Spreading the Message

It's hard to believe that 12 years ago, the college had one central fax machine. "It was running all the time," recalls Cassie McIntyre, who sat across from it as it hummed incessantly during her shifts at the Message Center. "People were lined up, and some would come every day to send a fax, but they'd always need help." Back in the days before the Internet and cell phones, the Message Center was hopping. Packages and flowers filtered through the office.

The operators also received and forwarded all messages, scheduled fire drills, handled maintenance issues, handed out keys, and collected and stamped exams and papers for professors. "The switchboard never stopped. It was a mad house, but I loved it."

A native of Ireland, McIntyre worked as a statistician at IBM before she moved on to the college. "Vassar reminded me a lot of England and Ireland, so I felt right at home," she says. Around the time she took the job in 1990, the college started phasing out the telegram, often used by students to contact their parents for money. At that point, 16 women worked in the office, which operated around the clock. Students also worked part-time answering the phones, where up to 20 calls came through at a time. Before security moved in next door, the Message Center handled all emergencies and maintenance issues. They also collected over a hundred packages and deliveries a day, and then notified each recipient. "On Valentine's Day, the place was stacked with flowers. It was such a circus," she says.

Good thing McIntyre is a patient person! As the mother of six, she's also a practiced hand at doling out advice to student callers who seek her help. When students wanted to know how they should cook a ham or what they could use to remove a stain, they often sought her advice. During her time at the college, McIntyre has answered countless questions, calmed irritated callers, reported weather forecasts, and helped students find a restaurant or the best place to get a haircut. "I was in touch with the students and knew what was going on in their lives," she says.

For the past 17 years, the only consistent thing about the Message Center has been McIntyre's presence. Over time, delivery trucks started dropping off packages to the Post Office, typewriters turned into computers, and students suddenly had cell phones and could find cooking tips and check the weather forecast online. "They still call me with questions," she says, "but today they certainly don't call up to ask what kind of shampoo they should use." Perhaps the biggest change was the introduction of the Parlance speech recognition system, a computerized system that routes incoming calls.

Today, McIntyre answers questions via email, and most of her phone calls are generated either by someone lost in the automated phone system or who requests an operator. "Someone called up once annoyed and said, 'That man on the phone just now, I asked him a question and he didn't know anything!' I said, 'Well, that's not a man, it's a computer,'" she says with a laugh.

There is also another new addition to the Message Center: the original sign. When an alum recently returned for his 20th reunion, he approached college historian Elizabeth Daniels, presenting her with the original tin sign, wrapped like a present. "The student gave it to her and said, 'I have a confession to make. I took this maybe 20 years ago, but I brought it back.' Without a hitch, Mrs. Daniels said, 'You took that? That was a terrible thing for you to do!'" Cleaned up, the sign now hangs above the Message Center.

Now, as the lone employee of the Message Center, McIntyre gives visitors a warm welcome, still answers the occasional phone call, and does clerical work for the Campus Activities Office before turning out the lights at five o'clock. "My job has changed, but I still really enjoy it, and I'm still helping people."