Carson College For Girls, Summer in Strathmere 1931 - page 1 of 2 - see page 2 here

I purchased an old scrapbook that was made in 1931, by the girls of Carson College for Orphan Girls in Flourtown PA. In 1931 the school rented a beachfront cottage in Strathmere and groups of girls stayed there for a few days at a time in rotating shifts from June 27 until September 7th. They put together the scrapbook as a project and keepsake for the Summer. In it are some great old photos taken in Strathmere, a diary of their Summer activities and stories, drawings and poems by the girls.

Above is a group of younger girls. Most of the girls came and went between Strathmere and Flourtown by train with one of the counselors who were taking care of the girls for the Summer. Miss Jones, Ruth, Eleanor, Becky and Vivian were counselors and Mrs. Allnutt was in charge of the whole group.

Below are photos of the girls and counselors waiting for the train to pull in at the West Jersey train station. Click images for larger view of station and train.

 

 

Wow! This is a great photo! The girls stayed at the Erbe Cottage, which was at the time, at the end of Vincent. Here is a panoramic view that they made from two photos. It shows the end of the street, you can see the old pavilion that use to stand at the end of Webster. The 2nd photo is a closer view of the pavilion.

 

 

Next are some photos of the Erbe cottage, which was rented for the Summer by the school. The girls nicknamed the house 'The Runcible Spoon' They call it The Runcible Spoon on several occasions, and several of the younger girls drew pictures of the house in the scrapbook. Also in the scrapbook they refer to the girls as the 'Ones' the 'Twos' the 'Threes' etc. I think that was the grade that the groups of girls were in. Cats Muffin and Jake also stayed in the house with the girls.

 

 

Below are some beach photos. The second photo is of the younger girls swimming with waterwings.

 

Next was another great photo to find in the album - Johnny Trainer was the first lifeguard in Strathmere. Was the 'S' on his sweater was for Strathmere? The second photo is also of Johnny with 3 of the counselors, on the beach.

 

Some more photos of the girls getting ready to go to the beach. The center photo is in front of the Runcible Spoon, and you can see the pavilion in the background. The 4th photo shows the girls on the beach path at the end of Vincent.

 

 

 

 

Carson College For Girls, Summer in Strathmere 1931 Page 2











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