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Women at Hope College in the 1930's and 1940's

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Social Treatment of Women at Hope in the 1930's
As women began to attend Hope in increasing numbers in the early 20th century, they entered into a culture that expected them to behave, interact with others, and participate in society in very specific ways. Historian Mary C. McComb studies the way that the middle class in the United States reacted and coped with the Depression. She analyzes college students during the 1930's period in her book Great Depression and the Middle Class, as most young people able to afford higher education belonged to the upper or middle class. In the context of the Great Depression, McComb addresses the way students’ view of the Depression impacted the way they interacted with one another. She also specifically analyzes the roles and treatment of female students at colleges and universities [1]. At Hope, the experiences of women in the 1930’s, based on editorials in the Anchor, reflected the national trends of how society expected women to behave in the middle class Depression culture that McComb discusses.
McComb first addresses the culture of the 1930s' impact on college students' approach to and goals in college. As the economy became the central focus in all of American culture, students became well versed in economic terms. This terminology shaped their view of themselves and others around them to fit an economic context. McComb argues that when goods became scarce, middle class students began to think of themselves, their social standing, and the way their peers perceived them as their personal commodity to sell. In this culture, social society expected women specifically to sell themselves as marriage prospects for their male peers [2]. This may be another reason for the popularity of college events and social societies at Hope during the 1930’s. Students marketed themselves as social assets.
This kind of self marketing culture created specific common goals among men and women in getting a higher education. For women, McComb argues that women fell into two categories with different goals. Some women enrolled in college in order to enjoy the social experience and find a husband. Another group of women instead enrolled to prepare for careers as teachers, social workers, nurses or other “female” positions [3]. Each path had specific consequences for women within the financially focused culture.
While McCombs' analyzes of trends throughout the greater U.S. is helpful, women living during this time period had their own individual experiences. Historical analysis and generalizations are helpful in understanding a time period in a broad context and the overarching behaviors of groups of people; however, actual individuals experienced the time period in completely independent ways. They may have experienced some form of the theories McComb suggests such as self marketing, having the idea of marriage after college, or focusing on their education in their minds, but they as humans held more of a complexity that can not be placed easily into theories or generalizations. Looking at Hope women with these theories in mind, we can see similarities; however, we cannot place these women into definite categories or assume their complete experiences based on certain contextual trends found by scholars such as McComb.
Many women at Hope expressed interest in the social aspects of college and in marriage. Ethel Leestma Swets (1929-1933) saved many of her invitations and acceptances from men to her sorority, Sibylline events, wedding invitations, and a newspaper article titled, “How to be Happy Though Married, Which Was Worked Out By Married Couple Who Proved its Worth" [4]. First, the inclusion of invitations to weddings and coed events in her scrapbook indicate these events as important to her. Secondly, the article includes an alphabetical list of advice from a couple on how to make marriage fruitful [5]. Margaret J. Kole (1929-1933) also saved her invitations and acceptance letters to social coed events [6]. Women at Hope during the 1930's focused heavily on social prospects and cared deeply about the marriages developing around them. Marriage may or may not have been their end goal in college, as McComb suggests, but we have found evidence that they at least valued the importance of marriage in their own lives and in the lives of those around them highly.
Maria’s research on women in what we now call STEM also indicates that Hope women challenged gender roles leading to similar issues stemming from the expectations of men that McComb discusses. According to Maria’s research, a number of women majored in STEM fields and eventually became missionaries. As Maria hypothesizes, this may allude to women who did not want to get married but rather wanted to focus more on their education. McComb argues that men found women who focused on their own education threatening. While majoring in STEM does not directly indicate commitment to education more than any other major, men typically accounted for a large portion of the population of STEM classes during this time. Women entering into STEM majors may represent a body of women willing to go against their present day culture or society’s expectations to pursue an education they wanted. McComb argues that men at many universities felt threatened by academically driven women who chose to go against traditional gender norms. In addition to having more women than ever before in their classes next to them, any woman who spoke up, held leadership positions, sought employment on campus, etc., posed a new threat to their status as the superior sex. This may have caused problems when the Emergency Relief provided Hope the ability to employ students during the Depression. McComb writes that these women, and most likely the women at Hope who fought to hold their own authority, experienced anti-feminist sentiments and belittling from their male peers [7].
This problem rang true through the halls of Hope College as much as any other college or university at the time. The Anchor throughout the 1930’s included multiple editorials that alluded to how men saw, treated, and received women interested in their own education. First, we must look at what men desired in a woman and how they expected women to act. On May 14, 1930, one humor poem in the Anchor titled “Modesty” explained how a woman should act. The poem explained behavior in efforts to be modest, including that she always spoke of her condition or actions such as feeling “ill”, waking up, or going to sleep in pleasant and polite terms. The author explained that a “modest maid” never spoke out of tongue or too abruptly about how she felt or what she did [8]. Published in the college paper, this poem sends a message to women, teaching them how they should behave, whether in humor or not.
Another example of how society, and more specifically men, thought women should behave lies in an Anchor article from October 6, 1937 titled, “Reporter Phones Fraternities for Description of Ideal Girl”. This article included interviews with the Knickerbocker, Addison, Fraternal, and Cosmopolitan fraternities. Knickerbockers first described their ideal woman’s physical features and when asked about her personality, they answered that she shouldn’t be sophisticated, just sweet. She should also be athletic and enjoy going out. Addisons described their perfect woman as “athletic, yet sophisticated. She knows what she wants and how to get it.” Fraternal members called for women with sympathy but with definite ideas as to what to do. Lastly, the Cosmopolitans thought that an athletic, sophisticated woman who was brilliant, witty, and enjoyed having fun would be the ideal girl [9]. All of these men who participated in the survey seemed to value a woman who enjoyed having fun. However, many of the men also said they wanted a sophisticated woman who was decisive and smart.

However, one editorial by a woman explaining men’s lack of respect for women who took on leadership roles and feeling of superiority to women and the subsequent response from another male student reveal that men's desire for sophistication and intelligence had limits. In the editorial by the female student titled, “She Whoops to Conquer” from April 23, 1930, an anonymous woman explained that male Hope students didn’t give credit to their female counterparts for intelligence and made excuses for a team’s success when lead by a woman, arguing that any success “just happened”. She called women to refuse to take condescending orders. We have attached the full article here [10].
In response, one man completely disagreed with the woman’s claims and called for men to demand superiority over women in the April 30, 1930 issue of the Anchor. In his article, “MEN! She Whooped To Conquer! Let’s Roar to Victory!,” he called the woman’s editorial ‘virulent and seditious’ and alluded to his belief that women had declared war on the men of Hope. We have included the editorial in response here. [11]
We must acknowledge that these editorial articles came from only one woman and one man at Hope. We cannot assume all women felt the same as the woman who wrote, “She Whoops to Conquer” and we cannot assume all men at Hope felt the same as the writer of “MEN! She Whooped To Conquer! Let’s Roar to Victory!” in response. However, we can recognize the validity of this woman’s experience and we can analyze this man’s response. To our 21st century perspective, the man’s response verifies the complaints of the woman. Aligning with what McComb argues, this man obviously felt threatened by this woman’s complaint. Speaking out and demanding respect resulted in an aggressive response [12].
Lastly, Metta J. Ross, a faculty member who began teaching Freshman English in 1926 and retired in 1960, explained in an oral history interview that the way women behaved in class changed drastically throughout the years that she taught. She described women as “meek little girls” and hypothesized that about 70% of Hope women married men they met at Hope. In contrast, after World War II and other wars that occurred during her employment, she noticed a change. She stated, “The girls’ attitude toward their men friends changed, not because of me but because of the changes in life, these men coming back from wars mutilated and nerve sick. You people missed all that of course. They began to assert themselves more, to realize that after all they were people and maybe they did have something worthwhile to say, and they said it. And they said it very well" [13]. Ross’ recollection of how women acted before and after having greater independence while men were absent from their classroom experiences allows us to see the impact of World War II and what women’s experiences in the classroom entailed from an outside perspective.
Women faced a complex and difficult task while attending Hope during the 1930's. Society challenged them to market themselves socially but also didn’t allow them to succeed in certain areas such as intellectual endeavors. Certain societal expectations and the expectations of male students limited their individuality. However, these women operated with a force within this society. They supported their friends in their marriages, sought to make meaningful social connections through social events and marriage prospects in order to succeed, and challenged norms by majoring in male dominated academic fields and speaking up for themselves. They gained confidence over time and began to demand respect.

References

[1] Mary C. McComb, Great Depression and the Middle Class: Experts, Collegiate Youth and Business Ideology, 1929-1941 (New York, New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2006).
[2] McComb, Great Depression and the Middle Class, 6-13.
[3] McComb, Great Depression and the Middle Class, 14-17.
[4] Scrapbook, 1929-1936, Swets, Ethel Leestma Papers, 1929-1936 (H18-1988), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[5] Scrapbook, Swets, Ethel Leestma Papers, 1929-1936 (H18-1988).
[6] Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI., Scrapbook, 1935-1943, Meengs, Florence. Papers, 1935-1943 (H15-1901), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[7] McComb, Great Depression and the Middle Class, 33-37.
[8] "Modesty", Hope College Anchor, May 14, 1930.
[9] "Reporter Phones Fraternities for Description of Ideal Girl", Hope College Anchor, October 6, 1937.
[10] "She Whoops to Conquer", Hope College Anchor, April 23, 1930.
[11] "MEN! She Whooped To Conquer! Let's Roar to Victory!", Hope College Anchor, April 30, 1930.
[12] McComb, Great Depression and the Middle Class, 33-37.
[13] Dick and Phyllis Huff, “Metta Ross Oral Interview,” March 15, 2002,
H88-0131, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 15-16.
Case Studies - Missionaries and STEM
Background
As featured on the Women in STEM data analysis, eight women who majored in STEM had files in the Joint Archives of Holland. Interestingly enough, we found a connection between women's STEM majors and their career paths as missionaries. Here are brief descriptions of their lives.

Gallery
Jeanette Veldman
Jeanette Veldman was from Grandville, Michigan. Veldman attended business college in Grand Rapids. She also attended Hope Preparatory School in 1922. She graduated from Hope College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1926 after majoring in science [1]. At Hope, she participated in:

Sorosis; Y. W. C. A. Cabinet, ‘24, ‘25; Gospel Team ‘26; Student Vol.; State Student Vol. Council ‘25; Recording Secretary; Michigan Student Vol. Union ‘25; Student Council ‘25; Milestone staff ‘25; Sweater Club; A. D. D.; Athletic Board ‘25, ‘26; House Com. ‘23; S. G. A., President [2]

After Hope, she went to the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago in 1929. Then, she went to the Kennedy School of Missions in Hartford, Connecticut, Teachers College at Columbia University in 1946, and School of Midwifery in the NYC Maternity Center Association. In 1930, she was sent to Amoy, China and worked in Hope and Wilhelmins Hospital and School of Nursing. In 1946, she received an M.A. in nursing education and administration from Columbia University.

Veldman was employed abroad in Amoy, China as a nurse until the Communist goverrnment ordered her departure from the country. She was there from 1930-1951. However, a short period of employment in India 1937-1938, a prisoner of war interment during World War II, and a return to mission work in 1946. Afterward, she lived in Arabia (Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman) until she returned to the United States in 1967. Veldman passed away in 1994 [3].

Helen Zander

Helen Zander was born in Schenectady, New York as the youngest of five. She attended grammar school, high school, and Bellevue Reformed Church (Educational Work in Japan). Zander was interested in elocution at a young age and nurtured this interest in church and school work. She acted as a reader with a male chorus and with a group of children who went around giving performances for various groups. Zander decided at 12 to become a missionary after she had a dream in which Christ knocked at the door calling her to service like in the Book of Revelations.
Her church in Schenectady helped finance her education at Hope. Zander graduated from Hope College in 1928 with a Bachelor of Arts and took a science course [4]. At Hope, she participated in
Alethea, President ‘25; Y. W. C. A. Cabinet ‘27, President ‘28; Student Volunteers; Gospel Team ‘26, ‘27, ‘28; Debating Team ‘26; S. G. A. [5]

After graduating from Hope, she was presented as a missionary to Japan by the women’s board of foreign missions. She had not meant to go to Japan (instead, India, Arabia, or China) but had attended a Northfield conference and the theme was Japan. Plus, her big sister’s family at Hope had spent time in Japan. In 1928, after her graduation, she left for Japan. After studying French and German in college, she studied Japanese while in Japan.
In 1929, Zander entered the Japanese Language School, studied under the Mission Language Committee course until she left the field in 1940. She taught in seminaries in Japan like Sturges Seminary and Ferris Seminary. Zander taught some physical training but specialized in subjects like English (composition, reading, and literature), stenography, typing, commercial English, and office practice. Zander found hobbies in Japanese penmanship, flower arrangements, and collecting envelopes and chopsticks.
In 1934, she came back to the United States for the first furlough but returned to Japan in 1935. She taught until her second furlough in 1940. After, she attended Columbia University and got an M.A. degree in Rural Education with emphasis on Industrial Arts [6]. In 1962, she taught at a girl’s high school in Tokyo [7].
Zander worked at seminaries that specialized in the Christian education of women in Japan. Some notable alumni of her schools were two ladies in waiting for an imperial princess, one of the first Japanese authors to produce Christian literature, president of one of the foremost women’s universities, and minister’s wives. Zander herself said that the students represented “largely girls from a very good class of home and are picked through entrance examinations for scholarship and personality.” Very few of the students were Christians when they came, which was a “tremendous evangelistic opportunity” [8].
Zander received an imperial award known as the Fifth Order of the Sacred Treasure from Iwatoro Uchiyama, Governor Kanagawa Prefecture. She was awarded it because of her work in the “furtherance of good Japanese-American relations with your wealthy knowledge, ideas, and love.” In regards to this achievement, Zander wrote “I am grateful that God called me into His service, directed my interests toward Japan” [9].
Overall, Zander taught at four schools - Baiko Jo Gakuin, Ferris, Joshi Gakuin, and Woman’s Christian [10]. She was a missionary for the Reformed Church in Japan from 1928 to 1941 and 1947 to 1974. Helen Zander passed away on January 1, 1983 [11].

Eva Van Schaack

Eva Van Schaack was born in Coxsackie, NY in 1904 [12]. She graduated from Hope in 1929 with a Bachelor of Arts and a major in science. She was involved in the Dorian sorority and the Senior Girls Association [13]
Van Schaack specialized in botany after she graduated from Hope. From 1931-1937, she studied at the School of Higher Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy of the John Hopkins University where she received a PhD. She taught and worked as a laboratory assistant and taught at many schools. Van Schaack was an assistant professor of botany at Kalamazoo College from 1946-1947, assistant professor of plant science at Mount Holyoke College from 1948-1950, associate professor of biology at Wheaton College from 1953-1956, and a professor at Hope College from 1956-1969. She was a member of Sigma Xi.
At Hope, Van Schaack’s pay was very low for an associate professor, and she did not obtain full professorship until two years before her retirement even though she had “distinguished herself in the field of biology”. Van Schaack specialized in fungi and was promoted in 1967.
Van Schaack passed away in 1981 [14].

Bernadine Siebers De Valois
Bernadine Siebers De Valois was born Bernadine Siebers in Grand Rapids. She went to South High School in Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids Junior College, and graduated from Hope College in 1930. She received a Bachelor Arts after majoring in science [15]. At Hope, she participated in
Dorian; Gospel Team 2, 3, 4; Y.W.C.A. Cabinet 3, President 4; Student Volunteer, Secretary-Treasurer 3, President 4; Trumpet Quartet; Orchestra 2, 3; Milestone Assistant Editor; Dorian Basketball 4; Chairman Senior Music Committee; S.G.A. [16]

The Milestone described Bernadine as
"Bernie," the capable president of the Y.W.C.A. Let us consider her good characteristics. Purposeful is she, with a good deal of plain vigor in carrying out her plans; sociable to a high degree. For an example of enthusiasm we would direct you to her and leave you to be convinced in a moment's conversation. We must not forget that terrible trait of hers of working so hard that others feel ashamed of themselves [17].
After Hope, she received an M.D. in 1934 from Rush Medical College. She was a Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examinations in the United States in 1936. In 1936, she was sent to Vellore, India as a missionary. She worked in surgical wards and clinics with an ear, nose, and throat specialty, taught medical and nursing students, public health programs in villages, and village women’s classes and conferences. She married John James De Valois in 1946 [18].
While in India, Siebers De Valois wrote many letters and pamphlets describing her life in India. She noted that she treated an average of 225 patients a day [19]. In her letters, she discusses the dangers of missionary work abroad. In particular, she detailed religious conflicts, riots, extreme weather, and illness. However, she hoped that the dispensary she was helping found would “become a real source of healing power for physical and spiritual needs,” [20].
Eventually, India became suspicious towards missionaries and began to make it harder for them to stay. In an article published by the Church Herald, Siebers De Valois argued that mission work was not meant to establish Christian belief or practice as superior or even drastically increase the number of Christians. Instead, it was meant for converts to have a free response and agency in their religious experience [21].

Moreover, she published articles in the Hope College Alumni magazine attempting to get alumni to become missionaries. In one article, she argued that medical outreach is an important part of Christian professional training. Moreover, the Church needed to focus on the new field of preventative medicine. She argued that her job was to provide new dignity and respect to womanhood in areas where women were treated poorly and so, she focused on village outreach, food, maternal and child welfare [22]. She targeted mothers to disperse information. She described the importance of missionary work as similar in the words of Jesus taken from scripture “‘I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.’” [23] Bernadine illustrated how missionary work fulfilled this vocation as she claimed that
Hope College cannot have a greater and more important mission today than to send her well-armed children as the resolute servants of our scientific and spiritual life to all the imperiled posts of American to save the future life of this nation,... and to watch over the freedom of mankind [24].
Hope presented her with an honorary D.Sc. degree on June 4, 1956 [25].
Eventually, she went to Africa. Upon returning to the United States, she was a member of many medical societies, taught at Western Seminary, and worked at Pine Rest. Bernadine Siebers De Valois passed away on June 19, 2001 [26].

Anne De Young

Anne De Young was born in Clymer, New York though she lived in Newark, New York. Her father was a Reformed Church Minister and her aunt was a domestic missionary. De Young was the middle of seven children [27]. Her parents were born in the Netherlands and went to Hope. De Young decided to enter the nursing profession after visiting her aunt [28].
She graduated from the Berea College School of Nursing in 1938 and Hope College in 1942 after majoring in biology [29]. At Hope, De Young participated in
Sibylline, Treasurer 3; Alcor 4, President; Y. W. C. A 2, 3, 4, Vice President 4; Christian Workers League 2; Band 2; Chapel Choir 3, 4; Music Group 4; German Club 3; Girls Basketball 2, 3; Treasurer of Voorhees Hall 3; Voorhees Hall Nurse. [30]
While at Hope, she worked at Holland City Hospital. After graduating from Hope, she studied Chinese in Berkeley, California in hopes of being stationed in China as a missionary. However, China closed its doors to missionaries so she was unable to go [31]. Then, she studied at Kennedy School of Missions, Hartford, Connecticut in 1951 for one term and the School of Midwifery in 1952 [32].
De Young was an assistant nurse in Voorhees Hall at Hope College for two years and was the head nurse for one year. While head nurse, she had over 100 girls in her care. Afterwards, she was an instructor in the hygiene department at Hope [33]. She continued to teach at the Berea, Kentucky School of Nursing for nine months [34].
She worked at Scudder Memorial Hospital in India for one year. Then, she served in Amoy, China from 1946 to 1951. De Young was reassigned to Arabia in 1952 where she worked in the medical field. She was furloughed from 1958 to 1959 and transferred to Oman soon after reentering the field [35]. Overall, she had mostly been a nursing teacher and supervisor [36]. Anne De Young passed away in 2007.

Mary Louise Talman

Mary Louise Talman was born in China in 1921. Her parents were missionaries. They returned to the United States in 1929 where they lived in Hyde Park, New York [37]. She graduated from Hope in 1942 with a Bachelor of Arts and a major in biology. At Hope, she participated in
Sibylline, Reporter 1, 2; Anchor 1, 2; Y.W.C.A. 1, 2, 3, 4, Cabinet 2; Christian Workers League 1, 2, Secretary 1; Chapel Choir 1; Scalpel Club 4; Philosophy Club 4; Tennis 4 [38].
Talman was a part of the faculty at Presbyterian Green Mountain Conference in Poughkeepsie, NY. She taught science at Attamont, NY High School and earned a M.A. from Albany State Teacher’s College in 1944. She eventually taught general science in Santiago, Chile where she was the head of the middle school department of the College.
Talman died in Lima, Peru on her way home from teaching at Santiago College, Santiago, Chile. The cause of death was an accidental gas leak [39].

Marjorie Van Vranken

Van Vranken was born in Schenectady, New York. Her parents were missionaries in India where they quickly returned after Marjorie was born. Her playmates were Indian children of the compound and she went to Highclerc School for Missionary Children in Kodaikanal, South India. Van Vranken described this time as having “many opportunities of witnessing to God’s handiwork in nature and to His word in their Christian training.” [40]
Van Vranken earned an A.B. from Hope in 1946 after majoring in biology and chemistry. The Milestone lists her hometown as Hudsonville, Michigan in 1946. At Hope, she participated in

Thesaurian 1, 2, 3, 4, Treasurer 3; Y.W.C.A. 1, 2. 3, 4, Cabinet Member 4; Milestone 3 ; Alcor 4, Secretary-Treasurer 4 ; Sister Organization of Alpha Chi 4 ; French Majors' Club 1, 2, 3. 4, Treasurer 3; Scalpel Club 2, 3, 4, Secretary-Treasurer 3, President 4. [41].
To pay for tuition, Van Vranken worked many odd jobs including as a glass grinder, machine mirror engraver, nurses’ aide, and at a chemical plant and wire and spring factory.
After graduating from Hope, she did graduate work at the University of Illinois and received her master’s degree in physiology in 1949. She spent a summer at the YWCA learning about labor and social problems. At graduate school, she was a member of the University Woman’s Scientific Research Association. She also was a part time assistant in physiology and served as a laboratory instructor.
There was a need for women doctors and nurses in India so she got a teaching position in the physiology department of the Vellore Christian Medical College. This was an interdenominational school and international institution which got support from the RCA. She studied Tamil and took exams alongside working. Van Vranken wrote that it was “refreshing to be back in India, but it was also a challenge to be a small cog in the work of God’s kingdom among the students.” She returned to the United States in 1952 [42].
Overall, she spent thirteen years as an RCA missionary in Vellore, India, 28 years involved in the activities of the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa, and five years with the Protestant Women of the SHAPE Chapel in Belgium. She passed away in 1995 [43].

Alida J. Kloosterman

Alida J. Kloosterman was born in 1921 She spent her early life in Grand Rapids except for summers spent on her grandparents farm. At the age of six, she went to Rogers Junior High School where she liked school so much that she did not want to take vacations. She was a member of the school safety division where she worked from a patrolman up to the captain of the force. Home was a “wonderful example of Christian nurture and recognition.” During this time, Kloosterman became interested in Christian Endeavor and the Girls’ League for Service. She also loved sports.
Kloosterman was about to enter Lee High School when her father died, leaving her younger brother to take over the home and support her mother, herself, and her younger sister. The girls sold flowers and babysit as any further education had to be earned through “spartan diligence.” At seventeen, she became a member of the Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. She taught Sunday School and enjoyed listening to the missionaries. She wanted to give her “life to full time Christian service, too, but her finances seemed always to stand in the way.”
After her mother’s death, she worked to pay off debts and mortgages on the house. She saved enough for one year in college. While at Hope, she worked summers, vacations, evenings, and Saturdays, to finance other years too. She worked for the American Sunday School Union and was the Director of Summer Camps. She taught Vacation Bible School, was an inspector at a wood factory and was in charge of girls in the plant. At Hope, she worked in the dorm collecting and dispensing linen, in laundry as a cleaning girl, in the library, and filing. She viewed college as the background for her life work [44].
At Hope, she was in the varsity club, speech club, red cross, Y. W. C. A., prayer bands, wrote for the Milestone and the Anchor, and was a member in the Theasurian sorority (page 47). She graduated from Hope in 1948 after majoring in mathematics [45].
Her desire to become a missionary intensified at Hope College as she was encouraged and assisted by Mrs. John Piet who had worked in India as a missionary. She hoped to work in villages with Bible women or teaching. In 1947, during her Junior year at Hope, she applied to the Board of Foreign Missions. She was accepted as a missionary that year with an appointment to India. In 1949, she went to Chittoor, India and studied the language. She was financed by the Reformed Church, American Church, and the Sunday School of the Second Reformed Church [46]. Kloosterman stayed in India for three years and then taught at the North 4th Street Christian School. Alida J. Kloosterman married Bastiaan van Dijk in 1953. According to her marriage notice, Kloosterman planned to move back to the Netherlands where her husband was from [47]. The U.S. Death Index from 1898-2008 lists Kloosterman's death date as February 3, 2001.

References:
[1] Biographical Materials, Box 5, Veldman, Jeannette (1901-1994). Papers, 1912-1989. (W89-1012.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[2] Milestone 1926 (Holland: Hope College, 1926), 28, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/11.
[3] Biographical Materials, Box 5.
[4] “Helen Zander: Educational Work in Japan,” Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions, July 1942. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[5] Milestone 1928 (Holland: Hope College, 1928), 35, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/13.
[6] “Helen Zander: Educational Work in Japan.”
[7] Helen Zander, “South for the Holidays,” The Church Herald, April 6, 1962. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[8] Helen Zander, “The GI Didn't Know - Do You?” The Church Herald, February 13, 1953. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[9] Helen Zander, “A Bridge Across the Pacific,” The Church Herald, April 24, 1964. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[10] Helen Zander, "A Bridge Across the Pacific."
[11] “Helen Zander Dies,” The Church Herald, January 2, 1983. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[12] Biographical, 1950-1969. Van Schaack, Eva (1904-1981). Papers, 1911-1976. (H88-0177.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[13] Milestone 1929 (Holland: Hope College, 1929), 37, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/13/.
[14] Biographical, 1950-1969.
[15] “Dr. and Mrs. J. J. De Valois,” Board of Foreign Missions, October 1955. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[16] Milestone 1930 (Holland: Hope College, 1930), 65, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/17.
[17] Milestone 1930, 54.
[18] “Dr. and Mrs. J. J. De Valois.”
[19] Bernadine Siebers to St. Ives, September 24, 1938. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[20] Bernadine Siebers to Mission Hospital for Women, June 1, 1939. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[21] Bernadine Siebers De Valois, “The Church’s Right to Send Missionaries,” The Church Herald, May 20, 1955. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[22] Bernadine Siebers De Valois, “Eat too Little - Live too Wretchedly - Die too Young!” The Church Herald, February 17, 1956. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[23] Bernadine Siebers De Valois, “Science Plus-Miracles in India,” Hope College Alumni Magazine, July 1956. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[24] “Nigerian Chicks and Consultations,” Hope College Alumni Magazine, October 1962. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[25] Bernadine Siebers De Valois, “Science Plus-Miracles in India."
[26] De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[27] “Miss Anne R. De Young,” Board for the Christian World Mission Reformed Church in America, November 1958. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[28] “Anne R. De Young,” Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions, 1946. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[29] “Miss Anne R. De Young.”
[30] Milestone 1942 (Holland: Hope College, 1942), 40, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/26.
[31] “Anne De Young To Retire,” June 25, 1982. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[32] “Miss Anne R. De Young.”
[33] “Anne De Young To Retire.”
[34] “Anne R. De Young.”
[35] “Miss Anne R. De Young.”; “The task of Christian missionaries in… Muscat, Newest Oil Town,” The Church Herald, September 19, 1969. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[36] “Anne De Young To Retire.”
[37] “Hope Graduate Buried in Peru,” Holland City News, July 24, 1947. Hope Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[38] Milestone 1942 (Holland: Hope College, 1942), 40, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/26.
[39] “Hope Graduate Buried in Peru.”
[40] “Marjorie Alice Van Vranken,” Board of Foreign Missions Reformed Church of America, September 1953. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[41] Milestone 1946 (Holland: Hope College, 1946), 47, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/27.
[42] “Marjorie Alice Van Vranken.”
[43] “Marjorie A. Van Vranken,” P.F. PORBEUR - Asquillies, 1995. Van Vranken, Herbert E. (1891-1972). Papers, 1914-1995. (W01-1258.7.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[44] “Alida J. Kloosterman”, Board of Foreign Missions Reformed Church in America, January 1950. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[45] Milestone 1948 (Holland: Hope College, 1948), 47, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/30.
[46] "Alida J. Kloosterman."
[47] "Teacher is Wed to Mr. van Dijk, Netherlander," The Sunday News, December 6, 1953.
ASTP Arrives on Campus

Because so many men left during the war movement, Hope College suffered from the decrease in students paying tuition. The student population diminished by approximately half and Hope struggled to remain open. An Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) solved this problem in 1943 by contracting with Hope College to train soldiers for specific careers in the military.
The Announcement of Specialized Training Programs for the Army and Navy Press Release stated, “the Army will contract with selected colleges and universities for the use of their facilities and faculties in effecting such training of selected soldiers in courses prescribed by the Army. This plan will enable the Army to make selections for this training of qualified young men on a broad democratic basis without regard to financial resources” [1].
The ASTP selected Hope College for a non-Federal Education Institution to train students in basic engineering. Several members of the Hope College faculty, including Robert Cavannaugh, Milton Hinga, Clarence Kleis, Albert Lampen, and Albert Timmer, provided instruction in math, physics, meteorology, navigation, physical education, civil aeronautics regulation, and aircraft identification. These programs stemmed from the fear that the war would continue and the United States would lack the necessary men to fill specialized technical positions. President Wichers notes in his correspondence that Hope College was fortunate to be the last college to receive an ASTP program [2].
Formerly, Hope College housed an Army Pilot School in 1942 to instruct any men who failed the physical and mental tests or were over the enlistment age of 26. Hope partnered with the Northern Air Service of Grand Rapids to train ten men in groundwork and flying. These trainees then transferred to an advanced Army school to continue their training. Thus, the college was prepared to work with military troops and this program solved most of the college’s financial problems.

It also appealed to members of the Holland and Hope College community. One alumni wrote to Wichers stating, “I just finished reading the booklet which you sent me...All of us are shouldering additional responsibilities with the hope and prayer that this war may end soon, and it certainly gives me a real 'lift' to know that Hope College is taking such an active and important part in the war effort” [3].
President Wichers corresponded regularly with the ASTP headquarters to prepare for the arrival of the troops. Since most men who regularly attended Hope College had enlisted, the ASTP resided in the Emersonian fraternity house and the Western Seminary Zwemer Hall dormitory. However, the troops occupied space in almost all Hope buildings, except Voorhees Hall, which remained an all girls dormitory.
Before the economic situation at Hope College improved, additional costs were incurred by housing the troops. Stanley Roe of the Corps of Engineers wrote to Wichers describing the required improvements that Hope would need to make to the buildings after an inspection by the Army. Some of the improvements did not require financing by Hope, such as the replacement of fire extinguishers or additional pillows and beds for the troops. However, renovations to the fire alarm system, exit doors, bathrooms, drinking fountains, building codes, etc. amounted to $4,050.00 to be paid by the college [4]. Hope made the necessary arrangements, and in November of 1943, the ASTP arrived at Hope College.
The ASTP changed the atmosphere of the campus in addition to the physical buildings. The atmosphere for women at Hope already changed multiple times since the beginning of World War II until they became the majority on campus with the bulk of the men leaving. This raises questions regarding whether the need for the ASTP income and desire to support the war effort impacted the educational experience of the women on campus.
The male students came onto campus and occupied nearly all spaces but Voorhees Hall. The ASTP headquarters requested the dimensions of all Hope College buildings and Wichers replied with the dimensions. The ASTP wrote back asking why Voorhees and Van Vleck were not  included in the dimensions given. Wichers explained these were not recommended buildings for the ASTP to occupy since Voorhees was historically an all women’s hall and Van Vleck became an all women’s dorm in 1942. After the ASTP sent this letter, Wichers replied with the dimensions of the buildings to be used as the ASTP saw fit [5]. Based on accounts from students at the time, it seems that Voorhees remained a female dorm, while Van Vleck served as both a dorm and an infirmary for the ASTP.
Additionally, each day as the soldiers marched along the sidewalks the women moved out of the way. Trudy Vander Haar recalled, “We students obediently made way for them, stepping off the sidewalk if necessary. On one particular wintry day the two columns parted just enough for me to walk between them on the sidewalk. I slipped on the ice and fell down right in the middle. I was too embarrassed to notice what happened next” [6].
Despite the indications that the ASTP impacted the educational experience of these women, Wichers remained adamant that the women’s education did not suffer. A pamphlet sent to the alumni entitled “We’re in the Army Now” quoted Wichers saying, “Nor has the civilian program been neglected. There are two hundred seventy six boys and girls on the campus following the usual studies. All extracurricular activities are carried on with the exception of intercollegiate athletics which is a casualty for the duration” [7]. The enrollment data compiled by Maria indicates that the two hundred seventy six boys referred to the ASTP men and there were 75 civilian men and 225 civilian women on campus.
The ASTP men followed busy training schedules that often had them up early in the morning and training until late evening. All of the civilian and military courses were separate, so there was not much overlap between the female students at Hope and the ASTP.
Libby Hillegonds states, “An ASTP group joined us on campus during our second year and held their ceremonies around the flag pole each day. Our lives were quite separate, but some interaction must have taken place as five Hope students married ASTP men” [8] Most of the interactions between Hope students and the ASTP men occurred either on Sunday when both the men and the women had time off or at the all college mixers sponsored by either Hope or the Army. The Army hosted a ball when they were there, which promoted mingling between the groups.
Overall it seems the women appreciated the ASTP presence on campus because it filled the absense of the Hope College men who enlisted in the military. However, The Anchor dedicated a page to the ASTP troops and one publication aired the feelings of both the ASTP men and the Hope college women from their interactions and perceptions of each other. The articles appear lighthearted, but bring practical feelings to light.
Furthermore, there was a sense the ASTP men were not “Hope Men.” Jennifer Hill argued in her paper, “‘A Miss Amiss?’ Dorm, Dress, and Dating of 1940s Hope College Women” that women in the 1940s came to Hope College to find a Christian husband with similar values [9]. When the ASTP men arrived, Barbara Bilkert Mulder recalled Coach Hinga, the football coach at Hope, saying, “Now, girls, don’t get involved. Just wait until ‘our boys’ come home!” [11]. The ASTP men impressed Wichers with their excellent character, fine scholastic ability, and religious attitudes, even if some of them were methodist or baptists [10]. These men often were from other parts of the country and were not members of the Reformed Church of America, which may have supported the notion the ASTP were not "Hope Men."
An Anchor article from November 1943 addresses the ASTP and the conceptions about dating as it reprimands the Hope community for judging the military men differently than the civilian men:
“We would like to ask why the sudden arrival of 250 well-filled uniforms should suddenly change the "system?" Why didn't the 250 civilian fellows who were at Hope last year rate the same "chance" or "opportunity" as the 250 army fellows who are at Hope this year? Since when has a uniform changed a person? Does a khaki pants either add to or detract from anyone's personality or character? Certainly if it does, it shouldn't!” [12].
This article further supports the idea that the ASTP men and previous Hope College men were percived differently, but it asserts Hope women treat the ASTP men favorably because of their uniforms.

Overall, many women remembered the ASTP troops boosting morale on campus. Myra Berry reflected, “One would not suspect that with the above negative comments, there actually was good rapport between the G.I.s and the civilian student body. Spirits sagged when it was announced that the ASTP program would end before the expected time” [13].
The ASTP troops left in March of 1944. There were multiple accounts regarding why they left after only five months. Roy Berry, a member of the ASTP program, recalled families were unhappy with the training program causing it to be discontinued [14]. The Holland Sentinel noted a draft shortfall, which caused cancellations and the Anchor explained the ASTP men were needed elsewhere. My research into the Military Records did not confirm or negate any of these accounts. It is possible that portions of all of these explanations are correct.
There was a ceremony in the chapel to conclude the ASTP program before the men departed for their next assignments and the female students at Hope College were once again the large majority on campus [15].

References:
[1] United States Army Headquarters Sixth Service Command, “Announcement of Specialized Training Programs for the Army and Navy-News Release,” Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 2-3.
[2] Wynand Wichers, December 24, 1943, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[3] R.G. Huizinga, January 11, 1944, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[4] Stanley Roe, September 18, 1943, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Correspondence between Hope College and Army, July 1943-September 1943, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[6] Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years (Holland, Michigan: Hope College, 2008), 99.
[7] Wynand Wichers, December 6, 1943, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[8] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 59.
[9] Jennifer Hill, “A Miss Amiss?’ Dorm, Dress, and Dating of 1940s Hope College Women,” papers, January 2003, (H03-1479.60), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[10] Wynand Wichers, December 24, 1943, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[11] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 116.
[12] "Why Priority Ratings?" Hope College Anchor, November 10, 1943.
[13] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 40.
[14] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 48.
[15] “Chapel Assembly Closes Hope’s Successful ASTP Program,” Hope College Anchor, March 22, 1944.
The Great Depression and Hope Students

We originally hypothesized Hope students wouldn’t feel the weight of the Great Depression as students with enough money to attend a private college. In the beginning of our research, we had no reason to think differently. Looking at enrollment numbers, we found a small dip in enrollment, but otherwise, the Anchor didn’t mention the Stock Market Crash, sorority invitations did not reflect any cost cutting measures, the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A., the campus’ primary volunteer groups, focused primarily on foreign volunteer work, and we even found an Anchor article that discussed the Sibylline sorority’s throwing of a “Depression Party” that made light of the economic situation throughout the country. It wasn’t until I took a deeper look at the Campus Gossip section and the Campus Editorials with student opinions that I found interest in the impact of the national crisis. More subtle mentions of the Depression, complaints from students in the Anchor about their lack of money, the petition for the blanket fee, the Sorosis Minutes, engagement with and interest in Roosevelt’s New Deal Programs hinted at the Depression’s impact on Hope students.
It is important to note that much of the social and personal accounts of how the Great Depression impacted students come from the Anchor. The Anchor provides incredible student opinions that give a window into the everyday lives of students. However, relying solely on Anchor articles to understand students’ individual experiences does not give a completely accurate representation, as only students who wrote into the Anchor or the Anchor editors had the ability to share their opinions. How students actually talked about the Depression in personal settings remains relatively unknown. Fortunately, I had access to some personal scrapbooks and sorority minutes that allowed me to get a small glimpse into unofficial opinions and impacts of the event.
Following the general timeline of the Great Depression and looking at how students in the Anchor spoke about the Great Depression, we can see some general trends that reflect when the worst years of the Depression occurred. First, the initial crash of the stock market sparked little conversation, at least within the Anchor. As our professor, Dr. Janes, reminded us, students might not have been impacted right away by a stock market crash, as they most likely did not participate in the stock market. They would only feel the lasting effects later as the U.S. spiraled into mass unemployment, inflation, and shortages.
The first indirect mention of the financial crisis in the Anchor occurred in its initial call for a blanket fee that students would pay at the beginning of the year and cover all college activities. The blanket fee dominated the editorial of the Anchor from April 16, 1930 to April 29, 1931 when the student petitioned action passed through the Board of Trustees [1]. The blanket fee also appears in the Sorosis minutes. On May 30, 1930, the minutes state that at the meeting, many of the members signed the petition for the blanket fee, showing their support [2]. This is the first time any student records mention any economic conditions. Although it is not direct, students obviously took notice of the financial conditions of the time and felt their impact in their own world at Hope College.
The first direct mention of the economic conditions throughout the country in the Anchor appeared in the January 14, 1931 issue. However, this didn’t display the impact on students at Hope. Instead, the writer documents plans for students to attend the state Y.M.C.A.'s Student Conference on Unemployment to learn more about unemployment throughout the state. The article explained that the students would visit unemployment centers and unemployment relief agencies [3]. This led us to believe that Hope students themselves did not deal with financial issues early in the Depression. They learned about the issues around the country as if they impacted others, not them.
At this point, any mention of financial conditions appeared to be indirect or made lightly. For example, the Anchor wrote on March 18, 1931 a call for class dues, basing their argument on the necessity of student loyalty to school activities and to their Alma Mater [4]. On April 22 of the same year, the Anchor wrote that they would not have the ability to continue publishing newspapers because of lack of funds without mentioning the country-wide Depression to which these issues belonged [5]. These financial needs may have stemmed from the dwindling economy but the Anchor discusses them as isolated issues at this time.
Hope students also spoke flippantly of the Depression, leading us to believe that students were aware of the country’s condition and may have felt its effects but spoke about overarching circumstances without a deeply personal or emotional connection. The “Campus Gossip” column mentions the unemployment crisis in a joking manner on January 28, 1931 [6]. You can view this column here.

While the Anchor makes a rather indirect reference, its nod to the unemployment crisis displays the background knowledge Hope students had of the issue that would allow them to understand the joke. The Anchor also includes a description of the Sibylline Sorority’s "Depression Party" on September 30, 1931. Events within this evening included skits that made fun of specific low income positions, games, and dinner [7]. We have attached the full article here.
Again, these specific Hope students display that they understood the state of the country, but did not have a personal connection to the struggle. However, many Hope students could have had difficulty during this time, but public social events and the Anchor seemed to ignore Hope’s struggle until it completely impacted students campus wide. Financially struggling students or those who directly recognized the impact of the Great Depression may have been excluded from public display. There could have been a level of shame for those impacted more directly from the unemployment crisis as well, causing many to avoid addressing the Depression’s impact on the Hope College student body as a whole.
We did find evidence that students did struggle at this time based on Margaret Kole’s scrapbook and recognized the financial difficulties as products of the Depression, despite the Anchor and Sibylline event only making indirect references of the crisis or making fun of the struggle others experienced. Margaret Kole’s scrapbook included letters from the Dean of Women, Winifred Durfee, and Edward Dimnent that led us to believe that the students at Hope felt even the most immediate effects of the Great Depression. Writing to Kole after her Freshman year at Hope, Durfee asks Kole who she will room with in the following year, as the woman with whom she had originally planned to live would not be living on campus in order to work. One woman who Durfee suggested as a potential roommate had worked for two years after high school prior to enrolling at Hope, making her a few years older than others in her class. She closed the letter assuring Margaret that she was “very glad that you decided to continue and I feel that you will never regret it” [8]. This hints that young people at the time may have juggled the desire to work and to attend college.
Edward Dimnent’s letter to Kole in August of 1932 reflected similar notions but more directly addressed the enrollment drop in the beginning years of the Depression. He very clearly discussed the current financial issues throughout the country and asked Kole to write to him if she considered leaving the college or “change your whole scheme of things”, even though she would be entering her senior year of college. He also asked Kole to recommend Hope to her friends who had recently graduated from high school, noting the importance of college despite financial difficulties [9].

This report of the college’s state as well as the Depression’s impact on students. In A Century of Hope, Wichers argues that Hope did not lose many students during the Great Depression; however, based on Maria’s enrollment research, Hope lost 67 students from 1928 to 1929 dropping from 501 in 1928 to 434 in 1929. At the lowest point in this lull in enrollment in 1931, Hope had 420 students enrolled [10]. To Wichers, who presided as president at Hope during both the Great Depression and World War Two, may have felt that this was only a small dip compared to the loss of almost all men at Hope during the war; however, at the time, it is likely that even this enrollment drop during the Depression seemed massive to the college.
By April 20, 1932, the Anchor more seriously named and discussed the Great Depression, as it began to affect the entire student body. In the article “Depression Blues”, the Anchor quotes a letter from a man to a New York banking house. The man writing the letter explained that he could not pay the bank collateral and explained his present situation and frustration with the lack of money he had compared to all of the taxes and fees the government required him to pay. He expressed desperation in his situation [11]. This article contrasts the tone of previous articles that referenced the Depression. They quote the letter as if to appeal to the trials that other students and people in the Hope community felt during the time, rather than making light of the situation or talking about financial issues without connection to the greater problem across the country. This article has a sober, understanding tone. By quoting the letter, the Anchor writer reflects the student body’s more direct and personal understanding of his desperation.
We found the most direct and obvious explanation of the difficulty students felt as a result of the Great Depression in the Anchor to be “Men Wanted”. Written for the March 8, 1933 issue of the Anchor, “Men Wanted” addresses men specifically but appeals to all citizens as if a battlecry. The author explains instead of brawn, the American people needed a warlike mindset that would allow them to rally together to beat their foe: The Great Depression [12].
This warlike approach to the Depression in a student newspaper demonstrates the impact the Depression had on students. No longer did students make fun of those suffering from the Depression or talk about financial struggles as a foreign trial impacting people of a different class. “Men Wanted” addresses the Great Depression as a countrywide issue that required the need of an army of “healthy, red-blooded, Christian, fair, honest men, who will fight the situation shoulder to shoulder” [13].
Even popular social groups such as sororities felt the effects of the Depression. While we do not have record of all of the sororities’ detailed written minutes, the Sorosis sorority documented in their 1931 Alumni Newsletter and their 1933 meeting minutes the little struggle of their members to meet due requirements. In the 1931 Alumni Newsletter they called for members to send in their dues and explained that all “Sorosis Alumnae Association money is tied up in the People’s State Bank” [14]. In their 1933 Meeting Minutes, dues again became a problem as the sorority treasury struggled to maintain funds. In the September 29 minutes, the secretary documented the Treasurer's report of only 8 dollars in the treasury and in the October 6 minutes, only two dollars in the treasury. By November 10, the president of the sorority threatened a “No mon, no fun” rule that forced members to pay their dues or the sorority would not host any parties [15]. This reflects the financial strain felt even by those in the most popular of social groups.
Many individual students had different experiences while living within this national crisis. One student, Ethel Swets played organ for local churches during her time at Hope from 1930. However, because of the lack of circulating paper money and the banking crisis, the churches she played for paid her in money that resembled monopoly money, representing “I owe you’s”. She did not include in her scrapbook if the churches ever made true to their promise, but she did include one of the dollars they gave her [16].
As the Great Depression impacted students more personally, they became more inspired to explore their ability to understand and aid the situation. One way to engage became politically. Students became very interested and invested in the politics in Washington after the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in November of 1932. All debate about the new president and his policies revolved around his New Deal programs. Most discussion centered on his hands-on approach that featured intense government involvement in the country’s economic recovery.
However, Wicher’s notes that the New Deal Programs that students so passionately debated helped save the college and students impacted by financial difficulty. He explains that the Federal Emergency Relief Act allowed the college to employ students on multiple campus projects in return for tuition, room, and board. We can see evidence of this occurrence and help from the government in the Anchor. In the February 21, 1934 issue of the Anchor, the main headline reads, “Hope Students Receive Federal Aid”. The authors proceed to detail the number of students Hope employed thanks to the aid, the requirements for workers, and the wages for student workers [17]. On March 7, 1934, the Anchor noted that the Federal Emergency Relief plan allowed Hope to pay student workers an additional 15 dollars per month [18]. Despite the college community’s critical debate of New Deal programs, the college relied heavily on funds from those programs in order to keep students enrolled and keep the college’s doors open.
As the 1930’s progressed, more and more Anchor articles communicated a more positive outlook on the Depression. On February 19, 1936, the Anchor reported a large reduction in debt in their paper from $1900 to only $600 [19]. On October 27, 1936, “Statistics Reveal Profit of $102,000 For College Graduate -- 63% Per Year” from the Anchor wrote that college graduates profited much higher than those who only finished high school [20]. While Students continued to debate about New Deal Programs and struggled to make financial ends meet, we can see a slight improvement as the rhetoric of how students wrote about money had changed in some articles. Students wrote more positively about money and displayed a level of hope in their financial situation.
We must acknowledge that these events and campus responses to the Depression did occur linearly, but rather at times all at once. As these trends occurred, they overlapped with one another, roughly creating a timeline of the Great Depression at Hope College in the eyes of the students. While we only have pieces of students’ experiences, we can see that our hypothesis did not hold up. Hope College students were not immune to the effects of the Great Depression. They felt the impact of the financial crisis and had a range of responses throughout the decade of the 1930’s.

References:

[1] "Unity", Hope College Anchor, 16 April, 1930., "Blanket Fee Goes Through", Hope College Anchor, 29 April, 1931.
[2] Minutes, 2 May 1930, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 179.
[3] "Students Confer on Unemployment, Hope College Anchor, 14 January, 1931.
[4] "Obligations", Hope College Anchor, 18 March, 1931.
[5] "The Anchor Slips", Hope College Anchor, 22 April 1931.
[6] "Campus Gossip", Hope College Anchor, 28 January, 1931.
[7] "Sibyllines and Guests Prosper on Depression", Hope College Anchor, 30 September, 1931.
[8] Letter from Winifred Durfee to Margaret J. Kole in Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[9] Letter from Edward Dimnent to Margaret J. Kole in Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[10] Wynand Wichers, A Century of Hope (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), 204.
[11] "Depression Blues", Hope College Anchor, 20 April, 1932.
[12] "Men Wanted", Hope College Anchor, 8 March, 1933.
[13] "Men Wanted", Hope College Anchor, 8 March, 1933.
[14] Alumni Newsletter, 1931, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[15] Minutes, 29 September, 1933, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413)., 10 November, 1933, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413).
[16] Scrapbook, 1929-1936, Swets, Ethel Leestma Papers, 1929-1936 (H18-1988), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[17] "Hope Students Receive Federal Aid", Hope College Anchor, 21 February, 1934.
[18] "Emergency Relief Fund Distributed", Hope College Anchor, 17 March, 1934.
[19] “Huge Slice Made in Anchor Debt”, Hope College Anchor, 19 February, 1936.
[20] "Statistics Reveal Profit of $102,000 For College Graduate -- 63% Per Year", Hope College Anchor, 27 October 1936.
Founding of STEM at Hope
Though most women at Hope College from 1925-1950 majored in the humanities or fine arts departments, a significant proportion majored in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM). Given that Hope was created to prepare students for teaching, missionary work, and ministry, this finding seemed unusual at first glance. The first reason why this seemed unusual was because STEM departments at Hope were newer and less established. Moreover, STEM did not seem to directly correlate with any of the fields that Hope was meant to prepare students for. Lastly, given that women in STEM are still a minority, it seemed to be progressive for 26.32% of female Seniors at Hope College in 1934 to have majored in STEM.
Historical Women in STEM
Assuming that female interest in STEM is a recent phenomenon is both an oversimplification and blatantly incorrect. According to the Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States, women have been players in the creation of STEM since its early days in the United States. Science was a practice for amateurs in the nineteenth century as practitioners rarely had degrees and found informal education through lectures, museum visiting, and reading textbooks. Women were such avid consumers of these textbooks that an entire genre of textbooks was dedicated to female readers. These textbooks were imported from England and taught young women about topics like philosophy, biology, and chemistry. Two popular books were Conversations on Chemistry, published in 1806 by Jane Marcet, and Conversations on Natural Philosophy, published in 1819 [1].
Education and Separate Spheres
However, women in science were effectively marginalized as the field became formalized. Single gendered schools, common for the time, were part of this process. Male colleges formed their curriculums around classical training in Latin, Greek, and English. Classical training was seen as disciplined and masculine. These schools utilized the theory of “separate spheres,” meaning that men and women belonged in different roles. The public sphere, politics, work, law, etc. was meant for men. The private sphere, childcare, housework, religion, etc, were for women. Therefore, classical training was a part of the male, public sphere. Moreover, because women rarely entered higher education, they had no need for classical training. Instead, administrators looked to the sciences to teach “critical observation and… logical thought” [2]. Science became a core part of many female academies and colleges, whereas, it was a more peripheral addition to men’s education.
STEM at Hope
Origins
Hope College was originally a men’s college founded on classical and biblical training [3]. Evidence of this foundation in classical training is clear in the 1866 Catalog where it explicitly states “the Academy has been conducted mainly, though not exclusively, with reference to the training of ministers and teachers… those pursuing a full classical course, are preparing for College.” [4]. Classical training was not the only training that students received, but it was the basis for further education and future vocations. Moreover, the academic week was divided between Latin days (Monday and Wednesday), Greek days (Tuesday and Thursday), and a Rhetoric day (Friday) [5]. Most of the students in 1866 took the classical track or course with only two men out of twenty-seven listed students in the catalog taking a different course [6]. It is not clear whether the students listed are academy or college students given that the academy was incorporated into the College in 1866 [7]. Regardless, the frequency of the classical track is significant. Hope College’s reliance on classical training was normal for colleges and universities of the nineteenth century.
Students were required to train in Dutch so that they could preach to a region populated with Dutch immigrants. Although Hope College’s emphasis on classical training was typical, its emphasis on STEM was unique. Science was regarded highly though the practice was newer. This is exemplified in Reverend Issac Wickoff’s speech at President Phelp’s inauguration in 1866 where he says, “It is intended and expected that this college shall be a seminary of evangelical religion as well as of secular science” [8]. By 1893, students could matriculate with bachelor’s degrees in science or the arts [9]. From the founding of Hope, science was not seen to be contradictory to religion but rather, complementary.
Courses
By the 1906-1907 school year, STEM’s burgeoning popularity can be seen with the introduction of three STEM courses. The course catalog offered a biological course, a Philosophical course, and modern-language-mathematics alongside modern-language-English, and classical courses [10]. According to the catalog, this was meant to develop a “refined sense and aesthetic taste, a practical utility in the life and affairs of a progressive world, a manly character and loyal citizenship.” [11] Moreover, the storage building, established in 1867, was the original science lab. By 1903, Van Raalte Hall opened up a section of laboratories [12]. In 1909, the chemistry and physics departments were separated into two departments [13].
Departmental Expansion
The science wing of Hope expanded greatly under Gerrit Van Zyl from 1923-1964. Gerrit Van Zyl, a former Hope student, was appointed as head of the chemistry department in 1923. By 1929, 125 alumni had earned PhDs in chemistry from leading research universities [14]. Van Zyl created research opportunities year round, mentored future educators, and attended American Chemical Society’s national meetings to promote Hope’s chemistry department and network [15].
The science wing at Hope continued to expand with the hiring of Harvey Kleinheksel in 1928 to teach chemistry and biology [16]. Similarly, Harry Frissel, the first Hope teacher with a doctorate in physics, was hired to teach physics in 1948 [17]. Science became a general education requirement for the first time in 1936 [18]. The catalyst for the growth of the science curriculum was the creation of the science building (now Lubbers Hall) in 1941-1942 [19]. To showcase the growth, you only have to compare course offerings from 1865 to 1945. In 1865, the science curriculum was composed of a single class in astronomy and chemistry and four courses in mathematics [20]. Within a single century, our team counted that the curriculum grew to sixty four different courses in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics [21]. The alumni magazine reported that by April 1947, there were over 200 medical doctors and 100 college science professors alumni [22].
STEM has only continued to expand at Hope College. Currently, Hope College is tied with Cornell in national rankings for undergraduate research. Moreover, Franklin and Marshall’s 1998 study found that Hope ranked in the top three percent in the nation out of 1,036 institutions for producing graduates who went on to earn a PhD in the sciences between 1920 and 1995 [23].

References:
[1] Linda Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998), 349, EBSCOhost.
[2] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 350.
[3] Jacob Nyenhuis, Hope College at 150 (Holland: Van Raalte Press, 2019), 4.
[4] 1865-1866. Catalog (Holland: Hope College, 1865), 31, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/2/.
[5] 1865-1866. Catalog, 34.
[6] 1865-1866. Catalog, 31-33.
[7] 1865-1866. Catalog, 1.
[8] Nyenhuis, Hope College at 150, 74.
[9] 1892-1893. Catalog. (Holland: Hope College, 1892), 30, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/22/.
[10] 1906-1907. Catalog. (Holland: Hope College, 1906), 10, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/36.
[11] 1906-1907. Catalog., 11.
[12] Valerie Van Heest, A Century of Science: Excellence at Hope College (Holland: Hope College, 2009), 19.
[13] Van Heest, A Century of Science, 13.
[14] Articles, 1924-1966, Box 1, Van Zyl, Gerrit (1894-1967). Papers, 1923-1968. (H88-0183.), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.; Van Heest, A Century of Science, 25.; Milestone 1942 (Holland: Hope College, 1942), 17, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/26.
[15] Van Heest, A Century of Science, 25.
[16] Van Heest, A Century of Science, 27.
[17] Van Heest, A Century of Science, 86.
[18] 1935-1936. V74.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1935), 30, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/103.
[19] Milestone 1943 (Holland: Hope College, 1943), 70, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/24.
[20] 1865-1866. Catalog, 34.
[21] 1944-1945. V83.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1945), http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/112.
[22] Nyenhuis, Hope College at 150, 84-85.
[23] Van Heest, A Century of Science, 59.
Popularity of Female Majors
Detailing Popular Majors
Modern-Language English
Consistently, some form of English has been in the top two most popular majors for senior women from 1925-1950. Until 1932, the most popular course of choice was modern-language English. The 1925 Bulletin, the equivalent of a modern course catalog, lists the requirements for a major in modern-language English as 30 semester hours in English, 20 in French, 20 in German, 8 in history, 6 in biblical literature, 2 in public speaking, 4 in political science, 4 in psychology, 4 in evidences, and 32 in electives. This list includes general education requirements that other majors also had to complete [1]. In the 1929 Bulletin, the major name switched to English modern language, though the requirements remained identical [2]. This course was recommended for high school teachers, for graduate work in English or modern languages, or for training in journalism. In general, this major was advertised as flexible and adopted to “general cultural work.” [3]
English Modern Language
In 1932, English modern language was separated into two majors - English and modern language [4]. Modern language remained popular with eleven women majoring in it that year but only one Senior woman took English. There is no description written from that year to differentiate requirements between the two. Moreover, there is an English department with courses but no modern language department. Even though there is no official description of what a modern language major was, modern languages offered were French, German, Dutch (until 1942), and Spanish (offered beginning in 1943). These French, German, Dutch and Spanish are considered to be modern since they are currently spoken which is in contrast with ancient languages offered like Latin and Greek. 1938 was the last year that modern language and English modern language were listed as any Senior women’s majors in the Milestone.
History
Until 1940, history was also a consistently popular major. According to the 1925 Bulletin, a major in history required 24 semester hours in history, 20 hours in a modern language, 15 in English, 8 in political science, 8 in philosophy, 6 in biblical literature, 6 in history of education, 4 in psychology, 4 in evidences, 2 in public speaking, and 33 in electives [5]. The course was recommended for students who planned to enter “law, the diplomatic or civil service, to teach or to do graduate work in history.” [6] The recommended career paths for history majors is of interest because graduate school during this time period had many barriers for women. Some women were able to obtain entrance into colleges through attending women’s colleges, taking advantage of quotas in co-ed colleges, finding advocates on their behalf, or moving to Europe [7]. However, graduate degrees were rarer for women from 1925-1950.
Moreover, law, diplomatic and civil service were all traditionally male fields which fit into the idea of the “public sphere.” Women were expected to enter the “private sphere” which included influence over the family, household, children, and religious affairs [8]. A relevant question is whether these women hoped to pursue these career paths or typically forged a path of their own instead. Our research team found that a portion of women who attended Hope College during this time period used college as a means to find potential partners in marriage. This finding is in alignment with national trends as women found economic returns from attending college through both labor and marriage markets [9]. Therefore, it is reasonable to draw the conclusion that while recommended career paths were influential for some women, for others it was less relevant.
Education
Notably, after 1940, education or elementary education were the most popular majors for women until the end of our research scope (1950). This trend is not surprising considering the rapid feminization of the field of teaching. By the 1880s, 80% of school teachers were women according to the Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States [10]. However, men occupied most of the upper level roles; women were effectively sequestered to the classroom. This is not to degrade individual women’s roles as teachers considering how important education is. Rather, the trend of feminization is key in understanding what women’s lives were like at Hope and throughout the United States during this time period.
The sudden popularity of education in the 1940s gives the false impression that women at Hope were taking a newfound interest in the field. On the contrary, teaching was one of the original three vocations that Hope was founded to train workers for [11]. Originally, teaching was a certification that students could obtain through Hope College but it was not a major to concentrate in. Therefore, women could have been obtaining certifications and attending Normal Colleges but that would not have been listed as their primary major in the Milestone where we pulled our data from. The creation of a teaching major that prepared students for certification was new in the late 1930s at Hope College. Our data reflects this change in available majors. Though it is significant that education became a major later because teaching might have been a less valuable degree before 1935 because married women were barred from employment [12]. Therefore, the creation and popularity of an education major shows the shift in this policy.
Data Analysis
Only providing the two most popular majors made sense for the first half of the data set because options were limited and there was a distinct mode. For the second half of the data set, providing only the two most popular majors may be misleading. After World War II, the G.I. bill allowed enrollment to increase exponentially [13]. As a result, more incoming tuition money allowed for the expansion of resources and more majors were available. Therefore, the data is less condensed around two majors. In this chart, it seems as if no women majored in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In reality, STEM majors were consistently the chosen majors for most years following English, education, and history. During some years the margins between the most popular majors and STEM majors were slim. For example, in 1934, the second most popular major was history with seven senior women majoring in it. The third most popular major was science with six women majoring in it. In 1939, six women majored in history and four women majored in mathematics. In 1948, thirteen women majored in English and six women majored in biology.
Other years, the gap between the two most popular majors and STEM as the third most popular was wider. For example, in 1942 - the most popular major was tied between English and education with fourteen senior women in each. The second most popular was biology with three women majoring in it. In 1944, twelve women majored in English and four majored in biology. In 1945, ten women majored in elementary education and three women majored in biology. In 1947, four women majored in English and three majors tied for the third most popular major with three women in chemistry, three women in music, and three women in mathematics. Lastly, in 1949, education was the second most popular major with seven senior women in it and four majors tied for third place with five women majoring in math, five women in social studies, five in elementary education, and five in biology. The rise in biology is notable as it was particularly suited for students to take a pre-medical or pre-nursing track.
However, for many years, the third most popular majors were still in what we would now call the social sciences or humanities. In 1935, the third most popular major was in Latin with four women in it. The third most popular in 1936 was English modern language with six women in it. In 1937, the third most popular was French with three women in it. In 1938, the third most popular major was modern language with four women in it. In 1940, the third most popular major was Latin with four women in it. In 1943, the third most popular major was education with four women in it. In 1946, French was the third most popular with six women in it. In 1947 and 1949, music, social studies, and elementary education tied for third place with STEM courses as listed above. Lastly, the next highest major was education with ten in it in 1950.
Other Majors
Least Popular Majors
Typically the least popular majors differed from year to year. Consistently, the classical track was less popular with only ten women taking it from 1925-1950. Possible reasons for the lack of women in this track was that classical training was meant to prepare students for politics, work, law, and graduate school. Plus, classical training was seen as a masculine subject [14]. While analyzing the Milestones from 1925-1950, I noticed that many men took the classical course which illustrates a clear gender division. Similarly, women did not major in engineering during this time period. Engineering tended to be less popular overall at Hope as it was newer. However, men did major in engineering more than women. This pattern of women majoring in certain areas less than men also holds for ancient, classical languages like Greek and Latin, philosophy, business, and economics. Latin was more popular until 1942. After that, only one woman every few years would major in it. Philosophy and economics were consistently unpopular as only two women majored in it for the duration of this study. Though, economics was introduced much later than philosophy. Business was typically a less popular major for all students as business administration was preferred.
Other Majors
Other majors that had some popularity were sociology, psychology, religious education, social service, and business administration. Sociology was added as a major in 1945 and attracted a few women each year. Similarly, psychology was introduced in 1948 and remained somewhat popular. Religious education was established longer than the other two but only remained marginally popular during this period. Lastly, social service was a composite major that was established in 1944, though no women majored in it until 1946. To major in this, a student would take courses in philosophy, economics, political science, and history [15].

References:
[1] 1925. V63. 03. November Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1925), 11, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/86.
[2] 1928-1929. V67.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1928), 16, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/95.
[3] 1928-1929. V67.01. February Bulletin., 16.
[4] 1931-1932. V70.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1931), 28, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/99.
[5] 1925. V63. 03. November Bulletin., 11.
[6] 1928-1929. V67.01. February Bulletin., 16.
[7] Linda Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998), 351-352, EBSCOhost.
[8] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, xii.
[9] Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, and Ilyana Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women: The Reversal of the College Gender Gap,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, no. 4 (Fall 2006): 134, 10.1257/jep.20.4.133.
[10] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, xvii.
[11] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1916), 13-14, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/49.
[12] Goldin, Katz, and Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women,” 136.
[13] Goldin, Katz, and Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women,” 133.
[14] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 350.
[15] 1943-1944. V82.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1943), 31, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/111.
Sororities at Hope College in the 1930's

Sorority life proved an essential part of many women’s lives at Hope in the 1930’s and 1940’s. While athletic events, musical groups, and theatre provided some entertainment, many students also organized primarily in literary clubs. While many sororities and fraternities formed prior to the 1930’s, their popularity among students exploded as the Great Depression progressed. On January 1, 1930, the Anchor states that 32.1% of women enrolled at Hope belonged to a sorority [1]. However, thanks to the scrapbook of Eleanor Dalman Vanderhill (42’), one can see an obvious change in these greek life participation statistics. According to a welcoming letter to Vanderhill prior to her freshman year in 1938, Hope College Student Council immediately explained Greek life as the main social outlet for students, followed by college funded groups. They note that 75-80% of Hope women belonged to sororities in the preceding year [2]. While the Depression wreaked havoc across the country and tested Hope financially, students flocked to organizations such as Greek Life.
We can’t confirm if either of these numbers are completely accurate, as they came from multiple sources and are not official Hope College statistics. However, they do provide information on the importance of Greek life and the way students communicated its importance to their peers. Mary C. McComb in her book The Great Depression and the Middle Class writes that nationwide, Greek life suffered during the Depression and almost didn't survive. However, while Hope sororities did struggle financially through the Depression, their popularity only increased [3]. Hope men and women relied on Greek Life heavily to establish themselves in the Hope community.
While the Hope College Bulletin, presidents’ files, faculty information, Anchor, and Milestones provide an abundance of information of the events at Hope College in the 1930’s, they can’t pinpoint the daily lives of students. Because of the importance of sororities to women’s lives throughout the 1930’s, one can look past the official Hope College publications to get a closer look into the everyday social lives of women of the time by investigating the culture of these organizations. We can also begin to understand students’ values, their forms of entertainment, how they learned to conduct themselves in social settings, as well as how their sorority influenced them.
Many of the sororities available to students in the 1930’s remain in existence today. In the 1930’s women could choose to rush Sorosis, Dorian, Sibylline, Alethea, and Delphi [4]. These sororities were not nation wide but rather Hope founded and remain Hope based today. Women had fewer options for sororities than women have today; however, this did not hinder sorority life as the largest social organizations on campus. During this time, there were also less women and total students at Hope. Throughout the 1930’s, enrollment did not exceed 500 students total.
However, the process of rushing has changed since the Great Depression. This process reflects the popularity of sororities during this time. While gathering information on the experiences of incoming freshmen, sorority involvement and education on sororities proved to be a delicate subject. A woman’s entrance into the Hope community as well as into the Greek life community began as a woman awaited her freshman year. In many of the personal scrapbooks and memory books donated by women during the period, women saved letters from the college or president, student council, and their “big-sisters” that told them of what to expect in their first semester at Hope. The 1938 student council’s letter to Vanderhill communicated the general groups and activities at Hope, emphasizing Greek life as important to the majority of students [5]. However, they did not promote one sorority. Margaret Kole, who attended Hope from 1929-1933, included a guide to acting as a big sister of an incoming freshman in her scrapbook. Hope paired each incoming freshman with an upperclassman student that would become their companion and confidante as they entered college. In this guide, Hope instructed women to inform their “little sister” of college activities, introduce her to other students, and make her feel at home without spending any money. The guide specifically states in these endeavors that a woman should not favor a particular society or speak with her little sister about her own society [6]. Hope wanted each incoming student to choose her society for herself. This emphasizes the importance of sorority life to the future of incoming freshmen as well as to current students.
Kole includes an example of a sister letter by keeping a letter from her own Big Sister, Anna Marie Peelen from August 8, 1929, the summer prior to her freshman year. Peelen writes to assure Kole that she planned to be a trusted confidante and to help her through any questions she had during the transition into college [7]. When I found this letter, it reminded me of the big sisters/little sisters sororities utilize today. Peelan follows all rules and regulations that Kole later learns of in her own guide. However, this avoidance of conversation about sorority did not deter Kole from joining Greek life, as she joined the Alethea sorority in the fall of her freshman year [8].
Sororities would welcome new members in the fall and have them pledge before becoming new members, looking at the dates of invitations to rushing events [9]. According to the Sorosis minutes from 1930-1939 as well as the clippings and saved invitations from many of the scrapbook owners, societies would meet weekly. The order of these meetings across societies remained relatively the same. Each meeting would include a theme for the order of business and the invitations [10]. Examples of these themes from the Dorian and Alethean scrapbooks as well as the Sorosis Minutes included meetings with a Bird theme, Great Women of America, Gems, a Bell theme, Around the World, etc. Each order of business would center around this theme. For example, in Alethea’s Gem meeting, the order of events included: “Gems of Joy, Gems of Today, Gems of Value, Gems of Song, and Gems of Jest” [11]. The Sorosis minutes provide a clear example of what each event truly entailed. The documentation noted that members met in their sorority room allocated to them and would first begin with a time for devotions. They then addressed any business issues such as the electing of officers or committees, the treasurer report, addressing of any behavioral, financial, or social issues, as well as planning any sorority events. The president of the sorority would also address the payment of dues during this time. After serious conversation, the Sigma Sigma girls typically put on a skit regarding the theme of the meeting or provided a performance of some sort. The group would also sing sorority songs during this more leisurely, entertaining portion of the meeting [12].

Sororities to many women proved to be a lifeline throughout their experience at Hope. They connected individuals to the community of Hope, to alumni, and to their peers during the 1930’s. Not all women participated in Greek life and we sadly don’t have access to their personal experiences. However, documentation of sorority life provides us access to a large portion of the Hope community’s social experience during this period. With this documentation, we can glimpse the events, topics, and behaviors that many of these women within the Greek community admired.

References:

[1] "Societies Not Cause", Hope College Anchor, 1 January, 1930.
[2] Letter from Student Council to Eleanor Dalman Vanderhill, 1938, Vanderhill, Eleanor Dalman. Papers, 1926, 1938-1942, Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[3] Mary C. McComb, Great Depression and the Middle Class: Experts, Collegiate Youth and Business Ideology, 1929-1941 (New York, New York: Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, 2006), 79.
[4] Milestones, 1930-1940 (Holland: Hope College, 1930-1940), https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/12/.
[5] Letter from Student Council to Eleanor Dalman Vanderhill, 1938, Vanderhill, Eleanor Dalman. Papers, 1926, 1938-1942.
[6] "Duties and Interdictions" in Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[7] "Letter from Anna Marie Peelen" in Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250).
[8] Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250).
[9] Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250)., Scrapbook, 1929-1936, Swets, Ethel Leestma Papers, 1929-1936 (H18-1988), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI., Scrapbook, 1934-1938, Stegenga Groenevelt, Marian Ruth (1917-1996). Papers,1934-1938,1996 (H12-1818), Joint Archives of Holland, MI.
[10] Minutes, 1925-1930, 1932-1935, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[11] Scrapbook, 1935-1948, Dorian Sorority (Kappa Beta Phi). Records, 1922-2008 (H09-1695), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland MI.
[12] Minutes, 1925-1930, 1932-1935, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), 58-59.
Tuition at Hope
Background Information
According to Hope College’s first catalog, created during its founding in 1866, a fee of ten dollars was required from each student for “contingent expenses.” Other than that blanket fee, no official charges were established - including tuition. Students were not turned away from the school if they could not afford to pay. If deemed worthy and had “promise of usefulness,” beneficiary aid was offered to students to assist in covering costs [1]. The first time that a consistent, formal tuition was charged and included in the yearly course catalogs was in 1916. The amount charged was 24 dollars [2]. After that, tuition remained a consistent cost for students. Room and board was listed as a consistent cost but aid was available for those unable to pay. Plus, many students were local and able to commute.
My assumption upon starting this project was that any women who attended Hope College before 1950 were middle to upper-class women who could afford to pay tuition. On one hand, this reality is true. Tuition during the scope of our research (1925-1950) coincided with two major world events - the Great Depression and World War II. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to find that wealthy people were able to afford tuition and attend school during this time. However, our exploration found that a significant portion of the attendees struggled to find the financial means to attend Hope. The focus on tuition is potentially misleading because other extraneous costs like travel, room, board, books, laboratory fees, and various sundries are glossed over. While Hope’s tuition may have been more affordable in comparison to other schools, the full cost of attending college added up quickly. Therefore, in this analysis, I am comparing the full price for college in one academic year including tuition, room, board, and sundries that is listed in the course catalogs. Hopefully, this is more accurate in portraying the cost of attending college during this time.
Making Ends Meet

As a result of hidden, higher costs, many students relied on beneficiary aid, scholarships, loans, donations, and part time employment to afford higher education. One woman, Alida J. Kloosterman graduated from Hope in 1948 after majoring in mathematics. Kloosterman detailed her financial struggles in her biography for the Reformed Church of America’s Board of Foreign Missions. Kloosterman took a gap year after her mother’s death and worked to pay off debts and mortgages on the house. She saved enough for one year in college when room, board, tuition, and sundries were $410-450 per year. While at Hope, she worked summers, vacations, evenings, and Saturdays, to finance her remaining years. Kloosterman worked in the dorm collecting and dispensing linen, in laundry as a cleaning girl, in the library, and filing [3].

Kloosterman was far from being the only student struggling to make ends meet. Helen Zander, a 1928 graduate, was financed by her church in Schenectady [4]. She would have paid $340 per year from 1925-1927. In 1928, the total given cost increased and she would have paid $380. In a 1927 letter to Mrs. Durfee, the Dean of Women from 1909-1936, one female student begged for grace from the college. The student apologized for not having the ability to pay back what she owed and promised to get a job to pay back the money with two years of interest within the next year [5]. In 1927, the listed price for attending Hope was $340 for the whole year which is now equivalent to $5,260.13. These are just a few stories of many students who toiled in order to finance their education.
Data Analysis
In general, the overall listed price of attending Hope College for one year rose from 1925-1950 though there was a dip in 1938 and 1939. To give summary statistics, the minimum for this data set is $340 which was the given total price from 1925-1927. The maximum was $750 in 1950. The mean or average is $436.92. The median is $397.50. The mode is $380. As previously mentioned, the scope of this research project includes two major international events - the Great Depression in the 1930s and World War II in the 1940s. Therefore, college pricing was influenced by the global context.
The Great Depression
During the Great Depression, pricing initially increased significantly and then decreased. In 1929, the total cost for one year at Hope College was $380. The 1928-1929 Bulletin, which is the equivalent to modern course catalogs, that listed this amount was published in 1928. During the 1929-1930 academic year, costs increased to $400. The 1930 Bulletin was published in February 1929, a few months before Black Tuesday in October. The 1931 school year was the first year where the Bulletin would be published during the Great Depression as it was published in February of 1930. Room, board, and tuition costs still increased during the Great Depression as total costs remained at $400 but deflation made the same amount of money have higher value. The highest cost was $410 in 1932. Pricing at Hope was not this high again until 1943.
After 1932, listed costs for the 1932-1933 school year decreased to $390. In 1934, it increased again to $400. Then, it decreased to $380 in 1935. In order to understand the cost of attending Hope, which may appear arbitrary at first glance, it is important to look at the economic health of the school. Overall enrollments began decreasing before the Great Depression, though this trend continued for the first few years of the 1930s. In 1929, months before the stock market crash, President Dimnent sold Hope’s stock portfolio. This helped to ease some of the economic distress that Hope was subjected to during the Great Depression. The money from the stocks was invested into the endowment. During the Depression, the school was able to pull money from the endowment in order to finance operating costs [6]. The health of the endowment contrasted with the struggle that the other sections of the school experienced. Enrollment rates decreased marginally in contrast to national trends where enrollment increased [7]. Professors and staff took a pay cut [8]. Dr. Nykerk, an important faculty member at the college, ended up losing his wealth and had to live in the female residence hall [9]. In 1930, to the distress of the Board of Trustees, President Dimnent stepped down from his role as President [10]. While relying on funds from donors and the RCA, Hope stayed afloat.
World War II
During the war, total enrollment decreased from 529 in 1943 to 300 in 1944. Enrollment increased by 12 to 312 in 1945. During these years, total pricing for one year at Hope was in the range of $410-$450. In 1943, the Army Specialized Training Program began at Hope with 76 enlisted men. Participants were able to train and take courses. Hope provided engineering courses for this program as the Army College had an emphasis on mathematics and science. The civilian college had an emphasis on liberal arts education [11]. This program was funded by the government and helped subsidize operating costs.

When the ASTP ended in April of 1944, there was a loss of revenue for the college as the government had reimbursed the college for its resources. The first semester from 1944-1945 was difficult until the war ended in 1945 and veterans began to return to campus [12]. Veterans were encouraged to attend Hope because it was approved by the Veterans Administration to qualify for benefits from the G.I. Bill. Also, Hope gave academic credit to veterans for service school training. Enrollment mushroomed from 312 to 700 in 1946 and 1300 in 1947. Post-war financial difficulties challenged the college, but another concern was the ability to provide resources to the influx of students.
Nationally, wartime inflation increased operating expenses and decreased resources in higher education. There were less students whose tuition money could cover costs. Therefore, many colleges were unequipped to handle the influx of students who enrolled during peacetime [13]. As a result, tuition and other expenses rose to match the rise in students. After World War II, the total cost of attending Hope College increased exponentially, as more students enrolled. For the 1944-1945 school year, a range for pricing was given at $410-450. That price was determined and published in 1944. In 1945-1946, pricing jumped to $500. Then, $600 in 1947 and $700 in 1948. In 1949, pricing increased but with a smaller margin as it cost $720 to attend Hope. In 1950, attending Hope was priced at $750. After World War II, “sundries” were not included in calculation of total costs. Therefore, the real cost of attending Hope was even higher.

References:
[1] 1865-1866. Catalog (Holland: Hope College, 1865), 35, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/2/.
[2] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1916), 184, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/49.
[3] “Alida J. Kloosterman”, Board of Foreign Missions Reformed Church in America, January 1950. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[4] “Helen Zander: Educational Work in Japan,” Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions, July 1942. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[5] "Letter to Winifred Durfee," January 26, 1927. Durfee, Winifred Hackley (1861-1950). Papers, 1796-1963. (H88-0045), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[6] "October 1930", Board of Trustees (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.; "14 June, 1932", Board of Trustees (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.; "10 June, 1933", Board of Trustees (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.; Wynand Wichers, A Century of Hope (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), 204-207.
[7] Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, and Ilyana Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women: The Reversal of the College Gender Gap,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, no. 4 (Fall 2006): 136, 10.1257/jep.20.4.133.
[8] Edward Dimnent, "Letter to Adelaide Dykhuizen," Adelaide Dykhuizen, Teaching Contracts, 1931-1068 (H88-0046), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[9] "Biographical, 1891-2014," Nykerk, John Bernard (1861-1936). Papers, 1885-1961, 2014 (H88-0111), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[10] "June 1930", Board of Trustees (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.; "Edward Daniel Dimnent" by Paul Wackerbarth, 1964, Biographical, 1889-1965 Dimnent, Edward D. (1876-1959). Papers, 1892-1972. (H88-0040), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[11] "Correspondence between Hope College and Army", July 1943-September 1943, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[12] "Correspondence between Hope College and Army."
[13] Roger L. Geiger, The History of American Higher Education: Learning and Culture from the Founding to World War II (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015), 427, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7ztpf4.1?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
Women During World War II
As I was researching women’s contributions during World War II, I stumbled upon the book We Are a College at War: Women Working for Victory in World War II. The introduction to this book discusses a letter written to a woman at Rockford College from a man in the service, who wanted to know what the woman was doing on the homefront. The text states, “The gist of the discussion was how fortunate you are as a girl, to be going to school, and continuing your normal life with minor unpleasantness, in spite of the war. Of course, no one felt you should endure any undue hardships, but some men were wondering what you are contributing to the war eﬀort and eventual victory” [1].
While there are no recorded letters like this relating to Hope College, it is important to acknowledge that the women faced challenges on the homefront. The majority of the women remained at Hope College during the war years, but many sources from the time indicate the fear and uncertainty that the women felt during the war.
An account from Pinks Mulder Dudley claimed, “It was exciting: the uniforms, the passionate goodbyes, the promises to wait for our heroes’ return. But it was also scary. We saw those newsreels. We knew that some of those we hugged goodbye would be wounded, and some would not be coming back at all. And our part seemed very small-sending care packages of cookies and candy, knitting scarves, huddling around radios for the latest news” [2].
Scrapbooks from women, such as Jane Fowler, indicate that marriage was on the minds of the women in the 1940s [3]. When the men began leaving for the war there was a rush to solidify relationships before men went to war. Myra Berry stated, “Civilians and soldiers alike left for Christmas recess or furloughs, and as at other breaks during the war years, the return of students to campus found many a new sparkler on the third finger left hand. As men were being sent around the world, there appeared to be an urgency in establishing permanent ties with loved ones left waiting at home” [4]. The Anchor featured the student who got engaged over Christmas break in the article, “Diamonds Dazzle Dorm Damsels During Definitely Delightful and Dandy Days” [5].
Even though many Hope College females got engaged, there was a rule against marrying while still a student at Hope College. Vivian Tardiff, a student at Hope during the war, wanted to marry her fiance, Gerard Cook. Cook received leave for a week in March and the wedding date was set for March 17. The couple got married and had a three day honeymoon in Chicago before Gerard Cook left for the military and Vivian Cook returned to class.
Vivian recalled, “I was called to the Dean’s office a few days later and was informed that I could not be married and go to Hope! I was in complete shock. I replied many knew I was getting married, and no one told me this and I only had two months left of college out of four years. I was told that I had to meet with the governing board of directors and they would decide my fate” [6]. The board decided to allow Vivian Cook to complete her last few months of classes, but ultimately this was because Cook didn’t live in the dormitory.
The women who got engaged or married then had to worry about the safety of their fiance or husband until they received news or they returned from the war. One writer expressed her fears in her poem, “Come back to me” [7].
It wasn’t just the women’s sweethearts leaving either. Brothers, cousins, etc. were also called into duty. The Anchor published an article about Nola Nies, a senior from Hope, receiving the call from her brother before he was sent overseas and knowing there was a chance he would not return.
Rosey Maatman remembers following the war through the radio, newsreels, and newspapers, but not realizing the full weight of what was occurring around her:
"We (during our Hope years) were pretty secluded from the war itself, unless you had family over there. It almost didn’t seem real at first. We were still kind of naive. I guess we just didn’t think about the big things. Some time ago my family visited an American military cemetery in Oxford, England. There were all those white crosses and a wall with names on it. When I started to read them, I realized what had happened. I cried all those tears I couldn’t shed at the time because I was too naive” [8].
There were echoes of Maatman’s feeling of nativete in the Anchor as some headlines like, “Take Time to Help Now,” “This Emergency Affects US-or Did You Know?,” and “Let’s Get Going” all called for more participation in the war effort [9].
One article entitled “I’m a Coward” references the difficulties on the homefront. The writer of the article asserts life on the homefront is more difficult than being in the service as a woman. There are a lot of ways for women to help the war effort, but those back home compose the foundation of the war effort and must remain hopeful while facing the unknown [10].
The women on Hope’s campus saw the headlines that a former Hope College student had died in duty or the son of a professor was killed. Many of the women traveled to the train station in the evenings or on the weekends just in case a soldier came through with news on a loved one [11].
Vivian Tardiff Cook also got a taste of the politics of the war in one of her most impactful memories from the war. Vivian Tardiff Cook participated in oratory. and wrote a speech entitled “Americans with Japanese Faces.” The coach at the time, Dr. Schrier, wanted his students to choose controversial subjects. Therefore, Cook chose to write about the Japanese Americans placed in internment camps during World War II. Tardiff began her speech by establishing her ancestry and explaining how fortunate she was to be a child of parents who were neither German nor Japanese. Dr. Shrier expected Tardiff to win the competition and was surprised when she came in third instead. Tardiff and Shrier discovered that each judge scored her first except one, who scored her at the very bottom for each category. When asked why he scored the way he did the judge stated, “‘No damn Japanese’ was going to stand there and tell him America was wrong in their treatment of those ‘damn, dirty Japanese.’ The problem was his son was fighting the war in the Japanese Theater at the time” [12]. Tardiff explained this was an impactful moment for her during the war and she taught her communications students about the power of prejudice.
Even after the war ended, the women continued to be impacted. Libby Hillegonds stated, “All the profs were glad to see the service men come back to campus to raise the academic level a notch, finish their education and get on with their lives. They had a little different perspective after their war experiences and were more serious about life” [13].
Metta Ross, a professor at Hope, also noted this change in the men. In an oral interview she explained, “The girls’ attitude toward their men friends changed, not because of me but because of the changes in life, these men coming back from wars mutilated and nerve sick” [14]. The atmosphere in classes evolved because veterans wanted to know why things happened as they did [15].
World War II remains the most costly war in terms of loss of life and the veterans witnessed a lot of that first hand. The trauma from World War II changed them and this change would have impacted the females in classes and through their relationships with returning veterans.

References:
[1] Mary Weaks-Baxter, Christine Bruun, and Catherine Forslund, We Are a College at War: Women Working for Victory in World War II (Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2010), ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/hope/detail.action?docID=1354648.
[2] Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years (Holland, Michigan: Hope College, 2008), 65.
[3] Scrapbook, Fowler, Jane F. (Waldbillig). Papers, 1942-1943 (H95-1249.50), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI,
[4] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 39.
[5]“Diamonds Dazzle Dorm Damsels During Definitely Delightful and Dandy Days,” Hope College Anchor, January 13, 1943.
[6] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 54.
[7] "Come Back to Me," Hope College Anchor, May 6, 1942.
[8] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 70.
[9] “Take Time to Help Now,” Hope College Anchor, November 11, 1942.“This Emergency Affects US-or Did You Know?,” Hope College Anchor, September 17,1941.“Let’s Get Going,” Hope College Anchor, January 28, 1942.
[10] "I'm a Coward," Hope College Anchor, February 9, 1944.
[11] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 71.
[12] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 52.
[13] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 58-59.
[14] Dick and Phyllis Huff, “Metta Ross Oral Interview,” March 15, 2002, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[15] Metta Ross, February 20, 1945, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
Enrollment at Hope College
Historical Context
According to the 1916 Hope College semicentennial bulletin, Holland, Michigan was founded in 1847 by Albertus Van Raalte and other immigrants from the Netherlands. As they started settling and laying foundations for the future, the obvious need for a school took precedent. However, the community lacked the resources to establish the Christian school that they desired so they reached out to the Reformed Church of America (RCA) that provided resources for their journey to Holland [1]. In October of 1851, a Pioneer School was founded to the relief and excitement of the community. Eventually, it was reorganized as Holland Academy in 1857. Finally, the school was incorporated as Hope College in 1866 [2].
Hope College was created with the intention of training teachers and ministers and preparing missionaries to serve abroad [3]. This reflected the importance of its relationship with the RCA; the RCA supplied resources and the college supplied people. The first cohorts that matriculated from Hope were small with the first consisting of only eight men in 1866. Six men graduated the next year. Financial struggles restricted growth in the college which prompted the opening of Hope College to women in 1878. Slowly, cohorts increased with the upward growth condensed mostly around the turn of the century. By 1927, there were 513 total students enrolled at the college [4].
National Trends
National trends indicate that there was a parity between men and women in college enrollment from 1900 to 1930 [5]. Moreover, higher education enrollments increased after 1915 and doubled by 1924. Overall enrollments rose during the Great Depression, stalled, and resumed growing in the latter half of the 1930s [6]. Specifically, male enrollment increased during the 1930s and the Great Depression because many men sought ways to increase their employability. Also, many men had little else to do so working towards a degree was a productive way to spend time [7].
During World War II, male enrollment sharply decreased as they were enlisted and shipped off to battle. This changed after the end of the war as the G.I. Bill was created in order to provide benefits and assistance to veterans. Some of these benefits included finances for higher education and as a result, many men enrolled in college. This was significant in furthering the national shift from elite higher education to mass higher education that began in the interwar period (1918-1939). Schools had begun shifting from elite higher education which served students of privileged social backgrounds or those with impressive talent to mass education which served anyone who met the admissions qualifications. Moreover, elite higher education emphasized culture as it sought to form character and prepare students for leadership. Meanwhile, mass higher education aimed to prepare students for a broad variety of vocations [8]. Traits of elite higher education and mass higher education were not mutually exclusive and one college could inhabit traits of both. However, the interplay between the two shifted who attended higher educational institutes and for what purpose.
Male college graduates continued to increase after World War II with the expansion of men who were eligible for the G.I. Bill after serving in the Korean War (1950-1953). The trend of mass higher education led to the expansion of college and the subsequent creation of higher education as a requirement for entry into jobs [9]. The national maximum in college enrollment gender imbalance was in 1947 [10]. However, by 2021, the gender ratio has flipped and there are more women than men enrolled nationally and at Hope [11].

Hope College Data Analysis
Comparison to National Trends
During the span of our research, 1925-1950, Hope broadly matched these trends, though there was some variability. The main deviation was that enrollment began decreasing in 1927 and continued through the 1930s. Therefore, the Great Depression was not the only factor in the shrinkage of total enrollments. Moreover, at Hope, there was never a parity between male and female enrollments. Except for during World War II when men were drafted, men were always more numerous at Hope. However, Hope followed the Post-WWII boom in male enrollments. Similarly, 1947 was the year with the most extreme gender imbalance. Overall, Hope conformed to broad trends in enrollment but deviated with specifics.

The Great Depression
The overall pattern that enrollment at Hope College followed was a decline in all students after 1927 when 513 students were enrolled. This number was not surpassed again until 1940 when 525 students were enrolled. The decrease happened during the years 1929 (434 people), 1930 (423), 1931 (420). Then, enrollment increased slowly with occasional dips. According to national trends, this increase may have been due to the lack of employment opportunities available for men. Therefore, education would ease boredom and provide potential job opportunities [12]. Another reason may have been that incoming students were able to find resources to fund their college education when before they were unable to. Regardless, Hope benefitted from the gradual expansion of enrollment.

World War II
During 1941 and 1942, enrollment stayed consistent with only six more students counted in 1942. There was a slight decrease in enrollment in 1943 with 529 students. Enrollment sharply decreased in 1944 with 300 students registered at Hope which is the minimum of this data set. This is directly related to the start of American involvement in World War II and the draft. However, 276 men took part in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) that used Hope’s facilities. With the men included, the total number of students was 576 which continued the upward trajectory that Hope’s enrollment had previously taken.
In 1945, the total number of students increased from 1944 (without the ASTP included) with 312. There were no figures presented for the ASTP because it had ended the year prior. After the war, enrollment increased by 224.4% in one year with 700 students enrolled in 1945. The next year, 1946, jumped by 185.7% from 1945 with 1300 students registered for classes. The next years (1947-1948) increased marginally until 1949 with 1189 students listed. Then, enrollment began to decrease in 1950 with 1124 students.

Gender Demographics
Looking at gender demographics, which were self-reported by the school in the bulletin after 1935, reveals distinct gender ratio patterns throughout the 15 years analyzed. Men were consistently enrolled more than women except for 1944 and 1945 during World War II. By 1947, this imbalance was as extreme as men outnumbering women two to one. This ratio juxtaposes the year prior, 1946, as 1946 was the year closest to gender parity in this time period. In 1946, there were 408 men and 339 women. However, this data may be skewed because in 1946, 1947, and 1948, students were deducted for double counting but we do not know what gender they were. Therefore, we have kept them included in the data set. In the bulletin, 47 people were listed as being deducted for counting twice in 1946. 113 were deducted in 1947. However, the gender parity in 1946 could make sense if men took a gap year after the war while recovering emotionally and physically. Regardless, male students clearly outnumbered female students from 1935-1950 with the 1935-1941 being the closest to gender parity and the war (with more female students) and post-war years (with many more male students) being the furthest from parity.

References:
[1] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1916), 10, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/49; 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin., 14.; 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin., 15.
[2] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin., 1.
[3] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin., 13-14.
[4] 1927. V65.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1927), 62, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/90.
[5] Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, and Ilyana Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women: The Reversal of the College Gender Gap,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, no. 4 (Fall 2006): 133, 10.1257/jep.20.4.133.
[6] Roger L. Geiger, The History of American Higher Education: Learning and Culture from the Founding to World War II (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015), 429, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7ztpf4.1?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
[7] Goldin, Katz, and Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women,” 136.
[8] Geiger, The History of American Higher Education, 428.
[9] Geiger, History of American Higher Education, 428.
[10] Claudia Goldin, Lawrence F. Katz, and Ilyana Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women: The Reversal of the College Gender Gap,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20, no. 4 (Fall 2006): 133, 10.1257/jep.20.4.133.
[11] Goldin, Katz, and Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women,” 134.
[12] Goldin, Katz, and Kuziemko, “The Homecoming of American College Women,” 136.
Being a Female Faculty Member
There are several common themes that link the female faculty members at Hope College. Women tended to be single or widowed when they came to Hope College, aided by administrators of Hope College in various ways, and were members of the Reformed Church of America.

Women composed a minority of the Hope College faculty based on observations in The Milestone ranging from 1925 to 1950. In 1925, 5 women and 12 men comprised the faculty, while in 1950 the faculty expanded to 14 women and 48 men instructors and professors out of 62 total faculty members. Typically, women occupied assistant positions to administrators or served as librarians at Hope College, rather than instructors or professors. Furthermore, women tended to dominate the language and music departments, while women were rare in the math and science departments.
Even among the women faculty, many only earned the title of instructor, rather than professor. In 1950, 40 of the 48 male instructors were considered professors, while 7 of the 14 women were granted the title professor. A majority of the female faculty members earned the title instructor or assistant or associate professors, while a higher proportion of males became full professors of their subject, which impacts the amount of money a woman faculty member earned because of the pay discrepancies of the ranks of professors.
The balance between education and family was a controversial topic. One source published in 1929 in the North American Review presented the argument that motherhood is the most important task for women and the most successful mothers are intelligent women. The article declares “Raising children requires, for its proper fulfilment, more intelligence than any other task which the human race is ever called upon to do… But highly intelligent women have long been avoiding it because they appreciate, far more clearly than their dumber sisters do, the enormous difficulties of managing children so that they develop the best that is in them” [1]. This article attempts to persuade intelligent women to forgo careers and raise children because working and raising children is taxing. Furthermore, the author argues that intelligent women will find the most happiness when raising children and in a way it is their duty to the human race to raise children. Women likely were surrounded by the social expectations expressed in this article, which influences women's entry into higher education.
This article is one of many asserting that the home should be the highest priority for women instead of higher education. In addition to the North American Review, the media played a role in developing the idea that women should only be a homemaker and mother. The article, “The Celluloid Ceiling: Women Academics, Social Expectations, and Narrative in 1940s American Film” crafted an argument around the influence the media has on the image of female professors. This article pinpointed 63 films for study and only found female academics in 6 of the films. The women professors portrayed in these films surveyed painted female professors as beautiful and young women that left their positions to marry a man by the end of the movie or became old and plain women. Additionally, enrolling in higher education cost money and families were more likely to educate their sons than their daughters, which prevented some women from receiving the higher education necessary to acquire the title professor [2].
The trends these articles discuss can be seen in the female faculty population at Hope College. Many of the women that worked at Hope College were single or recently widowed. For example, Metta Ross, Janet Mulder, Laura Boyd, Ella Hawkinson, and more were single women who focused on their teaching career. Several of the female professors, such as Metta Ross and Janet Mulder or Laura Boyd and Eva Van Schaack lived together as professors and retired Hope faculty. Winifred Durfee, Marian Stryker, and Esther Snow came to Hope after their husbands died. Esther Snow and Marian Stryker became widows and needed to support their younger children, thus they did not have the option to focus only on motherhood. Robert Snow, the son of Esther, wrote a biography of Esther Snow’s life. He made notes about her progression from a temporary faculty member to an instructor and eventual assistant professor stating, “In any case, I’m sure she was grateful for employment and didn’t worry as much about titles as she was about getting the job done, and the necessary remuneration involved” [3]. It is notable that Hope College hired majority single or widowed faculty members despite expectations for women to be homemakers and mothers.

I found several indications that President Lubbers or other administration members aided these women and made accommodations for personal matters. For example, Marian Stryker became an employee in the Office of Alumni Relations after her husband died leaving her the sole caregiver of her children. Lubbers wrote to Stryker explaining, “Due to family circumstances, it will be permissible for you to open your office as late as ten o’clock in the morning and to make substitution by taking home such work as can be done away from the office” [4]. Additionally, Lubbers encouraged Mildred Schuppert to attend library school at Michigan State University and he petitioned the Army to defer Louise Van Dommelen from active duty so she could continue directing female physical education [5]. Finally, Hope College offered Esther Snow her husband's position after his death. Snow aided her husband with his duties, thus she was qualifified for the position and needed income as a single mother. This desire by administrators may have been motivated by compassion, concern, or a sense of duty as members of the Reformed Church of America.
Lastly, female faculty were respected members of the Reformed Church of America since it still endorsed Hope College in the 1930s and 1940s. The women hired at Hope College attended the Reformed Church and the women faculty took an active role in their church. Several of these women, such as Esther Snow and Mildred Schuppert played the organ at churches in the Holland community. Additionally, tithes and offerings came out of the faculty member's paycheck. Correspondence from Mildred Schuppert indicated that Hope College paid 3% of the 6% tithe to the Reformed Church from Schuppert’s income [6].
References:
[1] Walter B Pitkin, "Can Intellectual Women Live Happily?" The North American Review 227, no. 6 (1929): 703-704, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25110769.
[2] Pauline J Reynolds, “The Celluloid Ceiling: Women Academics, Social Expectations, and Narrative in 1940s American Film,” Gender and Education, vol. 21, no. 2 (2009): 212–213, doi:10.1080/09540250802393289.
[3] Robert Snow, "Musikalisch Frau Schnee: A brief biography of the life of Esther MacFarlane Snow,” Snow, Esther M. (1895-1974). Papers, 1942-2002 (H88-0140), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[4] Irwin Lubbers, April 1, 1947, Stryker, Marian A. (1909-1994). Papers, 1947-1974 (H88-0149), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Irwin Lubbers, November 29, 1950, Van Dommelen, Louise Jean. Papers, 1951 (H88-1980.70), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[6] Mildred Schuppert, April 27, 1951, Schuppert, Mildred W. (1909-1993). Papers, 1871-1993 (W94-1183), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
Women in STEM - Data Analysis
Once on campus, women gravitated towards STEM majors. By 1925, three out of eighteen women (16.67%) in the Senior class majored in STEM with one student in science and two in math. The two years with the highest STEM enrollment were in 1934 and 1947. In 1934, ten out of thirty-eight Senior women majored in STEM (26.32%) with 4 in science and 4 in math. In 1947, nine out of thirty-six (25%) of Senior women majored in STEM with two in science, one in biology, three in chemistry, and three in math. The years with the lowest portion of women who majored in STEM were 1937 and 1943. In 1937, one woman out of 37 majored in STEM (2.70%); she majored in mathematics. In 1943, no senior women majored in STEM. There is no data available for 1931, 1933, and 1941.
Until 1939, science and mathematics were the only two courses that women majored in within STEM. These two majors are some of the oldest at Hope and contained broad possibilities depending on the resources of the school at the time. If there were more resources, then there were more classes and disciplines available for students to study in. Mathematics still remains a popular major at Hope though general science majors were less common after 1947. In general, science and mathematics were the most popular STEM courses for all students at Hope from 1925-1950 even after new departments were created, though men also majored in chemistry, physics, and pre-medical.
Chemistry was first listed as a student’s major in the 1936 Milestone and the major soon increased in popularity. The first time that women majored in chemistry was in 1945 when two out of nine women in STEM majored in chemistry. Chemistry was consistently chosen by a few (one to three) women each year until 1950 when no women majored in it. Similarly, biology was first listed as a student’s major in the 1939 Milestone and the major grew exponentially in the years after. A significant proportion of women in STEM majored in biology that year. Three out of the seven female students in STEM majored in biology which is 42.90%. For every year after that, at least one woman majored in STEM with 1943 as the exception.
The pre-medical track was offered in 1925 as individual courses, but female students first picked it as a major in 1938. Two out of six women in STEM took a pre-medical course in 1938. Pre-Medical majors were less frequent for women than men. This is reflected in the data because only one other woman was a pre-medical major from 1925-1950; she was a senior in 1945. According to the 1945 course catalog, the four-year pre-medical curriculum had been available to “pre-medical students at Hope College for some time” and was designed to meet the most “rigid requirements of medical schools.” [1]
In 1945, nursing was available for the first time to students. Our data would only have accounted for two cohorts of Seniors (1949 and 1950) that could have majored in it because the only data on majors available was from Seniors. Regardless, no Senior women were recorded as having majored in nursing in 1949 or 1950. Similarly, pre-forestry and pre-dental tracks were offered for the first time in 1945 and no women were recorded as having majored in either during the scope of this project [2].
Two glaring omissions are the “T” and “E” in STEM - technology and engineering. Technology, mostly comprised of computer science and information technology majors, is a fairly recent field and career path. Therefore, no women within the scope of our project majored in technology. Engineering was offered during our study, though not until 1942, and no women majored in engineering during the duration of our study [3]. Other common majors that would fall under the STEM umbrella term are geology, physics, algebra, geometry, and statistics. Physics is the only course that was offered during this time period and no women majored in it. The other disciplines were not available to Hope students to major in.

References:
[1] 1944-1945. V83.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1945), 39, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/112.
[2] 1944-1945. V83.01. February Bulletin., 35.
[3] 1941-1942. V80.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1941), 55, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/109.
Missionaries and STEM
It is important to acknowledge that the findings of this research are inherently biased. In an attempt to try to find more information on the women who majored in STEM at Hope from 1925-1950, I cross-referenced the names from the Milestone with records at the Joint Archives of Holland, where our research is based out of. Out of the 951 women recorded, only a small portion of them had files in the Archives. It was more likely that there would be information on them if they were a part of an established Dutch family in Holland. The archives had many files on these women’s husbands but rarely information on them. Of the women that did have files, most were prominent missionaries for the Reformed Church of America.
Context
According to the Hope College 1916 Semicentennial Catalog, the founding had a clear religious purpose. The catalog explicitly states that
They wanted a Christian school to prepare, in a general way, for high grade American citizenship and the intelligent development of Christian character; but, more specifically, they wanted a school to serve the three-fold purpose— to equip competent teachers, to train ministers, and to prepare missionaries for the foreign field [1].
This statement hints at the college’s long-standing mutualistic relationship with the Reformed Church of America (RCA). Dennis Voskuil, a scholar and interim president at Hope College, argues that the RCA supplied resources for the college and in return, the college supplied people in his chapter “Continuity and Change” in the Hope College at 150 [2]. This can be seen in the college course bulletin as the college emphasized prerequisites for seminary training and Christian ministry. Voskuil also argues that Hope College was valued by the RCA because of the volume of missionaries coming out of the school. By 1941, over ⅓ of Hope College alumni were missionaries (2,300 people). In 1926, out of 1,410 graduates, 60% were religious workers [3].
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was a major Protestant organization sending missionaries abroad. Even now, much of the missionary movement in the United States can be tied back to the ABCFM. Initially, women could only go abroad if they were wives of male missionaries [4]. Many women married in part because it was the most accessible pathway abroad. However, this changed in the 1830s as the ABCFM became desperate for missionaries. According to the Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States, this policy change resulted in “hundreds of unmarried women” finding employment as assistant missionaries and going abroad [5]. By 1880, women represented 57 percent of the missionary force [6].
While researching women who majored in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at Hope College from 1925-1950, there was a noticeable amount of students who entered the missionary field after graduating. This makes sense given that science and classical training were perceived to be dichotomous in the United States. Classical training was masculine and prepared men for the public sphere. Science was not as explicitly linked to gender. However, females and science were implicitly linked as science education was utilized by many female seminaries to teach “critical observation and… logical thought” [7]. Classical training was not essential for future female careers since they were most often entering the private sphere.
STEM and Missionary Work
Similarly, missionary work during this time period was founded upon gendered separation and the idea of the “private sphere” as the woman’s domain. Women were seen as inherently pious and religious with special skills in nurturing and teaching [8]. Serving as a missionary complimented women’s perceived influence over religion and the family. Only eight of the women who majored in STEM during this time period (1925-1950) at Hope had files in the Joint Archives of Holland. Of the eight, seven were missionaries. Of that seven, three of them had parents who were missionaries and were raised to enter the field. Those women were Anne De Young, Mary Louise Talman, and Marjorie Van Vranken. Two of them, Helen Zander and Alida J. Kloosterman, decided to become missionaries through religious communities. Women were instrumental in recruiting, retaining, and becoming missionaries.
STEM was a logical primer for missionary work because it allowed women to take a pre-medical track and obtain education in nursing. While none of these women have a pre-medical track specified in the Milestone, a few of them specified that they took a pre-medical track in their archival files. This means that the women who majored in STEM might also have taken pre-medical tracks even though that is not noted in my data.
Moreover, these women may have become missionaries because of the clear alternative to marriage and child-rearing. Women no longer had to be married or mothers in order to live abroad and have careers. The Church has a history of providing a certain amount of independence to women through positions as nuns, missionaries, and other religious work. Therefore, missionary work could have been correlated with STEM as well as other potential factors relating to marriage, motherhood, and family.
Of the eight women that have files in the Joint Archives of Holland, four were nurses while serving abroad. The other four women were not employed in the medical field but instead, specialized in education. Eva Van Schaack was the only woman who majored in STEM during this period with an archival file who did not become a missionary. She worked as an associate professor and professor at Hope College in the biology department [9].
Higher Education
Moreover, an interesting trend became apparent while analyzing these women’s files - all of them obtained some form of higher education. Eva Van Schaack and Bernadine Siebers De Valois both received doctorates, though Siebers De Valois’ was an honorary degree from Hope College [10]. Van Schaack obtained a PhD from John Hopkins University [11]. Helen Zander attended Columbia University and got an M.A. degree in rural education with emphasis on industrial arts after taking a furlough in 1940 [12]. Mary Louise Talman received an M.A. from Albany State Teacher’s College in 1944 [13]. Marjorie Van Vranken got a master’s degree in physiology from the University of Illinois in 1949 [14]. Jeanette Veldman recieved a M.A. from Columbia University in 1946 for Nursing Education and Administration [15]. Lastly, Bernadine Siebers De Valois obtained a M.D. in 1936 while specializing as an E.N.T [16].
Though the sample size is small, the proportion of women who majored in STEM and received higher degrees after college is noteworthy. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, even though women participated in science before it was formalized in higher education, the professionalization of science pushed many women from the field. Women found barriers blocking them from graduate school, gaining doctorates, and getting jobs in equal value to their level of training. Some women were able to obtain entrance into colleges through attending women’s colleges, taking advantage of quotas in co-ed colleges, finding advocates on their behalf, or moving to Europe. Still, most women found themselves at the margins of science and the women who had gained entry in the field were the minority.
Nevertheless, women still pushed for space in education and science. Prior to 1900, nearly 30 percent of doctorates earned by women were in the sciences. By 1900, American women had earned 229 doctorates and at least 60% of the doctorates were in the sciences. However, women scientists lacked employment opportunities unless they found employment at a women’s college. If they did find employment at a college, they were typically valued as teachers over researchers. Government and industrial employment followed this same pattern of valuing teaching over researching which further marginalized female scientists. By the mid-twentieth century, land-grant institutions became significant employers of female scientists rather than just women's colleges [17].
Career Paths
Though these eight women from Hope College majored and obtained advanced degrees in STEM, most of their career trajectories followed the pattern described above as they became employed as teachers. Helen Zander, Mary Louise Talman, Eva Van Schaack, and Alida J. Kloosterman found teaching as their primary employment. Helen Zander specialized in English and stenography. Mary Louise Talman taught general science. There is no information on what Alida J. Kloosterman specialized in. Eva Van Schaack is the anomaly in that she obtained a doctorate, taught, and researched - though it is noted in her file that she did less research than other professors in her department.
Meanwhile, Jeanette Veldman, Anne De Young, Marjorie Van Vranken, and Bernadine Siebers De Valois found their primary employment in the health field. Regardless, teaching became an important part of their vocations as they trained future health professionals and locals. Bernadine Siebers De Valois, a practicing surgeon and doctor, emphasized the importance of education in both preventative and reactive health interventions. Her method emphasized educating mothers and caretakers in order to influence domestic life. This pattern is significant not because of an unimportance of teaching degrees but rather, the lack of female scientists. Teaching has been historically feminized and women rarely achieved higher positions. Even highly trained and degreed women in STEM rarely purely stayed in STEM. Teaching was a clear vocational route when employment for women had many barriers.
World War II gave women job opportunities as the men went off to war and positions opened up. However, as can be seen by these women’s stories, this change was not inherently lasting after the war. The veterans came back and entered higher education in large amounts and reclaimed their positions. The 1950s, introduced a need for “scientific womanpower” during the Cold War as the United States’ technological weaknesses were shown. Women were an untapped resource of trained, educated, and willing workers. Still, the national rhetoric “never matched the reality of women’s employment opportunities” [18]. Eventually, the Civil Rights and Feminist movements made gains for women’s rights. However, this is an issue still relevant today inside and outside of STEM.

References:
[1] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1916), 13-14, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/49.
[2] Jacob Nyenhuis, Hope College at 150 (Holland: Van Raalte Press, 2019), 150.
[3] Nyenhuis, Hope College at 150, 165.
[4] Linda Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998), 48, EBSCOhost.
[5] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 49.
[6] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 48.
[7] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 350.
[8] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 350.
[9] "Biographical, 1950-1969." Van Schaack, Eva (1904-1981). Papers, 1911-1976. (H88-0177), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[10] Bernadine Siebers De Valois, “Science Plus-Miracles in India."
[11] "Biographical, 1950-1969."
[12] “Helen Zander: Educational Work in Japan,” Woman’s Board of Foreign Missions, July 1942. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[13] “Hope Graduate Buried in Peru,” Holland City News, July 24, 1947. Hope Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[14] “Marjorie Alice Van Vranken,” Board of Foreign Missions Reformed Church of America, September 1953. Western Biographical File, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[15] "Biographical Materials," Box 5.Veldman, Jeannette (1901-1994). Papers, 1912-1989. (W89-1012), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.; Greg Carlson and David M. Vander Haar, "Veldman, Jeannette Oral History Interview: Old China Hands Oral History Project I and II." in Old China Hands Oral History Project (former missionaries to China) (H88-0113) (Holland: Hope College, 1976), https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/old_china/?utm_source=digitalcommons.hope.edu%2Fold_china%2F15&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages.
[16] “Dr. and Mrs. J. J. De Valois,” Board of Foreign Missions, October 1955. De Valois Family. Papers, 1938-2001. (W11-1384.10). Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[17] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 351-352.; Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, xvii-xix.
[18] Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary, 352.
Hope College Early in World War II
When World War II began in September of 1939, Hope College continued to be relatively untouched as the United States did not enter the war until 1941. Even with the Selective Service Act in 1940, men enrolled in college, with a few exceptions, often were able to defer enlistment in the military.
Editions of the Anchor in 1940 acknowledged the war, but it is not heavily featured. Each publication contained a section entitled “As I See It,” yet few of the articles urged students to participate and instead commented on the events overseas. One column by Dwight Grotenhouse asked the question, “Will We Have to Fight Germany?” and another reporter, George Lumsden, suggested continuing to give money to Britain to stay out of the war [1]. These articles indicate the men considered the possibility they may serve in the war, but were not actively preparing to enlist.
Women also considered their possible role if the United States entered the war. Nancy Boynton wrote a piece for the “As I See It” column claiming women provided valuable service in the last war in 1917 and will continue to do this if the war escalates. She writes, “The women did a limited amount of men's work in the factories, an extent which will be exceeded if our country enters war again. They drove ambulances, trucks in France, wore uniforms, made bandages, knitted socks, worked in canteens, had committees, replaced manpower at home, and gave priceless service for their country” [2]. Boynton opposed U.S. involvement in the war because the women would enter service industries instead of focusing on the home.
Furthermore, the Anchor featuring May Day on May 10, 1940 references the war in the headlines stating, “Europe Declares 24 Hour Armistice Today As Nazi Government Lauds Hope May Day.” This article jokingly claims that the Allied and Central forces halted the fighting because they were in suspense over the crowning of the new May Day queen [3].
World War II was discussed by Hope College students early in the war, but it did not become as prominent until the United States entered the war. The Anchor discussed the conflict, but speculated if the United States would even become involved in the war. However, certain events brought the reality of the war closer to Hope College.
In September 1940, the Anchor featured two refugees, named Paul Fried and Paul Gottwald, who fled to America from Austria after Hitler annexed Austria. Fried traveled to America after imprisonment in a German camp and Gottwald fled after being denied entry into school for his Jewish heritage [4]. Having refugees on campus may have made the situation early in World War II more real than Hope students originally perceived.

These first-hand accounts and the Anchor articles from the time illustrate that both men and women were conscious of the war, yet the campus atmosphere was not consumed by the events occurring in Europe.
George Vanderhill, an alumni from the 1940s, reflected on this period in the book Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years. Vanderhill commented, “What is surprising and somewhat disconcerting is the fact that, in looking through the large cumbersome scrapbook I kept at that time, I find few, if any, references to what was going on in the wider world. Part of that, I’m sure, is the fact that we did not have the instant worldwide communication we now have” [5].
References:
[1] "As I See It," Hope College Anchor, January 29, 1941. "Will We Have to Fight Germany," Hope College Anchor, March 12, 1941.
[2] “As I See It,” Hope College Anchor, February 26, 1941.
[3] “Europe Declares 24 Hour Armistice Today As Nazi Government Lauds Hope May Day, ” Hope College Anchor, May 10, 1940.
[4] “Austrian Boys Feel America, Hope are O.K.,” Hope College Anchor, September 18, 1940.
[5] Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years (Holland, Michigan: Hope College, 2008), 15.
Sororities As Community

In the midst of the Great Depression Hope literary societies blossomed in membership. While the people of the Hope community struggled to make ends meet, women flocked to sororities, even if they had to pay fees in order to become members and maintain their membership. This seems counterintuitive. Why were women so eager to join these organizations, even if they had to pay to be in them? Why were social groups so important with such important hardships facing individuals around the country? The growth of and reliance upon Greek life as a social lifeline reveal a desire for social belonging during the Great Depression. Secondary research would argue that this desire for community became a trend throughout the country.
As stated previously in the more general information about sororities in the 1930’s, the Anchor and letters sent to future Hope students indicate a large jump in membership in sororities during the 1930’s. In the Anchor on January 1, 1930, students write that sorority members account for 32.1% of women at Hope while in a 1938 letter from the Student Council to incoming freshman, Eleanor Dalman Vanderhill, the organization states that 75-80% of women at Hope belonged to sororities in the 1937-1938 school year [1]. However, in the years between 1930-1940, many societies had to make changes in order to limit spending within their social groups. In his book A Century of Hope, Dr. Wynant Wichers explains that in 1932, all literary societies decided not to hold their annual spring banquets [2]. Additionally, in a Sorosis Alumni Newsletter from 1931, members ask alumni to send in their dues, as the People’s State Bank froze the money in their account [3]. We might expect the trials of the Great Depression to cause women to fall away from groups that call for extraneous spending or for societies to disband in response to the limitations and financial struggles in their organization. However, as we see above, this is not the case. Even with changes and adapting to the difficulties of the time, sororities continued to meet regularly and hold programs and parties for their members, as we can see in the invitations and programs from the scrapbook of Margaret Kole (Alethea), Marian Ruth Stegenga Groenevelt (Alethea), Ethel Leestma Swets (Sibylline), the Dorian Society Scrapbook, and the Sorosis Meeting Minutes [4].
This reveals a desire to find community and belonging within the Great Depression for many individuals. Stephen L. Recken in his article "Fitting in: The Redefinition of Success in the 1930’s" explains the change in people’s idea of happiness within the years of the Great Depression based on the content of 1930’s self-help books. Where the American people of the 19th century believed in self-reliance, independence, and ambition to succeed as a key to happiness, 1930’s Americans emphasized friendship and finding one’s place in American social life as more fulfilling. Recken argues that in 1930’s American culture, individuals sought community and companionship, caring less for materialistic goods and wealth that seemed unattainable in such an economic circumstance [5]. Perhaps Reckon’s theory applied to the Hope College campus community. In the midst of the Great Depression, Greek life and social organizations became essential to individual happiness. Holding a place in a specific community, whether that be merely as a student at Hope or as a member of a literary society, gave students a new level of purpose during a time of financial struggle.
This phenomenon is also evident in the call for a blanket fee in the early 1930’s that would allow all students complete access to all Hope college events and publications. The blanket fee first appeared in the Anchor on April 16, 1930. The Anchor article calls for student support of the blanket fee proposal in order to establish campus unity. A Student Opinion on the matter in the Anchor on April 23, 1930 reiterates the Anchor’s previous argument stating that Hope should be united in all school activities. In the Sorosis minutes on May 2, 1930, the secretary states that many of the members signed the petition, showing group support for the idea. Finally, on April 29, 1931, the Board of Trustees passing of the $10.00 blanket fee in their spring session read as the main headline of the Anchor [6].
First, the students’ push for a larger blanket fee that would give them full access to all Hope events displays a desire to participate in the Hope community consistently. When paging through the scrapbooks of women at Hope during the 1930’s, and more specifically Margaret Kole, I noticed that she saved every program from every event they attended. Kole attended all Hope events, from glee club concerts to sporting events to the pull [7]. This commitment to Hope events explained why students believed so readily in the blanket fee. As they attended each event across campus, they found meaning in each event as a social function that solidified their role in the Hope community.
Secondly, students’ rhetoric in the Anchor demonstrates the desire for community and belonging to a greater body as essential to thriving during their time at Hope and within the greater decade of the 1930’s. As the Anchor described their push for the blanket fee as a commitment to Hope unity, the student writers established a community focused culture embodied the 1930’s ideals to produce happy and thriving individuals in a collective body.

References:

[1] "Societies Not Cause", Hope College Anchor, 1 January, 1930., Letter from Student Council to Eleanor Dalman Vanderhill, 1938, Vanderhill, Eleanor Dalman. Papers, 1926, 1938-1942, Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
[2] Wynand Wichers, A Century of Hope (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), 204.
[3] Alumni Newsletter, 1931, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[4] Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI., Scrapbook, 1934-1938, Stegenga Groenevelt, Marian Ruth (1917-1996). Papers, 1934-1938, 1996 (H12-1818), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI. Scapbook, 1929-1936, Swets, Ethel Leestma Papers, 1929-1936 (H18-1988), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI., Scrapbook, 1935-1948, Dorian Sorority (Kappa Beta Phi). Records, 1922-2008 (H09-1695), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland MI., Minutes, 1925-1930, 1932-1935, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Stephen L. Recken, "Fitting in: the Redefinition of Success in the 1930’s," Journal of Popular Culture 27, no. 3 (Winter 1993): 205-206, accessed June 4, 2021, https://doi-org.ezproxy.hope.edu/10.1111/j.0022-3840.1993.00205.x.
[6] "Unity", Hope College Anchor, 16 April, 1930., "Student Opinion", Hope College Anchor, 23 April, 1930., Minutes, 2 May 1930, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI., "Blanket Fee Goes Through", Hope College Anchor, 29 April, 1931.
[7] Memory Book, 1925-1933, Kole, Margaret J. (1909-1994). Papers, 1925-1933 (H95-1250).
Intro to Female Faculty
As I began thinking about the Hope College campus during the 1930s and 1940s, I considered the current atmosphere and dynamic between Hope College students and professors. Many students, myself included, choose Hope because of the ability to form close relationships with professors. I know of students who babysit for their professor’s children, go out for coffee with professors, work with professors as teaching assistants, etc. These connections with professors impact the student experience at Hope today and I was curious whether this trend dates back to the 1930s and 1940s.
I started by researching women faculty at Hope College and using the Milestone to gather names of female faculty. Then, I utilized the Joint Archives of Holland to access as many of the women faculty files as possible, which often contained correspondence, diaries, documents relating to their profession, articles about them, and many other helpful resources.
The research on women faculty depends on what is available in the archives. Many of the women who had comprehensive files worked at Hope for several decades and were graduates of Hope College. A lot of my research includes prominent names featured on current buildings, scholarships, or other memorial tributes. Thus, this research generally comes from women who dedicated their lives to Hope College for several decades and does not include women that taught at Hope for only a few years or were unsatisfied with their time at Hope. Furthermore, oral interviews or comments on these women come from tributes, acknowledgments, and eulogies that commemorate the lives of these women. Memories change with time and reflections are typically positive because they were created at the end of these women’s lives.
Based on the archival records and available resources, it seems that these prominent women faculty worked to create an impact on the students and Hope community through their work as instructors, professors, deans of women, assistants, librarians, and advisors for student groups.
Pearl Harbor
Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema compiled memories from people at Hope College during World War II in the book Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years. In these accounts, many alumni recalled what they were doing on December 7, 1941 when they learned about the events at Pearl Harbor.

Barbara Folensbee Timmer: “One notable exception was on December 7, 1941. I’m not sure of the arrangements, but I do recall vividly that it was called a Vesper Service and it was a Sunday afternoon. Esther Snow was at organ, I was at piano and the choir sang. I do remember returning to the dorm, turning on the radio and hearing that Pearl Harbor had been bombed” [1].

Myra Berry: “Those who were alive on December 7, 1941, will never forget the feelings of shock and disbelief as we heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Hope's Musical Arts Club sponsored a Vesper Service that afternoon, and the first word many of us had of the attack came shortly after returning home from that event. That vesper service was the forerunner of the wonderfully impressive program held each year in Dimnent Chapel and involving all of the musical organizations on campus. Classes met as usual on Monday, the day war was declared, and though everyone was still pretty much in a state of shock, I don't think any of us realized what changes were in store for us” [2].

Rosey Maatman: “Pearl Harbor, December 7, put an abrupt end to our jubilant and easy-going lifestyle. I remember being with a group of girls in a dorm room listening to President Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech and declaration of war. It was a solemn moment in time and tears of realities ahead clutches at us” [3].

Glenn Bruggers: “On the 6th of December while much aware of the war being waged in many parts of the world, our primary focus was as it had been- on our studies. After the 7th the focus changed. At fraternity meetings the war became the center of all conversations. Students who had family members in the service began to follow closely where the troops were reported to be located. Draft numbers became a concern in determining how long one would be able to stay in college. Suddenly everything seemed shrouded in uncertainty” [4].

Don Mulder: “When the news came of the Pearl Harbor attack and our declaration of entry into the war, the implications gradually dawned on me. Within a month I would be 18 and eligible for service in the military. As I started up the stairway to my room, Genevieve was there. All I could do (admittedly tearfully) was say, 'But I don’t want to go to war- I want to go to school!' A reassuring hug was all the answer necessary” [5].

References:
[1] Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years (Holland, Michigan: Hope College, 2008), 17.
[2] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 31.
[3] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 69.
[4] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 83.
[5] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 121.
Hope and the Netherlands
Holland, Michigan houses an expansive Dutch population since Rev. Albertus Van Raalte, a Dutch immigrant, settled in Holland and established Hope College in the 1840s. 100 years later in the 1940s this connection to the Netherlands persisted when German forces invaded the Netherlands.
The Netherlands declared neutrality during World War II just as it had in World War I. However, the Germans aimed to invade France and the Netherlands provided a route to accomplish this and ensure England did not establish a base in the mainland of Europe. On May 10, 1940 the Germans invaded the Netherlands. The Netherlands anticipated the German attack and Dutch soldiers gained small victories, but ultimately the Germans continued to advance. Queen Wilhelmina fled to England and her family followed. This alerted Dutch citizens, who knew limited information, to the severity of the situation in the Netherlands and many residents of the Netherlands fled voluntarily or were forced to evacuate their towns as a result of the German invasion.
The German general Schmidt issued an ultimatum to the city of Rotterdam asserting that Dutch forces must surrender or be bombed. The mayor of Rotterdam and military general entered into negotiations with the German commanders, but this message was not properly relayed to German forces. Thus, German bombers attacked Rotterdam resulting in the decimation and deaths of many in the city.
German forces threatened to bomb Utrecht next, thus the Netherlands surrendered on May 15, 1940. Germany occupied Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of France soon after the fall of the Netherlands [1].
Nella Kennedy, a senior research fellow at the Van Raalte Institute, was born in 1937 in Rotterdam and grew up in the area as World War II escalated in Europe. I met with Kennedy to learn more about the Netherlands during World War II and what it was like to grow up in a country under German occupation:
“What I remember, my childhood memories, are that I was afraid of bombs. You could hear these sirens, which could mean an allied dog fight or whatever. There were also missiles, what I call missiles, that were sent up from England to go to Germany but they would be duds and fall in the Netherlands. I remember walking because for a while we lived in a smaller town, smaller than Rotterdam. I walked down the street and saw a house totally bombed because we lived near a railroad track at that point.”
The bombing in Rotterdam occurred in 1940 and the Board of Trustees contained recordings of a telegram sent by Hope College to Princess Juliana in 1941.
The minutes state, “Telegrams of congratulations and greetings were read from Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana Bernhard, Dr. Alexander Loudon and Hon. Murray Van Wagoner, Governor of Michigan. Mr. Titus made a motion that we give Dr. Wichers a vote of thanks for bringing Princess Juliana to Hope College and conferring the degree of Doctor of Laws upon her. Motion supported and carried” [2]. The Board of Trustees also sent Princess Juliana Bernhard a telegram on her birthday in 1943 [3]. At the time of the telgram the Netherlands had been invaded and the United States entered the war. Therefore, this relationship, while ceremonial in nature, endured amidst World War II. In addition to these telegrams, Mary Beth Ferguson Kuras had a pen pal in the Netherlands and created a scrapbook with postcards and newspaper clippings from her correspondence. In the fall of 1944, Allied powers began bombing enemy lines in the Netherlands to cut off the Germans from western Europe. Kennedy recalled the crisis and food shortage in the Netherlands:
"Germany toted all kinds of things out of the Netherlands- machinery, food supplies. There was an enormous food shortage that began in the fall of ‘44. Then there was some help in 1945 from Sweden. The problem was the Allied forces would fly over and bomb trains because they would be transporting ammunition for example. But they destroyed the means by which food would be transported. The waterways were frozen as well. There was no coal, either. If there was anything that the Germans would allow, it couldn’t make it because of the lack of locomotives."
During the war, several women contacted relatives in the Netherlands and offered assistance. In a letter, Mildred Schuppert acknowledged the difference between the experiences of those in the United States and the Netherlands. Schuppert writes, “Somehow we had never thought of trying to contact relatives in The Netherlands, but in these last months since mails have been coming through again, we felt we would like to know something about the relatives, especially since many of you have suffered the privations and hardships and anxieties of war.” In the letter, Schuppert states that she is willing to help out in any way she can.
Metta Ross, a professor at Hope College, also corresponded and sent aid to those in the Netherlands. The Queen of the Netherlands awarded Metta Ross a medal for her service to the country during the war. In an oral interview, Ross remembered this award for her work with those in the Netherlands:
“One woman had had her glasses completely crushed and they could get none ground in Italy, but she did have her prescription. So Beth sent me the prescription and I had my eye man make it up and I sent her glasses back. We did things like that: clothing that they needed and things like that. One woman said, ‘Do you have a handbag that will still hold money? Could you send it to me? Mine is completely gone.’ It was really for doing those little things, which took time, but nothing else much, that I was given that bronze medal” [5].
The Canadians joined the Allies and became the driving force behind the liberation of the Netherlands when Germany officially surrendered on May 5, 1945 [6]. On May 13, 1945, there was a chapel service commemorating the liberation of the Netherlands.
Willard Wichers received a letter from Leo Crowley, an administrator for President Rooselvelt during his presidency thanking Holland for their connection to the Netherlands:
“That you have shared in the success of this country is, of course, satisfying to you, especially because the ideas of freedom and independence are so proudly continuing in Dutch heritage...While we won the war we have not won the peace as yet, because ideologies similar to and as dangerous threaten our economic and political principles. I know hopefully that the Netherlands people can be depended upon to do their part in our mutual efforts for a just and lasting peace” [7].
This letter was written in August of 1947, in the midst of the Dutch-Indonesian conflict. After World War II, Indonesia declared their independence from the Netherlands. The Dutch and British forces attempted to resume control of the colony in 1945, but the Indonesian forces combated these advances. In July of 1947, the United States began to get more involved in this conflict and ordered a ceasefire in August 1947. The Dutch and Indonesian governments signed an agreement in October of 1947 ending the conflict and granting Indonesia their independence [8].
This telegram from Crowley indicates the United States government was aware of the connection between Holland, Michigan. By writing this letter, Crowley illustrates this link between the Netherlands and Holland, Michigan may have served as a means of influence as the world began to recover from World War II.
The relationship with the Netherlands persisted after correspondence and work with the Netherlands during World War II. Several students at Hope College grew up in the Netherlands, such as Margaret Wolffensperger Kleis, who was from Zwolle, Netherlands and attended Hope College in 1950. Kleis experienced trouble with her student visa and was held by the immigration office for several days, while processing her legal alien card. This inspired Kleis to work as an office manager for a local congressman, where she made immigration her main focus [9].
Even with the connection to those in the Netherlands, there was still limited publications about the Holocaust in the campus primary sources. Kennedy explained many citizens were unaware of what was happening to the Jews. Oftentimes Jews were commanded to assemble together, but there was limited outrage and fear because they did not know what would happen to them. Similarly, there are only a few mentions of the Holocaust in the Anchor from the 1940s. One article from 1945 by Elaine Bielefeld entitled “In...Digestion” mentions the Holocaust stating, “the struggle was more than a mere holocaust; it was strife between right and wrong, love and hate. Fighting has ceased but victory is not ours until we can prove our ability to practice good will in every phase of our lives” [10]. This article appears dismissive of the horrors that the Jewish people in Europe experienced, but in this quote the term Holocaust may refer to the Biblical term for destroying in a fire. The term Holocaust did not become the prevalant way to refer to the Jewish genocide under Nazi Germany until the 1950s, which may account for the lack of publications on this topic. The Holocaust reappears in a 1948 article appealing for peace and not war in the article “Civilization or War” [11].
More references to the Holocaust may appear in the Anchor, especially under a different name, but it does not seem that the Holocaust made the headlines. According to “The American Press and the Holocaust” the information about the Holocaust was known in 1942 and all of the information was gathered by 1945. However, several publications, especially in America, downplayed the information or buried the information inside pages [12]. This may have caused skepticism about the events of the Holocaust and a college newspaper, such as the Anchor, likely followed current events in other newspapers before relaying news to the college population.
References:
[1] “The German Invasion of the Netherlands,” Anne Frank Website, January 13, 2020, https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/german-invasion-netherlands/.
[2] June 18, 1941 Minutes, Board of Trustees. 1866-[ongoing.], (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[3] April 28, 1943 Minutes, Board of Trustees. 1866-[ongoing.], (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[4] Mildred Schuppert, n.d., Schuppert, Mildred W. (1909-1993). Papers, 1871-1993 (W94-1183), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Dick and Phyllis Huff, “Metta Ross Oral Interview,” March 15, 2002, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 15.
[6] “The Liberation of the Netherlands,” Veterans Affairs Canada, last modified January 27, 2020, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/classroom/fact-sheets/netherlands.
[7] Leo Crowley, August 13, 1947, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[8] Gerlof D. Homan, "The Netherlands, the United States and the Indonesian Question, 1948," Journal of Contemporary History 25, no. 1 (1990): 123-41, http://www.jstor.org/stable/260724.
[9] Tanda Gmiter, “Retiring Staffer Always Managed, Just Ask Bosses,” The Grand Rapids Press (Grand Rapids, Michigan, May 21, 1995), Kleis, Margaret. Papers, 1947-1965, 1995 (H17-1945), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[10] “In...Digestion,” Hope College Anchor, December 19, 1945.
[11] “Civilization or War,” Hope College Anchor, March 25, 1948.
[12] Paul Wieser, “The American Press and the Holocaust,” Social Education 56, no. 6 (1995): 1, https://www2.gvsu.edu/walll/American%20press%20and%20Holocaust.pdf.
The Great Depression and Hope as an Institution

Our experience attempting to grasp the Great Depression’s impact on Hope College institutionally challenged us. We scoured the Board of Trustees Minutes, the Anchor, Hope at 150 by Jacob Nyenhuis, and A Century of Hope by Wynant Wichers, finding a variety of pieces of the full picture of the Hope’s response to the Great Depression. First, letters to the National Bank of Commerce in New York City from President Dimnent in October of 1928 indicate that Hope College sold their stock portfolio prior to the stock market crash in October of 1929, allowing them to avoid any major hit to their endowment as a result of the crash [1]. This surprised us as we found little indication of why he chose to do this. The Treasury Report of 1928, which would have evaluated the financial status of Hope College for the 1927-1928 school year reported that over time, the Permanent College Funds had increased in a constant ratio, and the preceding year had been no different [2]. However, the April 1929 Treasurer Report indicated a sudden deficit that the college would not be able to balance six months prior to the stock market crash. The Treasurer notes that the college increased tuition to aid their financial situation [3]. While we might wish that Dimnent predicted the crash of the stock market, the financial crisis that followed, and steered Hope to avoid financial disaster; however, it seems that Hope experienced financial struggle just before the crash of the Stock Market in October of 1929.
The spiraling of the entire country into the Great Depression did not help Hope’s financial situation. In June of 1930, the Board of Trustee’s report to the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America noted the incredible deficit that the college would acquire by the end of year that would exceed that of earlier years [4]. This indicates a financial crisis much worse than the years of struggle in the late 1920’s.
We ran into many difficulties when researching the early and worst years of the Great Depression at Hope. Writers of Hope’s history, such as Wynant Wichers, Jacob Nyenhuis, and the Board of Trustees documents that include Treasury reports give differing stories of the decrease or increase of the college’s endowment. In A Century of Hope, Wichers writes that by 1931, the college’s endowment had suffered and a portion had gone into default. Wichers also explains that the Board of Trustees struggled most with recovering the endowment of all difficulties during the Depression [5]. Contrastingly, Nyenhuis writes that Hope’s endowment actually increased during the Great Depression [6].
Going back to the original sources, the Board of Trustees Minutes didn’t provide much clarity. While we have a few of the Treasury Reports for the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, they are all formatted in different ways with a variety of entries that indicate the permanent fund. We found Treasury Reports for 1927-1928, 1928-1929, and 1930-1931 that documented that the permanent fund and endowment receipts and disbursements balanced at $296,555.86, $364,386.99 and $108,553.21 respectively [7]. Sadly we do not have the treasury report from 1929-1930 to judge the immediate impact of the stock market crash. In 1928, the Treasurer listed the increase in the Endowment and Trust Account at $14,233.00 and the Operating Deficit at $5,909.45 [8]. In the 1930-1931 school year, the Treasurer Lists the endowment fund at an increase of $11,663.03 and the operating deficit at $8,221.72 [9]. Based on the Report to the General Synod for 1931, these entries indicate increases in the accounts or fund [10]. It is important to note, however, that the Treasurer Report for 1930-1931 listed the endowment and the trust fund separately. It is unclear if we should combine these numbers when comparing to the number listed as the 1928 increase, as the report to the General Synod did not include any note of an increase in the Trust fund that would make us believe the two numbers should be combined as a more important number than the $11,663.03 that the Board Reports in its more narrative report. Unfortunately, the 1929 report does not have entries for Hope’s endowment or operating deficit that can be compared with the 1928 or 1930-1931 entries [11].
Interpreting these numbers proves difficult because of our inability to accurately compare the entries based on the variety of ways the Treasurer reported Hope’s finances in a short number of years. If we do not combine the Endowment and Trust Funds for 1931, we see that the Endowment did increase; however, as did the operating deficit, specifically compared to 1928. The endowment increased less than in 1928 while the operating deficit increased more than in 1928. If we do combine the Endowment and Trust Funds for 1931, we find a completely different story. This would be a massive increase in the permanent funds of $25,630.53 [12]. If this is a more accurate analysis of the Permanent Funds, this may indicate an intentional funneling of money into this fund by the Board of Trustees, acknowledging the increase in the operating deficit as well.
Due to the number of differing secondary sources and the nature of the primary documents to which we have access, we had incredible difficulty interpreting what truly happened to Hope’s permanent funds in the midst of the worst years of the Great Depression. However, we do know that the Depression obviously hit Hope College with force, similar to the rest of the country. The 1931 Report to the General Synod states, “The economic situation of the country is having its effect upon the various phases of the work of the college. Gifts from individuals have decreased. A general shrinkage in receipts by all the agencies of the Church, the Board of Education included, is naturally reflected in the amount received by the College. Doubtless the enrollment has been affected also, but it is impossible to ascertain whether conditions of large unemployment bring an increase or a decrease in the attendance of liberal arts colleges. It is certain that the student group as a whole finds it hard to meet college bills” [13]. This narrative depicts a terrified college that struggled with the same issues the rest of the country faced during the darkest years of the Great Depression.
With the diversification of Hope’s investments, Hope’s financial future became a bit more secure. In June of 1932, the Treasury reported a much smaller deficit of $6,000 for the 1931-1932 school year. However, they do note that the deficit might be higher because of inflation during this time [14]. Reinvestment of Hope’s finances proved to be the saving grace for Hope College, according to Wichers. Looking at the Minutes from 1933, the Board of Trustees amended their financial by-laws in order to make investment easier. The minutes quote Mr. Winter: “Whereas, we find ourselves, under the present circumstances, handicapped by the terms of the by-laws with reference to the investment of our permanent funds, there-fore, be it resolved that in order to secure proper diversification and also possible future recovery of present loss, the Executive Committee be authorized… to reinvest funds secured by the sale of real estate or defaulted securities in securities listed on the New York Exchange, provided that in the judgement of the Committee, such securities be suitable for the investment of college funds” [15]. Wichers gave context to these amendments by explaining that Hope’s by-laws stated that the college could only invest in state and federal bonds as well as real estate securities for savings banks. By 1935, an executive committee through the Board of Trustees successfully sold the college’s stock in real-estate securities on the New York Exchange and reinvested the funds. This resulted in the increase of the endowment by 1938 according to Wichers. With the change of 1935, the Treasurer at the time stated that he believed that Hope would “weather the storm” [16].
Hope also made many sacrifices and changes in order to cut spending. One of the largest changes they made was the closing of the Hope High school in 1934. The Board of Trustees Minutes explain that this closure would save them $5,000-$6,500. The high school had become more of a burden than an asset to the college. It did not feed students into the college and could have cost the college its accreditation by the Association of American Universities. They also employed a number of other smaller measures to cut costs and acquire money [17]. On June 18, 1935, the Board decided that an annual meeting sufficed rather than a biannual meeting for the Board. Limiting meeting times would save money for the college [18]. The Board also communicated with other colleges to find other avenues to acquire funds. In the June 18, 1935 minutes, the secretary documented communication with Irwin J. Lubbers, president of Central College in Pella, Iowa and the future president of Hope College, about combining the two college’s efforts in fundraising to supplement the college’s income [19].

What I would argue as symbol of rebirth from the depths of the Depression and what Wichers argues was his greatest achievement in his administration was the much needed addition of the Science Building (now Lubbers Hall). According to the Board of Trustees Minutes, Wichers presented the Board with his plans for the new building on April 26, 1939, planning on campaigning for $250,000. Wichers writes that campaigning from the General Synod, gifts from Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer, Margaret, Bertram, and Albert Hopeman, fundraising from Holland and Muskegon alumni, and even some fundraising from Hope students from 1939 to 1942 allowed the college to fund the new building completely. Building began on June 3rd, 1941 and the Science Building was dedicated on September 16, 1942 [20]. As we look at the success of the fundraising and building of the new Science Building as well as the timeline of the Great Depression at Hope, we can observe a final push as Hope emerged from the Depression as complaints of lower alumni donations, little funding, and cash shortages turned to a successful fundraising campaign and necessary new building.

These efforts to diminish the financial burden on the college proved successful. The Hope College tradition lived on, but not without incredible costs to the college during the 1930’s financial crisis. Through reinvestment, cost cutting measures, and only a small lull in enrollment in the beginning of the Depression, Hope College “weathered the storm” of national disaster. Unfortunately, the records of this event’s impact on the college do not provide incredible clarity, but they do tell pieces of the true story of the Great Depression at Hope College.

References:

[1] Edward Dimnent, "Letter from Edward Dimnent to National Bank of Commerce in New York City", October 26, 1928, Dimnent, Edward D. in Dykhuizen, Adelaide (1905-1973) and Geraldine (1905-1988), Papers, 1868-1986 (H88-0046), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[2] Treasurer's Report, 1927-1928, April 1928, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[3] Treasurer's Report, 1928-1929, April 1929, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[4] Board of Trustees Report to the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, June 1930, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Wynand Wichers, A Century of Hope (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1968), 204-205.
[6] Jacob Nyenhuis, Hope at 150 (Holland: Van Raalte Press, 2019), 539.
[7] Treasurer's Report, 1927-1928, April 1928, Minutes Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246)., Treasurer's Report, 1928-1929, April 1929, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246)., Treasurer's Report, 1930-1931, April 1931, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 4.
[8] Treasurer's Report, 1927-1928, April 1928, Minutes Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246).
[9] Treasurer's Report, 1930-1931, April 1931, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), 4.
[10] Board of Trustees Report to the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, April 1931, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 1.
[11] Treasurer's Report, 1927-1928, April 1928, Minutes Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246)., Treasurer's Report, 1928-1929, April 1929, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246)., Treasurer's Report, 1930-1931, April 1931, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), 4.
[12] Treasurer's Report, 1930-1931, April 1931, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), 4.
[13] Report to the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, April 1931, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), 1.
[14] Treasurer's Report, 1931-1932, June 1932, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[15] Winter in Minutes, June 10, 1933, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI, 50.
[16] Wichers, A Century of Hope, 205.
[17] Board of Trustees Minutes, April 25, 1934, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[18] Board of Trustees Minutes, June 18, 1935, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[19] Board of Trustees Minutes, June 18, 1935, Minutes, Board of Trustees, 1866-[ongoing] (H88-0246).
[20] Wichers, A Century of Hope, 206-207.
Majors for Women at Hope
Historical Context
Hope College was founded in coordination with the Reformed Church of America (RCA) [1]. The 1916 Semicentennial Catalog reveals the intention behind the creation of the college as it says
They wanted a Christian school to prepare, in a general way, for high grade American citizenship and the intelligent development of Christian character; but, more specifically, they wanted a school to serve the three-fold purpose— to equip competent teachers, to train ministers, and to prepare missionaries for the foreign field [2].
Teaching, missionary work, and ministry were the three vocational pillars that guided the founders in creating the school curriculum. As a result, emphasis was placed on classical training in Greek, Latin, and English. Classical curriculums were often elemental parts of higher education for male colleges in the United States since it was meant to prepare men for the public sphere. This included politics, work, and law. Moreover, knowledge of Greek, Latin, and English were required for admission to graduate programs. As a result, classical training was seen as disciplined and masculine [3].
The importance of classical training to Hope is evident in the 1866 Course Catalog where the only three options for courses of study were normal (teaching), English, and classical. The two men who took normal and English courses were temporarily absent from the school. Therefore, the classical course was the only active option for students [4]. This analysis does not include the Junior College or the School of Music. We only looked at Hope College. As the school expanded, more departments and courses of study opened up. By 1916, the semicentennial, there were six courses of study open to students - classical, philosophical, natural science, modern-language English, modern-language mathematics [5].
By 1925, the first year analyzed in this study, there were six courses of study available - classical, science, modern language-English, mathematics, history, and Latin [6]. Those remained the same six courses available until 1930. There is no available data on majors recorded in 1931 since the course catalog does not list available courses and no Milestone was published. In 1932, eight courses were offered - business administration, classical, English, history, Latin, mathematics, modern language, and science [7]. These same courses were offered until 1936.
From 1931-1932, the four year course schedule for each major that had been in the bulletins was no longer included. They were reintroduced in 1933 but only for Freshmen and Sophomores rather than Upperclassmen. After 1933, formal recommendations for four year plans were no longer included in the bulletin. However, in 1945, four year plans were listed for those on pre-professional tracks like nursing, dentistry, law, forestry, journalism, engineering, theology, social service, library science, and business administration. These plans were listed under “suggested professional curricula” [8]. This continued after the 1950 school year which is out of the scope of this research. No schedule recommendations were given during this time for majors. It is important to clarify that women could take different tracks like the pre-medical track or pre-professional tracks without them qualifying as their primary major. These would not be listed in the Milestone sometimes. Therefore, the lack of women in these fields during this time period (1925-1950) does not necessarily mean that they did not take them. For example, stenography was a certification that women could get but could not major in.
Moreover, lists of available majors were not included in 1931 but were reintroduced in 1932. This could have been due to the expansion of available majors. However, a more likely theory is that the college wanted to save money on printing costs or felt that it was unnecessary to include the information. By 1936, only “groups” were specified that students could take courses in rather than majors. These groups were English, foreign languages, science, and social studies in 1936 [9]. After 1936, music was added to the list of groups. Departments and majors fit under these umbrella categories but were not individually listed [10].

The option of three science and math courses in the 1916 Semicentennial catalog (philosophical, natural science, and modern-language mathematics) reveal a significant shift towards incorporating hard sciences in addition to classical courses [11]. In 1942, a science building, Lubbers Hall, was opened which allowed room for physical expansion of the science department [12]. In 1943, the Army Specialized Training Program began at Hope. The College provided engineering courses for the troops, so Hope split into the Army College with an emphasis on mathematics and science and the other was civilian with an emphasis on liberal arts education [13]. More information on the creation of the STEM departments can be found on our page about the Founding of STEM at Hope and Women in STEM.

References:
[1] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1916), 15, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/49.
[2] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin., 13-14.
[3] Linda Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary of Women’s Education in the United States (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998), 350, EBSCOhost.
[4] 1865-1866. Catalog (Holland: Hope College, 1865), 31-33, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/2/.
[5] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin, 105.
[6] 1925. V63. 03. November Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1925), 10-11, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/86.
[7] 1931-1932. V70.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1931), 28, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/99.
[8] 1944-1945. V83.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1945), 35, http://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/112.
[9] 1935-1936. V74.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1935), 30, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/103.
[10] 1936-1937. V75.01. February Bulletin. (Holland: Hope College, 1936), 28, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/catalogs/104.
[11] 1916. V54.01. May Bulletin., 105.
[12] Milestone 1943 (Holland: Hope College, 1943), 70, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/24.
[13] Correspondence between Hope College and Army, July 1943-September 1943, Military Training Programs, records, 1917-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Holland, MI.
Sororities and Social Training
While sororities provided women with a needed community in the 1930’s, their organization allowed for massive social training that molded members into the perfect college woman, or rather, the time’s ideal white, upper middle class woman. In order to fit into their new community, women relied on social behaviors that their societies or college culture deemed acceptable. This also allowed colleges to shape the type of women they produced and as well as to shape how middle class white women behaved during this time. Margaret L. Freeman writes on this topic in her book, Women of Discriminating Taste: White Sororities and the Making of American Ladyhood, arguing the colleges and universities partnered with sororities in order to enforce desired behaviors and regulations [1]. We can see a similar kind of social training at Hope College within sororities and the general social culture of women at Hope that upheld the beliefs of Hope’s affiliated denomination, The Reformed Church of America, as well as etiquette that made them respectable upper class women. Analyzing the goals of Hope College as an institution, women’s saved sorority event programs, and Anchor articles about ideal women, we can analyze the valued behaviors that societies and the Hope community in general taught women at Hope, shaping how they functioned in society.

Hope as an institution affiliated with the Reformed Church of America and relied on the church for financial backing. In addition, according to Jacob Nyenhuis in his book Hope at 150, the college began with the intent of producing ministry focused Christian individuals [2]. Both their affiliation with the Reformed Church in America and their faith based founding and mission inspired the way they enforced rules and taught their students. According to the Board of Trustees Minutes from April, 1930 in a letter to the General Synod, Dimnent wrote, “The ethical religious situation on the campus is normal. The family background of a student group on any campus is the major element in determining the campus situation. The college continues to produce noble manhood and womanhood, though the task becomes more difficult as present day American parentage has relieved itself of responsibility to a greater extent. The religious activities have held their own and cover the habitional work” [3]. Hope as an institution believed in fostering commendable behaviors in their students richly based in the Christian faith, even if their parents failed to do so, as they believed.

Within our sources, we found evidence of similar social training among Hope sororities in both Christian values as well as general etiquette. Looking at all of the sorority scrapbooks and the women’s personal programs from sorority events, each weekly program began with a devotion. This tradition opened every program or meeting across every sorority on campus. As organizations belonging to a Christian institution, Hope’s sororities embodied the faith that the college wanted its students to actively practice. This instilled important rhythms and habits not just within Hope College sanctioned functions but also in social environments. It surrounded women with the Christian mission of Hope in every facet of their lives.

In addition to practicing Christian habits and virtues, sororities taught women etiquette expected of a 1930’s middle to upper class white woman. Multiple sororities held programs that taught women manners and ways to behave. For example, the Dorian scrapbook outlined their program on October 22, 1937 that taught Dorian women how to behave. They began the event with blind date rules. They then listed guidelines they recommended for a woman in the program outline. They advised women to join as many activities as possible, to get everything out of college, to use the library frequently, to cooperate in class, etc. They then included other parts of the event that included “Notes on Fashion”, “Mind Your Manners”, and “Sponge Cake Recipe” [4]. The Dorian sorority informed women of social behaviors they should adopt as their own that would allow them to be successful at Hope and in the middle class.
The Sorosis Sorority also participated in this kind of social training. In late 1936, the society held an Etiquette series. One invitation listed personal cleanliness, clothes, invitations and introductions, table manners, charms and manners, conduct, and makeup as topics that they would discuss [5]. These gatherings and lectures would dictate the way that Sorosis women would interact with men, one another, other sororities, and how they would conduct themselves. Women's membership to their sorority gave them access to social trends while women following social rules allowed their sororities and the college as a whole to maintain authority and guide women in the behaviors they wanted to instill.

References:

[1] Margaret L. Freeman, Women of Discriminating Taste: White Sororities and the Making of American Ladyhood (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2020).
[2] Jacob Nyenhuis, Hope College at 150 (Holland: Van Raalte Press, 2019), 21.
[3] Board of Trustees, Minutes, April 1930, Board of Trustees, Joint Archives of Holland, (H88-0246), Hope College, Holland, Michigan.
[4] Scrapbook, 1935-1948, Dorian Sorority (Kappa Beta Phi). Records, 1922-2008 (H09-1695, Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland MI.
[5] "Etiquette Club" 29 October 1937, Invitations, 1936-1937, Sigma Sigma Sorority, Records, 1906-[ongoing] (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
Hope and the ROTC
In 1949, Hope College discussed adding a ROTC program to the campus. Hope College housed an Air Force training program and the ASTP, thus the military involvement associated with the ROTC program was not a new concept to the campus. Ballots from the faculty indicate that most faculty members supported the implementation of an ROTC program [1]. Only John Hollenback and Emma Reeverts opposed the ROTC unit.
Hollenback felt Hope was not ready for the ROTC unit without a comprehensive overview of the curriculum. He asserted that Hope College should only serve its country in this way when there is a state of emergency like in World War II [2].
Reeverts wrote to Lubbers on March 24, 1949 expressing her concerns:
“I look at the college campus as a place where young people come to seek truth; where we can study world needs and best ways to meet those needs; where they can learn more about democracy and receive training in democratic procedures. I feel that military units on the college campus and the inclusion of military education in the college curriculum are not in harmony with sound education in a democracy” [3].
Despite concerns from these individuals, the college decided to move forward with their application for an ROTC unit. Lubbers wrote various letters to legislators, such as Gerald Ford in the House of Representatives and Governor Williams asking them to advocate for Hope College [4].
On April 20, 1951, Lubbers received a letter from the Air Force ROTC explaining that Hope College had not been selected to house a unit on campus (5). Further correspondence from Lubbers indicated that most of the institutions selected were not private, Christian colleges with the exception of one Catholic College. Furthermore, ROTC institutions in Michigan were already numerous and may have impacted the decision to award Hope an ROTC unit. Regardless, Hope College did not become affiliated with the Air Force and continued to expand and prepare for the next generations of scholars.

References:
[1] Post WWII Proposal for an Air Force ROTC Program at Hope College, Military Training Programs, records, 1949-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[2] John Hollenbach, February 18, 1949, Military Training Programs, records, 1949-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[3] Emma Reeverts, March 24, 1949, Military Training Programs, records, 1949-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[4] Post WWII Proposal for an Air Force ROTC Program at Hope College, Military Training Programs, records, 1949-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Air Force ROTC, April 20, 1951, Military Training Programs, records, 1949-1951, (H88-0266), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
Female Faculty Impacts
Many of the female faculty members at Hope College in the 1930s and 1940s taught at Hope for several decades. Research into these women indicated they had an impact on academics, extracurriculars, and interactions with students throughout their time at Hope. Many new activities and courses originated during their time and primary sources indicated the impact that these women had upon their students.
Several of the women served as instructors or professors for decades and taught in multiple departments, thus these instructors developed curriculum and a vision for the department. Metta Ross’s archival file was full of notes on different countries and topics, such as Africa, Ancient Greece, Bolivia during WWII, and much more. Ross received a letter from a former student commending the history department for their diligence crafting the curriculum. The student wrote, “Most of the fellows in our dorm who are working for their M.A. have to take 35 to 40 hours to do it, whereas I can do it in 28. Why? Because Hope College and my undergraduate record.” [1].
World War II altered the structure of departments. During this conflict, Esther Snow and several other female faculty members upheld the music department and continued to develop the courses for the remaining students:
“I cannot leave the discussion of 1936 through 1946 without noting the decade, representing the last half of the Great Depression and all of U.S. participation in World War II, saw three ladies (Fenton, Karsten, and Snow) as the mainstays of the Hope College music department. They changed assignments as was needed to cover the bases, but the department not only survived those very difficult times, but enlarged the offerings of music to the college curriculum. They developed a strong foundation for the larger department that was to evolve in later years” [2].
In addition to academics, many women led extracurriculars. Laura Boyd created the German Club and worked with Metta Ross to establish the Palette and Masque club. These were designed to get students more involved with extracurricular activities, especially ones that correlated with courses at Hope. Ross also created the International Relations Club, which discussed foreign affairs. Subjects included speakers discussing Russia, the United States during World War II, etc [3].
Another contribution to the females on campus was the creation of Alcor by Elizabeth Lichty, which evolved into present day Mortarboard, an honor society that recognizes achievements in leadership, scholarship, and service. The female members of Alcor were active during World War II as they raised funds for the war. They also created the Kletz during the post war period, which has changed locations but still exists on campus today.
These women involved themselves in both the academics and extracurricular activities at Hope College, thus they often commented on the balance between these two facets of campus life. Many of the women felt that students focused too heavily on extracurricular activities.
In her notes for the next faculty meeting, Ross wrote, “In the interest of raising the academic achievement of our students, would it not be well to curtail somewhat the social activities on the campus? Since the program was enlarged to make up for “lack of dates,” the reductions would seem logical, with many times as many men as women on the campus” [4].
Emma Reeverts, the Dean of Women since 1947, began to consider this balance as well. She states, “We have been trying to emphasize the importance of good study habits. If girls are really trying, we do not want them to become discouraged if their grades are lower than they are in high school. College offers more competition. However, we do not want a girl to put undue emphasis on social life” [5]. Reevert’s duties as Dean of Women included meeting with the freshman women and those struggling in school, thus she would be aware of the circumstances and culture on campus surrounding this issue.
Lastly, the professors interacted with students throughout their everyday activities and had an impact on their students. Ross received a letter from a former student, Mary Lou Talman, stating, “I feel sure that I can say that you have been one of the most highly regarded-no, it’s even more than that- you have been the most highly regarded campus personality. I know that I speak truthfully and for the entire college when I say that I know of no other person on the campus who has been better liked, more respected, and admired” [5]. Mary Lou Talman graduated from Hope and continued into higher education to earn her PhD.
Laura Boyd impacted students and the world as a whole. Correspondence to Boyd declares, “What I want you to know Miss Boyd is that you, Dr. Nykerk and Dr. Hagan were my favorite teachers, and 20 years after Graduation, I still knew German well enough to be an interpreter in a Prisoner of War Camp. Some 500 prisoners got a better “break” because you taught me enough German to converse with them” [7].
These examples are a few of the countless ways by which female faculty impacted Hope College. Check out the female faculty bios for more areas where these women worked and created change. Many of the faculty members in this research spent years at Hope, thus they impacted their departments, students, and the campus community by working closely with their colleagues and students. Many of their names survive on campus today in the form of building names or scholarships.
References:
[1] "Correspondence," Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[2] Robert Snow, “Musikalisch Frau Schnee: A Brief Biography of the Life of Esther MacFarlane Snow,” May 17, 2002, Snow, Esther M. (1895-1974). Papers, 1942-2002 (H88-0140), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[3] Milestone 1947 (Holland, MI: Hope College, 1947), 127, https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/milestone/31.
[4] Professional Concerns, September 18-20, 1946, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Emma Reeverts, November 9, 1948, Reeverts, Emma Marie (1896-1973). Papers, 1946-1973 (H88-0129), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[6] Mary Lou Talman, June 17, 1942, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[7] Carl C. Postma, May 18, 1955, Boyd, Laura Alice (1884-1962). Papers, 1922-1963 (H88-0016), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
Post World War II Boom
The men began to return from the war in May of 1945 and more returned in August 1945 after victory in Japan [1]. The G.I. Bill permitted veterans to return to college with stipends covering tuition and living expenses, thus Hope College entered the post World-War Boom in enrollment. Irwin Lubbers became president in fall 1945 and Hope College enrollment increased. In the Spring of 1946, administrators asked faculty to add another course to their workload. The 1945-1946 school year witnessed a 75% increase in enrollment. Yet enrollment continued to increase during the 1946-1947 school year indicating just how much Hope College needed to expand to accommodate for the increase in enrollment [2].

John Hollenbach, a former dean of students, wrote about the 1946 Registration Debacle in a piece on the post war boom at Hope. He described veteran’s frustration when they returned from the military and were placed on waitlists for their necessary classes. Similarly, freshmen were placed in courses irrelevant to their prospective field of study and forced to take courses out of order. A shortage of housing and faculty became apparent during registration [3]. Changes included adding staff members to teach additional courses. One man went in for a meeting with an administrator and came out with a job offer from Lubbers to teach. The majority of the incoming faculty were Hope graduates. Instructors or professors were in high demand, thus Hope converted its own graduates to instructors of coursework. Housing and academic buildings were also an issue. This school year required renovations to Van Raalte and other education facilities, saw the creation of the Kletz by the members of Alcor, and Hope College began buying property around the college to house students. Hope College continued to expand and bounce back after World War II [4].

References:
[1] Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years (Holland, Michigan: Hope College, 2008), 118.
[2] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 132.
[3] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 133.
[4] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 150-152.
United States Enters the War
After Pearl Harbor, men began to voluntarily enlist instead of waiting for the draft in order to choose which branch of service they would enter. By April of 1942, Hope’s enrollment deteriorated as men enlisted and left Hope College. This occurred gradually because the government needed time to implement the infrastructure like bases, tanks, airplanes, and ships required for training and active duty.
Vern Boersma, an alumni of Hope College from the 1940s explained that each male student knew their number could be called at any moment. Typically, those in good academic standing could defer the draft, while those in poor academic standing were called almost immediately. However, men tended to enlist voluntarily to join a branch that aligned with their future career path. The male students who remained on campus prepared to quickly enter the medical, chemistry, and pastoral fields or stayed because they failed the physical exam for enrollment into the military. There was high demand for chaplains, chemists, and doctors to serve in the war. The men completed three years of school, then joined the military. For example, Boersma completed his three years of pre-med, then entered the Navy [1]. The Anchor published an article on January 28, 1942 urging students to utilize the accelerated program by taking additional classes and cancelling their usual summer jobs to complete their degrees early [2].
Additionally, Edwin and Ruth Stegnenga Luidens became missionaries as World War II continued in Europe. Edwin graduated from Hope in 1940 then became a student at the New Brunswick Seminary, while Ruth completed her time at Hope College in 1942. Donald Luidens described the couple’s journey from Hope College in his book Seeds of Hope, Hate, and Change: Missionary Witnesses to the Middle East in Transition. Edwin was interested in missionary work and eventually Ruth agreed to join him in this field. In 1944, Edwin petitioned the Selective Service System to allow him to leave the country, even though he was draft age and this permission was granted on June 2, 1944. The couple departed in 1944 from Philadelphia to Lisbon, Portugal because Portugal remained neutral. After their arrival in Portugal, Edwin and Ruth continued to the west coast of India and from there to Basrah, Iraq, where the pair would settle for their work as missionaries [3]. Thus, those in pastoral fields had options to join the military as chaplains, but many also continued working as missionaries in a tumultuous time overseas.
The U.S. involvement in World War II prompted the women to get more involved in the war efforts as well. The Anchor featured the fundraising efforts by the Women’s Activity League (WAL). The women sponsored everything from book collections to relief drives to bond and stamp sales to peddling sandwiches in the various campus buildings. The chapel housed boxes for monetary donations and barrels collected items for war relief.
The American Red Cross and WAL sponsored courses in knitting, first aid, and home nursing. There was extensive gas and food rationing that limited off-campus acitivities and the availability of sugar, butter, and other supplies. The few on-campus activities remaining often became less extravagant than in past years. The financial records from the Sigma Sigma sorority indicated that the largest expenses during the war years went towards rush, while the magnitude of social events typically composed a large portion of the budget [4]. Sorority events evolved into a time to knit and sew for the Red Cross.
Pinks Mulder Dudley recalled knitting even in Professor Boyd’s German class. Instead of reprimanding her for knitting during class, Boyd announced that knitting would be permitted as long as the yarn was, “khaki-colored and clearly being transformed into socks or gloves or scarves for the troops” [5].
On summer break, some women worked in the factories to supply the factories with a workforce. Rosey Maatman worked at Chris Craft, a boat factory converted into a Navy barge manufacturer. Her work there earned her the nickname "Rosey the Riveter" after the popular advertisment for women in the workforce during World War II [6].
In addition to fundraising efforts, the remaining women on campus wrote letters to their peers in the service. Mildred Schuppert wrote to Paul Fried, a student on active duty, stating, “I have been writing to many of the boys who left Hope. In fact I try to write a letter a day. I hope that when you get your new address you will send it on to me so that you may not lose your connection with Hope entirely” [7].
The Anchor began to feature addresses for former Hope students now in the military, so the remaining students and faculty could keep in contact with those serving in the military. The women assumed control of the Anchor once the majority of the men were called to active duty. The editors began sending copies of the Anchor to men overseas to keep them in touch with life at Hope and give them a taste of home [8].

References:
[1] Eileen Nordstrom and George Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads: The War Years (Holland, Michigan: Hope College, 2008), 15.
[2] “Wake Up, Hope College! Speeded Program Is Designed For Your and Victory's Benefit,” Hope College Anchor, January 28, 1942.
[3] Donald A. Luidens, Seeds of Hope, Hate, and Change: Missionary Witnesses to the Middle East in Transition (Holland, MI: Van Raalte Press, 2020), 7-37.
[4] Financial Records, 1942, Sigma Sigma Sorority. Records, 1906-ongoing (H01-1413), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[5] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 65-66.
[6] Nordstrom and Zuidema, Hope at the Crossroads, 72.
[7] Mildred Schuppert, January 24, 1944, Schuppert, Mildred W. (1909-1993). Papers, 1871-1993 (W94-1183), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[8] “Anchor Day Among Civvies and Servicemen,” Hope College Anchor, November 24, 1943.
Sororities Pathway This focused Pathway will lead you through the importance of sororities to many women of Hope in the 1930's. Greek Life was an integral part of the Hope College experience for women and connected individuals to create an important community with rooted traditions and customs that were understood by all at Hope during this time. We cannot look at Hope during this time period without discussing Greek Life's impact on the lives of women.

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Enrollment Pathway
In this first Pathway, we have created a learning experience that centers on enrollment at Hope. This Pathway will take you from 1925 to 1950 with enrollment statistics. We will give you some background on the student body throughout Hope's history, how tuition at Hope has changed, majors offered, and what majors were popular during the Great Depression and the Second World War.

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Struggles of Female Faculty
Female faculty members noted some of the struggles and challenges resulting from being a female on the Hope College faculty. Dick and Phyllis Huff, two former Hope students and family friends of Metta Ross were interviewed about Ross in 2002. When asked about Ross’s perception of gender on campus the couple stated, “she was keenly aware that women were not regarded the same as men. And she was positive in her attitude and yet she was aware that some of the male professors did have certain advantages that women did not get, even the office that the women professors receive. They didn’t have draperies in their offices and they had less special offices” [1].

The statistics from the Milestone data indicate fewer female faculty members were made assistant or associate professors and fewer women had PhDs. A letter from Winifred Durfee to President Lubbers comments on Durfee’s opinion of PhDs or women stating, “I believe that she [Miss Emma Reeverts] will be a far better dean than Miss Lichty, who was a great disappointment to me. I am glad that she has gone to Kalamazoo where her doctorate will be of great importance” [2]. This account surprised me because I viewed Lichty’s PhD as a positive attribute and direction for females at Hope College, yet the context of the letter suggests that Durfee was not impressed by Lichty's degree and was pleased she resigned to teach elsewhere.

Promotions became a struggle for Metta Ross as she became more vocal about her desires and future position at Hope College. In 1942, Ross became an associate professor in the English department because additional professors were needed in this department. It was not uncommon for instructors or professors to work in more than one department. However, Ross realized she enjoyed teaching history more than English in the spring of 1945 and petitioned Wichers to move her permanently to the history department. Ross wrote to the committee in charge of appointments requesting to be moved to the history department and made the head of the department since there was an opening for this position.

The committee explained that the next head of the history department would be a man with a doctorate degree. The text also stated, “It was the opinion of the Committee that the matter of an associate professor of history should not be determined until a new president has been elected and the head of the department of history chosen. Your request to become associate professor of history will be placed before these men.”

The Board of Trustees appointed the next president, Irwin Lubbers, a few months later, so Metta Ross wrote to Lubbers and repeated her request. A letter from Irwin Lubbers in August 1945 suggests that Ross’s request was not granted because she taught two courses of English the next semester.

Even though Ross’s request to become a full time history professor and the head of the department was not granted, Ella Hakinson became the head of the history department three years later in 1948. Ross wrote to President Lubbers again in February 1954 requesting the department head position. Her letter outlined her time at Hope College and even though she didn't have a doctorate she had been performing the duties of the department head without the title. Hawkinson received a leave of absence in 1953 to teach in Norway, then became sick and died in 1954. Therefore, it can be surmised that Ross filled in for Hawkinson during her leave of absence and performed the necessary duties. In March 1954, Lubbers replied that her request would be seriously considered [3].

Metta Ross never served as the chair of the history department or any other department, but she did continue teaching for 6 year after this before retiring in 1960.

Ross asserts that these issues were not restricted to the history department:
“We had in our science department at that time, a young woman, very brilliant and had a doctor’s degree. We were very good friends, too: our minds sort of clicked, and we used to spend quite a bit of time together because we could go out to meals and that sort of thing. She left us, I couldn't tell you why, and took a position in Missouri. She was supposed to have been head of the department at Hope, but a man came in and took her place, and I think that’s why she did it” [4].
Female faculty members were in the minority at Hope College and experienced various struggles during their time at Hope College, yet they made a vast impact on their students through their courses, interactions with students, and time as advisors in various extracurricular activities.

References:
[1] Dick and Phyllis Huff, “Metta Ross Oral Interview,” March 15, 2002, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[2] Winifred Durfee, July 10, 1947, Durfee, Winifred Hackley (1861-1950). Papers, 1796-1963 (H88-0034), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[3] Professional Concerns, Ross, Metta J. (1890-1984). Papers, 1896-1984 (H88-0131), Joint Archives of Holland, Hope College, Holland, MI.
[4] Nancy Swiyard, “Ross, Metta J Oral History Interview: Retired Faculty and Administrators of Hope College I and II,” 1977, Hope College Living Heritage Oral History Project. Records, (1977), June 1, 1977(H88-0234), Hope College Digital Commons, Hope College, Holland MI.
STEM Pathway In the STEM Pathway, you can click through to learn more about the history of STEM at Hope, women's involvement in STEM, specifically during the 1930's and 1940's, as well as an interesting connection to female missionary work. Why did women participate in STEM? What opportunities were open for women in STEM majors? Look into the lives of specific women who majored in STEM fields of study during the 1930's and 1940's to get a glimpse into their education, interests, and passions.

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Great Depression General Event Overview Click through the nuts and bolts of how Hope's administration and students responded to the Great Depression. This Pathway connects the pieces of information scattered throughout the Joint Archives to pull together one story of Hope in the 1930's

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1930's Pathway From the Great Depression to Sorority life and everything in between, the 1930's Pathway looks at life during the Great Depression. Read more to learn about how Hope responded to financial struggles institutionally and as a student body. Next, take a look into the most important aspect of social life at Hope at the time: Greek Life. As students dealt with the nationwide financial crisis, learn more about what they held dear as well as how women functioned in 1930's society.

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STEM and World War Two Incredible technology emerged from the Second World War. Offering incredible opportunities for students to participate in the war effort through STEM classes and military training programs, Hope was able to actively participate in the incredible developments in technology during World War Two. This Pathway takes you through this educational achievement and how the war impacted STEM education.

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Enrollment Through 20th Century Crises Crisscross through our original pathways to make new connections between Enrollment Data and the 1930's and 1940's. As you walk through the Great Depression Years at Hope and the Second World War, we will introduce you to both events at Hope while thinking about how these events impacted enrollment statistics.

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Social Treatment of Women in the 1930's and 1940's

Women at Hope dealt with many challenges throughout their experiences at Hope, as a student or a faculty member. How did they operate within a patriarchal society? How did they challenge the system? How did their confidence and independence develop over time? This pathway analyzes how the Hope community viewed and treated women as members of their community.

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Biographicals Learn more about individual women we have studied throughout our project. Many of these women majored in STEM or belonged to the faculty at Hope during the 1930's and 1940's. Each woman's experience is distinct and deserve to be told. This Pathway focuses solely on their individual lives.

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1940's Pathway Walk through the Second World War with Hope with the 1940's Pathway. Learn more about how Hope women dealt with men being away from campus as well as the Army Specialized Training Program's entrance onto Hope's entrance. You will also learn about US involvement in the war and how Hope and Holland as communities fit into the country's war effort!

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Faculty Pathway Within the Faculty Pathway, learn more about what it was like to be a female faculty member during the 1930's and 1940's. This pathway focuses on individual women who worked at Hope during this time period such as, Metta J. Ross, Laura Boyd, and Winifred Durfee. These women worked to find places of authority in the Hope College community and impact students in a positive manner.

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