Interview of Margaret Horn. Topics discussed include women\u27s athletics, Hall of Fame, powder-puff football, basketball, Physical Education, and recent BC history.https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/intergen_communications/1005/thumbnail.jp

James, Mark

Supples, Tristan

Bridgewater College Digital Commons

(So I guess we'll do a little intro. So we are here with Mrs. Margaret Horn, Bridgewater class of 1950?) Bridgewater class of 1950. (And so we're here today just to ask you about your experience. Really they want to find out from alumni what they thought about the college and, yeah, some stories of what, what you got up to while you were at Bridgewater. And they want to kind of put these all together into a collection, just to have really. And to celebrate I suppose. So I guess, Margaret, could you tell us a little bit about your time at Bridgewater, really?) Well I went to Towson State for two years (Oh okay.) and transferred to Bridgewater. (Yeah, okay.) And I guess I'm one, I've always said I was a jack-of-all-trades master of none. But I was an athlete. I did succeed at that so I did play on all the teams that we had, usually the star. (Yeah, so what teams did they have at Bridgewater back then?) Hockey and basketball. (Okay.) Period. For women. Yeah, that was it. So then I also did, I also sang in the glee club. I was in the drama club. I was in all the plays that they did. I sang in the choir, of course, and then a couple other groups (Yeah.) and so I got involved. (You got very involved, that's great!) I guess when I was a senior, I had the leading role in the play that we did. (Okay, so do you remember what that play was?) it was called "Years Ago." ("Years Ago") It was the story of an actress. I guess her time in life, when that was what she wanted to do and her parents wanted her to be a physical educator. And I laughed at that since that was what I was. (That was what you were studying?) Yeah. (Really? So it suited you perfectly.) Yes. So anyway, in my senior year here... Oh I guess in the summer, they lost the physical education teacher. (Right.) And instead of just going out and hiring anyone, they decided they wanted to do a search. And so they had classes, so another student and I were asked to coach and teach. So I coached hockey, (Right.) field hockey and I taught two classes. (So you taught at Bridgewater whilst you were a student.) While I was student here. (So while you were a senior. So how old were you at that time? 21 or 22?) 21. (21! Wow!) But in my senior year, in the fall, after hockey season was over, we had a powder-puff mom's football game. (Okay.) And, of course, I was the quarterback. (Yeah.) With the blondes versus brunettes. (They had a blondes versus brunettes powder-puff women's football game?) Yes. (And you were the quarterback?) Yes. (Wow!) So we were playing and we were ahead 12 to nothing. And on a play, I had the ball, I was going to run around the end and I saw all these blondes coming so I tried to reverse so I could cut back and my knee gave way. (Really?) So I have a football knee. (You have a football knee?) I called that my claim to fame. I'm the only woman who has a football knee. And I still live with that. (So that's something that you still have from Bridgewater. You still remember it.) Yeah, that's my permanent memory. (Did you end up winning the game though?) No because well we were ahead 12 to nothing when I went out. No then we lost. (Yeah, they never came back.) They never found it. I mean we never even ever dreamed I wouldn't finish the game. (Yeah.) So we had no one to replace me. That took care of that. So anyway toward the end of my senior year, well in the basketball season, (Yep.) this young man asked me if I would like to go to an away football game with him. Well, there were some of my friends going along too, so I said I would and I didn't even know, I didn't know who he was or anything. (Was he a Bridgewater student or not?) Yeah, (Yeah.) I found out later he was a day student (Okay.) so he lived off campus and that's I guess why I didn't know him because we were small then. I started college the year World War Two ended. So that all of the veterans that had been in World War Two were eligible to go to college (Yeah.) And they all infiltrated all of the colleges. (Really?) So yeah and so Bridgewater grew at that time. (Oh yeah.) So um I guess maybe it had been about 700 students (Okay.) when I went there. (How many of those do you think were veterans from World War Two?) At least half. (At least half! Wow! So that kind of changes your college experience a little bit because you're not with people your own age so much anymore you're with older people who've, you know, just come back from this amazing, ridiculous, crazy experience.) So anyway basketball season was coming and I decided I needed to go get going in it. So every time I went for a layup I'd crumbled to the floor. I just my knee would not support me because of my knee. And I went back to the doctor and he told me I didn't exercise enough! I kinda laughed. I said I don't think that's the problem. He had me sit up on the table and straighten my leg and of course I put this bent leg up there. He said you should have been in here months ago and operated so he put me in the hospital and operated. And this man asked me to go to an away basketball game and he kept asking me to go to away basketball games. (Yeah.) Eventually I decided he was a pretty nice guy and so anyway we did get engaged and married (Aww!) after school was out, but his comment always was with my knee the way it was I slowed down enough that he could catch me! (Laughs.) (That's sweet.) Yes, isn't it? I guess, I would say as far as classwork and things like that were concerned I considered Bridgewater just ordinary. (Yeah.) It wasn't anything special. It was just another school. (Yeah.) That was my look on it. But once I got out I felt I need to support the college because it was where I graduated from. This is my degree. I don't want it to just be a dinky school, so I've always supported Bridgewater and activities. And I didn't, we didn't, live here for a long time. So I got married in 50 and I didn't come back to this area until 1963. My husband came as principal for Harrisonburg High School (Okay.) and he graduated from Bridgewater too, of course. He was one of the veterans. So then my life then turned more to being in this area, participating, and all the activities and everything they've had and stay supportive of the college. And I was president of the Alumni Association so that I learned to know the faculty and the Alumni Association plus others. And of course, in physical education, when I was at Bridgewater and teaching, I taught archery. (And this is when you were a senior?) Yeah. (So you were a senior at Bridgewater and you taught archery to students at Bridgewater?) Yeah, well yes I did. Yes, it was one of the classes I taught. (Did they pay you to teach?) I don't know that or they gave me reduced tuition, if they reduced my tuition. (I feel like they definitely should have.) Yeah, they should have back then, but I didn't pay attention to that part. And there for a while I had more All- Americans than their All-American athlete. And I'm also in that at Bridgewater (Okay.) so on the wall. (The whole thing?) Yeah. (Okay.) Yeah, yeah. (So this is your ring from Bridgewater?) Yeah, from the Hall of Fame. (Wow! That's awesome! So when did you, so tell us about your ceremony to be in the Hall. Do you remember what happened? ) Well the Hall of Fame was young. (Yeah.) So Bridgewater was trying to play catch-up. They had all these athletes from before, plus, you know, what they had now. (Yeah.) And so they were like inducting seven or eight people, which made it a long evening. So, of course, when we had our Hall of Fame, of course the men were first. And then they got, I don't know if it was two women, just two women were inducted. And so the man in front of me must have talked a half hour about baseball (Really?) and how he won in high school and he went on and on and on. So when I got up I just said I did this and I guess I said the only, the only claim I would say is that I do have a football knee from playing football at Bridgewater College and I just said, just a sentence or two, and sat down because it was time for it all to come to an end. So that was sad, but, you know, they told them not to do more than so many minutes. (But he decided to talk about baseball for a while.) (Do you ever, do you ever, how often now do you go back on campus and, and go to events and stuff?) Oh fairly often. (Fairly often?) I like their, they have the schedule of that, of the speeches and things. (Oh, the convocations?) Yeah, yeah, so and so I like coming over. It's just like somebody just brought over the paper, so I have already started reading the paper. Just to keep up with what's going on and I am pleased by what I see going on at Bridgewater now. That I feel that the students are getting a good education. I think there's a lot of variety there. A lot of opportunity there. And the students I've met I've been real pleased with. So I have developed a pride (Yeah.) for Bridgewater. I support them because of it too, because I believe, I believe in them now and what they're doing. I think this president is trying to be innovative and bring in the new and continue to make things better. I don't know how you feel about that. (I feel, I'd probably agree. Would you agree? Yeah, I would agree as well. I think you hit the nail on the head with that one.) Because when I went there, it wasn't that. (You think they weren't innovative when you were there?) Oh no! No! (How so?) It was ordinary. It was just nothing that was extra special about it. It was just a place to go. My father decided I should go there when I told him I was going to transfer from Towson to the University of Maryland. Then all of a sudden the day before I was gonna go register, I just said, "I don't want to go to Maryland. It's too big!" (That school, the school, University of Maryland's too big?) And then you had all the veterans. It was like 80,000, 90,000 students there. I would have had to transfer in. I would have not known anybody (Yeah.) Probably live off campus. And after being at Towson, learning to know everybody and everything was, that was just so nice. I just said I like that atmosphere. (Yeah, you want an experience that's similar to that. The small school environment.) And so father said, "Yeah, we'll just go to Bridgewater." So my sister did come down with me. She came as a freshman and I came as a junior. (So you were, oh so you were at Bridgewater at the same time as your sister? What, is there something, like, you know, what, how did that kind of effect things, did you think? Did you speak to her much?) No, she lived in another dorm, made her friends. And I was too busy. (You were too busy doing all of your things.) Being in all of the plays and choir practices and sports. And I like your professor. (Professor Birkland's great! Yeah she's going to hear this. She'll like that.) I was very impressed with her. (Yes, yes I think she worked very hard in getting this, getting this all together because when she first, she told us when she first tried to get some alumni, there was only two people that volunteered and then she like tried some more and tried some more and eventually, you know, she's got like 12, 11, 12, 13 now. So yes she worked, she worked hard on this. And this is her field of study that she really likes. The inter-generational stuff so this is it.) It made me feel pleased too when I met her that the president evidently is doing a pretty good job in hiring people that we need (Oh yeah.) to put Bridgewater forward. (This is my, I've had three classes now with Professor Birkland.) (Noises in background.) And somewhere I've read that Bridgewater is considered one of the best small colleges in the South. (I've read that as well. That we're, at least on this East Coast, that we're one of the better small colleges here.) But I was I was born and raised in Baltimore and I think that was a little bit of a favorite too because down here they didn't have the opportunity to for women athletes (Yeah.) that I had. (Up in Baltimore?) Yeah. (They gave you kind of a, did they maybe give you a plan to come in here and incorporate that opportunity for athletics?) Not necessarily. (But I think unintentionally you might have.) Yeah. (By, by being a part of so many things and teaching things and you know.) Yeah like hockey. Most of them, "What's hockey?" and I had to take these women and teach them how to play hockey. In addition to coaching them. But it was, I enjoyed doing it. (It was just something you wanted to do?) Yeah, well, it was offered to me. But I'm proud of Bridgewater now. Before it was to me it was a college. (Yeah.) In the history of Bridgewater, we have, they hired a man that had been, he was a businessman and he wanted to be a college president and he came. So the first thing he did was get rid of the dead wood in Bridgewater College. There were some teachers that had been there for 40 years. You know what they're doing every year, pulling out their papers, reading it. (Yeah.) Oh man! Did they get upset! He lasted one year. (Oh! So that so he didn't last?) He did not last. (But do you think he was doing the right thing?) Well, definitely! And I really look for the opportunity to tell Doctor Churchman. He, that's who he has to thank, because he was the one that got rid of the dead wood that needed to get cleaned out of Bridgewater College and if he hadn't come and done it who knows if those people would still be there. So it was a shame that what happened to him and he went back to Arizona and he's moved from there and now I don't know where he is because he's left Bridgewater. I mean that was not a good experience for him but I would love to find that man and thank him for what he did and then tell Dr. Bushman he needs to thank him because he was the one that laid the groundwork for him. To come in with these changes that we've had and move forward. So that's Bridgewater College now. (So that's it!) Yeah that's it! (Well thank you so much Margaret!) 

Interview of Margaret Horn (1950)

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