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Pag* 16-CSUNDAY AAAERICAN-STATISMAN, AUSTIN, TEXASJosephine Chapman Drills Reducing ArmyHut, two, three, four . . . stand straight , . . look directly forward.Not the words of an army sergeant cracking the whip over his privates, these are the “orders” Mrs. Josephine Chapman gives the young women whom she has promised to rid of pounds of excess weightBut like the army sergeant, her commands are obeyed.She’s the woman who has been selected to lead the co-recreation program at the University of Texas, a program which has been “on the books” ever since the University’s Physical Education department was created but which is just now coming to fruition.With Hair DownAnd the slenderizing class is just a part of the vast Friday night and Saturday afternoon program in which university men and women can get together and “let their hair down” in volley ball games, badminton matches, ping pong contests, and swimming meets.SHIP ft AIR TICKETSTo all pares of tbe world. No •arvict charge*. Free tailing inf or-awrioa aad p—port requircneao. Write at ooce toFRED L HASKETT TRAVEL SERVICEan a a m hThe “reducers” are either married women students or wives of students, and they are intent on matching their instructor's lithe and lovely figure.Mrs. Chapman stands before her group and puts them through their paces, some of the calisthentics strenuous enough to leave the girls gasping for breath, rubbing strained muscles, and moaning over creaking bones. But Mrs. Chapman tells them what to do and they do it. She is just that kind of woman. Gathering Moss Tall, slender, and graceful. Mrs. Chapman has vigor and youthfulness of face that belies the steel gray color of her hair. When she tells you sh$ graduated from Sargent College in Cambridge, Mass., in 1920, you find yourself making a mental calculation and deciding she must have entered college when she was no more than 10 years old.She claims she has been a rolling stone all her life, but has now selected Austin and the University as the place to “gather my moss.” The program she is in charge of has been the dream of the women in the physical education department for years. They have been itching to have a time and place set aside for students of both sexes j to combine their athletic interests j Now their plans have developedHARRY E. and WILLIAM B. HILGERSannounce the opening of offices asAccountants, Auditors and Tax Consultants on January 17th, 1949 under the firm name ofHILGERS and HILGERS Phone 6-2144 107 West Fourteenth St.into actuality and. with Mrs. Chapman as hostess, the women’s gymnasium is thrown open each Friday and Saturday for a “party.” Some 70 boys and girls are guests and their entertainment is as diverse as their own personalities. Mrs. Chapman doesn’t serve refreshments. She herself is the party's “dessert.”She sits in the gymnasium’s reception hall, greets many of the guests by name, and comments variously as they pass by.“Let the boys beat you, if you want them to ask you to play again,” she will whisper to a group of girls carrying badminton birdies.“Don’t beat the girls too badly,” she will advise the boys.And her advice is heeded more often than not for the blue-jeaned girls are more embarrassed at defeating a boy at tennis, shuffle-board, or ping pong, than at losing, Bad Start as Texan Mrs. Chapman is a yankee, born in New York City, which, she says, “is a bad start for a Texan.”After graduating from the Massachusetts college, she went to Columbia. shopped around, taking courses she enjoyed, and then came to Texas to combine teaching physical education with getting her bachelor of sciences degree.After five years here, leaching physical education in the shack which was then the gymnasium, she taught in Goucher College in Baltimore for three years, then became executive secretary to the Students International Union in New York City, a group which selected students to go to Geneva for seminar courses with students from throughout the world.Marriage then interrupted her career.“I missed teaching,” she smiles, “but not too much.”Dean In Switterland Upon her husband’s death, she resumed her profession as director of physical education at Simmons College in Boston. Then came the opportunity of a lifetime—a chance to go to Switzerland as social deanof 20 American girls studying abroad—and she took itThe Geneva school was affiliated with Holyoke College for girls in Massachusette, with credits transferable.“I got all warmed up to the idea, and loved it, although 1 stayed frozen to death the whole year,” Mrs. Chapman recalls.Her duties of chaperone took her to Germany for Christmas, to Italy for Easter, and lo Paris in late spring.This was in 1937 and 1938 and the school was cut short by the dreaded approach of war.“Otherwise, I’d probably be there yet, Mrs. Chapman says.Ice Skating CampHer varied interests at one time led her to open an ice skating camp at Lake Placid, N. Y., for children from four to 15 years of age. This was a summer camp, where parents sent their offspring in hopes that each would grow up to be a Sonja Henie.Each child had his own professional instructor to teach him the fancy figures at which they became experts when as young as five or six.“A lucky thing they had their own teachers.” Mrs. Chapman laughs, “for all I can do on ice is glide a little forward and fall a little backwards.”Her history also includes three summers spent as owner and director of Aloha Club in Vermont, one of the oldest girls’ camps in the country.Sketches Christmas CardsIn her off hours Mrs. Chapman deserts athletics and activities demanding exertion. She is fond of skteching and annually makes her own Christmas cards by penciling a sketch, having it photographed, and engraved.A must” for her Is the reading of the New York Times. Sometimes her rushed schedule puts her a weekbehind, but she blandly reads October issues of the New YorkFormer Elgin Girl Wed InSan AntonioELGIN, Jan. 15.—(Spl)—The marriage of Miss Frances Vera Rowland, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. J. W. Rowland of San Antonio, and James Thompson has been announced.Vows were exchanged Dec. 28 in the home of the bride's parents, in the presence of relatives and a few close friends. Officiating was the Rev. Kermit Gibbons, pastor of the Alamo Heights Church.Mrs. Thompson formerly lived with her parent* in Elgin, where Rev. Rowland served as minister of the First Methodist Church several years before going to San Antonio.The bride wore a navy suit, navy straw hat trimmed with pale pink roses and navy accessories. Her corsage was an orchid.A reception was held immediately after the wedding. Following a short wedding trip, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are at home in San Antonio.paper in November.Just couldn’t let anything happen in New York without my knowing it, the adopted Texansays.One thing that she will never have to worry about is insecurity in her old age.The one school at which she has stayed long enough to contribute to an old-age retirement fund now pays her $6 a month and will continue to do so for the rest of her life.Who could worry about anything when they know they’ll be getting that much money every month of their life?” She quips.
Newspaper Details
Austin Sunday American Statesman
Austin, Texas, US
Sun, Jan 16, 1949
Page 53
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 25 Jul 2024
Other Publications Near Austin, Texas
Austin Daily Texan
Austin Semi Weekly Statesman
Austin Christmas American Statesman
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