Florence Crittenton Home’s Time Capsule, Norfolk, Virginia
While filling out a recent research request in the archives, I noticed a box in the stacks that read “ODU Time Capsule.” Being an inquisitive (“nosy”) archivist, I decided to take a look and see what was inside. Up to this point, I hadn’t heard of any active time capsules on campus. The box was a part of a recent transfer from the office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, which oversees the grounds and landscaping on campus. In the box were a few early histories of the William & Mary Norfolk Division, the predecessor to Old Dominion University (ODU), and a copper tube with one of the ends open.
Discovering what is inside the copper box
Inside the tube were old publications, news clippings, artifacts, and other material related to the Florence Crittenton Home for Unwed Mothers, which operated in Norfolk from the 1890s to the 1970s. The home was last located in the Larchmont area of Norfolk overlooking the Lafayette River. The home’s mission was to aid unmarried women during their pregnancies. One might ask “How did a time capsule with material from the Florence Crittenton Home come to ODU?” It may be a surprise to some people, but ODU and the Florence Crittenton Home have had a relationship going back 45 years. In 1977, the house and the records of the Florence Crittenton Home were given to ODU, with the records being house in Special Collections and University Archives. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, the Florence Crittenton Home was the location for ODU’s Center for Coastal Oceanography (CCPO) before the facility was torn down to make room for new housing. One would suspect that the time capsule was found during the demolition of the building and given to the Vice President for Administration and Finance office.
Inventory of the time capsule
As to the time capsule itself, it appears to have been placed during the cornerstone laying ceremony on October 15, 1949. Included in the time capsule are a copy of the cornerstone laying program and the charter of Florence Crittenton Home; clippings from local newspapers about the groundbreaking ceremony and the new facility; manuals from the local Masonic Lodge; a brief history of the home; a travel edition of the New Testament Psalms and Proverbs; samples of dirt from the area; and two coins, one a quarter from 1948, and the other is a half dollar commemorating the 250th anniversary of Norfolk from 1936. Since the time capsule is important to the history of the Florence Crittenton Home, it will fit better to be a part of the home’s records.
Corner-Stone Laying Program
Dirt from the site of the Norfolk Florence Crittenton Home was included in the box
A small copy of the New Testament was included in the box
Perusing through October and November issues of the Mace and Crown, I found the usual stories about Halloween parties and dances, reviews of horror movies released around Halloween, articles highlighting the “in” Halloween costumes for the year, promotions for the Rocky Horror Picture Show, an occasional article on the supernatural, and a few articles about the annual ODU pumpkin drop. Among those were a trio of truly suspenseful Halloween headlines about harrowing happenings at ODU.
On Halloween day in 1994, an ODU student tackled “an alleged larcenist” outside the ODU Library. Apparently, Norfolk police were attempting to apprehend the larcenist outside of the Mills Godwin Building when the suspect fled. An ODU student named Snapper Arnquist, who was sitting in front of the library when things went down, saw the suspect running. Arnquist quickly threw down his bookbag, dived over a small outdoor wall, and wrestled the suspect to the ground. The police were then able to arrest the suspect.
In 1995, three ODU fraternities where caught – apparently “orange-handed” – “committing a pumpkin heist.” Members of Delta Sigma Phi, Lambda Chi Alpha, and Pi Kappa Alpha were caught stealing pumpkins and Halloween decorations from the Larchmont neighborhood adjoining campus. As punishment, the guilty members had to do 230 hours of community service, pay for the stolen items, apologize to the children in the neighborhood, and most punishing of all — throw them a party.
The last story is less of a crime and more about crushed dreams. The October 29, 2003, article titled “’Great Pumpkin’ goes bye-bye” relates the story of two ODU students with hopes of adventures on a 26-foot sailboat called “The Great Pumpkin.” The students, Matt Cornelison and Robert Munson, acquired the 40-year-old boat for free through a newspaper ad. They had the boat transported from the previous owner’s back yard to a boat storage facility where they could fix it up. A few weeks later, they discovered a small crack in the hull. As time went on, the crack got larger and larger until they could see into the cabin from outside the boat. Unable to afford to fix boat, Cornelison did what he “had to do.” He had the boat demolished with a bulldozer “until there was nothing left of it.” Such is the tragic demise of “The Great Pumpkin” and the sailing dreams of two ODU students.
Our Own, January 1995, page 8: https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/ourown
The Breaking the Ice Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival was first held February 2, 1991 in ODU Webb Center. It was sponsored by the ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Union (GLSU) and the Hampton Roads Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition (HRLGPC). The event was envisioned as a winter pride event to supplement the annual Out in the Park pride picnic held each summer. It was also a fundraiser with proceeds going toward Breaking the Ice expenses and toward the summer picnic. The main event took place from 9:30am to 5pm and was followed by the play “I’m Positive” at 8pm and a dance in Webb Center from 10pm to 1am. Daytime events included a showcase of vendors and organizations, as well as workshops “on healthy gay and lesbian relationships, being single, addiction, political activism, coming out, minorities, and the dilemma of gay men and lesbians in the military.” Guest speakers that year included Robert Bray of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) who led a workshop on “The State of the Gay and Lesbian Nation: 1991” and Kate Dyer, an aide to U.S. Representative Gerry Studds (D-MA) who led a workshop on gays in the military. Tickets to the main event were $5 in advance and $7 at the door. Attendance to the evening play and the dance were free.
The format stayed fairly consistent in subsequent years, though there were some changes. The daytime hours shortened to 11am to 5pm the following year and by 1997 the main event ran from 12noon to 5pm. Admission costs were lowered to $3 general admission and $1 for students, and only went up by $1 by the late 1990s. Early evening events varied year to year. Some years featured plays, most years an evening film festival, and a few years featured other entertainment. 1997 featured one act plays by ODU students, followed by country dancing performed by the OtherSiders country dance troupe, and music by local singer and songwriter Julie Clark. 1998 featured Lesbian comedian and musician Lynn Lavner and music by the Hampton Roads Men’s Chorus. The late evening dance in Webb Center remained a fixture each year. In 1997, there was an “All Faiths” continental breakfast held in Webb Center before the day’s other activities.
Breaking the Ice 1995 Workshop Schedule from the ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Records, Box 2, Folder 1: https://sites.wp.odu.edu/oduwiki/2018/06/25/gay-and-lesbian-student-union-glsu/
A number of prominent guest speakers were featured over the years. Guest speakers often represented current events related to the LGBT community. The 1992 guest speaker was Karen Thompson who had recently been awarded guardianship of her lover Sharon Kowalski in the Minnesota Appeals Court. Kowalski had been “severely disabled” in a car accident in 1983. Guardianship had initially been awarded to Kowalski’s parents who barred Thompson from visiting. After nine years of court battles, Thompson finally won custody in December 1991. The 1993 guest speaker was Crae Pridgen — a gay man who had been beaten outside a gay bar in Wilmington, North Carolina by three Marines in January 1993. This happened only a week before his appearance at the 1993 Breaking the Ice. In 1995, Rev. Mel White of the Metropolitan Community Church was guest speaker. White had been an Evangelical writer who ghostwrote autobiographies for televangelists such as Jerry Falwell, Sr., Pat Robertson, and Billy Graham. White came out as gay in 1994, transferred his credentials to the gay-affirming Metropolitan Community Church, and devoted himself to serving gay Christians. The week following the 1995 Breaking the Ice, White led a peaceful protest on Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach. White had requested a meeting with Pat Robertson to discuss how the televangelist’s anti-gay rhetoric was harming gay people “in the name of God.” Robertson refused the meeting and White was arrested for trespassing. White refused bond and fasted three weeks in the Virginia Beach City Jail until Robertson finally agreed to meet with him on March 8. At that time, Robertson dropped the charges against White. Guests speakers for other years included Mandy Carter of the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF); Barbara Grier, CEO and Founder of Naid Press; Kerry Lobel of the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce (NGLTF); David Perry of Virginians For Justice, and Lesbian comedian/singer Lynn Lavner.
A variety of workshops were held at Breaking the Ice with some themes remaining consistent over the years. Given the huge military presence in Hampton Roads, it’s not surprising that “gays in the military” was a frequent workshop theme. Coming out was also a frequent theme, as were Lesbian and Gay relationship issues, LGBT affirming-spirituality (including alternative spiritual beliefs like Wicca), and LGBT politics and activism. Other topics included LGBT youth, bisexuality, diversity within the LGBT community, addictions, safer sex, Lesbian and Gay Unions, LGBT legal concerns, finances, child custody, Lesbian and Gay literature, and dealing with grief.
Breaking the Ice Photo with Caption, Our Own Community Press, March 1991, Page 1 : https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/ourown
Each year ODU’s Webb Center cafeteria was filled with LGBT vendors and organizations. Vendors included bookstores such as OutRight Books, Phoenix Rising, Lambda Rising, The Tidewater Women’s Bookshelf, White Rabbit Books and Things, and others. Other vendors sold pagers, candles, clothing and jewelry, health products, and Pagan spiritual supplies, among other things. Organizations included political and activist organizations like the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Virginians for Justice, and even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Local service organizations included Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, AIDSCare, Full Circle Hospice, and American Red Cross. LGBT-affirming religious organizations were represented. These included New Life MCC, All God’s Children, Dignity (Catholic), Honesty (gay Baptists), Unitarian-Universalists, Integrity (Episcopal), and Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns. Support, social, and recreational organizations with tables at the event included Youth Out United, Transgender Pride, Gay Games, Mid-Atlantic Amateur Softball Association, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Primetimers, Lambda Car Club, Gay Men’s Chorus, and Tidewater Bears.
Breaking the Ice couldn’t happen without the support of its sponsors and those organizations that provided volunteers and workshop facilitators. The two main co-hosts for Breaking the Ice were always the Hampton Roads Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition and the ODU Gay and Lesbian Student Union (later renamed ODU Gay Lesbian Bisexual Students and Allies). Over the years other community sponsors and supporters included: Mandamus Society, Hershee Bar, Coral Sand Motel, Don’t Tell Mama restaurant, New Leaf / Quarberg Gallery, Mitch’s Cut-ups, OutRight Books, Out of the Dark, Out and About, Out in Virginia, Our Own Community Press, New Life MCC, Mac Graphics, Virginian’s for Justice, Youth Out United, Bi-Choice, All God’s Children Church, the Unitarian Church of Norfolk, Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, Tastebuds Supper Club, Taylor Rental, B&B Exxon, and many others.
Breaking the Ice continued at ODU through the late 1990s, and possibly into the early 2000s. The exact date of the last classic Breaking the Ice is unclear as our primary sources for the festival in the ODU Special Collections and University Archives only go up to 1998. ODU Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) brought Breaking the Ice back to ODU in 2019.
After transcribing some documents in the Carolyn Rhodes digital archive collection-https://dc.lib.odu.edu/digital/collection/crhodes-I was shocked to find out how extraordinary she was. Rhodes was one of the founders of the Old Dominion University’s women’s caucus, friends of women studies, as well as the trust for feminist education program. Rhodes made a huge contribution to the advancement of the status of women at the University. She went through all the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor, and then became an English professor in a time when advancement for women at ODU was slim.
During the 1970s, male professors received quicker promotions and tenure than female faculty members. The research conducted by the caucus showed males were granted a 57% chance of tenure while females were granted a 33% chance. The information gathered by the caucus was collected from public information, and through every rank they found female employees earned $1000 less than males. If that was the information they found in the public records, I can’t imagine what they would have found if they were given access to the private records. In 1974, the president of ODU never refuted or attempted to disprove the information. It was only after the department of labor opened an investigation that the salary inequities were looked into, however the gap wasn’t closed fully.
After reading Professor Rhodes’ syllabus, I could see she was an intense professor who expected nothing but the best work from her students. At the time, Women’s studies was just beginning, and failure would not have been acceptable. Although she was a tough professor, her students and peers believed she was an inspiration. Her experiences and the knowledge she had to offer was irreplaceable. Apart from teaching at Old Dominion and the University of Kentucky, her teachings were also respected overseas at Peking University, China, and Babes-Bolyai University, Romania where she was a Fulbright lecturer in American Literature.
I am done transcribing the Carolyn Rhodes collection but I know I have so much more to learn about her. Learning about Carolyn Rhodes and what she has done for us women at ODU has made me proud.
Everyone in the Special Collections and University Archives program has thoroughly enjoyed working with Caroline, and we are so glad she stayed on with us to transcribe the Carolyn Rhodes digital collection during the COVID-19 closure. We wish her the best with her studies this fall! -Jessica Ritchie, Head of Special Collections & University Archives
Women students in the war-training program work on an airplane
As Virginia, the United States, and the World are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Dominion University is rising to meet the challenge. For the health and safety of its students, staff, and faculty, the University closed its facilities, moved all its courses online, and will hold a virtual Monarch Grad Week to celebrate students graduating in May 2020. The entire Monarch community has come together to help slow down the Coronavirus by making masks for their fellow Monarchs, providing meals for the community, and volunteering for the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps.
However, this isn’t the first time ODU has faced adversity in the face of a crisis. International wars, the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the H1N1 pandemic have cause the University to respond in a variety of ways.
World War II
Sally Avery holding her nephew, George Shipp, Jr., points out her uncle Robert Turner whose name is on the Alumni War Memorial plaque.
Well before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Norfolk Division of William & Mary, as Old Dominion was known from 1930 to 1960, was already heavily involved in the war effort. An Aircraft Instruments Institute was established at the division in 1938 to train students to operate and repair aircraft instruments. The following year, a war training program was established on campus, allowing students to take courses related to aircraft mechanics and welding, radar, and topographical mapping, among others. At a time when colleges were losing enrollment with male students leaving to fight the war, the enrollment at the division remained steady and even grew during the war. Under the direction of Lewis W. Webb, Jr., the war training program offered free classes for women such as aircraft repair, drafting, and other war-related topics. Officers from Naval Station Norfolk, including several African American sailors, took classes at the division. By the end of World War II, approximately 5,000 people enrolled in the war training program, the largest on the East Coast.
September 11, 2001
The morning of September 11, 2001 began like any other Tuesday morning on campus. Students went to their classes as usual, but when highjacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers, Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania Field, word spread rapidly. The ODU community, as it always has, reacted quickly to help with those in need. Shuttle service was organized for students, faculty, and staff to give blood at the Norfolk Scope, the History Honor Society collected bottle water and socks to give to first responders in New York and Washington, D.C., and a room in Webb Center was reserved for Monarchs to pray, remember, and reflect. Three students and an alumnus lost their lives during the attacks: Army Lieutenant Colonel Karen Wagner, Army Specialist Craig Amundson, Navy Lieutenant Commander Robert Elseth, and alumnus Robert Schlegel, ’92.
ODU students attend a 9/11 vigil
H1N1, 2009
In April 2009, the first human infected with H1N1, a flu-like virus similar to the current Coronavirus, was reported in the U.S. Unlike the Coronavirus, H1N1 mostly infected children and young adults. ODU Student Health Services was quick to send out recommendations by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to combat the virus. By July, Human Resources encouraged offices and departments to come up with plans for teleworking in preparation for an outbreak in the fall. A vaccine was developed in September and H1N1 flu clinics were held on campus beginning in November. By the time the CDC declared the pandemic over in August 2010, only a small number of Monarchs were infected.
April 10, 1988 marks the founding and first official meeting of the Gay and Lesbian youth group, Youth Out United (Y.O.U.), at the Unitarian Church of Norfolk, Virginia. I had the privilege of belonging to this group when I was in college, so this blog post is not only historical, but personal.
Y.O.U. was a group for gay and lesbian teens and young adults up to the age of 25. The group was originally founded as simply the “Gay / Lesbian Youth Group” in April 1988. By summer, the group had an official name U.G.L.Y (United Gay and Lesbian Youth) and had moved to what was known as the Pritchard Building at the corner of Olney and Granby Street in Norfolk. I discovered the group in January or February 1989 – my second semester of college at ODU. Not long after I arrived, members decided to change the name of the group to Youth Out United and meetings moved back to the Unitarian Church where they would remain for several years.
The name change was brought on by a concern that “U.G.L.Y.” sent the wrong message to youth who may already have issues with their self-esteem for being gay. Moving to the Unitarian Church gave the group more legitimacy and visibility, especially since the office of Our Own Community Press was just next door to our meeting room. The youth group itself had no official connection to the Unitarian Church other than meeting there.
One of the things that always impressed me about the group, even to this day, was that this group was self-run by the youth themselves. When visiting other cities, LGBTQ youth groups were almost always run by institutions such as LGBTQ community centers. Here in Norfolk, the youth group was self-run and self-organized. A slogan for the group was “For YOU, by YOU.” It was the youth themselves who created the organization, came up with a constitution and by-laws, set up officers, and even created a board of advisors from the local LGBTQ community. In a lot of ways, we felt we were on our own to do this. Times were different than they are today, and many “adults” in the community were concerned about helping out youth – both due to stigma and possible legal issues. This was long before gay-straight alliances began appearing in high schools.
Meetings were on Sunday afternoons and often there was a topic of discussion. Sometimes we brought in guests to speak and other times we talked as a group about specific topics of interest. After the meetings, we usually had dinner at the College Cue Club, a gay club adjacent to the ODU campus. Y.O.U. was much more than the weekly meetings and dinners though. Members actually got involved in the local community and local activism. Some members took part in the March on Washington for gay rights. Some members went on a local talk show. To build community (and to raise funds), we had spaghetti dinner fundraisers at the Unitarian Church and we also had roller skating parties at a local skating rink. One of our members made the news by taking his boyfriend to his high school prom.
Those days were filled with mostly happy memories. Eventually, I passed the age of 25 and had to
move on. Many of the people from the
group I still count fondly as friends, even if I don’t see them as much
anymore. As for the group, it eventually
became an outreach program under the Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce (TACT) in
the late 1990s or early 2000s. TACT
became Access AIDS Care which eventually birthed the LGBT Life Center of
Hampton Roads. As of last year, the
LGBTQ youth group still met at the LGBT Life Center as Y.O.U. As of this post, the group is listed on their
website as YOUth Matter.
You can find out more about Youth Out United, the College
Cue Club, Tidewater AIDS Crisis Taskforce, and many other topics listed in this
post by browsing the Our Own Community Press digital collection at:
Please note these other
collections are not available digitally and are not available during the
current COVID-19 shutdown, so please schedule a visit when we eventually
reopen.
Courtesy of ODU Special Collections and University Archives
Old Dominion Men’s basketball continues to plan ahead and look forward for the future of the program.“DEFENDING OUR HOUSE” is written in bold on the cover of the 2007-2008 ODU Basketball media guide. Ten years ago, head coach Blaine Taylor and his staff brought in Kent Bazemore from Kelford North Carolina, averaging 18.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game as a senior at Bertie High School. He was also named Northeast North Carolina Coastal Conference Player of the Year. Having an astonishing high school career, Bazemore’s future ahead of him looked to be promising coming into a great college program here at ODU. The ability to bring intensity to the game and play both sides on the court showed that Bazemore was more than an average high school player.
Coach Blaine showed great interest in Bazemore’s performance. He had stated that his “physical toughness and continued strength improvement will allow him to reach his vast potential.” Being redshirted 2007-2008 season, Bazemore was able to get an extra year to improve his game on the court and transition smoothly to the collegiate level. As a sophomore he was moved into the starting lineup for the Monarchs. Bazemore played a great role for the men’s conference championship season. Known for being a high flyer and a lockdown defender, Kent was a force in the Colonial Athletic Association regular season. He was named to the CAA All-Defensive Team averaging 8.5 points, 3.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
Kent also contributed to another conference championship the following year. During his junior season the monarchs made the NCAA Tournament which ended with a two point loss to Butler University. Butler finished runner up behind UCONN in the 2011 NCAA Championship match. Bazemore was named CAA Defensive Player of the year and the most outstanding men’s college basketball defender in NCAA Division I (Lefty Driesell Award). He now is currently a professional athlete for the Atlanta Hawks and averaged 11 points, 2.4 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game during the 2016-2017 NBA season. Old Dominion has retired the number 24 and introduced Kent Bazemore into the athletic ring of honor in 2016. Bazemore’s work ethic and college legacy will always be remembered here at Old Dominion.
Courtesy of ODU Special Collections & University Archives
Old Dominion basketball produces great talent and competitive athletes who are willing to put in extra hours at the gym in order to perfect their craft. As the next season approaches, I look forward to seeing the up-and-coming athletes here make history and add more archival material to special collections.
-Written by ODU Special Collections student assistant Jordon Wanzer
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Accept
