Adelene and Craig Burlington ’69: 1966-1969 “Women on the Outskirts 50+years ago”
Before Women at General, there were WOGS, Women OF General.
In our time 1966-69, women were literally on the outskirts of the Close, only welcomed in the Refectory in our Middler year. Formerly, women weren’t allowed on the Close, but entered from the side streets traveling the basement passageways to get from one building to another. Seminarians could only marry before entering GTS or, in our years, finally allowed to marry in summers between semesters (as we did!)
We do remember, however, the vital presence of faculty wives whose personalities were extraordinary, beginning with Dealome Denton, wife of Robert C., our esteemed Scripture professor. “Dee” was advisor to the WOGS, and had us all (husbands included) laughing, with her vibrant sense of humor and humanness. We remember other wives of faculty very fondly: Mary Louise Carpenter, Dorothy Dawley, Jean Weinhauer, Susan Corney, Marilyn Barr, Jane Towler (and their three lovely daughters, Katie, Marie and Leila), and then our new dean’s wife, Bea Wylie. There were also Mrs. Carper and Mrs. Parker, whose first names we did not know as they were older and more formal, but quite dear in their own way and present to our life on the Close. And of course, there was Grace Sonne, wife of our esteemed Librarian, Dr. Sonne. We came to know and love the Sonnes even visiting them in their beloved summer residence in S. Harpswell, Maine. Another woman of ability and spirit we got to know, respect and love was Miss Helen Chapman, in charge of the Refectory, who was the only woman there until our Middle year.
The Burlingtons (l) with the Buchanans (r)
The wives of seminarians, though on the official “outskirts,” were obviously pillars of support earning the money that helped pay tuition and fees, along with scholarships and loans, which funded the students. Peggy Buchanan, wife of John, our next door neighbor and beloved classmate, was our model for working wife of seminarian, commuting uptown to the Children’s Aid Society. Peggy remembers ”John had to get permission to have me come to refectory dinner on a Friday night in our junior year.”
In our case, Adelene commuted via subway and train to Scotch Plains, NJ, to teach Middle School English. I remember watching her from our fourth-floor window on W. 20th Street walking toward 9th Avenue heading for the subway in HIGH HEELS!! It was soon after, women began wearing sneakers carrying those high heels for the workplace.
Becoming pregnant with our first child, Jennifer, toward the end of our Middler year, Addie gave up the teaching/commuting position and joined Lydia Lo and Dr. Sonne in the Library. She remembers working especially hard for Dr. Wright (as he was known at that time when new to the faculty), who was very specific about what he wanted on the reserve shelves for his students!
The advent of women as students came right on the heels of our graduation, with Page Bigelow being sponsored by our first parish at St. George’s in Maplewood, NJ. It was a joy to witness the transition up close as Page began to commute in the other direction for her three years and then worked uptown at “815” in Overseas Missions until women’s ordination was legal. She was a wonder in many ways, paving the way, along with Peggy Muncie, who were no longer on the “outskirts,” but more and more at the heart of General in the years to come. Dee Denton would be thrilled!