The 1940s
In 1939, the Junior College established an affiliation with Good Samaritan Hospital, which was run by the diocese, to enable students to pursue a three-year program in nursing education. The success of this program convinced the board that more vocational studies were needed, and the curriculum was increased in 1940 to include secretarial training, nursery school assistant training, and commercial art. However, in 1947, the board decided to close the Junior College because it did not want to assume the debt that would be necessary to provide more adequate facilities for the program.
In
the mid-40s, the Sisters of St. John Baptist departed, and the
Hall went through several changes in administration. The longest-running
of these was a four-year stint from 1948-1952 by two former missionaries,
Miss Jane Allen Saxon and Miss Lois Robison. While high academic
standards were emphasized, so was social order. Students were
inspected on their grooming as they marched into chapel every
morning. The facilities were spotless, luncheon was served on
doilies by maids, and girls were required to wear hats and gloves
during teas and trips to town. Misses Allen and Robison believed
that those teaching in an Episcopal School should be Episcopalians,
and they highly disapproved of any Christmas card with a motif
other than a religious one.
A
financial deficit grew after the departure of the unpaid sisters,
and in 1950 the Everglade, the house on Oswego Lake, was sold
to make ends meet.
Information for this page was condensed from The First Century, a history of St. Helen's Hall written by Sally Reed Stout.