by Alicia Stetzer
JMU fired off a cannon to kick off the Centennial Celebration. Since its inception in 1908, the university has had its fair share of folklore. Some of it is pure legend, some stems from fact. Decide for yourself whether or not each story is truth or legend . . .
When former JMU President Carrier and his wife resided in Hillcrest House, he allegedly insisted students could come to him whenever they needed anything. The night of a fraternity’s formal, the chapter’s Greek Row house lost water and each brother proceeded to shower in Carrier’s private bathroom. Because of this one night, beginning the next year, the president no longer lived on campus.
The tunnels under the Quad were used for the women of the Normal School to go from building to building without having to walk in the rain. According to the Centennial Celebration Committee, some stories include murder, suicide and hauntings in the tunnels.
The Kissing Rock was exposed during the grading prior to the construction of Alumnae Hall in the 1920s. When the Madison College women lived on the Quad, they were attended to by “house mothers” who watched over them and made sure they acted with grace and modesty. Before their curfews, the women gave their dates goodnight kisses behind the rock so their house mothers wouldn’t see. Legend has it the one you kiss on the rock is the one you are meant to marry.