"In the Woods," Chevy Chase Yearbook 1914-1915, CCHS 1991.09.04
"Safeguarding Health," in the 1920s
Reflecting the changing ideas about the role of sports and physical education, the 1927 catalog discusses this topic under the heading “Safeguarding Health.” Now the school emphasized training, exercise and fresh air:
“Physical vigor is maintained and developed through a wholesome regimen, a carefully devised course of regular training, and plenty of outdoor exercise. Sports add zest to the latter and stimulate real interest in fresh-air activity. The superb suburban location of Chevy Chase renders this task easy.”
Once again, the school’s location in Chevy Chase, away from the “unhealthy” city is a selling point for the school.
But competitions between the Blacks and the Golds weren’t the only sporting events of the season. As reported in the 1936 yearbook, the faculty competed against the students in a fall basketball game.
“Suited in patriotic red, white, and blue, the faculty marched forth with a blare of whistles and a wave of banners, and encouraged to victory over their foe by their cheer-leader, Mrs. Farrington….The spirit of congenial rivalry which prevailed during the game merged with a feeling of mutual hunger when hot chocolate and cookies appeared for the fatigued players.”
Basketball, Chevy Chase Junior College and Senior High School
Catalogue 1939-1940, CCHS 1991.09.13The student Black and Gold teams would go on to fight “for supremacy in basketball, soccer, baseball and hockey through the remainder of the season.”
"The Chevy Amazons," in the 1940s
A subsequent school catalog in 1939 provides a long list of sports, and claims that “the open winters and mild climate of Washington make outdoor sports possible throughout the entire academic year." Physical education and sports are a key element of the school experience. The Chaser of 1942 described this role under the heading “Chevy Amazons:”
“Athletics play an important part in Chevy life, and here Chevy Amazons come to the fore. Almost every afternoon you may see girls off for a horseback ride or a swim. Late each afternoon there are tap or modern dance classes, or girls rushing up and down the hockey field. With the arrival of Spring come sunny days and many new outdoor sports. For Chevy girls who shoot straight and true, there is archery, badminton, and best loved of all, tennis. Each afternoon the courts are crowded with sun-tanned Chevy girls. Competition and school spirit run high during these spring and summer sports.”
Field Hockey, Chevy Chase Junior College Catalogue, CCHS 500.09.06Some new students hadn’t played these sports. Joan Russell, class of 1950, remembers playing field hockey for the first time:
“I played my first sport ever, field hockey, and loved it. I can still recall the sharpness of the cold air going in my lungs. Or when a hockey stick hit my thumb and made it swell.”
Chevy Chase Junior College Pennant, 9 x 4", CCHS 500.14.04Equity in women’s sports and physical education in schools and colleges would not be achieved until Title IX was passed in the 1970s, long after the school closed, but the Chevy Amazons were lucky that their private school promoted and valued sports and physical training for girls and young women. Both team and individual sports helped Chevy students build new physical, mental and social skills -- and discover something about themselves at the same time.
