Sophia Through the Years

A look at the continuing relationship between Sophia Smith
and the college she founded

Smith College has no "yell," its president announced officially some time ago, but the young ladies of the college are sometimes, in moments of excitement, heard to utter a cry which sounds thus: "Rah! Rah! Rah! Soph-i-a-Smith!"

Hampshire Gazette, 1896

Margaret Ward, pseud. (Edith Dunton Kellogg, class of 1897) and Eva Nagel, illustrator, Betty Wales, Freshman, 1909

I looked at the picture of Sophia Smith hanging over my desk. She seemed to have changed a little and looked less like a retiring maiden lady and more like the clever member of an ingenious family. I winked at her. "Quite a gal," I said.

Jacqueline Van Voris, "Hetty and the First Hundred Years," Smith Alumnae Quarterly, November 1971

Recipe for Sophia Smith's
Soft Molasses Cookies

(makes 7 1/2 dozen)

1 1/4 c. Sugar
2 1/4 c. Molasses
2 1/4 c. Shortening
1 1/8 c. Sour Milk
3 1/2 tsp. Soda
2 1/4 tsp. Ginger
2 tsp. Cinnamon
2 3/4 qts. Flour

1. Heat molasses, melt in shortening, and add sugar.
2. Cool. Add sour milk and flour, which has been sifted with other dry ingredients.
3. Roll out, about 1/3" thick, and cut.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-8 minutes.

Smith College Madeleine, 1972

Smith students adorning Sophia Smith's gravesite, Hatfield, 1922.	"Stand Up For Smith" doll coin banks made in 1919 by the Cleveland Smith Club for the Four Million Dollar Campaign. Each doll held a sign reading, "CHANGE Sophia to STAND UP for Smith."
Scene from "Heritage," a 1950 student production on the life of Sophia Smith in honor of the College's 75th anniversary. MORE ON HERITAGE	Smith students knitting (r) in the parlor of the Sophia Smith homestead in Hatfield (l). MORE ON THE HOMESTEAD

The men have been telling us that Sophia was a wishy-washy old maid and I'm just trying to give credit where credit is due. I think she was a more determined woman than even her own family admitted....

Jacqueline Van Voris, "Hetty and the First Hundred Years," Smith Alumnae Quarterly, November 1971

Documents

"Heritage" -- a play in nine scenes written by Theatre students of the Smith College Class of 1950 for the 75th anniversary of the College. Photographs, programs and other documents from the production. Read the script!

"Sophie" -- lyrics by Sarah S. Mermann '76. From a pamphlet of Smith College songs.

"Sophia in Funderland" -- A whimsical booklet written by the the Alumnae Office for the College's Annual Fund, ca. 1929.