Clara Louise Guild
Arriving
in Winter Park in 1883, she was the first Rollins College graduate
Born in Boston,
Massachusetts on June 5, 1864, Clara Guild loved to learn. She graduated
from Boston High School and the Boston Latin School. She fully intended to
attend Wellesley College in order to continue her studies, but her life took
another course and she was transplanted to Central Florida.
In 1883, her father's
health concerns caused him to move the family from Massachusetts to Florida.
She arrived in Winter Park with father William, mother Laura, and older
sister Alice. She was 19 years of age at the time.
Rollins College was in its infancy
when Clara enrolled in the first class in 1885, and she became the first
person to graduate from the school. In fact, she went on to earn her Masters
degree in 1898. She began her teaching career in the Winter Park Schools.
Later, she served as the principal at Sanford High School for 13 years
before returning to teaching. Her later teaching career included positions
at the Cathedral School in Orlando and Winter Park High School. Her career
spanned 41 years.
As adults, Clara and
her sister Alice resided at 419 N. Interlachen for many years. Clara was an
active member of many Winter Park and Rollins organizations: the Rollins
Alumni Association, the Congregational Church, the Winter Park Woman's Club,
the Fortnightly Club, and a reading circle which ultimately became the
Winter Park Circulating Library Association.
She died on August 2,
1945 after a long illness. She died in the home on Interlachen
Avenue that
she shared with her sister for so many years.
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