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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: 2/10/20
Text: Dear Father + Pete I just came back from the L'Aiglon tryouts. I don't think I had a chance. I got a letter from Dr. F. enclosing one to get permission for me to come to N.Y. Saturday. I suppose Aunt B. will meet me - I'll write her. [More] snow. We cer-tainly are having enough. I got 5 letters from Mother yesterday. I have [as] extra work a [Conimen] to be read in French + a history topic. I'm going to work on Savanarola. Love, Feb. 10 [Fannie] Mr. Marcus Aaron, 402 S....
Show moreDear Father + Pete I just came back from the L'Aiglon tryouts. I don't think I had a chance. I got a letter from Dr. F. enclosing one to get permission for me to come to N.Y. Saturday. I suppose Aunt B. will meet me - I'll write her. [More] snow. We cer-tainly are having enough. I got 5 letters from Mother yesterday. I have [as] extra work a [Conimen] to be read in French + a history topic. I'm going to work on Savanarola. Love, Feb. 10 [Fannie] Mr. Marcus Aaron, 402 S. Winebiddle Ave., Pitts burg, Pa.
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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: n.d. [postmarked 1920-02-24]
Text: Dear Father and Pete: I am glad Irene Mott approves of me, Pete--I surely do approve of her. Also, I do not know Mr. Morton Meyer well enough to know whether that is a compliment or a slam. Which is it? The reading list is very interesting. I shall probably profit by it next summer. At present it is almost impossible to do the work which directly helps my assigned work. I am going next hour to the discussion of Miss Haight, head of the Latin department, on the historical background of...
Show moreDear Father and Pete: I am glad Irene Mott approves of me, Pete--I surely do approve of her. Also, I do not know Mr. Morton Meyer well enough to know whether that is a compliment or a slam. Which is it? The reading list is very interesting. I shall probably profit by it next summer. At present it is almost impossible to do the work which directly helps my assigned work. I am going next hour to the discussion of Miss Haight, head of the Latin department, on the historical background of Electra, which is to be read by Edith Wynne Matthison. I just came back from the Library, where I read "Celui Qui Epousa Une Femme Muette", the French Club Paly. I signed up for the tryouts. I ought to be able to do something with that, it seems to me. Miss Thallon is back on the job today. I handed in my topic today. I certainly am not feeling decent. Last night I could not make myself go down to dinner, but after resting and half-sleeping for two hours, I felt somewhat better. Otherwise nothing new. The bell has rung for the next hour, so I must beat it. Love, Fannie
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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: n.d. [postmarked 1920-02-09]
Text: Dear Father and Pete: I am guilty of forgetting to write until the last minute. I fooled around working for a while and doing generally nothing. This afternoon I heard Dr. Rinehart, president of Mills College, San Francisco, speak Informally in Senior parlor. Outside of that I did nothing exciting except to call on my faculty advisor. She asked me how I came out, and when I told her she had probably looked my marks up already she admitted she had. I will probably write a letter later in the...
Show moreDear Father and Pete: I am guilty of forgetting to write until the last minute. I fooled around working for a while and doing generally nothing. This afternoon I heard Dr. Rinehart, president of Mills College, San Francisco, speak Informally in Senior parlor. Outside of that I did nothing exciting except to call on my faculty advisor. She asked me how I came out, and when I told her she had probably looked my marks up already she admitted she had. I will probably write a letter later in the evening. I spent an hour and a half getting my debate instructions this morning, and I am working on that now. I write the letters Fan[This side of card is for address] Mr. Marcus Aaron, 402 Winebiddle Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.
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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: n.d. [postmarked 1920-02-09]
Text: Dear Father and Pete: I am guilty of forgetting to write until the last minute. I fooled around working for a while and doing generally nothing. This afternoon I heard Dr. Rinehart, president of Mills College, San Francisco, speak Informally in Senior parlor. Outside of that I did nothing exciting except to call on my faculty advisor. She asked me how I came out, and when I told her she had probably looked my marks up already she admitted she had. I will probably write a letter later in the...
Show moreDear Father and Pete: I am guilty of forgetting to write until the last minute. I fooled around working for a while and doing generally nothing. This afternoon I heard Dr. Rinehart, president of Mills College, San Francisco, speak Informally in Senior parlor. Outside of that I did nothing exciting except to call on my faculty advisor. She asked me how I came out, and when I told her she had probably looked my marks up already she admitted she had. I will probably write a letter later in the evening. I spent an hour and a half getting my debate instructions this morning, and I am working on that now. I write the letters Fan[This side of card is for address] Mr. Marcus Aaron, 402 Winebiddle Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.
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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: 9/20/19
Text: 403 Davison Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. September 20, 1919 Dear Father and Pete: There is something the matter with my machine:the "m" won't work. I just fussed with it a half hour, and it seems to be all right now. Well, i think I am going to like the old joint. The first day was much too queer, but yesterday was loads better. I'll start at the beginning. First I registered at the Dean's office. She called Mother by her "Vassar name." Then...
Show more403 Davison Hall, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. September 20, 1919 Dear Father and Pete: There is something the matter with my machine:the "m" won't work. I just fussed with it a half hour, and it seems to be all right now. Well, i think I am going to like the old joint. The first day was much too queer, but yesterday was loads better. I'll start at the beginning. First I registered at the Dean's office. She called Mother by her "Vassar name." Then Mother payed at the Treasurer's office, and then we had lunch. There are lots of girls on the Reception Committee, and they certainly are nice. They try to make a person feel that she belongs there, instead of making him, or rather her, feel as green as possible. There has been a day between this paragraph and the last. I will try to finish this today. I thought that you would rather wait for this letter then have me miss anything the first few days. Wednesday [Thursday] afternoon we measured every old thing in the room and then went to town for a money spending expedition. We got mission furniture-- a dresser, a chiffonier, a desk and chair, a Morris chair, a reed arm chair and tea-table, and ordered curtains and hangings, bed cover, and pillows. We also got a box to slide under my bed to keep stuff in. I have a dandy room and Mother is right, I think, to want to furnish it attractively. The furniture that the college supplies is awfully cheap looking stuff. My room had a straight chair, bed, and dresser. The bed is very comfortable, so I kept it. The rest of the stuff I put out. I forgot that we bought a very pretty rug, also. Unfortunately nothing but the furniture has come yet. I am awfully glad that we came a day early, because there was some rush on that store, and by Friday they had very little left. Wednesday night I had dinner with Mother at the Inn. There were very few people in my hall that night, but I concluded that the sooner I got used to the place the better, so I staid there. It surely was spooky. The room was so bare that it could not have looked worse. Each hall has a president, (ours is a junior.) She is very nice. I may like our warden--I don't know. She teaches Math, and knows Mother from college. She is a wild-eyed looking soul, but I imagine when you get to know her, that she will be all right. The first time I saw her after I located here she called Friday morning there was more shopping, and there was some mob in that store. I don't know just how or for what particular reason, but all of a sudden I started to meet people in my hall and elsewhere, and the spooky feeling than disappeared. I have a new Junior for a neighbor on one side, and a sophomore in the corner on the other side, also a soph-across the hall. I spent considerable time running back and forth to the janitor's department in Main to find my trunks. My wardrobe trunk landed here Thursday evening and my tray trunk yesterday noon, so now I am completely unpacked and my room is fixed up as much as possible. I took the lamp over to the electrician's office to have it fixed up to match the college plug. The desk set goes very well with the desk. Oh, I am very busy making things look as nice as possible, and Mother certainly knows the ropes. Before I forget, my post-office box is 882. I share it with the girl across the hall, fifty cents apiece. I have received therein two highly intelligent letters dictated to one whom I should imagine would kick to take down such nonsensical stuff. However, there was a great satisfaction in reading the Marcus Aaron English, and imagining the great strain on the stenographer to spell the words. I also received a special delivery letter in Davison after dinner last night. Specials are sent to Main, and from there to the various halls. I forgot to tell you that Friday afternoon there was a Freshman tea in the Freshman Parlors in Main. The notice read for Main Freshman, but I was told that all were to come, so I went and met a lot of my classmates. It was a very good idea. Last nigh there was College singing on the steps of Rockefeller Hall, the recitation Hall. It-would have been much better if the majority of the girls had known the words and not bluffed quite so hard. Incidentally they did not sing the tunes, "Bring inthe laundry", and "Watch the kitchen stove", the songs about which you enlightened us, Father. After that we went to chapel. I also went the night before. We are to be seated the end of next week. The Freshmen sit in back. There are Sunday morning services only three times a month. When I was in the midst of my unpacking yesterday noon, with not even room to walk on the floor, in walked Mrs. Kaufmann, Lucy, Mrs. Peck, and Marjorie. They brought Lucy up by auto and were leaving to go back to New York, so I walked over to the Inn with them, where I saw Mr. Kaufmann. Mother was in town, and they told me only about twenty times how sorry they were to miss her. Marjorie has gotten to look just look a tough Dago--fat and coarse and black as pitch. Lucy and I then walked back to college and I went with her while she got her mail-box. On the way we passed lots of her classmates,whom she hardly seemed to know, but all the Jewish girls, (and there were about ten of them), she hugged and kissed for all she was worth. She also told me that her two college chums are in Davison, and they are to look out for me. They are of the same variety. It is very nice of her, but I am not anxious to start out with her exclusive policy. She has given me the impression in all I have seen of her since yesterday that her primary purpose in college is to meet as many Jewish girls from as many different cities as possible. Last night Miss Smith, our warden, gave an informal reception to all the "inmates" of Davison, their parents, and friends. Mother went because Miss Smith asked her to particularly. She staid only a little while. It was a very good way for us to become acquainted a little faster. We talked and then danced. It was very enjoyable indeed, as the old man would say, except that it would not have been enjoyable to him. There was chapel this morning but I did not go because it was not compulsory and I had a good many things to straighten out here. Besides which, I agreed with Mother to sleep late this morning and take breakfast with her. I have not eaten with her since I started to eat here. She seemed to think I needed the sleep--I did, too. I woke up at eight o'clock, fooled around, and landed over there at nine thirty. Mother was not ready yet, so I ate, and by the time she had finished and I got back here, it was eleven. There was a note on my door from my advisor, asking me to meet her at [a] quarter to eleven and go to chapel with her, but it was too late. I suppose she will come around this afternoon. She said in her note that her roommate had met me and that she said I had friends already, so she was not worried about me. I don't know, who her roommate is. Apparently I have drawn a prize. Several girls have asked me who my advisor is, and they all proceeded to tell me what a wonderful girl she is. Lucy told me that she is one of the biggest girls in college--XYZ her Junior year without being a grind, and also on lots of committees. I'll know more about her when I meet her. She is not what you and I thought she was, Lester. I passed a girl yesterday that looked so much like Libby Kuhn that I turned around to see who she was. Lucy told me later that she was her sister. I also saw Lawrence Litchfield's sister. Marse's friend Elaine Wolf is down the hall a little. She is not bashful by a long shot. She was in here today. I was talking to her yesterday, and all of a sudden she said, "Oh, now I know who you are--you are Charlie Aaron's niece." I suppose she calls him that, too. There are an awful lot of hook-noses around, and plenty in Davison. I hope they are nicer than those I met yesterday. I really don't know much else. I realize that this is a terribly sloppy and disconnected letter, but I have been interrupted a thousand times. At least its length makes up for its sloppiness. This is the ribbon we bought in Santa Barbara. I wouldn't give a penny for it either.You ought to hear the rising bell. It comes off a half hour'before breakfast, which means seven o'clock. It is about as loud as the ,bell on this typewriter. It is a good thing that I have an alarm clock. Also, there are no showers here, only bath-tubs, which is rather a nuisance. Something else I forgot. On-the train up I began to get the first realization that I might have made a mistake in asking not to be put in Main. I am beginning to change my mind. The post-office, the bulletin boards, the janitor's office, the electrician, the grocery store, the book-store, all are in Main, and the noise is enough to drive a person crazy. In addition to that, they have rubber carpets in the corridors to help deaden the noise, and the smell is sickening. The rooms are musty, and two by four, if that. So I guess that I ought to be glad I am where I am, and know a good thing when I see it. Love, Chicken roasted potatoes Hope your foot gets better, old man. Why did you not send the list of books we have at home? Classes start tomorrow, and we will probably have to get books then. The official address of welcome to the Freshmen is tomorrow morning in chapel at the Convocation. Also, I forgot to get you to show me how to do more Trig. I hope I'll get along without it. Phyllis is in a small off-campus house, about two blocks from my end of the campus. She has a dandy little corner room, all furnished by the house-owner. She has a room-mate, however. They don't have to make their own beds. They don't have to go to daily chapel, either. There is Junior-Freshman singing in the Open-Air Theatre tonight. I forgot one other thing. Friday night the Juniors marched in a body, to most of the halls, called the Freshmen to the windows and serenaded us. They sang their songs of welcome to their sister-class. Some were very good Finis.
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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: 9/22/19
Text: September 22, 1919. Dear Father and Pete: I am dead, and I have work to do--perhaps this will be a rest. I will be glad when the rush and the excitement of the first few days will be over. Convocation took place in Chapel at eight forty-five. Mother attended, sitting upstairs in the gallery. The freshmen sat in front. By the way, after we are seated the freshmen are seated in back alphabetically. Half the alphabet sit in the gallery. They are switched after one semester, which means that I...
Show moreSeptember 22, 1919. Dear Father and Pete: I am dead, and I have work to do--perhaps this will be a rest. I will be glad when the rush and the excitement of the first few days will be over. Convocation took place in Chapel at eight forty-five. Mother attended, sitting upstairs in the gallery. The freshmen sat in front. By the way, after we are seated the freshmen are seated in back alphabetically. Half the alphabet sit in the gallery. They are switched after one semester, which means that I will sit in the last row in the gallery for one semester. The accoustics[sic] are very bad, but probably I will not miss much. To get back to the story--after the three classes were seated, the seniors marched in in cap and gowm, followed by the faculty, who sat up on the platform. There are none too many men in the faculty, either. Professor Washburn of the department of Psychology delivered a peach of an address on the "Ineffficiently[sic] Intellectual Person". It sounds very deep, but it was quite comprehensible to my little freshman mind, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then President McCracken delivered the address of welcome, which was also very good. I have not time now to tell what they said--I'11 try to tomorrow. After that the upperclassmen left, and the freshmen remained in chapel to make out their schedules. We were given cards showing what group we were in, and from that we made out our schedules. I have all morning classes, none at all in the afternoon. I don't think it could be more ideal. It is:-- 1. | 2. | 3. | 4. Afternoon empty. Monday French | Latin | English | Math Tuesday French | | English | History Wednesday | Latin | History | Math Thursday French | | English | Math Friday | Latin | History | Hygiene All my recitations are in Rockefeller Hall except Latin, which is in the Assembly Hall. Rockefeller is very near Davison. I have Miss White for French. She is head of the Department. My Latin teacher is Miss Bourne. I am told that she is very good. My math teacher is Miss Wells, who is the best in her department, Lucy says. She says that it is generally acknowledged, not merely her opinion. My English teacher, Miss Buck, is also supposed to be very good, but I may only have her three weeks, as after that the four beginning English sections will be redivided according to the work that the various members are judged capable of doing--a very good plan if a person can be judged in three weeks. Before tomorrow I have to write a theme on the sort of subject I hate-"My First Impressions of Vassar College". Thatis for English, and for French I must do the same thing in French, writing for two hours. Your list of books came today, Pete. The Latin diction-ary I brought along. It is one of the two from which we may choose. None of the other books are on your list. Yesterday was Freshman stay-at-home day, and there surely were slews of people here, all looking me up for various reasons, because somebody knew me or somebody's friend knew me, or I knew somebodyelse, or some such thing. Unfortunately I cannot remember many of their names, and I did not get the brilliant idea of having them write their names. Helen and two of her roommates were here. The one, Lavinia Schulman, who got her XYZ Junior year, may be bright, but I think she is very common. Ruth Franklin seems to be a mighty fine girl. Irene Mottt was also here, sent by Dave Glick. No wonder he likes her, I expect to, too. She is not the sort of girl I would except the daughter of the head of the Y. M. C. A. to be. She has red-hair, and could not look or act more boyish or unlike a minister goody-goody type. She brought a friend of hers. Then Miss Cowley came with two other girls. I thought I would split when she introduced herself. I had visions of Aunt Hattie'e telling me how she looked out for the Pittsburgh girls. She is very nice, though. She told me, Father, that she is always asked to the Board meetings when she is home, and that she enjoyed so much listening to you, I had such a bright and clever father. Just as she was leaving, she said that she had the pleasure of having me in one of her Math sections, but that she had more classes than she could handle, and would have to give one up, in which case, she would ask to have me transferred to hers, as she was very anxious to have me, and she had also asked to be my faculty advisor, and hoped it would be agreeable to me. Well certainly it was, it will be good to have one who is as interested in me as she certainly seems to be, but if it hadn't I could not have told her so. Well it happened that I was in the section that she gave up, so Miss Wells told me she would like to see me after class. It was to tell me that Miss Cowley wanted me to change, and I should go to the Deans office. That took a half hour, and they had to give me three afternoons with a class after lunch. One of the days was Friday, which was very inconvenient for meeting you or mother in a certain place called New York. Also, I like to be able to rest a bit after lunch and not have to run off right away, so after seeing Mother, who was disgusted that I let them change, I went back and asked them not to make it definite until I saw Miss Cowley. By that time lunch was over here. On my way back, I met Lucy who had the dumps because she could not get the courses she wanted, so I took her over to the Inn and we had a real lunch with Mother. Then I went to Miss Cowley. She looked over the schedule, and saw that the only other thing that could be done was to put me in another one of her classes, which would have given me all morning straight from eight thirty to twelve-twenty three days a week. She did not want me to do that, so she said I should stay as I was originally. I really was very diplomatic--aha! She was also very nice about it, so I think things are best this way. What do yoy[sic]think? Last night my advisor came for me and took me to the singing in the open-air theater. It is a beautiful place, with the lake as a background and wonderful trees all around the natural stage. Unfortunately I discovered that the singing was Y. M. C. A. singing, so it was not very interesting. She was XYZ her Junior year all right, and she is so bright that she must think I am dense. I think she is so bright that she verges on being nutty, but I really ought not judge yet. Love, [Fannie] Received two letters from you today. Father, do you keep it after the old man leaves.
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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: 1919-09-24
Text: September 24, 1919. Dear Father and Pete: Having just made my bed and had a taste of oatmeal, a rotten egg, and some cocoa, I decided that my time could not be better spent than by wishing you a Happy New Year, although I suppose that I am a day late in doing so. There is nothing much to write to you today. Yesterday I had French, English, and History. My French teacher, although American, speaks a very fine and Frenchy French. We are going to read the Chanson de Roldand, in modern French,...
Show moreSeptember 24, 1919. Dear Father and Pete: Having just made my bed and had a taste of oatmeal, a rotten egg, and some cocoa, I decided that my time could not be better spent than by wishing you a Happy New Year, although I suppose that I am a day late in doing so. There is nothing much to write to you today. Yesterday I had French, English, and History. My French teacher, although American, speaks a very fine and Frenchy French. We are going to read the Chanson de Roldand, in modern French, of course. In English we had to write another theme about our work in English, our ability to read and write, etc. I will be glad when they have the statistics on us and give us a more interesting line of topics to write on. In history I have Miss Thallon, whom Mother knows from college. Lucy says she is fine, whatever Lucy's authority is worth. She also says she never gives an A. That ought to make you happy, and Doctor Goldenson, too, who informed me that they never give over triple A here. I spent the afternoon doing the work for today, straightening up around here, and standing in line to register at the gym, and then to get books at the book-store. Those two things took almost two hours. I am to report Friday a week for Physical Examination and also to try to pass the swimming test which is necessary for graduation. I believe all you have to do is to swim twice the length of the pool, not more than one hundred feet at the most. After standing in line three quarters of an hour, the books that I was to get were not in yet, so I had to take Phyllis's and go off campus to get them and take them back. She got hers second hand but they are such messy things that I am willing to wait for new ones. I had a notion at the beginning that I ought to eat here in order to get acquainted with people, but I decided that I was sufficiently acqauinted[sic], and that I would get sick of this grub soon enough, so I had dinner with Mother last night and then came back here. They feed good at the Inn. The off campus girls get better grub than we do--they get dessert for lunch and dinner and they get butter for both. We get butter for lunch only, and in return for that luxury we get no dessert at noon. We now have two Freshmen tables, which we keep till Thanksgiving. After that we can sit anywhere we please. I don't know much else to tell you. Love,
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Creator: Aaron, Fannie
Date: 1921-09-30
Text: Dear Father and Pete: All I have to report today is a day wasted yesterday and a lot to do today before leaving. I fooled around outdoors all yesterday afternoon and went to see an excellent gymnastic demonstration in the outdoor theater by ten picked men of the Czech Sokol. It was well worth seeing. I had every intention of working last night, but various people came in to see me and before I knew it the evening was gone. I guess I shall have to start doing as I did last year and do most of...
Show moreDear Father and Pete: All I have to report today is a day wasted yesterday and a lot to do today before leaving. I fooled around outdoors all yesterday afternoon and went to see an excellent gymnastic demonstration in the outdoor theater by ten picked men of the Czech Sokol. It was well worth seeing. I had every intention of working last night, but various people came in to see me and before I knew it the evening was gone. I guess I shall have to start doing as I did last year and do most of my work in the library. Your long letter came Pete, to my surprise, and proved to be very interesting. I wish you a very happy New Year, Father. I am sorry that we cannot be together, but I guess you will be busy enough with the double services not to miss me! I hope that the party you plan for the near future will come off as well as possible, and otherwise I do not know what to wish you! Love, Fannie
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