By William “Skip” Deegans
Shown in the photo is the West Virginia University (WVU) Mandolin Club that appeared with the university’s Glee Club before a full house at Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall in 1906. According to the Greenbrier Independent, the seats went like “hot cakes.” No doubt encouraged by the young ladies of the Lewisburg Female Institute (LFI), the audience sought an encore after nearly each selection. At the conclusion of the performance, college president Dr. Telford invited the performers, LFI students, teachers and “young society people of the town” to an elegant reception.
Note in the photo there are no women musicians. Following a ten-year effort in the state legislature to pass a bill allowing women to attend WVU, finally in 1889 ten women were enrolled despite overwhelming opposition by the faculty (81 years before the University of Virginia admitted the first women undergrads). At WVU, there were no restrooms for women and no women’s dormitory until 1918. Of the ten initial enrollees, Harriet Lyon who had transferred to WVU from Vassar College was the first women to receive a degree in 1891. She was the valedictorian and graduated first in her class. Women’s curfews were not lifted until 1969, and it was not until 1972 that the Mountaineer Marching Band officially accepted women. Today, 53% of the WVU student body are women.
Sources: Greenbrier Independent, Eberly Magazine, Virginia Free Press.
