginning of a new era in the teaching of modern languages.
Up to the turn of the century, any native speaker of a lan-
guage was considered to be a fitting instructor. Now a
Ph.D, became necessary, as proof of training in literature,
philology, and phonetics. The translation method was being
abandoned for the direct method, that is the oral approach
to the language. Miss Stroebe was admirably equipped to be
a leader in this trend. Born in Illenau, Germany, she was
one of the first women to receive a Ph.D. from the University
of Heidelberg.
In 1905, she came to the United States, meaning to be a mere
visitor for about a year. But fate intervened. Staying in
New York, she decided to have some laundry done. But the
establishment she selected happened to be a French hand
laundry. when she saw the bill, she felt that her funds
would not hold out, and that she had better look for a job
in this expensive country. She secured one at the Rye,
New York, Seminary. This led to her appointment at Vassar,
and so it is to a laundry bill that we owe the presence
here of a leading personality in the teaching of languages.
Here she was to spend 58 years of almost continuous teach-
ing.
Her energy and her devotion to her profession could not
tolerate idle summers, and in 1912, she initiated the sum-
mer school in Lakeville, Connecticut, which later devel-
oped into the nationally known Middlebury Summer School
of Languages. Recognition came when Middlebury gave her
an honorary degree in 1944.
Another high light of her career was the discovery in
February 1912 of what is now the famed Speck Collection of
81
LILIAN L. STROEBE (Continued)
Goetheana at Yale University. It was delightful to hear
her tell about the clue given by a student, the intrepid
walk she took with Miss Marian P. Whitney, then Chairman
of the Department, and others, crossing the frozen Hudson
on foot to take the West Shore Railroad to Haverstraw,
where to their amazement they found in back of a little
drug store the valuable collection to which the elderly
druggist, Mr. Speck, had devoted all the time and funds
he could spare from his business. Yale rather than Vassar
was selected as a depository because our College did not
have the space to house the large collection. It is new
housed and handsomely exhibited at Yale in a special wing
of the Sterling Library and is the finest Goethe collection
in this country, second only to one private collection in
Germany.
This safari is an example of Miss Stroebe's love of long
walks and trips. She was an accomplished mountain climber,
and after age and arthritis made active walking difficult,
she took great joy in trips abroad, and during the year,
drives in Dutchess County. Companions privileged to drive
her enjoyed with her the pleasures brought by the changing
seasons, from the hunt for the first pussy willows to the
forages for lilacs around abandoned farm houses, and to
the search, in the fall, for the elusive bittersweet.
And the picnics and cook-outs in which the staff and all
the German majors took part--those were the days! when
we were setting out it was lovely to hear her say, with a
contented sigh, "Now there is Sunday in my soul!" She
taught us ‘the lay of the land and the rhythm of the road.’
In her work with younger colleagues she shirked no trouble
to help them to come up to their best possibilities. Pa-
tiently, she sat in the classroom to observe a newcomer's
technique, which must have bored her considerably. Her
detailed and objective comments were those of a person who
knew exactly what she wanted, and why she wanted it; they
helped immeasurably to develop the teaching method of
young instructors. Those of us who experienced this never
cease to be grateful for what they received.
As early as 1907 an introductory course in Germanic phil-
ology and Middle High German was offered, as far as she
82
LILIAN L. STROEBE (Continued)
could find out the first of its kind in an undergraduate
college. We still teach it as part of 300.
Many articles, mainly on classroom technique, are still
read by aspiring teachers, and many of her textbooks, some
published in cooperation with Miss Whitney, Miss Hofrichter
and Mrs. Bister, are still in use. She made one capital
find, Emil und die Detektive, a first year reader edited
with Miss Hofrichter. Its royalties paid for several
trips to Europe and extensive book purchases.
The greatest inspiration she gave to her colleagues lay in
her unflagging and enthusiastic devotion to her work. The
Department was the center of her life, and nothing was too
much for her if it led to better teaching. The methods
she developed still are a tradition at Vassar, and, through
the Middlebury Summer School, they are spread to many other
colleges. Her work still goes on, as she now rests after
her labors.
Ruth J. Hofrichter
Evalyn A. Clark
Ada Klett Bister
XV - 152-153