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Former student recalls dormitory routine, work study at Manassas Industrial School
Summary
Lillian Sloan, who began attending Manassas Industrial School in 1940, described living in a girls' dormitory, participating in a work program in the dining room and returning home only on holidays, offering a first-hand account used to inform preservation of the Jenny Dean property.
Lillian Sloan, a former student at Manassas Industrial School, told an oral-history interviewer that she lived in a girls' dormitory and followed a strict daily routine that combined classes with work responsibilities.
"I lived in a dormitory and so, they took me there and so the 1st year that I was there, I only got to come home like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, maybe a weekend," Sloan said, describing limited opportunities to visit family. She said students worked in the dining room and cafeteria—setting and clearing tables and serving meals—before and after classes.
Sloan said the dormitory had two levels and that she lived on the second level. Her family paid for her attendance and she participated in a student work program that covered dining-room and kitchen duties. She recalled that most classmates had similar responsibilities and that few of them remain alive today.
The account is part of a recorded interview conducted by Jill Spall, a member of the Manassas City School Board, whose office is helping document memories tied to the Jenny Dean property and related preservation efforts.
