A 1924 E.C.T.C Thanksgiving

Published Nov 27, 2019 by
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The Thanksgiving holiday on the campus of East Carolina is much different today than it was in years past. As students, faculty, and staff prepare to spend their holidays with family and friends enjoying good food and preparing to brave the craziness that is Black Friday shopping, we wanted to look back at how students celebrated Thanksgiving on campus.

In 1924, students enrolled at East Carolina Teachers College were given just the Thanksgiving holiday off which meant most stayed on campus and celebrated the holiday with their classmates and friends. The ECTC administration and campus groups worked hard to ensure that the student body had an enjoyable holiday. The day started with breakfast followed by an 8:00 a.m. Thanksgiving service in the chapel sponsored by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). The service featured a violin performance by Jeanette Wedmore as well as a rendition of “Come, Ye Thankful People” sung by the campus choir. Instead of a traditional sermon, “Thanksgiving response readings were used, thus making all feel they had a part in the service.”

East Carolina Teachers College News, December 8, 1924.

Following the conclusion of the service, the attention of campus turned to the annual basketball game between the Junior normal and Senior normal classes. According to the 1925 Tecoan, the annual basketball game was one of the most anticipated events of the calendar year for E.C.T.C. students and was the only athletic event to take place on campus during the fall term. Women from both teams practiced hard leading up to the game, hoping that their class would emerge victorious with bragging rights for the remainder of the year. With the fellow students in attendance cheering them on, the Senior normal class women defeated the Junior normal class women by a score of 31 to 28.

1924 Senior Normal Basketball Squad

 

1924 Junior Normal Basketball Squad

After the game, students gathered in the campus dining hall for a celebratory dinner which included all the traditional Thanksgiving Day foods for the students to enjoy. Senior class member Ruth Dean read a Thanksgiving Day poem and all those in attendance joined in the singing of “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow.” During the dinner, the Junior normal class basketball team toasted the Senior team for their victory and students and staff joined together in toasting the cooks for their hard work in preparing such a wonderful meal. As dinner came to an end, students were dismissed and free to enjoy the rest of their holiday and break from classes.

 

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