Founders' Day: A tradition reborn

On Friday, September 26, alumnae/i and friends of the college are invited to come celebrate the 199th birthday of Eliza Baylies Wheaton, the principal founder of Wheaton Female Seminary.

The event, which begins at 1 p.m. in Cole Chapel, marks the revival of Founders' Day, a tradition first celebrated in 1889 to mark the 80th birthday of Mrs. Wheaton.

At first called "Wheaton Fete Day," the idea was proposed by the faculty and approved by the Trustees. Classes were suspended on the day of September 27, 1889, and "in the evening, a rose fete was held in honor of Mrs. Wheaton," the student publication Rushlight reported. The story went on to say:

As the teachers entered the room they presented Mrs. Wheaton with a bouquet of choice roses. The girls followed, dressed in their gala costumes, and all bearing roses, which in turn they placed on a small stand beside Mrs. Wheaton, until there were eighty of these beautiful emblems of her fourscore years.

Wheaton continued to celebrate Founders' Day, often with speakers and the dedication of new buildings, through 1961. The tradition was briefly revived in 1981-1984, but a hurricane postponed the celebration in 1985, and the custom fell by the wayside once again.

Now Wheaton's Preservation and Stewardship Team (PaST) is reviving the tradition once more. Instituted in 2007-2008, PaST is a group of faculty and staff charged with overseeing the preservation and conservation of materials and cultural practices of historic significance to the college.

Following a brief program in Cole Chapel, party goers will carry roses to the library and place them under Mrs. Wheaton's portrait. This custom began in 1906, the year after Mrs. Wheaton's death, when the portrait hung in Mary Lyon Hall. Birthday cake will be served after the ceremony.

September 27, 2009, will mark the 200th birthday of Eliza Baylies Wheaton. Now, that's a lot of candles.