Journal Archive > 2002 > January

Lunch time

When dining services was a cart behind a horse

In the early 1900s, there was period of several years of uncertainty about meals being served at Tufts College on the Medford/Somerville campus. Mr. MacFarlane had given up the college dining hall, and one year, the Commons was not in operation until a week or two after the college opened. Some of the students ate in fraternities or in private homes, while others visited a lunch cart, called the Dew Drop Inn, in Davis Square.

During this period, an enterprising person placed a "dog cart," a small shack, located at the end of Curtis Hall near the bridge and enjoyed a year or more of excellent business, limited only by the size of his establishment. The re-opening of the college dining hall under more favorable conditions put an end to the makeshift eatery.

The dog cart next to Curtis Hall in an undated photograph. Photo courtesy of University Archives

Editor's Note: As the university celebrates its sesquicentennial in 2001-2002, the Journal will take a look back at some of the history and traditions of Tufts. Thanks to Anne Sauer in University Archives for providing these glimpses into Tufts' past. For information about sesquicentennial events, visit the web site: celebrate150.tufts.edu