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:
Winter wonderland: One of the most familiar sights of the winter has been the big, four-horse sleigh which has transported the children of the neighborhood to school in Concord…Those whose memories go back to the dark ages of St. Paul’s … Continued
Boundary issues: The School was electrified to hear the announcement made in study the other day that henceforward all boys floating down the sluice on cakes of ice were out of bounds.
Ice follies: On December 8th some of the workmen tried to clear the snow off the lower pond by means of two horses attached to the big snow plough, but they found the ice underneath so bad, that they were … Continued
A visit from a mysterious beast: On the sixth of December, the peculiar animal first seen at St. Paul’s in 1888, forty-two years ago, appeared again on the ice in Library Pond. . . Mr. Wiggins, it will be remembered, … Continued
Thank goodness: For the Thanksgiving dinner alone, were needed 73 Vermont turkeys, 49 Virginia hams, 2 barrels of sweet potatoes, 5 gallons of olives, 50 dozen bananas, about the same number of oranges, 88 boxes of sardines, 4 gallons of … Continued