I have often told folks that my mail box–email and snail mail–is continually filled with surprises that remind me of the unusual nature of my job as Head of School. As I am just getting started with this blogging business, it made sense to me to share some of more unique pieces of mail I receive for two reasons: 1) it is the only way to demonstrate the range of issues that cross the desk weekly, and 2) some of the ideas that get sent my way demand to be shared more widely.
A letter from Leigh Dean, an alum from the Class of 55 falls into the latter category. An excerpt follows. Would love to hear what ideas and reactions it prompts:
“As I went through my most modest baubles-n-bangles, there where it had rested for 50+ years was my EW class of ‘55 ring. And I got to pondering: What has happened to all those class rings of 50, 60, 70, 80, 100 years? Do alumnae wear them to their grave? Do the rings get passed along to daughters, grand-daughters, great-grand-daughters? Do they get sold, along with other items for their gold content? Or do most of our class rings end up in estate sales, dispersed like dandelion seeds throughout the world? This question of what becomes of our EW class rings led to thoughts of our growing need in our own lives and in the life of this planet for a Less-is-More policy. Recycling is one way to address the growing glut of stuff, and what better way to recycle an EW class ring but back to its source.”
The letter goes on to suggest that all returned rings could be called “legacy” rings. Each ring would come with a short bio from the original wearer. This creative alumna included her ring and a spirited bio of her days at Emma. Her thought was that such rings would be handed down, a “worthy reminder to today’s girls of the girls that went before them.” What say you to such an idea? Perhaps you have another more compelling idea? Perhaps you have a story about an EW that deserves to be told.
Emma Willard women are ever so proud of their unique ring. True? If so, why? If not, what is the future of this tradition, or, in your opinion, what should it be?
I know our current students would be interested in your thoughts. Their head of school would be as well.
I think that’s a brilliant idea — I know I’m still heartbroken over losing my class ring a few years ago, after I graduated, and one of the things on my list of purchases to make when I have discretionary income is a replacement; it would have meant a lot to me, as a junior, to get one from the school that already had history.
The concern that we have heard about recycling rings comes from younger alums who believe that having their own ring—-turned by other seniors and good friends on the night of Ring Dinner–makes the ring that much more significant. I was struck recently by the story of one alumna who lost her ring in London during a hotel fire drill and was absolutely bereft, thinking she would never lay eyes on the ring again. To her great relief, it was found and returned to the hotel a security office. Even the tale of having lost it now makes the ring even more special. The story made me wonder just how many Emma rings have “gone global” so to speak! Great to hear from you, Elizabeth.
Although I think my classmate, Leigh, has a novel idea, I personally would have a very hard time parting with my Class Ring. I worked hard for it, was in awe and proud as punch the night I received it at Ring Dinner, I wear it often with pride now and plan to pass it to my family. Every time I take it out of my jewelry box I sit and just look at it for a little while, as it symbolizes so much of who I am and what I do and have done in my life. It is truely a part of me and I want that to go to those I love who know how much I am grateful for and love EW.
That being said… I would want the same for today’s EWites. There is no way for them to know until they receive their own, just how much it means and how hard it would be to give it away later.
AND…… it is real cool to see “our” ring in full color at the opening of Trudy’s blog… Thanks for sharing it for all to see.
A GREAT photo of THE ring (as opposed to the
Tolkien saga with a similar name…..both involve
legacy).
I think mine survived an arson fire in my storage locker -which-
in 30 days I will be able to unearth-as I”m FINALLY moving-
after 24 years in a one bedroom apt-to two houses which
I purchased: MY first (the one with the stairs) and
last (the one behind it without…..).
Personally, coming from a family deep into recycling, I think the idea has great merit for those willing to donate a ring back. My sister has never had the extra income required to get her ring and has always longed for one. Perhaps these legacy rings could go to those who have a need but not the income.
I agree with Lynn. Perhaps by offering it more as an option, both for ring-givers and ring-receivers, would be more palatable for folks. Personally, I’d like to keep wearing mine, as I have almost every single day for the past 7 years. At the same time, I know that the day will eventually come when the ring won’t fit anymore. My sorority (and I’m sure many like it) pass pins on from mother to daughter (or other female relatives). Perhaps we could do the same. I would love to be able to pass my ring to a future daughter. Should I have none, I would certainly want to pass it on to some other Emma girl.
I’ve hardly gone a day without my ring since February 2002, when I received it. I’ve worn it to do just about anything–it’s dinged up and loved. It is a conversation starter–I’ve often received compliments on its simplicity and design. It is traditional and it endures. It is ageless…you can wear it when you’re 17 or 70. I would like to know more about the evolution of the design of the ring, as the picture above shows a ring slightly different than the version I wear. How many designs have there been? Legacy rings is a beautiful concept with real possibility to work on a practical level.
I love the idea of “ring recycling”! My car was broken into some years ago, and though many things were stolen, it was the loss of my ring that most broke my heart. I have also always hoped to purchase another someday. I especially miss having it now that I am back on campus. Making “historic” rings available to students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford one is a particularly lovely thought. It is an enduring symbol of the deep connection we all feel to this special place.
So, this exchange makes me think of another issue: if there is some reason to think seriously about the idea of a legacy ring collection, is there a sensitive way to suggest to alumnae that the school would be delighted to receive their rings to start such a project? Clearly, this idea only works if there is a supply of legacy rings, such as Leigh’s, at the ready. By the way, heard another ring story recently as well. One young alumna saw a woman wearing an EWS ring and approached her excitedly, believing she had found a kindred spirit. The woman wearing the ring brushed her off, saying, “this is my mother’s ring and I liked it, so I wear it!” The young alumna was quite offended that an non-EW alum would feel as though she deserved to wear the ring!
Two comments come to mind…
1. I like the idea also, for those who no longer want the ring or are willing to pass it on, to set up a “Ring Legacy” for those who cannot offord to buy one. That will keep it in the EWS family and will be most appreciated by the receiver I am sure.
To the Alum who found another wearing her mother’s ring, as related by Trudy….
I plan to pass mine on to a granddaughter and would hope that she would wear it even though she may not attend EWS (I am working on that issue) because it was mine and we love each other and she will hear me speak about the school and will know how grateful I am that I was able to go there.
2. Trudy, in response to your query about how to set up such a Ring Legacy. Perhaps this is a project that the Alumnae Council could take on.
I really like the idea of having the AAC take this on as a project. I have confidence that they could frame it sensitively and intelligently. Have already passed this along to Molly Price, our Director of Alumnae Relations.
Dear Trudy et al: I’m still having trouble with letters, notes, replies that begin with no salutation!
First, I’ve read the responses through 9-14-08 with great interest. How wonderful that there are some Alums who actually wear their EW class ring! Wow. And I love the lost-and-found stories.
Please know that my Legacy Ring recycling idea was not meant as a command but as an invitation. With that thought in mind, I have a feeling that the majority of Alums I wanted to address are folks that aren’t Internet Savvy–I, myself would not be on-line were it not for a young friend who is a techie–and so there is no way to know how Alums from the early years think, feel,embrace or reject this Legacy Ring idea.
P.S.–What will become of Strookie’s ring? What has become of all the rings of all our Alums whose light shone in this world and then left this world?
As a recent EWS Alum, I am proud to say that this Emma ring has sat on my right hand middle finger since February ‘05. Every time I look at this ring I am reminded by all of the wonderful opportunities that I have received at such an illustrious institution, quite unique in its own right. The ring has two deep indentations – one from the time when I was running down the hill late for track practice and I hit my hand on the gate, and another one from the time when I came back as an alum and hit my hand on the marble banister in Slocum. This ring has so many stories. I even have a permanent tan line because I wear this ring so much! I can only wait for the day when I can pass my ring off to my future daughter who will experience Emma Willard for herself and hopefully treasure her memories the same way I have mine. This ring tells the story of your EWS experiences without saying much. The question “where did you get that ring?” never gets old, and I never grow tired of explaining. Emma Willard girls/women possess that special bond of knowing that love and warm-hearted place has produced the women that they consider sisters, and the faculty they consider friends. That somewhere on the walls of that place their name is worn on the wall as a proud possessor of those who entered ye grey walls protecting. That this place is nothing short of ‘home’ – the place where one grows and is nurtured into the person they are today.
Needless to say (and changing tones) that I am appalled that someone would have the gall to wear the Emma Willard ring and brush it off! There is no way to know how special Emma Willard is if you never went there. I have a hard time explaining it to my sorority sisters, to my friends, and even to some of my family members! My mother told me the other day that I was getting too old to wear my class ring and that I needed to “consider placing it on a chain to wear around [my] neck in order to make the tan line disappear just in time for my Howard University class ring. That Howard ring will just have to find another place to live because the Emma ring is staying!
I digress. I love the idea of having the recycled rings for those who choose to donate their rings back to the school. Maybe we can even expand that idea and use the autobiographical sketches as a way to partner up personalities! If I did not already have a future intention for my ring, I would give it back as well (that would be written in my bequest, of course)!
Great to hear from you Jamila! In fact, your reply rolled in just as I was thinking about what to offer as a reflection for the Fall Senior Dinner…yet another tradition when we can feel the presence of decades of alums in the room with us. We dined in Kiggins this year and I used an excerpt from your blog to remind all of the need to “be” in the moment more this year as they experienced each Emma tradition. It will make your heart glad to know that many remembered you as this would have been the class that entered just as you were departing “ye gray walls.” Ah…Emma traditions…now there is a topic I should blog about in another post….
That truly warms my heart. I’m actually feeling pretty old right now, and I think I just aged a little bit as you mentioned that this was the class that were freshman when I was a senior. As 2003 approaches their first fifth year reunion, and my class will celebrate their last year as young alumnae, I am quickly reminded that my age is only increasing (I just turned 20 on Sept. 1st and got a bunch of phone calls and facebook wall posts from members in the class of 2008 calling me old). I wish I could be in attendance at the reunion this weekend! I am sure it will be quite fun. I look forward to reading more of your blogs, Ms. Hall! What a great way for me to stay connected with EW!
It sounds like I am one of the few EW alums who already wears a “recycled” ring. My mother gave me her ring (Penelope Schust Williams ‘51) when I was a junior, and I wore it continuously for about 15 years. Now I pull it out for special occasions, although after reading many of the comments here I feel like I should be wearing it more often. Actually I’ve replaced it with another recycled ring – a few years ago I was going through some boxes packed up after my grandparents died and I came across my great-grandmother’s wedding ring (inscribed Dec. 1899). Since it fits me perfectly it is what I wear all the time now.
I love the idea of passing along rings to current students who would appreciate having them. I would suggest passing along a short history of the first woman to wear the ring if that were possible .
I, like my fellow classmate Audrey (comment 7), have worn my ring almost every day since I got it. Once, while dining at a restaurant in NYC, I spotted the telltale gleam on the hand of my waitress, and struck up a conversation that was immediately warm and familiar. A few years ago while on vacation, it was stolen from my hotel room along with my iPod and a wad of cash. When the police miraculously managed to recover all of the lost goods, it was the ring that I was happiest to see. My affection for the bauble arises somewhat from the solidarity I felt with the other juniors as we good-naturedly embarassed ourselves to earn our rings, but more from the idea that it symbolizes all these generations of women who spent formative years on Mt. Ida (as Pamela Skripak noted above). I hate to think that some young women are precluded from sharing in that symbolic connection by reason of cost. I think the Ring Recycling idea is fantastic, and I’m glad to see that it’s already being explored!
I’ve lost my ring twice….. The first time was in the midst of an ocean swim shortly after I recieved it…I was devistated.
However, my good friend Emily Freeman 79′ purchased another one for me shortly afterward as she knew how much it meant to me and gave it to me after our graduation.
Unfortunatly that one was lost in a move. I was sick. …still am.
I loved those rings, as it (they) were a symbol of the amazing experience that was Emma.
Trudy, is there a way to purchase a new ring for myself as I would love for a deserving alum to recieve a donated legacy ring and then, perhaps after I wear the one I purchase, I can pass it along with my history….?
Kudos to you for initiating this…it has allways been something on my wish list….
Hi All, I love the idea of recycling my ring and like others who have posted, I’m not ready to part with it yet. I’m wearing it as I type and I graduated over 25 years ago. (Special note to Jamila — Keep your ring on your finger as long as you want!) What I think I will do is leave a special notation in my estate planning that will return the ring to EWS. I know that doesn’t do much to start a legacy collection now and in the future if I find I’m ready to part with it before the grave, I’ll send it in!
Reading through the previous blogs, I found myself doing a great deal of head nodding and smiling at the Emma Girl Emma-sentiments that parallel my own. I was at Emma this past summer for the first time since my sister Durban’s ‘03 graduation, and I had to laugh at myself romping around the campus taking photos like I’d never seen the place before. The sense of pride that I felt for having attended such an institution, especially after 5 years of not visiting and breathing Emma air, was overwhelming. The renovations are stunning and the whole place is gleaming. The photos I took that day don’t even begin to give justice to Emma’s aura.
Since my visit, I have been wearing my class ring more frequently and I agree with some of the others that I am not quite ready to part with it. It is true, what one Emma gal said, that you can pick an Emma girl out in the crowd with the class rings. Every time I wear it, I find myself admiring it and lighting up when others ask me the story behind my beautiful and very unusual ring. Recently, someone asked if it was a family crest. I replied that “Yes, you could call it that.”
So, to my Emma Willard family, thank you for the blogged memories, and someday, my class ring will be coming back to ‘ye grey walls protecting,’ I promise.
To all of you who have kept the ring conversation going, thank you. Should we formalize a way for alumnae to pass rings down, I definitely agree the ring should be passed along with its history – and stories! (An alumna working here told me her ring fell off her hand at a Bruce Springsteen concert – in a flash swaying to Born to Run gave way to frantically combing the lawn at SPAC! She did recover it.) The more I read from you, the more I sense the power of these rings and what they symbolize. I have always admired them; they are distinct and beautiful, so unlike the traditional high school ring adorned with a gem stone. I am thrilled the ring tradition remains alive and well here
Kie, and all, you can order a replacement ring from Josten’s. Our contact is Brian Mason and he can be reached at (518) 783-0100.
Personally, I think it’s a great idea. When I got my ring last year, I would have loved it even more if it were to have been a ring of an alum with their own story. It’s an interesting idea about linking the classes through different generations!
I am the proud mother of two Emma Girls, Devon ‘00, and Durban ‘03. I like the recycle idea, but have a reservation due to my own selfish story of a recycled class ring given to me by my mother in law, and the grandmother of my daughters, Gertrude D. Swartz 11914-2007. She passed her class ring of Concord Academy 1932, down to me in 1982. I wore the ring constantly until just recently due to swollen finger joints and alas, the ring no longer fitting comfortably. That ring was a constant reminder to me that I wanted my children to have an extraordinary girl’s school education in the same way that she had. Now, my daughters have their very own class rings representing their own experience of a high school education (and onward) that was truly a dream come true for me! There is nothing I would change!
For me, a proud tradition of excellent education and their resulting extraordinary lifes, has much to do with a passed down family class ring that helped to lead them to EWS and beyond!
How true that those of us parents who have given the gift of a fine education at Emma also feel about the rings!! I, too, never had the opportunity to go to Emma but gave both daughters the gift, Kate ‘02 and Elizabeth ‘04 and sister, Lorrie . Kate recently lost her ring at a soccer game and was very upset. Luckily it was found soon after. Elizabeth can no longer wear her ring as she is a bos’n on a tall ship and rings are very dangerous in the rigging. She gave it to me for save keeping until she can wear it again knowing I share the special spirit of those rings. Both have had experiences over the years with finding others who have known what the ring is and approaching them to have a conversation at train stations, overseas, and here at home. It should be a legacy passed on and not taken lightly but for those who are given a ring without the experience, we shouldn’t chastise them but pity them for not knowing the experience that is so precious.
What an excellent idea Leigh Dean had – I remember you, Leigh. My ring disappeared between one home and the next, and I am very sad about that. However, I would certainly leave it to EWS if I could, or to a current student.
I lost my ring about three years ago – left it on the sink in a restaurant when I was washing my hands, returned ten minutes later to find it gone. I checked with the staff that night AND returned the next morning to see if it had been turned in (the restaurant is an hour away from my apartment – this was no small excursion). I miss it constantly, and hope to replace it someday – but a new ring will still only be a replacement, not the genuine article. I won’t have the knowledge that THIS piece of jewellery was the same one given to me at ring dinner, worn at my graduation, the ring that reminded me of Emma while I was adjusting to college, and so on.
If I replace it and I end up having a daughter someday, I’d want my ring to go to her. If not, it might find its way back to Emma eventually.
My EWS ring means so much to me and I have greatly enjoyed reading through all these entries.
My ring broke last summer (it is now being fixed) and everymorning I look at my hand or find my self feeling for the ring. My finger feels empty without it. I hope, once it comes back to me, that i will be able to wear it for many years and pass it down to my daughter/ grandaughter…
My sister graduated class of 2002 and spent the following year living in Switzerland. While in Europe, she was able to identify and meet a few other alums by thier EWS rings.
The rings symbolize the connection that every graduate feels to the Emma family. I think the idea of “legacy rings” is wonderful. I also hope that if this idea gets put into motion every ring that comes back gets documented with a photo and history/ bio of the previous and/ or original owner. I would love to look through this file if it gets created.
Hi All. I love my ring, too. I wear it on special occasions, such as when I know that one of my classmates is facing illness or other difficulty or when I need some extra inspiration in my teaching. I plan to leave my ring to my daughter, who will value it very much. And Jamila, I agree, it is a pleasure to tell the story of the ring whenever people ask. Also, Jamila, you should know that you gave me a happy laugh with the suggestion that you might be too old to wear your EW ring. I’ve had mine for 38 years, so I must be really age-inappropriate!
It has been a pleasure to read all of these personal reflections as it is evident we all have similar sentiments about these rings and what they represent. While my ring no longer fits and cannot be worn, simply seeing it every morning puts a warm smile on my face. It helps me remember my time at Emma and how those four years shaped me more than any other time in my life.
I plan on holding onto my ring as long as possible and, when the time is right, passing it down in my family. There are many people who have yet to learn the value of women’s education and I would like to use the ring as a symbol to make others aware of such a great cause.
Class of 1961. Go Purple!
I just read in the Winter/Spring 2009 EMMA about The Fellowship of Rings idea. Intriguing.
For many years after graduation I didn’t even look at my ring. Then I returned to school for the first time for our thirtieth reunion (fabulous!) and wore my ring then. Now I rarely take it off — not only because it’s beautiful, but because it reminds me that I earned it and that I’m proud of my school.
I’m torn about what to do with it after I’m gone. At present, I have no grandchildren. The idea of offering my ring to an EW girl is appealing… but I’m not ready to part with my ring anytime soon.