The Maryland Homemakers Council organized the first Rural Women's Short Course in 1923 on the University of Maryland campus. The program was designed to bring rural women together and give them an opportunity to learn new techniques for household tasks and to expose them to new ideas. Classes covered such topics as meat preparation, sewing, and canning, as well as painting and rug-making. The women also took field trips, often to Washington, D.C., and were introduced to various cultures through speakers and presentations.
In 1923, about 250 rural women attended the first course, and enrollment numbers increased rapidly; in 1934, approximately 700 women participated. Most women did complete the four years required to be considered a graduate of the program, and many of them continued to attend for many years after their "graduation." By the late 1970s, thousands of women had participated in the Rural Women's Short Course when the program was reconfigured and renamed "College Days."
(Note: You may click on the images to view their larger versions.)
| The First "Plant a Seed of Education and Watch It Grow" at the first year of the University of Maryland RWSC, 1923. |  |
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An impressive number of women attended the courses, as this photograph of RWSC women lining up for a picnic lunch in 1955 reveals. |
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Demonstrations were a central component of the RWSC. These women were holding up signs for the 1923 offerings. Calling themselves the "Baltimore County Short Course Advertisers," they promoted demonstrations that focused on health, millinery, clothing, household management, dairying, house furnishing, poultry, foods, and landscape gardening.
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"Mrs. Thompson, Jr. seated at the breakfast table ready to serve hot waffles & coffee. Note the duplex-a-lite convenience outlet for attaching these table appliances," 1929. |
Kitchen Demonstration on Salads. (Notice the Lemon Jell-O on the counter!), 1924. |
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"Money Saving Dishes" Demonstration, 1952. |
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Recreation hour
was a fun part of the day for the women.
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| The women from each Maryland county represented at the RWSC posed for a group portrait. Many groups made matching bags identifying their home county before coming to campus, like this group of "belles" from St. Mary's County did in 1955. |  |
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Group portrait of Charles County women in 1965. This is one of the first racially diverse group portraits. |
| After attending four years of the RWSC, women were recognized as graduates of the program. Set apart from the other women at the final reception with their white dresses, these graduates received their diplomas from University of Maryland President H. C. Byrd, 1941. |  |
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Women found their experiences at RWSC to be very valuable and meaningful, as indicated by the numbers of women who attended year after year. The original caption for this 1934 photograph reads, "Reception at home of Dr. and Mrs. Pearson for women who have attended Rural Women's Short Course for 8 years and over." |
