Dorothy Allen Hill, class of 1930
Dorothy Allen Hill received her both a Bachelor’s degree (1930) and a Master’s degree (1958) in English from Brown University. She taught English at East Providence High School, then worked at Brown University’s John Hay Library from 1965-1974. She volunteered at the Providence Athenaeum and was active in the Handicraft Club of Providence. She lived in Rumford, Rhode Island for many years, and summered in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Hill died on April 1, 2005.
In this interview, Dorothy Allen Hill starts by discussing her aunt, Mary Hill, who graduated from Pembroke College in 1904, and her father’s early insistence that she attend Pembroke. She recalls mandatory chapel and physical education, making friends, and smoking cigarettes on campus. She also remembers mentorship by senior class members, teas, and working part-time at a local department store.
Hill shares memories of Dean Margaret Shove Morriss and President Clarence Barbour, as well as her favorite professors. She states that at Pembroke, everyone was familiar, and had common ambitions. She recalls that education was a privilege and therefore everyone took it seriously. Still, there was nothing vocational about her coursework and she thought she was lucky to find work as a teacher during the Depression. Hill concludes by discussing the Pembroke/Brown merger and her regrets at the loss of Pembroke’s identity.