A Day in the Life of a UK Student: Oct 31-Nov 1, 1911
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2015) — In celebration of the University of Kentucky sesquicentennial, UK Special Collections Research Center is releasing the diary entries of former student Virginia Clay McClure. The diary chronicles the day-to-day activities of McClure's junior and senior years at the State University of Kentucky (now UK) from 1910-1912. McClure's 120th and 121st diary entries from Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 1911, chronicle attending a faculty dance and reception on Halloween and later skipping a class with other seniors.
October 31, 1911. Faculty dance and reception in Armory and Gym. Juliette and I go to Mulligan's to get leaves for Halloween decorations, and find others there. Annie and Mr. Spahr join us, and we make him work. He and Jack Wadsworth try to get ivy off the front of the Main Building. Later go to town and get "Senior Cane"!
South Lime cars never are standing around handy, so you just keep transfers for good times. "Elizabeth" and "Jo" are fine.
October 31, 1911. Faculty dance and reception in Armory and Gym. Everything looked so pretty, and the scene which the "Man in the Moon" saw in the Armory was one of gaiety. Shadow pictures and witch dances in the Gym, where were also shocks of corn which by some marvelous witches' power dispelled thirst, stalks of bananas, a whole table of chestnuts, apples, and all kinds of fruits. Dr. Tiger didn't like standing in the receiving line. A crowd of us came with Dr. and Mrs. Luthill, and found the street liberally strewn with bricks, but climbing the gate was fun, as was also climbing in the office window when Miss Marks went out and the door locked behind her. Addie brought back one of the wildcats, which now adorns our wall, though he is in imminent danger if meeting the fate of the old woman who said, "This is none of I", for the very same scissors are suspended above his head. "If you're bad, look out for the witches!" And then, "Let's be bad!"
November 1, 1911. Very exciting time! Nobody is able to collect their thoughts for German. Mr. Hall "flies" when first whistle blows, and I tell Mr. Godsey to hurry. Excitement! Yells? Roy Porter hold his ears, for Annie, Addie, and I are on the seat behind. Cold? But who cared? The score was 0-0, which is very satisfactory after all.
November 1, 1911. Skipped Kinky! And almost froze on the campus, though Addie, Jessie Mit, Mr. Tinsley, and I strolled around trying to keep warm while we killed time.
More on Virginia Clay McClure
Virginia Clay McClure, a native of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, graduated in 1912 with an AB degree and received her master’s degree in 1928 from UK. After receiving her AB, she taught for a year at Middlesboro, Kentucky, another year at Paducah, Kentucky, and seven years in Cynthiana, Kentucky. After this, she returned to Lexington, where she taught for nine and a half years in the Fayette County schools. At this point, she took two and a half years off of work to complete her doctorate.
The first woman to receive a Ph.D. from UK, McClure said that her department chairman did not “want a woman to get a doctor’s degree.” In spite of those words, McClure received her doctoral degree in American history in 1934.
Her dissertation was “The Settlement of the Kentucky Appalachian Region,” about which “nothing had been done before.” McClure did significant original research for the dissertation and made several trips to Eastern Kentucky with Katherine Pettit, who had taught in settlement schools, including Pine Mountain School, which she helped to establish.
McClure planned to teach at the college level but after finishing her dissertation in the midst of the depression, colleges were laying off faculty rather than hiring them. She then joined the Fayette County School system, then Lexington City Schools, and taught United States history and government at Henry Clay High School from 1934-1959. A position that she found quite rewarding.
The UK alumna and educator was very active in the community. McClure was a member of Central Christian Church and Kappa Delta Pi Honorary, Kentucky and National Retired Teachers associations, Salvation Army Auxiliary, Cardinal Hill Hospital Auxiliary and numerous historical societies. She was also a charter member of the Lexington Rose Society, twice serving as president, and was a member of the American Rose Society.
McClure passed away in 1980 at 91 years of age.
The Virginia Clay McClure papers are housed at the Special Collections Research Center and include a diary/scrapbook, a photograph album and other assorted photographs related to McClure's time as an undergraduate at State University, Lexington, Kentucky from 1910-1912. The scrapbook includes clippings, small artifacts, programs and invitations, but the bulk of the material is McClure's many personal writings. The photograph album and loose photographs also document this time period and include photographs of her UK classmates (many of whom are identified and also mentioned in her scrapbook); class trips and events (such as Arbor Day); and women playing basketball among other casual snapshots.
This story on UK's history is presented by UK Special Collections Research Center. UK Special Collections is home to UK Libraries' collection of rare books, Kentuckiana, the Archives, the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, the King Library Press, the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center, the Bert T. Combs Appalachian collection and the digital library, ExploreUK. The mission of the center is to locate and preserve materials documenting the social, cultural, economic and political history of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Diary transcriptions completed by senior Taylor Adams, Special Collections Learning Lab intern and history major from Ashland, Kentucky.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu