Monday, February 20, 2017

1912 softball team at Miss Capen's School for Girls


I've already written about my great-grandmother, Greta Chandler, and her basketball exploits at West Chester Normal School, circa 1913. Now we have a photograph of Greta with her softball team, about one year earlier.

The only caption is "Capon School 1912." With a little help from Mom and some Google searching, the strong likelihood is that this is the softball team from Miss Capen's School for Girls in Northampton, Massachusetts. (Capon having been misspelled in the family album.)

Miss Capen's School was a preparatory school, run by Bessie T. Capen, connected with Smith College, and many (but not all) of its students went on to attend that college. It was originally known as The Burnham School, before Capen took over. It was closed in 1920, when Miss Capen died. Here's a little bit more about the school, clipped from 1915's A Handbook of the Best Private Schools of the United States and Canada, Volume 1.


There were at least two buildings associated with Capen's School. Both became parts of the Smith College campus after 1920.


Here's a closer look at the 1912 Capen's School softball team. Greta Chandler is in second row, the third person from the left.

1 comment:

  1. Misspellingitis must run in the Otto family: In the family album, "Capon" (with an "o" instead of an "e") appears, and on your blog, "Northhampton" (with two h's) appears. Your family album needs to buy a vowel, and your blog needs to sell a consonant. -- M.F.

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