Carolyn French

A member of the Smith College Class of 1949, Carolyn French was among the first students who returned to Paris for the Junior Year Abroad program following WWII. Her correspondence (including photos and other artifacts) is preserved in Smith College's Archives and paints a vivid picture of the postwar privations and student exuberance that characterized this era. French lived at Reid Hall, as did her Smith classmates, so she also details what it meant to eat, sleep, and socialize at the revamped study abroad center.

One of her earliest letters to her parents, dated August 11, 1947, features a wonderful description of French's first experience at Reid Hall:

• "Sat. aft. we taxied over to Reid Hall to leave a few bags and see the place. Oh, dear family, what a charming place! We will have a terrific year- we can't miss. The street is very short and narrow and #4 looks as though it were a dumb, dirty yellow pension sitting on the sidewalk- but when the double doors open- what a change! You realize that this pension is really a square with the middle + one end cut out for gardens, lawn, flowers, etc. There is a delightful balcony looking over the garden, the rooms are large & have plenteous bookshelves, a nice kitchen (American food- French cook), a cheery dining room, large libraries & reading rooms." (Carolyn French papers, Smith College Archives, CA-MS-01159, Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, Massachusetts)

Another letter, addressed to her "dear poor neglected family" and dated October 5, 1947, is written on Reid Hall stationery. She reports: "Well, I'm all settled in Reid Hall, and very happy...We're most of us in singles and 2nd semestre, we move up to studios with glass fronts + skylights! Mme. Guilloton is being typically wonderful + sage + helpful- Miss Leet, the director is most charming and understanding with a very good attitude...I have a tiny little balcony, a wash stand + curtain, a chair, table, bureau & a minuscule closet. (We keep our lovely trunks in our rooms)."

Though French herself though very highly of Mme. Guilloton and Miss Leet, never objecting to the policies at Reid Hall, she reported to her parents some complaints from her peers: "...some of the gals have written their parents saying Reid Hall is like a cloister- and asking their parents to write her [Mme. Guilloton] complaining about the rules etc. In reality we have tremendous freedom- our only rule is that we must be in groups of 3 when we go out in the evening + we must have a purpose in mind when we go out." (November 3, 1947)

One of the more consistent themes in French's correspondence is that of deprivation. Postwar France was still recovering and many goods, both staples and luxuries, were simply not available. In her October 24, 1947 letter, French says, with some tact, "We eat very well here- but not enough if you know what I mean- 4 or 5 fried potatoes beautifully cooked- a little bit of yummy spinach, etc. but of course the French people don't even get as much as we do. They have hardly any bread & no grain or paste for macaroni, not enough potatoes so all they eat is greenery- of which there will be none of course during the winter."  

American students often traveled to Paris toting canned goods and toiletries but French also included a list of items in each letter that she was hoping her parents would ship to Reid Hall. Preserved in the Smith College Archives, along with her letters, is her ration book for the year, with several coupons for milk still inside!           

In spite of the general shortages in Paris, Reid Hall still managed to offer feasts on special occasions. Some of French's most vivid writing comes in a December 9, 1947 letter recounting the Thanksgiving celebration from which she was still recovering:

• "Reid Hall really did itself proud that day. The chef had found turkey and had also made pumpkin pie with real crust- unheard of delicacy. Delicious potage, huge delicious slices of perfectly flavoured turkey (just like home) with stuffing made of meat and chestnuts- cranberry jelly, sweet potatoes, salad, pumpkin pie a la mode, bananas, apples, grapes, nuts, fudge, coffee and of course our best $48 a bottle refill of 'vente libre' wine. Oh what a feast- and we didn't leave the table until 3.45 (we began at 12.30). The tables had huge pumpkins filled with fruit for decoration and huge yellow chrysanthemums were everywhere in lovely green jars. Miss Leet had bought them at Les Halles (central market) at 4:30 that morning."

Another festive occasion was the official postwar Reid Hall reopening held in February 1948 which French describes for her parents in the above image. Given the palpable joy surrounding the Club's reopening, it is perhaps fitting that the last line of French's Feb. 21, 1948 letter is, "The champagne was delicious."

The last letter in which French mentions her beloved Reid Hall is dated April 29, 1948, presumably just before the academic year ended and she embarked on a summer of European travel before sailing home.

• "Since I wrote last I've been doing a lot of reading, a lot of 'play going-to' and a lot of sunbathing. It's spring! and wherever there are both Smith Girls and Sun- there always develops a suntan colony. Thank heavens, we live on the border of the Latin Quarter where anything can happen- or probably the police would have raided Reid Hall long ago."