Nugalia

The Horae Scholasticae is the oldest school or college literary magazines in continuous publication in the United States, the first issue having appeared on June 1, 1860. Prior to the publication of the Alumni Horae in 1921 and The Pelican in 1945, the Horae Scholasticae also served to chronicle the School’s history and news of school life, as well as publishing the early literary efforts of many noted 19th-century authors such as Francis Marion Crawford and Owen Wister.

Many of the earlier editions of the Horae Scholasticae contained a column of newsy tidbits called “Nugalia” that encapsulated the day-to-day experience of student life at St. Paul’s School. The June 1st, 1935 edition of the Horae Scholasticae – a celebration of the first 75 years of publication – included this description of the Nugalia column:

The Nugalia (Lat., “stuffs,” “triffles,” “nonsense”) is one of the aboriginal columns of the Horae. In the early issues “The Rural Record”, the School log or diary, supplied a large part of the news.

In 1872 the name of the department was changed from “School Items” to “Items,” and in 1877 it took its present title “Nugalia.” The editors of those good old times embellished the scanty School notes with doggerel, puzzles, and current jokes.

In the spirit of the early editors of the Horae Scholasticae we have created a new feature located in the sidebar of Ohrstrom Blog. Throughout the year we will be publishing small but interesting excerpts gathered from past Nugalia columns and featuring them in the sidebar. Check back often for a regular bit of insight into the history of student life at SPS – and the occasional dose of doggerel!

Below is an archive of all Nugalia posts to date:

13 May 2013

June 1, 1899

by Sarah Ludwig | posted in: Nugalia | 0

Everything’s coming up roses: The botany section of the Scientific Association has found between April 20, and May 20, seventy-one varieties of the flowering plants and trees. The greatest number found on a single walk was forty-three.

22 Apr 2013

November 30, 1882

by Sarah Ludwig | posted in: Nugalia | 0

Horse chestnut: We understand that the turf horse, which was purchased with such great difficulty last spring, has been sold for some forty-five dollars. We are sure it will be missed, for it had become such a familiar sight that … Continued

8 Apr 2013

April 11, 1903

by Sarah Ludwig | posted in: Nugalia | 0

Sappy business: So many fellows were engaged in sapping that it looked as though this diversion was quite as popular as last year. A large quantity of sap was brought in to Mrs. Neales, who kindly consented to undertake the … Continued

25 Mar 2013

April 11, 1903

by Sarah Ludwig | posted in: Nugalia | 0

Time after time: On March 16 clocks were put in the different buildings, which give correct U. S. Observatory time, being set hourly by a master clock in the Curator’s office, which in turn is set every noon by the … Continued

25 Feb 2013

February 22, 1897

by Sarah Ludwig | posted in: Nugalia | 0

There’s no shoe like a snowshoe: Showshoeing seems to be more popular than ever this year. Since the last big snow-storm a good many fellows take long walks around the country every afternoon.