St. Olaf CollegeShaw-Olson Center for College HistorySt. Olaf College

CENTER FOR COLLEGE HISTORY

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About the Archives

Shaw-Olson Center for College History
Rolvaag Library 211
1510 St. Olaf Avenue
St. Olaf College Northfield, MN
55057-1097
507-786-3229
507-786-3734 FAX

Gary DeKrey, Director
dekrey@stolaf.edu

Jeff Sauve, Associate
College Archivist
sauve@stolaf.edu

TO BE READ FIRST, PLEASE

This little story started out as a history of the first building at St. Olaf. There were difficulties, however, in confining it to the one building, so it turned out to be a sort of fragmentary, loosely knit history of the school along the life line of Ladies' Hall, with emphasis on incidents of various kinds.

Admittedly, it is written from the standpoint of the women, who were in the unique position of being a decided minority in an institution whose supporters to a considerable extent favored a school for men only.

The account makes no claim to being exhaustive for the period covered. The hope is to give present day students a glimpse of what life at St. Olaf was like in earlier days.

Material has been gathered here and there, from school and community publications, from conversation with old timers. Especially have members of the Mohn and Felland families been generously helpful. Mr. Hegland has been an

interested supporter and counselor. The title is the suggestion of Mr. Ray Mohn.

The compiler is Alumna Sexta, who lived in the old Ladies' Hall two years as a student and two years as preceptress.