Photograph courtesy of the Dickinson
College Archives This photograph shows students and staff in the year old South College
snack bar, the now little know forerunner of the College's main snack bar
in the Holland Union Building.
South College has been a part of Dickinson history for more than
150 years and has been a place of diverse activity for the students of
the college. South College I was purchased by the former General Reformed
Church on January 7th, 1835 for $2,050 dollars.1 During this
time it was used as the Old College Grammar School until it unexpectedly
burnt down on December 23rd, 1836. South College II was quickly built
after the fire and completed on January 1st, 1838 for the cost of 5,825
dollars. Throughout this period it was used for dormitory accommodations,
classrooms and lecture rooms. South College II over the course of the history
of Dickinson College was used at times for the college library, science
department and college museum before it was knocked down in 1927 to make
way for the new Alumni
Gymnasium. South College III, the building which held the snack bar in the
subject photograph was a frame government surplus building constructed
after World War II, just south of the Alumni Gymnasium and the site of
the previous South College structures.
South College III
The building officially opened in June, 1948, after architect John K.
Bixler finished for an estimated cost of 46,931 dollars.2
The building provided a needed common room for the students and faculty
with additional classroom and offices as well. In 1955, a squash
court was added and later, in 1958, a fully equipped snack bar was built
into South College. With the completion of the Holland Union Building
(HUB), other uses besides classrooms and faculty offices were transferred
there, including the snack bar. The HUB is now home of the Union
Station, the College's second snack-bar location. An interesting
fact to note about South College is that in 1967 an IBM 1130 computer was
installed,3 the College's first computer. Today, in 1998, South
College serves as the home of the Dickinson College Mathematics and Computer
Science Department, though, with the completion of the newly started Science
Building in 1999, South will again be looking for new occupants. The South College Snack Bar was opened on January 8th, 1958, for
the entire student body.4 On this day, floral arrangements
were contributed by local venders and put on the counter in celebration
of the grand opening. The snack bar, also known as the "South Lounge"
offered the customary food that most snack bars offer. When dining in the
South Lounge a student could enjoy the famous "goon burger," char broiled
franks, hamburgers, steaks, ice cream and other beverages. Cigarettes also
could be obtained. A special commodity of the snack bar, first introduced
during the grand opening, was the "Mermaid's Delight," sponge cake with
ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and a cherry. It was estimated
that six hundred of these delicious desserts were sold on grand opening
day, January 17, 1958.5 Later, the snack bar was renovated
and paintings and murals were added to the walls, modernized light fixtures
were added and additional card-tables also made there way into the area.
Decks of cards were available to be checked out during the day. The South Lounge was operated by the Slater System who were also
in charge of running all of the Dickinson College dining services of this
time. The Slater System established that the snack bar would be open Monday
to Saturday from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM and on Sundays from 4:00 PM to 10:30
PM.6 The Slater System hired students to work in the dining
halls of Metzger Hall, Morgan Hall and Drayer
Hall, as well as the South Lounge. In 1962, a student received twenty-one
meals per week in exchange for 17.5 hours of work per week.7
If a student performed special services they were paid extra by the Slater
system, directly. Students were expected to be dressed in a clean
white T-shirt, dark washable trousers and dark work shoes during their
hours of employment.
Mark Fifer
Source: 1) Sellers, Charles
Coleman. Dickinson College: A History. Wesleyan
Univ. Press, Middletown: 1973. p.581
2) Dickinson College
Archives, May Morris Room. Drop file Alumni
Gymnasium.
3) Sellers, Charles
Coleman. Dickinson College: A History. p.589
4)The Dickinsonian.
January
15th, 1958.
5) Dickinson College
Archives, May Morris Room. Treasurers
Report 1951-1964.
6) Dickinson College
Archives, May Morris Room. Treasurers
Report 1951-1964.
7)Dickinson
College Archives, May Morris Room. Treasurers Report 1951-1964.
**All Photographs Courtesy
of Dickinson College Archives
