The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-02-27
STERLING BUYS FINE RESIDENCE
 IN WEST HAVEN
Was Part of Grounds Once Portion of, Oak Hill
 Seminary

i place this spring.
 When asked by a reporter how such an important real esate transaction came about, MT. Sterling said, Well, this might be considered an old-fash- toned story, full of romance, college days, wars of the rebellion, fascinating girls, Miss Atwater's Seminary, John w. Sterlings millions, etc, all of which might be appreciated by some of the old residents of West Haven ; and New Haven if their memories and sentimentaity goes back as far as the civil war times.
 It was during this war period that Oak Hill Seminary was in it's hey day of prosperity, with a full quota of beautiful young girls, all under the careful discipline and tutorage of Miss S. E. w. Atwater, Principal of l the Seminary, assisted Dy Miss Lee, | Miss Barnett and Miss Stern. The | school building was located on the l top of Oak Hill, some little distance west of the then country road" now Savis avenue. The grounds extended | down to the street spreading to the right and left, covering considerable acreage. There were walks and car riage drive ways, shady hooks and rustic seats under tall oak trees all of which afforded plenty of space and resting places for the Seminary pu- pills while out of doors.
 l A portion of this large tract of land 1 is now enclosed in the Wurtz place. That is the tie which binds this latter place to the site of the old Seminary building, which was burned to ground | over a score of years ago.
 It was during the years that Miss Nettie D. Sterling, daughter of Sher- 1f T,.iI o pupil of Oak Hill Seminary and I was a student in Yale University. Sher- wood Sterling, one time Mayor of Bridgeport and President of the City l National Bank, and my father, D. H. Sterling, who was 'War Mayor of | Bridgeport and President of the Con- | neticut National Bank were first cousins, hence, Nettie Sterling and I | were second cousins. John W. Ster- ling's father and Sherwood Sterling were brothers, hence Nettie Sterling and John w. Sterling were first cousins. John w. Sterling's father and my father, D. H. Sterling, were first cousins, that made John w Sterling and I second cousins. He was three years ahead of me in college. We of ten met in each others rooms and talked over family matters but we had no society affiliations, as he was a "Bones man. and I was a member of the "Cloister". We never touched on secret society subjects, as secret societies were as just as secret an6 mysterious then as they are at pres. ent.
 In those happy days of youth time when we all were care free, full o1 life, fun, and in pursuit of knowl edge and some mischief, it was no | jCC tn 1nT- r. West Haven and down to Savin Rocl on a Saturday afternoon and gambo on the beach. This was before horse l cars or trolley cars ran over to Wes | Haven. If, therefore, when Yale stu dents strolled past Miss Atwater' Seminary, it was but natural for then to attract the attention of these beau tiful seminary girls. Then, again sometimes at eventide the student would serenade the pupils and leav, boxes of confectionery with thei names written on the covers, careful, slowed away under the rustic seats where possibly the girls discovere, [ the sweet remembrances the mex morning. Then again on Sundays students would go over to the Yves Haven church on the Green and oc cupy seats in the gallery and try t attract the attention of Miss Atwater' charges demureIy worshping in tn
 pews below.
 Besides my cousin some of the othe girls were Julia Darlington and Mar
 Cooley of New Haven, Mary Fellows Alexandra, La, Catherine E. Minor Plymouth, Louise rowe, Ansonia
 Mary Goodrich, Stockbridge, Mass
 Mary Moore, Bridgeport, Adelia C
 Paine, East Randolf, Mass, Laur |
 man, Northford, Anna B. Bostinck
 Sherman, Julia Bristol, Milford, Jo
 sephine Merrick, Seymour, CaroIin | Merwin, Watertown, Jane L. Pee
 F'uh-chan. China, Sarah Roberts an
 Lila Bostwick, New Milford, Luc
 Sack, Hannibal, Mo-, Elizabeth an
 Henrietta Wood of New York an
 from West Haven were Elizabet
 Richards, Sarah Kitching, Harrie
 Kelsey, Sa1lie Long, Elizabeth Smitf
 Phobe Wilmot, Helen Smith, Luc
 Burnham, Nellie Candee, Isabel Par
 dee, Mary Kimberly, Mary Cadey an
 Gertrude Tallmadge. These youn
 girls did not wear their frocks to
 high or too low. They did not dis
 play their naked anatomy to the pub
 lie neither did they paint their face;
 dance the "shimmy'', smoke cigar
 cites, drink high balls or ride hors
 back, a straddle, like the smart girl
 of today. Miss Atwater's girls wer
 respectable. Most of the Seminar $ girls owned hand sIeds on which the
 coasted down Science HilI' in tn
 winter months, in the rear of the Sem
 mary building. On these sleds, plain or} ly painted were the names of thej . respective owners. If sled happene ,- to be left outside of the building an
 a Yale student found it to discove
 a name he could mail it to the nam,
 a Yale catalogue with his name an
 class marked, and it is presumed ths U Miss Atwater never "caught on." Miss Nettie Sterling being my cou: in, had the privilege of calling o 1T, her occasionally in the Seminary pal
 Tor, sometimes one or two of my co 3, lege friends would accompany m
 These were all good fellows" and
 later years some of them becam
 world famous. They were William
 Whitney, Secretary of the Navy, late
 on, Dudley Haskills, U. S. Senate
 from Kansas, William Graham Sun
 ner, afterwards Professor at Yal
 Edgar Wells, son of Gideon Wells , T,inc01n'S O1