Dorm Life (Women)
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A collection of enjoyments
I remember the smell of burning leaves in the Fall before the burning bans; that "Tenderly" was the last song played at the dances; racing over to get the "best" baby-sitting jobs right after convocation; working for Dean Doty, and how sweet she was. Because the dorms were full by the time I registered my freshman year, I had to live "off-campus" and I remember walking back after dark in the middle of the street because it was "safer" there. The next two years I lived in Bigelow and I remember the "Fish Bowl" and that the girls had strict times to be in, but the boys didn't. (My two daughters simply cannot believe this!) All in all, these were good years that went too fast and I wish I had enjoyed them even more.
Doris Hengeveld Anderson
Eating with our housemother
During dinner at Bigelow Hall, we took turns sitting at the table with our housemother, Doris Carlson. Alas if my turn came the night we had Liver and Onions!
Dianne Davis Phillips
Leaving my mark on Macalester
Years after graduation, I had the opportunity to needlepoint a seat cover for the Alumni House dining room chairs. Look for mine on the armchair!
Dianne Davis Phillips
The Wally Hall magicians
Then there was the "magic" of the Wally girls as they would gather in someone’s room, seat someone on a chair, two of us would place our forefingers under the seat of the chair, front and back, and on the count of three, lift the person chair and all, high in the air by just our fingers. Amazing!
Janet Taylor Dybdal
Bigelow’s pleasant aroma
I can still smell the aroma of popcorn wafting through the halls of Bigelow.
M. Joanne Lund Jensen
Roommates Jill, Karen and Lois
Jill Trescott was my roommate for four years. Senior year we teamed up with Karen Helberg and Lois Pugh in our Summit House quad. Dorm living taught me a great deal about sharing, organizing, being a friend.
Joanne Rawn Kaufman
Sharing the dorm phone
I remember when there was only one telephone on the floor in Wally Hall. Those were in the days before cell phones! The phone would ring in a big closet down the hall and there would be a scramble to answer it. My first date with my husband was received via this phone and within minutes the whole dorm knew about it!
Kaye Lehmkuhl Roth
Stranded by the weather
Since I lived at home and commuted to Mac, I was stranded at Mac due to bad weather a few times. Some dear friends invited me to stay on campus with them in their dorm. Wow, did I appreciate that! (Those days there were no freeways to get to Mac from my home, so it took nearly 2 hours to get home in inclement weather.) Thanks again, dear friends!
Janyce E. Tepley Olson
The Wallace Hall Attic Girls
I remember the wonderful friends I made in Wallace Hall and Summit House. Nancy Wilson and I were part of the Wallace Hall Attic girls.
Elizabeth Bruce Peterson
Bending the rules for smelt
They used to put on the greatest talent shows at homecoming time and for Snow Week. And, then there was the time that we went smelt fishing during the night. We all signed out to someone's house (good old "in loco parentis") and when we returned in the morning, a gift of smelt was presented to a delighted President's wife. That evening we had a wonderful smelt fry. No repercussions from bending the rules either. However, I did fall asleep in my 8 a.m. religion class.
Lois E. Risser Sampson
Marlys’s Mom’s caramels
When Marlys Jensen ’58 (deceased) was my roommate, her mother, Mrs. Jensen, would make these delicious chewy homemade caramels. Those caramels were cut into bite-sized pieces and were even wrapped individually in waxed paper. What a mouth watering treat. I can still remember the taste!
Marjory Schmitz Konechne
Singing the “Gloom and Sorrow”
I remember rushing through the Fish Bowl at Wally Hall so we didn’t interrupt the activity. One of my memories from the dining hall was people singing “Happy Birthday” to their friends followed by the morbid “Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday! Gloom and Sorrow.” I still sing that to my friends.
Betty Bradfield Rittersdorf
One thing Hartle taught me
I remember when Mary Hartle made sure I learned how to inhale when smoking! Thanks a lot, Mary!
Pat Holland Stotts
Catching the Bigelow window peeper
I remember when the basement Bigelow girls set a trap for the "window peeper" and we caught him. How scary was that?
Pat Holland Stotts
That “fishbowl” dump-off trick
I remember Larry and his roommates making sure they "dumped" their dates in the "fishbowl" before the Green Mill closed.
Pat Holland Stotts
The weekend Tom slept in his car
Although I have many wonderful memories of Mac and the people there, the most humorous one occurred when my boyfriend, Tom, (now my husband) couldn't find an inexpensive place to sleep while he visited me for the weekend. Finally, he decided to sleep in his car in a nearby church parking lot. Because it was cold, I was carrying a blanket and pillow to him as I left the dorm for a movie date. Unfortunately, I ran right into the Wally dorm mother, Mrs. Tift. "Just where do you think you're going?" she bellowed. It took me 20 minutes to convince her that they were for him, not us!
Shirley Kezar Holgate
The best benefit
Living on the 2nd floor of Bigelow Hall was wonderful. The friendships were binding and were the best benefit of college life.
Delilah (Dee) Crawford Taylor
Living in the Wally attic
Five of us lived in the one room in the attic of Wally Hall. We had to walk through suitcases and bats to get to our room but we had our own bathroom.
Nancy Tripp Wilson
Decorating Wally Hall
I remember decorating the halls of Wallace Hall in preparation for open houses. It certainly took a lot of teamwork.
Mary B. Lusk Wangerin
Signing in and out
I remember signing in and out of the dorm and having "hours". I now have a friend who lives in an assisted living facility. We have to sign in and out and have a curfew!
Mary B. Lusk Wangerin
My roommate’s perspective on my major
I remember my roommate, Marlys Jensen (deceased), telling me how she hated Physical Education. I was a P.E. major! But I used her thoughts in my teaching and feel it made me a better teacher.
Mary B. Lusk Wangerin
Games, restaurants and frozen hair
Remember the games, the eating at the local restaurants on the weekends, walking across campus with frozen hair after Water Safety class, missing a class and getting scolded by my classmates? Oh how many, many memories come to mind when I get going.
Mary B. Lusk Wangerin
Dining in Wally Hall
Living in Wally (remember Mrs. Tift?) was such fun. Although I remember sitting in the dining room for what seemed like forever—because each plate was served by the “head of our table”—and no one could leave the table until everyone was finished eating.
Beth Dixon Otto
The girl who got grounded
We were scandalized when an older dorm girl was grounded for her unladylike behavior in the mush room.
Karen Helberg Dahood
Saturday night pogos
On Saturday nights in the dorm, we'd order delicious Pogos (subs) from a restaurant on University Ave. Those creations had to be the original grinders. Our jaws would ache from chewing, but those Pogos were so good!
Marcia Mittelsted Maguire
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