Winning All Hearts

“Will you all sing Hail Collegiate! with me?” she asked.

Those in attendance readily complied, of course, and as the words flowed, her beaming countenance reflected her delight.

That was March 8, 2020, a COVID-lifetime ago. 

Since then, she’s navigated the trying times quite well thanks to her positive attitude and indefatigable nature, celebrated yet another birthday, and emerged sharp as ever with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

“One hundred and one, still not done, still having fun,” she said with a laugh, which should give you a glimpse into the personality and spirit of the 1938 Collegiate School for Girls graduate for whom the passage of years hasn’t dimmed one iota her love for her alma mater.

If anything, in fact, it’s made her experiences at 1619 Monument Avenue more than eight decades ago all that more meaningful and her recollections of time spent with schoolmates and faculty more resonant, and, truth be told, poignant.

“I have many fond memories,” said Collegiate’s oldest living alumna.

When asked to cite a couple of them, she began, well, at the very beginning.

“Are you ready?” she said.

Absolutely, I responded, then settled in for a trip through the archives of the institution just five years older than she.

“I was born at 2225 Monument Avenue and lived there 27 years,” she said.  “I walked to Collegiate School for Girls. Sometimes, I would roller skate three blocks to school on those old skates that had a key. The school at that time consisted of two buildings. One was a house that was converted into the Lower School. There was a space between it and the other house that was converted into the Upper School.

“We had to attend chapel every morning from 9 to 9:30 with different ministers. I particularly remember Dr. Cary Montague, who was Episcopalian, and Dr. J. Blanton Belk, who was a Presbyterian minister. His church (Grace Covenant) was only about three houses away from the school.”

Mrs. Marshall attended Collegiate for three years from 1935 through 1938.

“I remember Miss Harriet Montague, who taught me English, and Miss (Mary Denmead) Ruffin, who taught history,” she continued. “And we had a really good French teacher (Juliet Lee Woodson).”

Why do they stand out? I inquired.

“They taught good lessons,” she responded. “I thought it was a wonderful education. But I was more interested in sports, and maybe some boys at the time. We had four sports: hockey, basketball, tennis, and archery. If you lettered in all four, you were given what was called an all-around letter which was sewn on your green sweater.”

The Monument Avenue site was landlocked, so much of the athletic program, she noted, occurred elsewhere.

“When we played hockey,” the former starting right halfback said, “we were sent by taxi over to the seminary (Union Presbyterian Seminary) in northern Richmond where they had a field. I was captain of the team that year (’37-’38). Proud of that. One thing…we beat St. Catherine’s, the other girls school.”

Basketball practice, she said, took place on the roof of the classroom building. Games were contested at several venues around town. Since there were no tennis facilities on the premises, practices occurred on borrowed courts, and matches were always on the road. Archery – hard to imagine today – took place in the close quarters between the classroom buildings. 

Mrs. Marshall was well liked and respected by her classmates. An inscription beside her senior picture in the ’38 Torch referenced her as “Captain Ratcliffe…taking charge of all activities…playing for the love of the game…fair and honest…winning all hearts by her ability to be a good sport...laugh it all off and stay always happy.”

For many years, she attended reunions and stayed in touch with her classmates.

“I’ve been the last one in my class for a long time,” she said. “You miss all the people that are your age.”

When Mrs. Marshall attended Collegiate, America was emerging from the Great Depression, but there were rumblings of unrest that would lead to World War II. In her mind, Collegiate just carried on.

“I don’t think my family would let me worry about things like that,” she said. “I thought Collegiate was very special.”

Betty and Beverley Randolph Wellford Marshall, a World War II veteran and for many years an attorney for Traveler’s Insurance Company, were married for 56 years until his passing in 2001. 

She’s lived in Gloucester for 61 years, including the last nine in her retirement community where her vibrancy and engaging nature have endeared her to residents, staff members, and everyone else within her circle of friends.

The Marshalls have three sons, two grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.  Their great nieces, Anne Ratcliffe Chamblee ’80 and Cathy Ratcliffe Plageman ’82, are Collegiate graduates, as are Cathy’s daughters Carolyn ’12, Frances ’14, and Julia ’17.

As we concluded our conversation, I commented that though Collegiate is a much different place than it was in her day, the time-honored values of honor, loyalty, sportsmanship, and love of learning exist still and hopefully always will. I trust that it gives you a great measure of satisfaction, I added, that your generation – the Greatest Generation – played a vital role in ensuring that those values were ingrained in the school’s culture.  

 

“I certainly agree with that,” she responded. “Very much so.”
    ~Weldon Bradshaw