Visual Narratives of Early Emory Student Life at Oxford Main Menu About our Project Chasing Culbreath: A Mystery in Early Emory History Chapter 2

Chapter 3

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When we hear talk Oxford College is the same as Oxford—usually about how small both the college and the municipality are—it’s not far from the truth. Emory College (now known as Oxford College) and the town of Oxford were founded together in 1836 and organized in harmony to create a community focused on the Methodist ideals of worship and higher education.[i] Still, it took many decades until the College built the Prayer Chapel as a permanent house of worship in 1875.[ii] Most surprising is how this Prayer Chapel would quickly became more than a place of worship; an outlet and venue for performance, a nest of creative rebellion, home to the Glee Club, Mixed Chorus, and the Choral.
In 1875, the chapel was built in a way that “typified the ‘plain and decent’ edifice recommended by the Methodist Discipline during the nineteenth century.”[iii] This meant a rather plain façade with minimal roman-greco ornamentation on the overhang of its slanted roof, and two sets of double doors that opened to two isles of seating for the traditional purpose of separating genders.[iv] At the time of the Prayer Chapel’s construction there were no women enrolled at Oxford College, and this would not change until 1953, so the seating design of the chapel may have been for the sole sake of tradition.
To understand the relationship between the Prayer Chapel and the Glee Club, it would be best to look at the way that Oxford’s student body interacted with the chapel. When daily prayer and masses were still a required component of the Oxford curriculum it was normal to hear song come out of the chapel at least twice a day.[v] Though singing may have offered some relief to students, some sources say they complained about the tediousness and rigidity of compulsory daily mass.[vi] In Memory of Old Emory we are told of a legendary prank, when the biology skeleton Dooley made his first appearance up on the chapel roof, in a buggy, smoking a cigar, and wearing a beaver hat, no less.[vii] Mounting a skeleton may not have been the most wholesome installation of art, but it did make for an unusual opening act for the Glee Club.
This rebellion to mass in the Chapel set the tone for what would be a long tradition of hosting vibrant--and less destructive--performance. Through the Glee Club, students found creative relief from the pressures of their academic and religious lives at Oxford. As a singing group, the Glee Club embodied what was popular for entertainment in the twentieth century (PHOC0053). Our earliest images of the Glee Club date back to the 1930s, when the young men were always photographed in suits, wearing neutral expressions, and in the solemn backdrop of the Prayer Chapel. Their black and white uniform speaks to the decorum that was required by the fine art of singing. Their setting was limited, however, because the chapel was the only building on campus equipped to host them for both practice and performance.
Despite the formality that their occasion called for, the Glee Club is where the young men of Oxford found camaraderie and opportunities for leadership and growth under their director and accompanist. The image to the left (PHOC0070) is such a memory, preserved. Members of the Glee Club stand gathered around their director who sits and speaks to them on the steps of the Allen Memorial United Methodist Church (Allen Memorial). It could have been that the day was marked as a photo shoot of the club for the yearbook or some other equally important occasion, but in between executing club business, some of the young men are chatting with each other at the back of the gathering. Those closer to their director are more invested in his words, and the director himself is expressing such animation and engagement with his students that it is impossible to ignore the bonds of friendship that Glee Club helped bring about, even between director and student.
While men could find creative outlets in the Glee Club, there was no permanent space for women on campus until 1953. Before continuing with the development of the Glee Club and fine arts at Oxford, I want to take a step back and look at how women have historically been involved in Oxford’s campus before 1953. During the college’s earliest days, the campus had one small chapel located where the tennis courts are today.[viii] It served several purposes, most notably that of being a teaching facility for the girls of the town of Oxford.[ix] This motion was petitioned for by professor C.J. Haderman in 1847, and for a while the original chapel was the only way female students interacted with the Oxford College campus. Even then, the girls who attended the chapel school were not officially enrolled at Emory College (Oxford College), meaning they could not pursue degrees in higher education, but were instead a part of a preparatory school program.[x]
By 1953 women are finally seen on campus again, and this time permanently with degree-seeking ability. Simultaneously, the Glee Club is still very much a popular source of entertainment on the campus, performing in both the Prayer Chapel and the Allen Memorial Church. The stage is set for women to become involved in the arts and further propel their development at Oxford, but we never see the Glee Club made into a co-ed student group. Instead, two new singing organizations arose for female students to take part in. The Mixed Chorus, where male and female students combined talents, and the Choral, where female students were the stars.
Chronology lends support to the idea that maybe the Mixed Chorus was established before the Choral. To understand the development of these two organization and student led fine arts at Oxford, I decided to follow the trails left behind by Martha Lokey and Julia Wallace Crum. Martha Lokey was part of Oxford’s first co-ed graduating class of 1956.[xi] She is pictured to the left (PHOC0055.Oxford(2)) as a part of the Mixed Chorus. Lokey is seated in the front row, just to the left of the accompanist dressed in all black. The Mixed Chorus, like the Glee Club, dressed for the occasion as performers; the girls in fine gowns and the boys is white suits. Lokey did not stop at the Mixed Chorus. Lokey and five of her friends founded a club called Dooley’s Dolls. At its founding, Dooley’s Dolls was meant to be a safe space for the women on campus. The idea was so popular that in the yearbook following its founding in 1955, almost every graduating girl is listed as a member.[xii] Though sisterhood was integral to the club, Dooley’s Dolls was founded on the primary purpose of “creating increased interest in dramatics and related activities.”[xiii]
By the time of Lokey’s graduation we can now see a definite push—powered by women, no less—toward diverse forms of dramatic expression. The Glee Club was still enjoying its popularity as “the most active club on campus,” providing entertainment at a Christmas concert, weekly chapel programs, and even going on winter and sprint tours.[xiv]
Following Lokey was Julia Wallace Crum, part of Oxford’s 1959 graduating class. Crum and Lokey narrowly missed each other during their respective enrollments in the college, but Julia’s participation in the arts allows us to follow the continuation of this story as Lokey did. Julia is credited with having been a part of the Mixed Chorus, like Lokey, as well as soloist for the Glee Club, vice president of Dooley’s Dolls, and secretary for Choral.[xv] Julia Crum seemed to have a hand in all fine arts organizations, and set a new standard of inclusion for the Glee Club by being their soloist (PHOC0059.Oxford(2)).
Julie Crum shined her brightest when singing with her peers in the Choral (PHOC0061). Find her on the right-hand side of the image, second row from the top; her smile is wide, as are the grins on all the other young women’s faces. Their director or faculty advisor stands to the side, letting the talent enjoy their moment. The picture was taken at night, on the steps of the Allen Memorial Church, likely celebrating the end of an outstanding performance or season for the girls. Like the image above of the Glee Club boys engaging in conversation with their director, this image shows us how performance and art—especially the art of song—can foster joy and friendship.
In 1959, another club springs forward for the continual development of the fine arts, though distinct from the Glee Club’s influence. Members of the Dooley’s Dolls club step out of their bounds to create the Dramatics Club. This new club was dedicated to “the purpose of offering a means of informal dramatic expression to those interested.”[xvi] This is a strong step away from the formality that traditionally accompanied the performance of song at Oxford, but a step toward art clubs that help define the Oxford experience today. The founding of the Dramatics Club was the continual development of the fine arts, different from the traditional path laid out by the Glee Club, but still traceable to the Prayer Chapel’s double doors.
 
 
[ii] Oliver, 33
[iii] Christopher H. Owen, “By Design: The Social Meaning of Methodist Church Architecture in Nineteenth-Century Georgia,” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 75, no. 2 (Summer 1991): 224.
[iv] Oliver, Cornerstone and Grove, 39.
[v] Oliver, 38
[vi] Oliver, Cornerstone and Grove, 39.
[vii] Carlton, In Memory of Old Emory, 20.
[viii] Oliver, Cornerstone and Grove, 17.
[ix] Oliver, Cornerstone and Grove, 34.
[x] Oliver, Cornerstone and Grove, 34.
[xi] Emory Junior College and Academy, Memory (Oxford, GA: Emory Junior College and Academy, 1956).
[xii] Emory Junior College and Academy, Memory (Oxford, GA: Emory Junior College and Academy, 1956).
[xiii] Emory Junior College and Academy, 55.
[xiv] Emory Junior College and Academy, 47.
[xv] Emory Junior College and Academy, Memory (Oxford, GA: Emory Junior College and Academy, 1959)
[xvi] Emory Junior College and Academy, 68.