By Sarah Phelps, '01, and Elizabeth Ritzenthaler, '00
Studying in Hawthornden, socializing in the Teakwood Room, taking classes in Briggs Hall, or living in Sabin House unconsciously connects current Lawrentians to a network of remarkable women who were educated not at Lawrence University but at Milwaukee-Downer College. This connection was made real for a group of five Lawrence women who were intrigued by a box of letters written in French discovered in the library archives. Sarah Phelps, Elizabeth Ritzenthaler, Katherine J. Moore, Erica Moore, and Claire Elise Breaux were enrolled in the senior seminar necessary for the completion of their French majors in March of 2000 when these letters were brought to their attention. Excited about the challenge of translation and the opportunity to apply their French skills, this group embarked upon a project that gave them a personal connection to a college and an age now past.
Amélie Sérafon, a professor of French at Milwaukee-Downer College, and her student, Bessie Wolfner, religiously exchanged letters from 1918, when Bessie graduated from Milwaukee-Downer with a degree in French and music, until 1957. The correspondence between these women not only conveyed their personalities but also hinted at extremely interesting contemporaneous issues, including the progressive education that was offered to women in the early 20th century, what feminine independence meant at the time, and how the events of two world wars affected the everyday lives of these two women.
These overarching themes came to light only after the 150 letters had been translated and compiled throughout the course of the independent study entitled "French Letters: A History of Milwaukee-Downer College" led by Associate Professor of French Judith Sarnecki in the spring of 2000.
Translating the letters, the students were faced with some aspects of the language that they had not previously experienced in their French education. The most difficult was staying true to the author's style and sentiment in English. While the students had the ability to read and readily comprehend the letters in French, translating expressions unique to the French language was a challenge. For instance, the common French phrase "je te salue" literally means "I salute you" but is better expressed as "greetings." The students faced this problem as well as the rudimentary obstacle of deciphering Amélie Sérafon's fancy French penmanship. It became a guessing game at some points to figure out a word or phrase by relying on the context. This was especially true because each student had a random selection of the letters and did not always have the complete context in which each letter was written. In spite of these challenges, the work became more intriguing as the students uncovered the intricacies of Amélie and Bessie's lives.
December 10, 1927
Dear Bessie,
Thank you for having so kindly and promptly responded to me. . . . Our Cercle will hold another fundraiser after the vacation. Some articles that cannot be found in the stores in Milwaukee would have a good chance for successful sales. While we are waiting, we are doing business with a factory near here. The members of the Cercle ask only for cooperation.They have started to put up scaffolding for the first floor of the new building. It is almost finished, and in spite of the bad weather, they continue to work on it.
I am using the last of your fine paper. In fact, we have a humorous correspondence -- that of two colleagues always ready to give each other advice. I know that I can count on your assistance and your judgment. Why didn't I consult you earlier?
My sincere thanks and best wishes,
A. Sérafon
Amélie Sérafon was born on July 20, 1867, in Paris. She attended grammar school in Wiesbaden, Germany, then returned to Paris for secondary school and stayed there to study art at the Sorbonne and to be a private tutor. She came to the United States to start a career in French education and taught at Walnut Hill School in Natic, Massachusetts, and Wellesley College before applying for a position at Milwaukee-Downer College in 1910.
Throughout her 35 years as a professor of French at Milwaukee-Downer, Mlle Sérafon not only taught courses but also served as faculty advisor to the student group, Le Cercle Français, of which Bessie was one of the first presidents. Amélie brought a new perspective to the French department because she was not only a teacher of grammar but also a representation of the language and culture she taught. She strived to make French a living language for her students as opposed to merely an academic subject. (This aspect of her letters held special meaning for Sarah Phelps and Elizabeth Ritzenthaler, who happen to be aspiring French teachers.) In addition to her career, she also founded the Alliance Française in Milwaukee, was recognized twice by the French government for her war efforts, and traveled internationally nearly every summer. During World War II, she helped to coordinate the Milwaukee branch of the American Aid to France (AATF), which often met in Holton Hall on the Milwaukee-Downer College campus.
August 29, 1943
Dear Bessie,
Congratulations on your students. You have not only taught them excellent French, you have also instilled in them beautiful manners. I am reading with pleasure their kind letters to their professor.My vacation is coming to a close. By the 30th of September, the freshmen will arrive. I returned to Milwaukee-Downer College after spending a large part of the summer in a nice little apartment that a home-economics teacher from Shorewood High School sublet to me. You can imagine how well kept this apartment is! I didn't spend a lot of time there, because as chairman of the atelier for the Fighting French Relief Committee, I spent and I will continue to spend (until the day school starts) my entire day in the rented space on Milwaukee Street, where a group of volunteers make hospital shirts and convalescent pajamas by the dozen. The New York Headquarters provides the materials and wool to knit, as well as little emblems to sell. This work is included in the War Chest like the British Relief, Russian Relief, etc. Next, they promised us a package of 100 pajamas already cut out. Until now, I was the only tailor. I had a very good time with all this during the summer. After school starts, I will have to share my duties with other volunteers. Gimbels had a display in one of its windows showing the French flag once again floating on the ocean. The Fighting French were exhibitors at [the State Fair] like the other nations. The Milwaukee Journal published a large ad showing the celebration of the 14th of July at the Milwaukee Chapter of the F.F.R.C. -- all this to show the kraut supporters in this town that France still attracts sympathy. It's certain that French classes in schools have less students; the good neighbor policy has pulled all the youth towards study of the Spanish language.
You struggle heroically with your 30 students in one French class -- the students should appreciate their professor.
Unexpected consequence of the war: Milwaukee-Downer College is full of boarders. It will be necessary to house some in Johnston Hall, until now reserved for professors. There will be, without doubt, a decrease in the number of students who live off campus, some of whom work downtown.
Good night, dear Bessie, my bedtime is nearing, good luck and fondest regards,
Amélie Sérafon
Mlle Sérafon's enthusiasm and constant generosity inspired Bessie in her studies and her career. Bessie J. Wolfner graduated from Milwaukee-Downer in 1918 and returned to her hometown, St. Louis, Missouri. After receiving her Master of Arts degree in French in 1930 from New York University, she co-authored a workbook in French and began her career in French education in elementary schools in St. Louis. Throughout her life, she remained a strong advocate for grade school language instruction. The relationship between Mlle Sérafon and Bessie Wolfner grew throughout the 40-year correspondence they maintained. Through their letters, they discussed everything from teaching strategies, to war efforts, to fashion, to travel plans, to events in their daily lives. Their friendship grew so strong that toward the end of their relationship, Bessie considered Mlle Sérafon as a mother and Bessie became Amélie's intellectual daughter.
May 1953
Dear Bessie,
How proud I'd be to have a daughter as capable, kind, and affectionate as you. Please know how deeply I am touched that you thought to write to me on Mothers Day. I read and re-read your friendly note without a magnifying glass. I can easily read your handwriting, and as always, with great pleasure. I reserve my magnifying glass for crossword puzzles, but my thoughts are more agile than my eyes and I don't need an optometrist's help to think about you and your activities. I hope you will take up teaching French classes in kindergarten again. Congratulations on having presented your paper before the teachers' conference on this subject; but it's the school board you must convince. Normally it's composed of people who've succeeded in their profession without ever having learned a modern foreign language.The birds on the card you sent are the first ones I saw this spring, as we are still heating the houses in Milwaukee. It is raining right now, but the lilacs are in bloom under my window and in between two gusts of wind I overheard a group of Francophiles drinking in the fresh air while walking and discussing the latest society gossip in Paris.
Tell me about your summer trip, which is coming up soon. I hasten to write to you now before your last few remaining moments are absorbed by your preparations.
My best wishes for a safe and happy trip, Bessie.
Amélie Sérafon
It is certain that Mlle Sérafon had no idea that her letters would be a source of inspiration not only for Bessie Wolfner but also for five college women half a century after her death. Bessie, though, valued and kept each letter she received and generously donated them to Lawrence University before her death, hoping that they would provide insight into life at Milwaukee-Downer College. Mlle Sérafon's letters shared much of her life but still left these five students with several questions: Why did Amélie Sérafon come to the United States? Why didn't she ever move back to France? Who did she visit on her many trips back home? Did she have any living relatives? How did she support herself and her cultured lifestyle on her salary? Did she stay in close contact with any of her other students as she did with Bessie? Did Bessie ever marry or have children? Where did Bessie work?
These questions prompted Sarah, Elizabeth, Katherine, Erica, and Claire to expand their project. They spent time in the Lawrence University library archives paging through Milwaukee-Downer yearbooks, scrapbooks, picture albums, and course catalogs; they traveled to look at Milwaukee-Downer documents and photos now belonging to the Milwaukee Historical Society; they phoned the French Embassy in Chicago to research Amélie Sérafon; they talked to relatives of Bessie Wolfner; and they visited Milwaukee to take pictures of Mlle Sérafon's house and the Milwaukee-Downer campus. On April 29, 2000, the information they uncovered was presented at Lawrence's annual Richard A. Harrison Symposium in Humanities and Social Sciences.
Reading and translating Mlle Sérafon's letters has not only given this group a much clearer idea about women's college education in the first half of the 20th century, but it has also provided an intimate look at the strong bond between two extraordinary, intelligent, and extremely dedicated women.
At the time of Milwaukee-Downer's Sesquicentennial Reunion Weekend in October 2001, the Lawrence University Press published A Common Bond: Letters from Mlle Sérafon, a book collecting the Sérafon/Wolfner correspondence, edited by Katherine J. Moore, '00, Sarah K. Phelps, '00, and Elizabeth M. Ritzthaler, '00. While supplies last, the book may be ordered by contacting the Alumni Office at Lawrence.
