Society of Bowdoin Women – Forty Years: The History of Women at Bowdoin

Society of Bowdoin Women Constitution

The Society of Bowdoin Women was established in 1922 for two main purposes; first, to help with the endowment, and second, to offer a hospitable place for women while they waited on the campus. The Society offered a gathering place for women to wait for “their” Bowdoin men and to meet other women. Members had to pay annual dues. They also had to “love” a Bowdoin man, whether he be a grandson, son, brother, husband, or friend.

The Society was composed of a governing board of five people including president, honorary president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. The honorary president was the role reserved for the College president’s wife. The remaining members of the Executive Board held their positions for two years and took turns doing so.

The Society had a positive impact on the College. The Constitution states that the intention of the society was to assist in the College’s endowment (Document SC, 4). In addition to this, with their annual dues the group was able to make small donations to the College, including china for the Dean’s house and a television for the Infirmary. The members also sponsored lectures by exceptional women. They established the Edith Lansing Sills Lecture Fund in honor of Mrs. Sills, wife of a former Bowdoin president. This became a biannual lecture on campus. The most recent Edith Lansing Sills Lecturers at Bowdoin were Anita Hill in 2008 and Bettye Collier-Thomas in 2011.

Society of Bowdoin Women Constitution - sc4-1

Society of Bowdoin Women Constitution - sc4-1.1

SC 4

Society of Bowdoin Women: Kate Douglas Wiggin Room in 1968 and 2011

The Kate Douglas Wiggin Room was home to the Society of Bowdoin Women. It was named after the first president of the Society, who received an honorary Bowdoin degree in 1904. The Society did not initially have a fixed space but instead moved around to various campus locations for its meetings. Eventually the group established the Kate Douglas Wiggin Room and furnished it as headquarters and as a place to wait while their husbands conducted Bowdoin business.

The original meeting place was in a parlor on Federal Street. From here, the society rented a house on Cleveland Street until the porch collapsed beneath them in 1932. They then received permission to use Gibson Hall in 1955. This was their first official space on campus, but it brought much discomfort to many of its members because of the all male environment. In 1965, the Society offered to refurnish and decorate a room in Cram Alumni House in exchange for its permanent use. Three years later they redecorated a small adjoining room to create additional space. In 1983, the College requested temporary use of this room for eighteen to twenty-four months. Three years later, the College took over the space permanently, leaving the Society without a meeting place. The Society women took a stand for themselves and tried to reach a compromise with the College. They were offered another room downstairs in the south parlor of the Alumni House, which they rededicated as the Kate Douglas Wiggin Room. This document (Document SC, 5) displays pictures of this room in 1968 and 2011, portraying how much change this room underwent over the years.

Society of Bowdoin Women: Kate Douglas Wiggin Room in 1968 - sc-5

Society of Bowdoin Women: Kate Douglas Wiggin Room in 2011 - sc-5

Interview with Mary Lou Sprague, Society of Bowdoin Women, by Samantha Copland ’14

Women’s Role on Campus before Coeducation: A Discussion with Mary Lou Sprague

Mary Lou Sprague described her experiences at Bowdoin before coeducation as a time of war, marriage, and children. She has a long history with the College, starting when she was a child since her father and grandfather were alums. Later, married to a Bowdoin man, she became a member of the Society of Bowdoin Women. Sprague, like her mother, served two years as president of the Society. To hear about her experiences at the College before coeducation and her account of the Society, listen to the audio.

Audio: click title below to begin listening

Intriguing Pieces:

Time: 00:03:35

Quotation: [In reference to recounting her family’s presence at Bowdoin] “My own grandfather was presented with an honorary degree […] My mother had been President of the Bowdoin Women when I was a little girl. And then later on when I was married to Phin, I was the President of Bowdoin Women. We did nice little things for the College that seem pretty small and insignificant now, but at the time we thought they were important…”

Time: 00:14:04

Quotation: [In reference to Bowdoin’s enrollment declining during the war] “I was in school in Portland [and the professors at Bowdoin’s] workload had diminished so dramatically it was pathetic. What would happen was that Waynfleet school engaged those professors and they would take the train from Brunswick to Portland and they were our teachers in high school…”

Time: 00:44:32

Quotation: [In reference to her memory of Bowdoin over the years and ability to recount information] “I sort of get my generations confused because you see, not only was my grandfather there, my father there, my husband there, but I had two sons there and I have two grandchildren there. …”

Citation: I, Samantha Copland, interviewed Mary Lou Sprague on Friday, October 28, 2011, at her house in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. We discussed her experience at Bowdoin as a member of the Society of Bowdoin Women.