MEJO 121 Final Project

Saint Mary's School Commencement 2016: Marcie Voelkel

Tradition: The Heart of Saint Mary's School

Saint Mary’s School was founded in 1842 by Reverend Aldert Smedes with the vision to provide an education for women that encompassed tradition and southern values during the mid-to-late nineteenth century, a time when this type of education was high in demand. Among the many long-standing traditions at Saint Mary’s School, the Marshal tradition, established in 1913, has been upheld for 105 years and continues to create a connection between generations of students who have taken on this honorable leadership role. Having attended Saint Mary’s School and serving as a Marshal myself, tradition grew to be a huge part of who I am because I learned the true value of being a part of something bigger than myself during my time in the role. The countless generations of women who have been Marshals are all connected by this common thread. Although not everyone is able to be a part of this tradition, the Marshals demonstrate why it is so important to uphold tradition in the modernizing world we live in today.

The chapel is the soul of Saint Mary’s School and holds significance for the Marshal tradition because that is where the journey of every marshal begins. According to Martha Stoops’ The Heritage, ever since the first service in 1842, the strength in the foundation of the school “continued service of prayer and praise whereby the common life of the school became the life of common prayer.” Stoops described the chapel in 1858 as a “a gem of architectural beauty” with its simple board-and-batten structure and steep gable roof that was remembered by the students as “the little brown chapel.” This chapel is where the Marshal Induction Ceremony takes place. During the ceremony, the Marshal Creed is read aloud and the current Marshals drape the sashes on the six newly elected Marshals. After the ceremony, both sets of Marshals take a picture outside of chapel to document another year of passing down the tradition. Finally, the new Marshals are able to enter the closet and try on the formal Marshal attire for the first time which consists of the colonial-style, floor-length white dress, a white satin ribbon around the waist, a hat and the official sash. Throughout the years that this long-standing tradition has been upheld, this iconic attire has been worn by generations of Marshals with the utmost honor.

Marshal Induction Ceremony 2017: Mary Virginia Swain

Upholding a Tradition for 105 Years

Marshal Induction Ceremony 2018: Mary Virginia Swain

The Marshal tradition is truly a way to connect generations together that holds an impact that speaks for itself when hearing from both current and previous Marshals. The current Chief Marshal of the class of 2019, Lilly Beth Glenn, highlights the formal Marshal attire, a few of the Marshals’ duties and details regarding the tradition itself. “Every time I put on the formal attire, I think about the countless generations of Marshals before me,” Glenn says. “If the dress was shortened or changed in any way it wouldn’t feel the same.” Glenn’s insight about the tradition demonstrates that it shouldn’t be modernized, but instead continue to remain the same for future generations of Saint Mary’s students.

Saint Mary's School Commencement 2015: Mary Virginia Swain

In the words of Caroline Fountain, Chief Marshal of the 2016 graduating class, “If the Marshal tradition was changed, I would personally be very upset because erasing or changing the tradition would be to erase or change the history and beauty of Saint Mary's.”

She also talks about how she felt when her sister Margaret Fountain, who graduated in 2018, was also elected to be a Marshal. “I was thrilled that her peers saw the same inner beauty and grace that I did in Margaret,” Fountain says. “I was also so happy because I knew she would not take the job for granted and treat it with the utmost care.”

Marshals in 1987 Stagecoach: Lynn Ives

The Marshal tradition showcases why tradition should continue to be upheld because of the connection it makes when it is passed down between not only siblings, but also from mother to daughter. Lynn Ives, Chief Marshal of the 1987 graduating class, speaks about her experience of having the opportunity to watch her daughter, Jane Ives, graduating class of 2017, also be a Marshal. “I love that it is a common thread between all the past, current and future marshals,” Lynn Ives says. “We live in a fast paced, technological world, so I really appreciate certain traditions that bind us.” Thanks to this long-standing tradition having been upheld, the women of the Ives family, along with many other mother-daughter duos, have been able to share this memorable, meaningful and traditional experience.