#mhcalums

All this week we’ll be getting ready for @mtholyoke graduation and reunion activities! If you’re on campus this coming weekend, come on over to Dwight Hall to see our new exhibit about the history of Laurel Parade. This lovely show was curated by student assistant Samantha Snodgrass ‘18, who, along with her classmates and many, many alums, will be participating in this year’s Parade on Saturday morning. 

Shown here is a photograph of the first laurel ceremony in 1900, in which the president and vice-president of the senior class carried wreaths of laurel. They are followed by a line of their classmates who processed together to founder Mary Lyon’s grave on campus. At her grave the wreaths were hung on the gate posts and then the seniors sang a College song. The ceremony wasn’t called Laurel Parade at this time, but simply called the Grove Exercises.