Members of Omicron Alpha Nu with a “Tin Lizzy,” 1922.

As we circle the campus parking lots and ramps looking for that elusive open parking space, many might think that parking issues are a new thing on the St. Thomas campus.  But as early as 1925, the St. Thomas student newspaper – The Purple and Gray — was reporting problems with cars at the College.   In particular, the noise made by cars entering and leaving campus disrupted classroom instruction so much that the school’s administration was forced to ask the students to park only  in an open area south of the Armory (now the site of the Anderson Student Center).

Purple and Gray, October 2, 1925

The St. Thomas students, however, extolled the virtues of the automobile in aid of their education.  The vehicles brought students from great distances (for example, Minnetonka and White Bear Lake) to attend classes on campus.  Plus, the cars were seen as less of nuisance than the horses which carried commuter students to the College in the past (and perhaps airplanes in the future).

Purple and Gray, October 16, 1925

 

To find out more about the College of St. Thomas in the 1920s, browse the Purple and Gray newspaper and the Kaydet in the Historic University Publications database.