BRIDGEWATER, Va. – On Tuesday, April 7, BC students celebrated Founder’s Day with D.C. Flory’s Birthday Bash. Students enjoyed a modified class schedule that allowed all to attend the party from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the KCC.
Festivities included bingo, raffles, trivia and free lunch and cake for all students, faculty and staff.
The event was emceed by Kris Schultz, Bree Morgan, and Malachi Benjamin, with Schultz and Morgan celebrating their final Founder’s Days as seniors.
“I think at this point, with like two weeks left, there’s a lot of stress with projects and presentations and finals,” Schultz said. “So it’s a good time to play bingo and hang out with people and just make some noise and destress a little bit.”
As students filed into the dining hall, Morgan said, “Have a seat; make a new friend.”
First-year Nina Miller, who celebrated her first Founder’s Day as a Bridgewater student, said that Founder’s Day is not just about the man who founded the school. “It’s about what he started,” she said.
According to Bridgewater’s website, 26-year-old Daniel Christian Flory founded the Spring Creek Normal School, later renamed Bridgewater College. Founder’s Day is usually celebrated on the first Tuesday of April in honor of D.C. Flory’s birthday, April 3, 1854.
This year, students donned party hats and sunglasses and ate Chipotle-style bowls to honor Flory’s 172nd birthday.
In addition to the birthday festivities, the first clue for the annual Medallion Hunt was read aloud at the event. The eight-inch wooden medallion with the Bridgewater seal is hidden somewhere on campus for students to find and return for a cash prize, according to Bridgewater’s History and Traditions page.
Whitney Smith, Assistant Dean of Students for Engagement, announced that the medallion was found before the hunt began. Leslie Frere, Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students, said that this was a first in the history of the medallion hunt.
“That tradition has evolved since 2017, but clearly, as we found out today, students are really here to find the medallion,” Frere said. “And we’re grateful and glad for that.”
According to the Bridgewater Digital Commons, Founder’s Day celebrations began to shift to a more student-focused event in the 1980s.
Frere said that historically, Founder’s Day was a more formal event for seniors and faculty, but it did not engage the rest of the community. D.C. Flory’s Birthday Bash began as an effort to engage more of the community in Founder’s Day.
“This is our fourth birthday, so we’re just kind of trying to believe that it’s only been four years because it feels like it’s already pretty ingrained,” Frere said.
To learn more about Bridgewater’s History and Traditions, visit
https://www.bridgewater.edu/about-us/bc-history-and-traditions/
