"We're going streaking..."

Well maybe we are not going streaking but apparently some Furman boys have done so throughout Furman's history. Here is a memory from Mary Alice Bechtler (shown in the center of the photograph) ~

In the spring of 1974, the fad of student “streaking” spread quickly across college campuses nationwide and to Furman. Below are excerpts from a letter that I wrote home in March of 1974:

My suitemates and I had already gone to bed when we heard some noise outside. We got up and peeked out the window, but didn’t see anyone. Then we heard all this commotion in the kitchen, so we headed in that direction. Several girls from the hall were looking out the kitchen window and reported that they had just seen about eight streakers. They had already streaked on by when I looked out, so I didn’t get to see them.

Debbie’s mother called on the hall phone and, when she heard all the noise, jokingly asked Debbie if the Furman men were streaking. Debbie said, “Yes!” Her mother, apparently not wanting Debbie to miss anything, quickly said, “Oh, then I’ll call back later” and hung up the phone.

We stood waiting at the kitchen window for several minutes, hoping that the streakers would come back. At one point, Nancy went back to her room. I thought that she must have been disgusted with the whole thing and had decided to go back to bed. Instead, she came back with her eyeglasses.

Here is a photo taken as we peered out my dorm room window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Furman men streaking.

Happy & Merry

Happy Holidays from Special Collections and Archives!
In the spirit of all things Winter this unknown image seemed appropriate. Again we would love information about the individuals in this photo or even some estimate of the date, clearly a cold enough time for the fountains in front of the library to freeze!

Alumni Stories

"While a student at Furman, I worked part-time in the library, re-shelving books. One day, while re-shelving books in the restricted area (an enclosed area near the circulation desk where rare books were held), I noticed a thick, hard-bound book with the impressive title What Men Know About Women. Quickly grabbing the book from the shelf, I thought, 'Wow! Why haven’t I heard about this book before?' I hurriedly looked for the table of contents—and discovered that every page in the book was completely blank. Perhaps I did learn exactly how much men know about women." ~ Tom McAbee

We would like to thank Mr. McAbee for being the first to share a Furman story. PLEASE write us and tell use your stories or share your memories of Furman traditions. And as a side note we are pleased to let you know that the image above is from our Historical Negatives Collection. This collection is far larger than out Historical Print Collection and thanks to modern technology can be used in much the same way as actual photographs.

Fountains & Dancing!

The fun of O-Week continues but some Orientation activities have been lost. Here we have the last year of Fountain Hopping... How we will miss swimming in stale water and stubbing our toes on old pipes...
Before that we lost the O-Week dance. This video from 1997 might make losing the dance seem like a good idea. RIP lost traditions.

Military History

Military service has been a part of Furman almost from the beginning. After the founding of the school in 1826, the faculty finally approved the formation of a military company led by military trained faculty for students above the age of 16 with parental permission in March of 1856. We know that students served in the Civil War, both World Wars, and the different conflicts that have led to our current war in Iraq. (Picture: John Plyler, WWI)

Summer Camp

As a child, summer break is a time for fun and play. But for Furman ROTC students it has been a time to train and learn new skills. These pictures might as well be from this past summer, as this tradition has changed so little over the years.

Military Women

Times change... In this photo from the 1950s three couples are enjoying the annual military ball. At that time these ball pictures are the only images with females, as the ROTC program was really a boys only group. Now the program has a number of women serving, and not merely women attending the ball.