The Andersen Library Blog

Readers of the blog are likely familiar with the Old Main fire of 1970, however that is not the only time part of the building burned down. On a blustery Monday morning, April 27, 1891, just before the 8 o’clock bell, screams of “’Normal is afire’” could be heard throughout Whitewater. [1] Students, staff, faculty, and community members all lined the streets to watch as the north half of the building was consumed by flames. [2] The origin of the fire is unknown, since the smoke from the furnaces was “carried off in iron flues inside brick chimneys with air space between them. Mr. Beach, the curator, started the fires in three furnaces at half past six. About an hour later he set out to visit the rooms and see that the temperature was right. Reaching Normal Hall he found it filled with smoke.” [3]

While the building was on fire, bystanders were “[running] in and out, removing every portable object from rooms where it was safe to enter” due to their fondness for the building. [4] Students and staff were throwing items from the third-floor windows, “few attempted to tear up the seats in the Assembly room and broke every one they touched”, “some began to remove doors”, and “others were busy throwing books from the library windows.” [5] One faculty member was seen “frantically searching for his desk” and there was a woman “with one edge of a patch-work quilt drawn over her head and confined under her chin by one hand, while the remaining seven-eighths floated in the wind.” [6]

It took the fire department until 11 a.m. to extinguish the fire. By that time, hundreds of items littered the lawn of what would become the UW-Whitewater campus. Parts of the building were deemed safe enough to reenter and so students and staff set to work putting everything back inside. [7] University President Albert Salisbury called for classes to be canceled for the next two days while alternate spaces were found for the displaced classes. One such location was Mrs. Camp’s house on Prairie Street, which was fondly labeled “Normal School Annex.” [8]

Reconstruction of the building began June 16, 1891, during the summer holidays. The fire at Old Main was not forgotten thanks to the efforts of Professor Shutts. He “organized seven fire squads among men after the turn of the century, and in 1906 a regular fire drill was inaugurated.” [9]

[1] H. D. Keyes, “The Fire, April 27, 1891,” in Historical Sketches of the First Quarter Century of the State Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, with a Catalogue of its Graduates and a Records of Their Work, ed. Albert Salisbury (Madison: Tracy, Gibbs and Co., Printers, 1893), 92.
[2] H. D. Keyes, “The Fire, April 27, 1891,” in Historical Sketches of the First Quarter Century of the State Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, with a Catalogue of its Graduates and a Records of Their Work, ed. Albert Salisbury (Madison: Tracy, Gibbs and Co., Printers, 1893), 93.
[3] “The Normal School Building in Flames: Good Work by the Fire Department Saves the Main Structure,” The Whitewater Register, April 20th, 1891.
[4] H. D. Keyes, “The Fire, April 27, 1891,” in Historical Sketches of the First Quarter Century of the State Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, with a Catalogue of its Graduates and a Records of Their Work, ed. Albert Salisbury (Madison: Tracy, Gibbs and Co., Printers, 1893), 93.
[5] H. D. Keyes, “The Fire, April 27, 1891,” in Historical Sketches of the First Quarter Century of the State Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, with a Catalogue of its Graduates and a Records of Their Work, ed. Albert Salisbury (Madison: Tracy, Gibbs and Co., Printers, 1893), 93.
[6] H. D. Keyes, “The Fire, April 27, 1891,” in Historical Sketches of the First Quarter Century of the State Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, with a Catalogue of its Graduates and a Records of Their Work, ed. Albert Salisbury (Madison: Tracy, Gibbs and Co., Printers, 1893), 94.
[7] H. D. Keyes, “The Fire, April 27, 1891,” in Historical Sketches of the First Quarter Century of the State Normal School at Whitewater, Wisconsin, with a Catalogue of its Graduates and a Records of Their Work, ed. Albert Salisbury (Madison: Tracy, Gibbs and Co., Printers, 1893), 94.
[8] “The Normal School Building in Flames: Good Work by the Fire Department Saves the Main Structure,” The Whitewater Register, April 20th, 1891.
[9] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 116.

In 1898, eight women in Farmville, Virginia, founded the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority to establish a sisterhood based on friendship. [1] In February of 1903, Tri Sigma was granted its Charter of Incorporation by the Commonwealth of Virginia and in April of the same year the sorority adopted its first constitution. [2] Thirty-four years after the initial founding, the Whitewater Chapter, Alpha Xi, was founded on March 19, 1932. [3] The Chapter was combined with the already established Alpha Sigma Phi, a literary society founded in 1889. This combination recognized the newly named Sigma Sigma Sigma Chapter as a national educational sorority, just one of 30 other chapters in the Association of Education Sororities, and as part of the Women’s Professional Pan Hellenic Association. [4]

On Thursday, March 17, 1932, Tri Sigma held its first initiation night and pledged the existing members of Alpha Sigma Phi. On Friday, 29 new members pledged, who are considered the charter members of Sigma Sigma Sigma at UW-Whitewater. On Saturday, the rest of the members were pledged, bringing the total to 37. In celebration, the new members hosted a dinner at Green Shutters which was attended by alumnae members. [5]

From its founding, Tri Sigma has always considered the professional and social aspects of its sisters. They pride themselves on providing annual scholarships, leadership development opportunities, and the initiative to benefit children’s health through the Tri Sigma Foundation. Today the Alpha Xi Sigma’s are still bonded by the stronghold of sisterhood and work hard to create a space where their members can thrive, both socially and professionally. Help us in wishing a happy 90th founders’ day to Tri Sigma!

[1] “Tri Sigma,” Tri Sigma History, accessed October 11, 2022, http://uww.trisigma.org/tri-sigma-history.
[2] “Tri Sigma,” Tri Sigma History, accessed October 11, 2022, http://uww.trisigma.org/tri-sigma-history.
[3] “Tri Sigma,” Chapter History, accessed October 11, 2022, http://uww.trisigma.org/chapter-history.
[4] “Sigma Sigma Sigma,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), March 21, 1932.
[5] University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, “Alpha Sigma Phi Affiliates with National Sorority,” The Royal Purple, (Whitewater), March 21, 1932.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s the Whitewater campus was buzzing with student protests, but not for the reason you might think. On Thursday, February 26, 1970, Dr. Robert Burrows was removed as the chairman of the English Department by University President Dr. William Carter. Dr. Carter removed Dr. Burrows because he felt that Dr. Burrows and his “executive committee…[were] working to create a completely autonomous Department of English.” [1] However, the reasoning behind the removal was not made explicit to the staff or students until after Dr. Burrows was removed. This caused mass protesting from students and staff alike. As protesting continued, four more English Department professors were removed from their positions. They would later become known as The Whitewater Four. [2]

Doctors William Lafferty, Vlad Thomas, George Adams, and Richard Adamany were removed from their teaching positions Monday, March 2, 1970. These professors were removed because they were involved in political events happening around the campus, openly defying Dr. Carter’s orders not to. Dr. Thomas admitted in his trial that he “was one of the faculty members that signed an anti-war ad,” [3] but then later drafted an AAUP (American Association of University Professors) resolution targeting the right for everybody on a college campus to have freedom of speech.

The Whitewater Four professors all wrote articles expressing their feelings towards Dr. Carter and his handling of Dr. Burrow’s removal, again defying Dr. Carter. They believed that because they were in tenured positions nothing would affect their job security, and they certainly didn’t think they would end up facing charges. However, Dr. Carter pressed charges against the professors, citing that he “had received complaints, which called into question their professional and, their behavior during that period, February 26th through March 2nd, and that [he] considered them substantial enough that [he] was going to proceed with the case against them.” [4] At that point the professors knew where they stood [5] and that their case would be going to trial. While the trial did not conclude in an efficient manner (meaning nothing was decided and there was no “winner”) the Professors were reinstated to the University on March 9, 1970, and Dr. Carter remained the University President and UW-Whitewater’s first Chancellor until 1974.

[1] “Carter, Burrows Responds to List of Questions,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), March 5, 1970.
[2] “Carter Suspends English Teachers,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), March 5, 1970.
[3] Vlad Thomas, Richard Adamany, William Lafferty, and George Adams v. Wisconsin State University (Transcript of Proceedings January 25, 1971) at 69.
[4] Vlad Thomas, Richard Adamany, William Lafferty, and George Adams v. Wisconsin State University (Transcript of Proceedings January 25, 1971) at 182.
[5] Vlad Thomas, Richard Adamany, William Lafferty, and George Adams v. Wisconsin State University (Transcript of Proceedings January 25, 1971) at 90-90.

The mid to late 1960s was a big time period in terms of the dinning options at UW-Whitewater. Many students were accustomed to eating at the Union Cafeteria, but that all changed January of 1964. Using funds provided by the Housing and Home Financing Agency, UW-Whitewater was able to begin construction on a new dining hall. [1] Named after the “Kettle Moraine in the Whitewater area.” Moraine Dining Hall would be constructed “at the end of Graham Street next to Goodhue Hall” and would “serve 500 students every half hour.” [2]

The Moraine Dining Center opened January 26, 1964. The Royal Purple reported that the plan was to have McCutchan Hall and White Hall residents, and all non-dorm students eat at the Union; while Sayles Hall, Goodhue Hall, Baker Hall, Salisbury Hall, and Fischer Hall residents would eat at Moraine during its first semester of operation. The next school year all of the residents living in a dorm under construction and all students living off campus would eat at the Union; while students living everywhere else on campus would eat at Moraine. [3]

Two other dining halls were built soon after Moraine: Drumlin Dining Hall in September 1965 and Esker in February 1969. Because of declining enrollment on campus, Moraine closed in January of 1971 and “was never able to be effectively reopened.” [4] However, the University Center Director, Dan O’Sullivan, and other school officials were already talking of moving the University Book Store into Moraine Dining Hall during the 1971 winter break. The idea was that $100,000 of inventory would “be better displayed and closer to parking at Moraine.” [5] While this move did not happen at the time, Robert Meracle, the manager of the bookstore, cited similar reasons why the University should choose Moraine as the new location in 1972. Meracle said that incoming shipments would have to be transferred “only once instead of the present three times since Moraine has its own loading dock. The site also offers better parking facilities, more windows for displays, and a location closer to the dorms.” Another selling point from Meracle was that with increased space the bookstore could include new products like “coke and cigarette machines.” [6] Despite all of its attributes the bookstore did not move into Moraine until 1975, where it is still housed today. [7]

[1] University of Wisconsin Whitewater, “Moraine Dining Hall Progressing; to be completed by January 1964,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), October 8, 1963.
[2] University of Wisconsin Whitewater, “Moraine Dining Hall Progressing; to be completed by January 1964,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), October 8, 1963.
[3] University of Wisconsin Whitewater, “Moraine Dining Center to Open,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), January 14, 1964.
[4] University of Wisconsin Whitewater, “Going back to the little red schoolhouse,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), February 14, 1973.
[5] University of Wisconsin Whitewater, “New legislation passed,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), December 14, 1971.
[6] University of Wisconsin Whitewater, “Union bookstore relocates for more efficient service,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), February 22, 1972.
[7] University of Wisconsin Whitewater, “Letters to The Editor,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), March 26, 1975.

Many universities and colleges offer some sort of education during the winter break period. This is often known as a January term, named after the month it takes place. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater offered its first set of winter classes, called “Winterim” in January 1996. Winterim began as “an accelerated session of courses, Jan. 2-17,” initially offering 16 classes where students could choose one and each class would meet Monday-Friday, 8:30-11:30 a.m. [1] Provost and Vice Chancellor Kay Schallenkamp said that the program “was requested by students who wanted a greater flexibility in scheduling their courses.” She also believed that the development of such a program demonstrated “the strong cooperation between administration, faculty and students.” [2] By its third year of existence, Whitewater increased the available classes to 31; most of them were still general education classes. [3] However, it was reported in The Whitewater Register that in 1997 over 400 undergraduate students, including part-time and non-traditional, enrolled in a Winterim class.

Almost thirty years later, UW-Whitewater is still offering a Winterim session. It is a “three-week session [that] offers intensive courses allowing students to advance, keep up or catch up.” [4] The classes offered now are typically general education classes and, since 2022, the class all meet virtually.

[1] “UW-W Announces New Winterim Session,” Whitewater Register, November 28, 1996.
[2] “UW-W Announces New Winterim Session,” Whitewater Register, November 28, 1996.
[3] “Registration open for Winterim Session,” Whitewater Register, December 3, 1998.
[4] Carina Lopez, “Dashing through winterim,” Royal Purple, December 12, 2021.