The When

On December 28, 1930, G.K. Chesterton visited our illustrious institution. All the students of Fenwick University returned from Christmas break early and reconvened on campus for this special occasion. A small group of students, known as “the Little Snowdrops,” came to campus even earlier and reportedly got together to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas in the way that the medieval and Renaissance English did (nerds). On December 26 at 4:17am, they kicked off their Saturnalian festivities by reading Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. They sang the songs of Sir Toby and the Fool each subsequent night. It is said that Chesterton arrived in town before the day’s third hour and entered the library where he began to socialize with administrators. He soon escaped to wander Carbunk Hall to avoid more socializing with Fenwick administrators like Philippe Boisdelierre (whose conversation he found detestable and whose countenance he thought was too much like that of a statue). In his wanderings, he came across the foolish little Snowdrops and befriended the little things, for he preferred their company to that of the administrators (worry not, the quality of the Fenwick administration has increased since those days. It is rumored that some descendants of the little Snowdrops now run it). The little Snowdrops taught Chesterton their songs and enjoyed a secret audience with him. It is unknown what occurred during this meeting, but the effects of it can be read about in the “Aftermath” section of this website. It should also be noted that Chesterton had visited another institution on December 14 of the same year. The visit was unremarkable, as all things that occur at colleges and universities other than Fenwick are.