Thanksgiving Hours

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

THANKSGIVING BREAK HOURS

November 22 8:00 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.

November 23 8:00 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.

November 24 - 27 CLOSED

Safe travels to all of those hitting the road, and safe cooking for those of you staying home!

#ThrowbackThursday: In honor of our veterans

Seton Hill has been designated as a "Military Friendly" school, which is nothing new. According to the University website, "Seton Hill first welcomed veterans in 1946, when 40 World War II veterans were accepted as students to what had been, until that year, exclusively a women's college."

Today we take a peek at how one of those student veterans contributed to the beautiful Lowe Dining Hall we all enjoy so much.

Caption: "Sr. Mary Frances Irwin and Bernelle Fullerton, a Seton Hill College art student enrolled under the G.I. Bill, decorate Lowe Dining Room (1950)."

This clipping was taken from the April 1987 Forward. 

Thank you to all of our veterans for your service and sacrifices. 

November DVD Spotlight: British Cinema

All through the month of November, we're celebrating the cinematic achievements of the many talented filmmakers from across the pond.  We've got masterpieces from legendary directors like Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean, as well as lesser-known works from contemporary visionaries like Derek Jarman and Terry Gilliam.  Whether you're looking to laugh with the Monty Python gang, fall in love with the ensemble cast of Love Actually, or revisit Shakespeare on screen with Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh, we've got you covered.

Featured titles include:

The 39 Steps (1935)
This thrilling early work from Alfred Hitchcock sees an innocent man pursued across Scotland by both the police and a deadly spy ring.

Brief Encounter (1945)
Although best known for his large-scale epics, director David Lean was equally adept at bringing more intimate stories to the screen, as evidenced by this classic tearjerker romance about two married people who meet at a train station and fall in love.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
This riotously funny crime caper follows the aftermath of a diamond heist, as each of the culprits schemes to keep the goods for themselves.

Get Carter (1971)
Alternately bleakly cynical and darkly funny, this film follows Michael Caine's small-time gangster through the corrupt underbelly of Newcastle as he seeks to avenge his brother's murder.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The quintessential film epic, with an iconic musical score by Maurice Jarre.  This thrilling adventure from director David Lean chronicles the World War I exploits of enigmatic British military officer T. E. Lawrence, who united the Arab nations in a fight against the Turks.

The Red Shoes (1948)
In what may be the most gorgeous color film ever made, a ballerina becomes torn between her love for a young composer and her devotion to her career and the demands of an uncompromising ballet impresario.

Richard III (1955)
Shakespeare's classic tale of treachery, murder, and the ruthless pursuit of power comes to vivid life, with a tour-de-force lead performance by the great Laurence Olivier, who also directed the film.

The Up Series (1964-2005)
In 1964, filmmaker Michael Apted interviewed a group of seven year-old English children from diverse backgrounds, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Every seven years, Apted returned to talk to the same subjects, resulting in a landmark documentary series that presents an insightful examination of social change and personal development.

Zulu (1964)
Michael Caine made his film debut in this true story about a small group of British soldiers and engineers at a remote African outpost who come under attack from thousands of Zulu warriors.

Check one out today!

Throwback Thursday: Martial Arts

We might assume that martial arts are relative newcomers to the athletics and recreation scene on the Hill, but check out these girls practicing their Judo throws back in the early 70’s.

Remember not to try to catch yourself with your falling arm!

For the less combat-minded, there was also Tai Chi, as demonstrated by these students in Sullivan in 1994.

Hi-ya!

Thanks, as always, to the SHU Archives, and let us know if you recognize anyone in these photos.

November/December Reading Theme: Holiday Fiction

Who’s ready for the holidays? Our November/December book collection has murder mysteries, family bickering, death-defying thrills, time-traveling romance, and the Underground Railroad-- and these stories all take place during the festive season. Curl up with some cocoa and forget your to-do list for a while.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

Bed & Breakfast by Lois Battle: “Ten years of family secrets, misunderstandings, and recriminations have kept the Tatternalls apart - until Josie, a military widow suddenly alerted to mortality when one of her best friends keels over during a bridge game, impulsively invites her three grown daughters home for the holidays at her gracious South Carolina bed-and-breakfast.” (Publisher’s summary)

A Highlander for Christmas by Sandy Blair: “Boston antiques dealer Claire MacGregor is not looking forward to another solo Christmas. However, when she is fooling around with an old puzzle box, it opens and a gorgeous Scottish nobleman from the 18th century magically appears.” (Publisher’s summary)

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie: “Poirot is called to the family estate of Simeon Lee, after he is found lying in a pool of blood on Christmas Eve.” (Publisher’s summary)

The Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies: Does this one need an introduction? “The lives of three people are changed by an old man who insists that he is Santa Claus.” (Publisher’s summary)

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen: “After almost fifty years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives… Desperate for some pleasure to look forward to, Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.” (Publisher’s summary)

Skipping Christmas by John Grisham: “In this hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition, a weary couple is about to discover skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences and isn't half as easy as they had imagined.” (Publisher’s summary)

A Different Kind of Christmas by Alex Haley: “A sophomore at Princeton in 1855, southerner Fletcher Randall meets a group of Quaker Friends and eventually becomes involved in the Underground Railroad.” (Publisher’s summary)

An English Murder by Cyril Hare: “Warbeck Hall is an old-fashioned English country house and the scene of equally English murders. All the classic ingredients are there: Christmas decorations, tea and cake, a faithful butler, a foreigner, snow falling and an interesting cast of characters thrown together. The murders and detective work are far from conventional though…” (Publisher’s summary)

Mistletoe Magic by Sophia James: “A paragon of virtue, Miss Lillian Davenport has an unrivaled reputation. So why has she offered to pay dangerous American, Lucas Clairmont, for a single kiss? Lucas refuses to be molded by society and often walks on the wrong side of right, but Lillian's pure goodness and pale, correct life fascinate him. He senses that beneath the manners there's a woman of rare sensuality. For Lillian, buying a kiss from Lucas has released a wildness within. Her ordered, virtuous world may never be the same again.” (Publisher’s summary)

Leaving Home by Garrison Keillor: “Revisit the beguiling comic world of Lake Wobegon. In the first collection of Lake Wobegon monologues, Keillor tells readers more about some of the people from Lake Wobegon Days and introduces some new faces.” (Publisher’s summary)

The Mind Game by Hector MacDonald: “When Ben Ashurst agrees to participate in a study of the biology of human emotions for his charismatic Oxford tutor, he can't begin to imagine what lies ahead. With a luxury resort on a beach in Kenya as the site of the experiment and his beautiful new girlfriend along for company, it seems the perfect way to spend the Christmas holidays. But paradise starts to lose its luster when, without warning, Ben finds the experiment veering from abstract scientific theory into terrifyingly real danger.” (Publisher’s summary)

Turkey Day Murder by Leslie Meier: “Amateur sleuth Lucy Stone investigates when Tinker's Cove's annual Thanksgiving festivities are interrupted by the murder of Metinnicut Indian activist Curt Nolan and uncovers a host of suspects while cooking up a holiday dinner for twelve.” (Publisher’s summary)

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher: “Five people buffeted by life's difficulties come together at a rundown estate house in Northern Scotland during a revelatory Winter Solstice.” (Publisher’s summary)

The Old Country by Sholem Aleichem: “A thoroughly enjoyable selection of stories from the author who inspired ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ The stories read as though told verbally, using a conversational style. It was amazing to see how completely the characters accepted the pervasive anti-semitism surrounding their shtetl existence as though it were simply inevitable, incorporating it even into their humor.” (Dallas, Goodreads review)

Throwback Thursday: Biology

We have a few skeletons lurking around Reeves right now in honor of Halloween, so it seemed like a fitting time to share these glimpses into the past of the Biology program. 

Our first photo is captioned "Biology 1946 - Bacteriology."

Looking very Peggy Carter.  

Our next shot is has no date and is called "Physiology - girls with skeleton." Indeed. 

And finally is one without a date, but with Sister Ann Infanger in the biology lab! Sister Ann teaches for the Religion Department these days, but before that, she was science faculty.

Throwback Thursday: Our Mascot(s)

Happy Homecoming!

As we welcome back alumni and prepare to celebrate all things Seton Hill, you'll probably see Griff the Griffin out and about at the football game and the various other events (don't forget about the library booksale, by the way). But did you know that the Seton Hill mascot wasn't always a griffin?

We've had several mascots over the years!

First up is this snapshot from 1953. "Hermes" was a... well, they claim he was a tiger. The different classes competed against each other in the Women's Athletic Association in a sort of House Cup/intramurals fashion and the winning class got to keep him for the rest of the year.

Caption: "Hermes is ours!" Proudly Pat Brown and Peggy Garvis hug the A. A. mascot. "We won him in '50 and kept him through '53."

By 1957 (this clipping is from the January 24th Setonian), we have a new Hermes. He's managed to change his spots into stripes and is looking much more tigerly now. 

Caption: HERMES HOLDS THE SPOTLIGHT for sports minded Patricia Mullen, Mary Jo Onto, Marjorie Owens, and Mary Wilson.

TEXT: "Since last June when the Class of '56 absconded with the Women's Athletic Association's mascot, there has been no fuzzy little Hermes to stimulate class teams to heroic efforts in their mortal combats on land (basketball floor, hockey field, bowling alley) and sea (swimming pool).

"Admittedly, the Class of '56 had won Hermes four years in a row; admittedly, he, poor tired old tiger, was headed for dust bin or bonfire anyway. But his going left a vast hole in the hearts of those who had fought for him so hard, though unsuccessfully.

"At last a second Hermes has come to fill that hole! A saucy tiger cub he is-- who wears the stately name of the Greek god Hermes with a rakish air and reveals an unmistakable streak of insanity in his foolish, rubbery grin. He made his first appearance two weeks ago at the opening game of the basketball season, rolled his big green eyes, whisked his tail, and won the game for the seniors! Who knows what he might do this season?"

At some point in the next 30 years, the mascot underwent a complete species change. Here's another Setonian clipping for you (February 22, 1990). 

TEXT: "By Martina Owens. 

"There is a great mystery on campus. Just what is the Seton Hill mascot? When this reporter asked various students, the answers were varied.

"Sophomore Maria Poppa had no idea, while Dana Barauskas believes it is a bird of some kind.

"Sophomore Lisa Griner wanted to know if it is the 'stupid penguin!' 'We're not the SHC penguins,' said Greiner, 'do penguins have spirit?'

"Senior Mig [sic] Owens did not know either but another senior, Pam Wiseman, did, 'It's a penguin!'

"Freshman Kim Headlee gave a blank stare and asked, 'Do we have one? I didn't know Seton Hill had one.'

"Fellow freshman Holly Winterhalter decided that not only was it a bird, but it was a red bird. Then she decided it was a chickenhawk, 'just like the one on Bugs Bunny.'

"Freshman Tammy Wrzosek knew it was a penguin. She believes it has something to do with the nuns. (Nuns? Penguins? I get it.)

"Freshman Shelby Fletcher decided that since you could not see a Spirit the penguin is O.K., but she feels that it should somehow become more popular. 

"Well, I shall keep you in suspense no longer. Yes, ladies and gents, our mascot is indeed Opus the penguin!

"Our name, the Spirit, was chosen by Athletic Director, John Fogle in the early 1970's. (Yes, he has been here that long.)

"In 1983, Seton Hill joined the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Fogle chose the Opus with the Spirit flag to fulfill official emblem requirements by the NAIA.

"So the great mystery is solved. Opus is our mascot and our team name is spirit. Got it? Good."

You may still be able to find a few Opus/Spirit things hiding around campus. Over the summer, a couple of rubbery penguin mascot toys somehow found their way to the library office. Unfortunately, the material was starting to break down, but we had fun reviewing the mascot's evolution.