Who Took up the Work with the Absence of the Domestic Work System? – Suds and Studies: Domestic Work at Mount Holyoke

Laundry

Through the early 1900s, students did laundry themselves or sent it to a company in Holyoke. The College opened its own laundry facilities where Torrey Hall presently is in 1908. It began with six employees. Students could send their laundry once a week in a box as shown below, which was owned by Lydia Wright, Class of 1946. By 1925, the operation had grown considerably. Headed by Mr. L. S. Smith, the laundry employed over 30 workers and over 1,000 boxes of laundry were being done a week. The laundry closed in 1949 and students started sending their items off campus. Although many hand washed their clothes, student handbooks during this time suggested sending laundry home or to a laundry service. Laundry didn’t resume on campus until the early 1960s when machines were installed in dorms.

A long sheet of paper with columns and lines for students to fill out their laundry orders — ^{_{Paper list for College Laundry, undated}}

Maids

In 1874, the Board of Trustees voted to hire servants in order to spare the “young ladies” from the bulk of the “severe and coarse domestic labor” required to keep the Seminary running. These were the first recorded servants on campus.

In 1896 a woman was hired to wash dishes. Maids gradually took up much of the work once done by students, and this only increased after domestic work for students was abolished in 1913.

Black and white hand drawn floor plan showing rooms and hallways — _{^{Wilder floor plan, basement, showing maids’ rooms, 1942}}

While we currently depend on the work that housekeepers, maintenance, dining staff, and many others provide, the number of those workers has gone down steadily even as the College has grown. In 1920, there were around 11 maids working in each of the larger dorms, and five in the smaller ones. When Mandelle Hall was built in 1922 it had 15 maids working and living there. When Prospect Hall was built in 1959, there were eight maids living there. In 1971, there were around 40 maids working for Mount Holyoke. There were 23 housekeepers in 2006.

*Caption for maid uniform once photographed – Maid uniform of Stephanie Ochedowski, circa 1930s

Housemothers

Black and white newspaper page with two articles, a masthead, and an illustration — ^{_{“What is housemothers’ future”, from Choragos, December 4, 1969}}

Another key figure in the domestic life of the College was the housemother. These women lived in the dorms with the students and ran the house. They ensured students were following the rules and acted as a motherly figure. But, by the late 1960s, students were yearning for more freedom and responsibility over themselves and talks of phasing out the role of housemothers began.

The work previously done by housemothers was taken over by head residents, often young faculty couples, graduate students, and recent graduates who were employed as staff of the Dean of Students. They were assisted by student hall presidents and a volunteer student advisor on each floor. This system continued until 1999 when it was replaced by four full-time, live-in professional staff serving dorms grouped by location. They are aided by student Residential Advisors on each floor. This same system is in place today.

Three row of students pose outside their home with their housemother — ^{_{Students pose in front of Lovells with their housemother, 1913-1914}}

A group of students in jackets stand outside a house posing for the camera. Amidst them is an older woman, their housemother. — ^{_{Students in front of Byron Smith house with their housemother, 1927}}

Dining Services

A long news clipping with three black and white images of a food storeroom, a milk truck being unloaded, and a baker making bread — _{^{Newspaper clipping of storeroom and pasteurization plant, undated}}

Throughout the history of the College, there have been many components that go into feeding hundreds of students multiple times a day. For examples, in the early 1900s the College had a butcher, a baker, several cooks, and even a milk pasteurization plant.

Four people, two in chef's uniforms, the other two in work attire, talk in front of a large cooking vat. — _{^{Chefs in the commissary building, circa 1935}}

A woman in a hair net and apron spoons whipped cream on rows or sliced cake on plates. — ^{_{A woman prepares dessert in a dorm kitchen, undated}}

Black and white photograph of a man in an apron and chef's hat standing beside trays and baskets filled with bread. — _{^{The college baker, 1920}}

A man stands holding a tray of freshly baked bread. Behind him is the large oven, and in front of him is a table covered in bread. — ^{_{A baker takes bread out of the oven, undated}}