Another Ebay find…

No idea what era this was from — the fifties? Maybe the seventies.
Odd to think about this tiny pillow on sale at the bookstore
at a college that does not admit women.

Through Ebay’s auto-search feature, I found this calling card from a Chinese  student Chi-Fah Chen. I’d love to know if the artwork is original/his or printed. Originally I thought Chen attended Lehigh University from 1918 to 1923, and according to this 1918 Brown and White article a student with a similar name came from Syracuse University (with a M.S.?). He graduated in 1923, and you see his graduation photo below. Update: An informed source tells me that the card(s) probably originated in the fifties, as the color on the card might suggest a later timeframe. Stay tuned!

Interested in the Lehigh community of Chinese students through history? There is a well-researched undergraduate paper, Chinese Students and Lehigh University (1879-1853) by Michael Tang.  A great read.

I suppose you don’t acquire stuff like this because it is useful, but I like owning it — got it on  Ebay, it was the second or third one this year on Ebay, but bidding for this one didn’t go too crazy, so now I’m the proud owner of a plaque and plaque description, that can’t be hung (no hook) and most likely is meant to be a paperweight. There was a similar image on a set of bookends on Ebay — tempting but bidding was brisk.

With the help of Glenn Piper’s genealogical skills and Lehigh historical resources, we determined that these copper beer mugs  (Ebay find) were a gift to house party guests in spring and fall of ’41 (Brown and White, 49 n. 10, October 1941). The recipient of both mugs was Cedar Crest student Jean Seebold, Sunbury, PA. The fall mug was a gift  from Pi Kappa Alpha member A. Harry Brennan ’43 , as suggested from the inscription “To Jean from Harry,” and confirmed by the Fall 1941 house party guest list (Brown and White, 49 n. 8 October 1941). The spring mug did not identify the giver, but it would have been a member of Phi Sigma Kappa in 1941.

Harry Brennan went on to serve in WWII. He married Josephine Reither on August 3, 1945 (wedding announcement) and died at 61 (obituary). He was an insurance executive.  Jean Seebold (obituary) graduated from Cedar Crest with a degree in Home Economics, and she married Army Captain John Bathurst in Atlanta, GA in 1945. She was granted a divorce in 1948 “on grounds of indignities” (Sunbury Daily Item, Feb 9 1948).  She married again, to Robert A. Jeagers, and they remained married for 50 years, raising a family in Sunbury PA. After raising her family, she also  taught home economics; she was an exceptional golfer and enjoyed bridge.

Mugs: Phi Sigma Kappa, Pi Kappa Alpha
Sources: Brown and White, Epitome, Legacy.com, Morning Call, others.

Not sure of when/where it was made but it sure is pretty.

For the LinkedIn Learning Challenge, winners get a cooling towel among other things.
Asa likes it, I think.