Social Clubs and Sporting Events
"Character” was the Chevy Chase motto, and extracurricular activities helped reinforce this important characteristic and value. Learning how to live with each other in dormitory rooms, competing in sporting events, and participating in the many social clubs provided the opportunity for character-building in a variety of settings.
Dormitory Life
Like the schedule in the 1911 Catalog, Chevy Girls in later years were also required to follow a set schedule each day of the week. The "Daily Schedule" on the right is from 1942-1943.
Time was set aside for meals, classes, and studying, and depending on each student’s grade level they were given a certain amount of free time on the weekend. The "Cave" was the recreational space in the basement described below.
The girls often shared bedrooms, living in a small space outfitted with a bed, desk, and chair for each, where many school girl antics and pranks were played out.
Looking back on her time at the school in the late 1940s, Joan Russell said:
Even with set curfews and limits on the distance girls could go unaccompanied away from school, Joan Russell also remembers a time when she and some friends snuck out to go downtown -- and they ran into the Chevy President!
Social Clubs and School Committees
Chevy Chase offered many opportunities for engagement outside of classes, with a number of extracurricular clubs. These included serving on the staff of The Chaser, the annual yearbook, and The Barker, the school newspaper. Students also participated in the Social Service Club; the French Club; the Athletic Council; the Dramatic Club; and the Social Activities Committee.
One popular group, the Frantics, put on dramatic and comedic performances throughout the year. In 1933, the Frantics staged a musical review called the “Inaugural Bawl” at the Wardman Park Theater, as an event that raised funds for charity. Chevy girls presented a political satire that took aim at both national political parties. Written by Mrs. Farrington, more than forty girls took part and performed in front of an enthusiastic audience. The Washington Post described the revue:
The Cave
One of the more popular hangout spots at the school was called “The Cave.” Located in the basement of the main building, many generations of Chevy Girls came there to socialize, play games, and listen to music. Sometime between 1910 and 1919, William Arlitt attended a taffy pull in the Cave, and he kept a snapshot in his scrapbook from this period of his life. The caption on the photo, seen here, said: “a bunch of S.A.E.s pulling taffy with cute CCC girls.”
In the late 1920s, the Cave had a billiards table in the center of the room where girls would gather to play or watch a game. During her time at Chevy Chase in the late 1940s, Joan Russell remembers card tables set up for bridge games, as well as a ping pong table.
In The Cave, Chevy Chase School, 1936-1937 Catalogue, CCHS 2007.23.05 
Cave, 1940s, Chevy Chase Junior College Catalogue,CCHS 500.09.06
Chevy Chase School was the first "home away from home" for the students who lived and went to school there. As each girl moved on and began her adult life, like Joan Russell, she might look back at that time at school with fond memories.
