1905-1925
Kathlyn Medora Monroe
Kathlyn Medora Monroe (1896-1979) received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Florida State College for Women in 1918. The scrapbook displayed in this exhibit details her freshmen year as a FSCW student (1914-1915). Created in a Florida State College for Women Senior Composition Notebook, Kathlyn Medora Monroe's combination of journal entries and collages filled with photographs, letters, programs, ephemera and handwritten captions commemorate her time at FSCW.
If her scrapbook is any indication, Kathlyn Medora Monroe placed a high value on her college friendships, particularly her bond with Ruby “Flossy” Leach. Their friendship seems to have been what was referred to at FSCW as a “crush.” A crush, according to an article written by Ruby for the school paper and preserved in Kathlyn’s scrapbook, is a phenomena unique to a girl’s school, in which an upperclassman selects a younger student as her “crush.” The relationship was often marked by grand romantic gestures and humorous, over-the-top proclamations of love, such as “I pine for you like a poisoned bed-bug.”
Kathlyn Medora Monroe's wit and humor shine throughout her scrapbook.
Marion Emerett Colman
Marion Emerett Colman (1897-1987) attended Florida State College for Women during the same period as Kathlyn Medora Monroe, 1914-1918. And like Kathlyn Medora Monroe, she received her Bachelor of Arts in English in 1918. However, if their scrapbooks are any indication, Kathlyn Medora Monroe and Marion Emerett Colman maintained very different social circles.
The two scrapbooks that make up the Marion Emerett Colman Collection document her sophomore year, parts of her junior year, and senior year at FSCW. Friendship features promiently in both volumes of her journals, but you'll find no references to "crushes" here. Instead, Marion Emerett Colman describes her small circle of friends in details. Photographs of their exploits, such as hiking by Lake Bradford, abound.
Another prominent feature in Marion Emerett Colman's journals is her focus on academics. Many of her journal entries include poetry as well as prose and photographs. After one report card, she laments below it, "Only got an average of 90 and I studied so hard." She is the author of a copyrighted hymn, pictured here and included in her senior year scrapbook.
