Alumni Q&A: Dorothy Ramm ’54
What did you study at Swarthmore?
I majored in French and, as an honors student, had two minors: classical Greek and history. [Parker teachers] Madame and Mr. Barnes were important in my choices. I had taken four years of French with Madame at Parker and was interested and continued with it at Swarthmore. At the end of the first semester of my sophomore year at Parker, Mr. Barnes offered to teach me Latin one-on-one, believing we could cover two years of Latin in a year and a half. I enjoyed it very much, and he suggested I consider taking classical Greek in college. I did and have been grateful to him ever since! I'm sure our study of the Greeks with Miss Davis in 4th grade also had an impact on my choice.
What was your degree from McGill?
My library degree was a B.L.S., equivalent to an M.L.S. in the U.S. In Canada the first degree in any subject was always called a “bachelor’s degree,” which was sometimes confusing in job applications as U.S. libraries assumed it was a four-year undergraduate degree.
Why did you decide to specialize in library science? What was it like to go to school in Canada?
People tended to assume that I would become a teacher, but I never felt called to it. I wanted a career that would be both interesting and, in some ways, positive for the community, and I also read that librarianship was a good career for those with academic interests who did not want to teach. Having majored in French, I thought it would be good to spend a year in a French-speaking Canadian city, and McGill's program had a good reputation. I was one of four or five Americans in the program at the time; a young woman from Trinidad was also a classmate. Spoken French in Montreal was very different from what I had learned in high school and college, but I often bought French-language paperback books to read. In Montreal at that time, ties to England were important also (I’m sure this has changed in 60+ years). I have very pleasant memories of attending a Royal Shakespeare Company performance of Twelfth Night with classmates.
Was there a specific attraction to Northwestern’s Transportation Library?
I got the Transportation Library job through connections—what we'd now call “networking.” The head of the library at the time had just fired a librarian whose performance was well below par and wanted to replace the person immediately. She was a friend of the parents of a Swarthmore classmate who lived in Oak Park; they told her, “Our daughter has a classmate who went to library school, why don't you contact her?” I had interned at the Joint Reference Library (specializing in public administration) on the U. of Chicago campus and gave the head librarian’s name as a reference; the Transportation Library head had worked there some years before.
I loved working in a specialized field and learning about transportation “on the job.” We got to know the students and faculty and their areas of interest and when we saw an item of interest would notify them. My main activity was scanning and selectively indexing the 400+ transportation journals the library subscribed to. In 2013 the Transportation Center had a special 60th anniversary dinner, which I attended. I was delighted and touched to have many students say to me, “I remember how helpful you were.” In my years at Parker, there was always an emphasis on cooperative projects with many people participating in different ways. I felt this was true in my years at the Transportation Library—by helping patrons find references, I was part of their work. Though I worked at the library for 40 years, changes in technology and information retrieval meant my job was by no means static. It was good to be able to use technology to make the job more efficient.
Any fun anecdotes to share about your 40 years there?
My favorite story about my working years came relatively early on (we were not yet automated, and I directed the patron to the card catalog, not a computer terminal). A man asked if we had information on traffic volumes on various highways. We had some statistics on this topic so I directed him to the relevant part of the catalog, then asked him, “What do you need this for?” He was working with someone on UFOs and told me he knew there were stretches of highway in the west where UFOs came down and took away the cars. If there were sudden unexpected drop-offs in traffic volume, it would help to identify these areas! I am proud that I replied very soberly, “That's interesting, but I’m not sure if the statistics will be helpful. I don't think they take them at close intervals, and if there’s an exit ramp between the survey points, one couldn’t be sure the cars just didn't drive off.” Feeling I could control myself no longer, I rushed out of the room and into our office next door (fortunately well soundproofed) and told everyone there, “You won't believe the question I was just asked!” We all had a good laugh, and I returned to the reference desk. (I never knew what, if anything, the patron found.)
What are some of your favorite Parker memories?
I’ve mentioned Madame, Mr. Barnes and Miss Davis. I also have good memories of Jack Ellison, both as a teacher and head of 9th grade—he was very supportive as we moved into the different environment of high school. Like many Parker students from the 1950s, I recall singing in the chorus under Chauncey Griffith’s direction and have been grateful ever since for the experience—I subscribe to the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera and Music of the Baroque. We were given grades and comments for music and art as well as for other subjects, and he once wrote on me, in effect, her enthusiasm makes up for her lack of talent. I was grateful for this comment! I knew about my lack of talent but was pleased he saw how much I enjoyed participating. I recall our geology field trips with Miss Greenebaum in 8th grade. I have great memories of dramatics with Mrs. Geraghty and John Holabird, particularly playing Mary Warren in our senior class play, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.
Another story comes to mind: I was, I think, in 3rd grade when the first African-American students were admitted at Parker. A boy in my class was there the first day of school and didn't show up again—I assumed he was sick. Mother, who was often at Parker as a volunteer, asked around and found out what had happened. The boy’s mother had seen an African American in the classroom and called Mr. Smith, then the principal, to protest, saying her son would never return to Parker if there were African Americans at the school. Mr. Smith replied blandly, “I am sure your son will be happier elsewhere.”
Do you have any stories to share about your mother, Dorothy Sugden, who taught French at Parker in the 1930s?
Though I didn’t take any classes with Barney Negronida, I highly respected him as our Grade Head senior year. He had begun teaching languages at Parker when Mother was teaching there. She recalled the summer that both of them enrolled in a summer language program at Western Reserve University in Ohio. He had filled out the form using the name “B.J. Negronida.” The school assumed he was female like most teachers of the period and assigned him space in a women’s dorm! Took some time to correct the situation! John Holabird was one of Mother’s students. He once told me, “I was probably her most difficult student.” I assured him this was not the case but didn’t go into details; in fact, Mother once said that Barr McCutcheon’s older brother Shaw was the worst behaved student she’d ever had. Celeste Holm was also one of her students. Mother was thrilled when Celeste was on the cover of Life magazine when she was in Oklahoma!. She had a great story about Celeste, who became sick one afternoon at school and couldn’t get home on her own. Mother went home with her and, as Celeste’s mother wasn’t home, stayed with her till Mrs. Holm returned. Mrs. Holm looked Mother over, said, “Yes, it will do” and brought out a fur coat she no longer wore and gave it to Mother! Mother's father heard about this, said, “We don't need charity” and made her return the coat!
A story about Miss Cooke that I would like to share with Parker alumni: Sometime in the 1940s, Senator Bilbo of Mississippi saw something written by Miss Cooke that inspired one of his all-too-frequent anti-Black tirades (he assumed she was Black herself). Soon afterwards, Mother and several friends with Parker ties got together for lunch at the home of one member of the group; I was along. One member shared a copy of Miss Cooke’s response to him—we were all very proud of her.
How do you like spending your time (when we’re not in a pandemic) since retiring 20 years ago?
A few months after I retired, I began volunteering one day a week at the Chicago History Museum library and research center. It is good to “keep my hand in” with library work. I have done a variety of short-term jobs, perhaps the most interesting involving restaurant menus. I recalled eating some of the items listed! In addition to the CSO, Lyric Opera and Music of the Baroque, I also subscribe to the Goodman and Chicago Shakespeare Theater and am involved in a number of activities at my church, St. Chrysostom's Episcopal. We have an active cooking ministry and (when quarantine isn’t in effect) prepare a monthly dinner for Deborah’s Place women’s shelter.
Travel is one of my favorite activities; this will be the first in more than 50 years that I haven't taken an extensive trip either abroad or on the North American continent. I particularly enjoy traveling with academic groups providing lecturers with knowledge of the area. I went to Greece and Italy several times with classics professors from Swarthmore—a great experience, and being in Greece reminded me of Miss Davis. On trips to Latin America I’ve often thought of Miss Marshall.
Francis W. Parker School educates students to think and act with empathy, courage and clarity as responsible citizens and leaders in a diverse democratic society and global community.