Introduction:
If you read the previous blog post titled "Events that Defined the 2022-2023 School Year," you probably already know who I am. But I will just reintroduce myself here briefly again. I am Vivian, the current LMF historian, a role that's pretty new as I started in January 2023. Previously, I was the MIT ESP (Educational Studies Program) historian and wanted to do something like that, but for LMF. I was curious to know how different LMF was in the past and how LMF changed from its early beginnings in 1974 to now. I also wanted to get to know LMF alums better because I find it unfortunate to see information get lost over time.
After interviewing over a dozen of people from all the decades, I have gathered some information about LMF in the past. While some things have changed such as the amount of French spoken in the house, some things have stayed the same such as our cooking system.
Findings:
French Language/Culture:
For most of LMF history, entering members were expected to come in knowing how to speak some French. French was spoken during dinner unless there was a guest and at meetings. Past education chairs also enforced French marathons for immersion purposes. Around the late 00s to early 10s, however, being proficient in French was no longer a strict requirement for incoming residents. What mattered was whether residents had an interest in learning French. In the 2010s, the number of people who spoke French declined, with Sasha '16 saying that when she entered, she estimated it to be around 50% and by the time she graduated, it went down to around 25% (these are all approximations). Avi '18 also said that when he joined, French was more enforced. For instance, major emails were written in English and French, but this became less consistent over his time at LMF.
Nowadays, French House pretty much speaks English, though Kate '25 tried implementing the concept of "5 minutes of French" during dinner last year. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well as it was met with awkward silence for half of the residents who didn't know French.
In the future, I hope that we can reintroduce more French into LMF and encourage others to become budding Francophiles. Currently, there's a French expression of the week (thanks Teo '26) as well as a French piece of the week (something I started). Practicing some conversation starters and vocabulary at dinner would be a plus and help people like me with French pronunciation.
Cooking Culture:
This aspect of French House has remained constant except for some minor changes due to advances in technology like online food ordering. For most of LMF history, there was only one designated shopper (ministre de aliments) but sometime around the mid-2010s, LMF decided to have two food stewards, with Avi '18 and Sarah '17 being the first pair. Ever since then, this role involves two people.
In the early days, groceries were purchased at the Stop N Shop on Memorial Drive that's now replaced by a Microcenter. Then, they were delivered back to the dorm by calling a taxi. The grocers we used have changed over time as we initially used Sysco, but then switched to other stores like Stop N Shop, S.S. Pierce (now Seneca Foods), Roche Bros, and now Wegmans plus other online services like Weee and Instacart.
In regards to cooking, nothing much has changed. Before renovations, LMF only had around 25 residents, so cook teams had around 4-5 people. After renovations, LMF expanded to 32 residents, so cook teams have expanded to 5-6 people. Each meal is expected to have a starch, veg protein, meat protein, vegetable, and a dessert or drink if possible. Like the old days, people rotate cheffing duties and prepare their own menus that then get reviewed by the food steward, cook team starts at 4 PM, and dinner is served at 6:15 PM.
Outside of dinner, LMF's culture of baking has also remained strong as the concept of "sactab" (short for sacrificial table) has existed for quite a while in which people bake with communal ingredients and put sweets on a designated table. In the past, there were pause cafés in which freshly baked goods were made around 9 PM. While we don't have a designated pause café, we do have birthday surprises at 10 PM or dinner, which do make good study breaks.
I find it nice that LMF's cooking tradition has persisted to this day and I hope it will be the case many years down the road because it is at these countless dinners that I get to know the people at LMF better.
General Culture:
From my interviews, it seems that LMF overall wasn't the floor in New House known for partying or being loud. Mary '04 called LMF the "milk and cookies dorm." However, it seems like there was some time during the 80s to 90s when LMF threw parties more often. Janice '85 said that LMF was very close with Spanish House at that time and would party a lot. Although the people in LMF have various interests and different personalities, some common things they share include a love for cooking/baking (food!) and an interest in French language/culture. Another common theme is that LMF is a tight-knit community.
Traditions:
In the past, intramurals were a much bigger thing in French House and we played against German House in sports like baseball and soccer. We also played intramurals with Spanish House. According to Christine '86, we sang La Marseillaise and waved the French flag at intramural hockey. We also had a semiformal distinct from Dîner for a while and a Halloween party that involved wearing costumes, carving pumpkins, and having a good time. Before Talbot House (an MIT retreat house) closed, LMF did a trip to Talbot House in Vermont.
Layout/Renovations:
Before renovations, French House used to have French-themed murals. The most iconic one was the green Metro sign where we took our yearbook group pictures in LMF merch. There was also a nice river mural in the kitchen and some cute ones like Asterix and Le Petit Prince. For some time, we had a very old fridge painted as Le Petit Larousse. One of the fridges was named "Le Frigo Violé" for an unknown reason. Prior to cell phones, there was a telephone closet where people called their families and loved ones. Given that New House has an interesting corridor/suite structure, some of the "suites" had nicknames at that time, such as la maisonette in the 2010s.
German House:
Before renovations relocated French House to the other side of New House (currently the fourth floor of towers 1,2,3), LMF had a stronger relationship with German House. Up until 2017, French House occupied the fourth and fifth floor of Tower 6, while German House occupied the bottom. The pranks were more prevalent prior to the 2010s that involved all sorts of things from invading German House to switching their TV channel to France 5. Back when WWII was not too far in the past, LMF would proudly march around German House on VE Day. Despite the pranks, French House and German House were friendly rivals and close.
Nowadays, we sadly don't really contact German House that much, though it would be nice to host inter-house events like study breaks or even an exchange dinner. The lack of proximity definitely plays a factor.
LMF Marriages:
From my dozen or so interviews, there have been more than 10 LMF marriages over the past 50 years of history, which means that there's probably one LMF couple that ends up getting married during one's time at LMF. This is a rough estimate and is probably not super accurate. This number is of course an undercount since I didn't interview people from every year to keep track. A fun fact is that the earliest one is Jim and Barbara Miller '76. An even crazier fact is that there's a mom and daughter pair who both lived in LMF - Christine LeBeau '86 and Elisa Boles '18!
Conclusion:
While things have definitely changed quite a bit in LMF, some things have stayed the same, whether it is people describing LMF as a tight-knit community or having home-cooked meals six times a week. Doing these interviews with alums from all the decades was so fun and I can't wait to hear more funny stories when alums come back for Dîner. LMF's 50th anniversary will happen next year, so we definitely should start thinking about what to do.
Links:
If you are curious about what the current LMF looks like, you can check out our website here. While we do have a Facebook page, we use Instagram more often now. Interviews, pictures, and other relevant documents can be found in this Dropbox folder.
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