Letter from Mary Mears to her "darling friend" recounting the story of how an elm tree in the yard of her childhood home came to be known as "Beecher."
During Grinnell's earliest days, Alumni Hall rang out with fiery debate. Do we need political parties? Should the death penalty be abolished? For over 60 years, Grinnell College's Literary Societies met to dance, converse, and hold forth on issues that are still pertinent in the 21st century. These groups were the beginning of a tradition that carries on with the impressive number of organized student groups that the campus currently enjoys. Join us as we look back at the Grinnell Literary Societies.