[Magdalen] Tightrope?

[Grace Cangialosi]

When I first heard of James Madison U, it was still Madison College for Women. One of my classmates from UMich went there to teach organ around '68,  and we thought he'd moved to a real backwater. We'd never heard of Harrisonburg, VA! He was there until he retired about 8 years ago.

On November 18, 2015, at 10:48 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

James Madison University here in Harrisonburg, VA, was also once a "normal
school" and was also an all-female institution. I think it went coed about
the same time UVA did, around 1972.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2015 at 10:31 AM, Charles Wohlers <
charles.wohlers at verizon.net> wrote:

> "Normal School" historically means one which trains teachers. My former
> employer, Bridgewater State Univ. (and once upon a time, Bridgewater Normal
> School) was the first such state-supported institution in the country,
> being founded in 1840.
>
> Chad Wohlers
> Woodbury, VT USA
> chadwohl at satucket.com
>
>
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Judy Fleener
> Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 9:58 AM
> To: magdalen at herberthouse.org
> Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Tightrope?
>
> The name of my university was originally Dekalb Normal School.
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 7:25 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Sorry, that first word was supposed to be "well."  My auto-correct always
>> wants to stick an apostrophe in it.
>>
>> > On Nov 16, 2015, at 7:22 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> > We'll, I love the name "Superior Normal"! Talk about an oxymoron...
>> >
>> >> On Nov 16, 2015, at 3:02 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
>> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> My Cousin Connie sent me a small, faded newspaper clipping yesterday.
>> >> dated from 1922, and was titled "Superior Normal Girls Meet."  She
>> found
>> >> it cleaning out a closet.
>> >>
>> >> Superior Normal School = University of Wisconsin-Superior, and my
>> >> mother was a freshman then with a major in mathematics and a minor
>> >> in teaching gym classes.
>> >>
>> >> This meeting was sponsored by the local campus YWCA, and was billed
>> >> as a "mixer" for the female students.
>> >>
>> >> There was a formal program to start the event, and the initial act  was
>> >> described as "a thrilling piece for three ukuleles."
>> >>
>> >> Next, and more interesting to me, was that the crowd was  "held
>> spellbound
>> >> by Constance Northam (my mother) walking a tightrope."
>> >>
>> >> Walking a tightrope ? [!]
>> >>
>> >> Never did I or anyone in the family during her 98 years hear of  such
>> >> an event (talent?).  I'll just file it under "family legends."
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> David Strang --- who has felt sometimes that he was walking a
>> tightrope,
>> >> but never actually did so.
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Judy Fleener, ObJN
> Western Michigan
>