Bessie Jennings was born on June 15, 1895 in Greens Farms, Connecticut, which is where she spent her childhood. Although she spent two years as a student at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, she spent her final two years of college at Middlebury, graduating with honors in 1918 with a degree in home economics. In her years after graduating, Bessie had a variety of jobs. Immediately after leaving Middlebury, she worked briefly as a clerk in the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. After that, she worked in the personnel department for Warner Brothers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1921, she moved to Yankton, South Dakota, where she served as the Assistant to the President at Yankton College. After a year, she moved back to the east coast and found a job as a finance secretary for the Young Women’s Christian Association (Y.W.C.A.) in Brooklyn, New York. While working for the Y.W.C.A., Bessie earned a master’s degree from the Teachers College at Columbia University. Earning this teaching degree allowed her to finally settle on a long-term career as a teacher at Roger Ludlowe High in Fairfield, Connecticut. She taught in the social studies department there from 1928 until her retirement in 1958.

Together, Professor Oliver and Assistant Professor Graham taught all of the home economics courses offered in 1917 at Middlebury. Assistant Professor Graham taught Household Management, the course that Bessie was enrolled in at the time. This class covered the economic roles of women in the home. These roles included household organization and planning, buying of supplies, accounting and division of income, and overall care for the home.

Ruth Graham graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in 1913 and began her professional career later that year as a teacher at Stamford Seminary in Stamford, New York. Graham began working at Middlebury College in 1915 as an Assistant Professor of Home Economics.

With the assistance of Graham, Mary Oliver taught several classes in the subject of Home Economics. These classes included: Food: Its Selection and Preparation; Nutrition and Food Economy; Sewing and Textiles; and Household Management. Oliver graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley college in 1912. She worked briefly as an assistant professor at Fitzwilliam High School in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, and began working at Middlebury College in 1916.