Lowen McKay attended Briarcliff College in the early 1960s. Notebook 2024-1

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt visited Briarcliff Junior College in May of 1943, as noted in her diary, My Day - May 15, 1943. Picture left to right: Mayor, Briarcliff Manor (1936-1949) Charles H. Schuman; President of Board of College Affairs, Class of 1943 Bette “Betts” Clarke; and Briarcliff College President (1942-1960), Mrs. Clara Tead.

Dow Hall, Briarcliff College, formerly Mrs. Dow’s School

When I attended (Briarcliff College), Dow Hall (we just called it ‘Main’) was the primary building with Johnson Hall [facing Elm Road] (then known simply as 'Ho Jo') a nearby dorm building. The modem buildings that arc to the right as you enter the campus today did not exist and the space then served as a field hockey field. The school provided two-year degrees for young women. My roommate graduated with a cartography degree, a study of mapmaking that today would have a computer element that was not even dreamed of during those days. I lived on the second floor of Dow Hall, almost opposite the Palladian window overlooking the grand staircase in the reception area. Men were permitted only on the ground floor and no men were allowed on the second floor. Here the dorms resided. There were no exceptions. This rule was carried to extremes as our fathers could not take our suitcases upstairs to our dorm rooms upon our arrival on the first day of school and we were forced to lug them up ourselves. There was a 10 PM curfew and all the outside doors were locked at that time. We also had room inspections and if you failed to keep your room neat, you, were grounded and not permitted to leave campus for a period of time. Communications were limited to only one telephone that was hung on the wall at the end of the dorm hallway. When the phone rang, someone would answer it and call down the corridor that you or one of your friends had a call (hopefully from your boyfriend).

Dinner was in the dining hall in Dow and we had to wear appropriate attire. We could wear pants (no jeans) to class. but you had to wear a skirt to dinner. We usually wore a cable knit sweater to finish the look. We weren’t able to bring any food from the dining hall to our rooms, so we would stuff food (usually fruit or cookies) under those bulky sweaters to hide our clandestine treats.

There was a pool in the basement of the building and we all had to take swimming. The bathing suits were non form fitting tank suits with no shape and we all hated wearing them.

Lawn Tea members, 1932 (From “The Yellow Hammer”, 1932”

In the winter, they flooded a portion of the lawn veranda behind Dow Hall [where we had tables and chairs set up] and they lit the area at night for ice skating. My dorm room overlooked the skating rink and it was quite lovely to see this winter scene right out my window.

The class rooms were small and the teachers quite professional. Our studies took most of our time but we had a theatre where we had lessons in dance and music that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I remember on one occasion when Eleanor Roosevelt visited us and we were quite excited to hear her speak. Anna Roosevelt was a student at Briarcliff College and I'm sure her influence prompted Mrs. Roosevelt's saying a few words to us. Anna and Charlotte Ford of Ford Motor Cars, and Leslie Entratter, whose father owned the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, were also my schoolmates so there were many young women who were attending Briarcliff College with the goal of being prepared for their future endeavors.