a look at the history of Wellesley College

Was it really like that?!

To assess life at Wellesley in 1953-54, the year the film Mona Lisa Smile is set, I went to the closest sources in my collection: the College yearbooks from 1948 and 1949.

I found shots of swimmers in the pool in both books,
but this shot of synchronized swimming was too good
not to scan and post!

In the 1949 Legenda, we are told:

May Day is Wellesley's combination of Boston Marathon, crystal ball, and endurance test. For weeks before, seniors practice rolling hoops in hopes of being the first one married. ... To accommodate the Mrs.'s among us, a baby carriage race has been installed.

But my favorite was a photo caption on 1948's page describing May Day:

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