Wednesday, October 29, 2008

New Dorm: First coed dorm on campus

Linfield's first coed dorm, New Dorm, fall 1970.

What is now Frerichs Hall II (a dorm) used to be called New Dorm.

It got that name since the dorm was new (it opened in 1968) and didn't have a name. It's Frerichs Hall II here at Wildcatville because there was another (the original) Frerichs Hall (a campus building) until it burned down in December 1969.

The original Frerichs was probably one of the buildings on campus which were or remodeled from a building purchased from the federal government. The building originally stood at Camp Adair, a military installation near Corvallis. Buying old military buildings and turning them into campus buildings was an inexpensive way for Linfield to deal with the influx of G.I. students and their families after Word War II.

What was the last or one of the last G.I. buildings on campus was Laurel Hall (it was near a laurel hedge), which paralleled Lever
Street. Some of Laurel -- nicknamed "The Waldorf" by some of its last residents -- was probably on an edge of the footprint of Durham Hall, home of Ted Wilson Gym and Hal Smith weight room. So, if you are facing the back of Memorial Stadium (looking at the front of Memorial Hall), Laurel/The Waldorf was on the left. What?! Memorial is now an all-women's dorm! It used to be all men. Laurel/The Waldorf was torn down...maybe in the summer of 1968 or so.

Anyway, in the spring of 1970, the college announced that "New Dorm," which had all men residents would become coed. All/many/some New Dorm protested. But, the protest went unheeded.

Historical note: When the coed New Dorm opened in fall 1970, it was the first coed dorm on campus.

Unknown at this writing os who took this “commemorative” photo seen above. It's a quality black and white photo, well lit. Maybe it was Reid Blackburn? Anyway, each coed New Dorm resident got a copy of the photo. Wonder how many of the first coed New Dorm alumni still have their photo

What you see here is a a photo of a hand-made button (the paper on the button covers up Blitz beer advertising "Blitz Me" slogan) and a page from the 1970 Oak Leaves which reproduces an ad which ran in the April 30, 1972, issue of Linews, the college's student newspaper.