William Smith in Quarantine
William Smith did not quarantine as soon as Hobart. On October 10, it was announced that students commuting from Waterloo and Seneca Falls were sent their homework and told not to return to campus. The students living on campus were asked to make as few trips downtown as possible, and everyone was banned from movie theaters. In addition, weekend passes were canceled.
On October 15, classes were canceled until after the epidemic had passed, and the students on campus were quarantined. They were only allowed to leave campus for walks in the country with the Dean’s permission.
The students split their time between service work and outdoor activities. A conservation class in cookery was created and the students made soup to donate to local families affected by the pandemic. They also continued their Red Cross work. Sewing machines were brought up the hill from Smith Hall, and each girl worked two hours per day making blankets, quilts, socks, and pajamas.
On October 18, there was a basketball game between Miller and Blackwell House, which Miller won 19–12. On October 21, the Geneva Daily Times wrote, "At present there are no cases of influenza among the hill girls. Everyone is in a perfect physical condition due mostly to the healthy outdoor life led. The majority of the girls take long hikes in the country every day and besides special outdoor gymnasium work has been planned."
On October 23, the students organized a Field Day which included high jump, baseball, field hockey, basketball, and several races. The Geneva Daily Times wrote that "A horse race which consisted of four girls walking abreast for 50 yards with their arms on each others shoulders was an innovation."
Mock Wedding
On Saturday, October 19, William Smith students held a mock wedding in Miller House, when Reginald Pomeroy Manners, Earl of Devonshire (Elizabeth Ann Runk ’22) married Winifred Edalyn Maurice (Marlon Harrison ’20). On Thursday night there was a stag party in the groom’s room in Blackwell House, and the following morning, the bride was surprised when a house meeting became a wedding shower.
On the day of the ceremony, Hazel Morgan '20 sang "O Promise Me," and Gladys Cramer '22 played Lohengrin's wedding march. The flower girls threw paper orchids, and the ring was delivered on the finger of a Kewpie doll, a mascot of 1920. According to the Geneva Daily Times, "The ceremony was interrupted by Elenor Batchelor who accused the groom of breach of promise, but she was brought out after a swoon."
The happy couple was then driven around campus in a horse and carriage.
Living Tableaux
On Halloween, the first-year students gave a performance of living tableaux where they dressed up and posed as popular war posters of the time. They also posed as tableaux of Belgium, France, England, and Italy, with each singing the national anthems of their respective countries. For a grand finale, all of the girls marched in singing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and finished with the "Star-Spangled Banner".
Classes resumed on November 4, and the quarantine ended the following day.
