It all began in Moore Hall during the fall of 1963. The "Sisters of Moore Hall," as they call themselves, moved into the then all-female dormitory and fifty years later are celebrating decades of friendship. In late August, as campus was preparing to welcome new and old students back for a fresh academic year, the Sisters of Moore Hall gathered at Western Michigan University to visit their old dorm, see what has (and hasn't) changed on campus, and to recall memories from their co-ed years.
The group, which plans a get together once a year, decided to mark 50 years of friendship with a visit at the place where it all began. Eighteen members of the 30-person group made the trip on a sunny August morning. The Sisters of Moore Hall donned matching yellow t-shirts and gathered at the Siebert Administration building for a campus tour. The tour quickly headed to Moore Hall, now an office and classroom building, where the ladies identified their old rooms and noted the changes. They were surprised that the outside of the building was still recognizable to them, and that some of the bathtubs and showers still existed in the bathrooms despite the building’s new purpose. Some of the group remembered their dorm rooms being much larger, others remembered the spaces as much more cramped.
Next up was Kanley Chapel, where they noted the fine sermons, and how several members of the group were married there. The group also noted the beautiful stained glass windows, something they took for granted as students. The friends then moved on to lunch at the “Union,” now known as the Bernhard Center, which was almost completely unrecognizable to them, and where they expressed disappointment after not being able to find a mural once painted there.
At the bookstore, they found the most expensive book from their studies History of Art, by Hanson, which cost $10.50. Today, the book goes for the low price of $188. In general, they found the “missing” road to be disorienting—where Michigan Avenue once ran through the center of campus, that space is now filled in with sidewalks and green spaces.
They remembered campus activities, like movies in the auditorium of Wood Hall, and concerts by Chuck Berry (who was 45 minutes late); and Peter, Paul, and Mary. They remembered evenings out at Brunos for pizza or the Colony Club and Knollwood Tavern to cut loose. They told stories of the old Hitching Post—the only way to get anywhere if you didn't have a car—unless of course you were taking the bus from East Campus to West Campus, driven by Eddie, for which Eddie's Lane is named. They saw the real Marie von Trapp—for whom The Sound of Music was based on—when she came to speak on campus.
They recounted the snowstorm of '67 that closed campus for three days and left cars buried for months, and a tornado in ’65. Rules of attire for young ladies stated that dresses must be worn to dinner, and unless it was freezing at 7 a.m., skirts had to be worn during the day. (The exception was art classes, but slacks had to be changed into directly before class, and removed before leaving the building.)
The Sisters of Moore Hall also commented on the current student body. They were impressed by the diversity of campus and the friendliness of everyone they ran into, including a group of students who couldn’t believe they only paid $125/ semester for tuition.
In general, the alumnae enjoyed the warm, respectful reception they received when people saw their yellow shirts, and they were delighted to share their stories.
“These are the people we learned about the world with—its fun to laugh about being old while remembering being young,” one of the friends commented. While much has changed since the Sisters of Moore Hall graduated in the mid to late 60s, one thing has certainly remained the same—the quality of friendships formed on campus that withstand the tests of time.
Do you have a group of friends from your days on campus you’ve managed to stay in touch with or plan to stay in touch with? We want to hear about it. Send us your story at MyWMU.com/yourstory.
The image features several of the friends stopped to pose near the Moore Hall sign.
The Sisters of Moore Hall:
Kathe (Sherman) Brener (BA '66, Elementary Education)
Nancy Cook (BA '67, Spanish)
Thayma Darby (BA '67, Mathematics)
Marianne (Batten) Davis (BS '68, History)
Pam (Pavlik) Dundas (BA '68)
Julie (Farrand/Potts) Ellis (BS '67, Art; MA '74, Teaching Home Economics)
Ruth (Chielens) Engstrom
Martha (Hyde) Frahm (BS '67, Home Economics Business)
Pat (Konefke) Heutel
Marilyn (Scholz) Holladay (BA '66, Mathematics)
Cheryl (Abbott) Huff (BA '66, Elementary Music; MA '69)
Diana (Blosser) Kelly (BS '67, Art Education)
Cheryl (Bodie) Kidle (BA '66, Social Science)
Miriam (Morton) Kidney (BS '68, History)
Sherry (Kleinsteiber) Lipiec (BS '67, Art)
Maggie (Kraeft) Mendus (BA '67, English; MA '68)
Susie (Matthews) Miller (BS '68, Home Economics-Education)
Mary (Hinkley) Moore (BS '67, Art)
Judy (St. John) Parker (BS '67, Art)
Patti (Dudzinski) Pozniak
Ginny Schalm (BS '67, Art; MA '68)
Betty (Teach) Sieg
Evelyn (Williams) Skarp (BA '67; MA '71, Elementary Teaching)
Chris (Cameron) Strobl (BA '66, Elementary Education)
Tandy (Strawser) Stutsman (BA '68, Psychology; MA '80, Elementary Teaching)
Karen (Jonske) Szymanski (BA '67, Biology)
Sharlene Tenaglia
Bobbie Thompson
Norma (Shellenberger) Turner (BA '66, English)
Marcella (Carlson) Zajac (BA '67, History)