The Andersen Library Blog

Over its 154 years of operation, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater has undergone three name changes. The first of those name changes came in 1924 as Whitewater had undergone a curriculum development that resulted in Whitewater Normal School becoming Whitewater State Teacher’s College. On April 21, 1868, Whitewater Normal School opened and began educating future teachers in writing, reading, math, and the art of teaching. [1] A training school, a school for local children ranging in age from elementary to what we would consider high school students today, was located on campus. The training school allowed for the teachers in training to be observed under experienced critics and learn by doing. [2] This idea of supervised practice teaching was solidified under President Salisbury within the first twenty-five years of the school’s history and has been a key factor in the education department ever since. [3]

As the decades progressed, Whitewater kept up its high academic standards by competing with the offerings of newer universities. By 1913, the Whitewater Normal School had established a new department in commercial education, offering students “maximum training in commercial subjects and a minimum of theoretical work.” [4] The commercial education program provided teachers with specialized training in areas of business, law, and typewriting in order to better educate students entering business professions. Eight years later, in 1923, Whitewater had expanded its commercial courses to a three-year program in order to better prepare their teachers. In 1925, the curriculum expanded to a four-year course, and so the Whitewater Normal School now had the ability to grant the degree of Bachelor of Education, becoming the first normal school in Wisconsin to do so. This prompted the name change to Whitewater State Teacher’s College in 1927. [5]

[1] Brian Dahlstom, “Normal School Opened in 1868,” The Royal Purple (Whitewater), December 6, 1989.
[2] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 41.
[3] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 93.
[4] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 134.
[5] M. Janette Bohi, A History of Wisconsin State University Whitewater 1868-1968 (Whitewater: Whitewater State University Foundation, Inc., 1967), 130.

In 1969, UW-Whitewater organized its first May Week. It would take place May 4th – May 11th as a way “to get the campus out to have fun together with the town and parents.” [1] It was a huge success! There were dances, stag and drag races, films to be watched, a Whitewater Forum presentation, a carnival, sports games, concerts, and Phi Sigma Epsilon even held a pancake brunch. [2] By 1976, the celebrations were still going strong, but now it was being used as a way “to strip Whitewater of its reputation as a suitcase college” by giving students a reason to stay. [3]

UW-Whitewater hosted its final May Week celebration April 28th-May 4th, 1980. Many of the events from the first May Week took place. Students enjoyed the warm weather and relaxed while listening to bands preform at the Spring Outdoor Happening Concert. However, some students interrupted comedian Tom Parks’ act and booed him off the stage. Other students also unplugged Tom Clyde’s amplifier during his performance. [4] By the 1980s, May Week turned from a campus and community event to a campus celebration. The traditions that took place at the first celebration continued, but also included many events were put on as fundraising opportunities for buildings and organizations around campus. A few events were even hosted by the Miller Brewing Company. This all changed in 1985 when Assistant Chancellor of Student Affairs, William Riley. and Director of the University Center, Steven Summers, decided that there would be no sponsorship of alcohol anywhere on the campus. [5]

May Week was successful in giving the students of UW-Whitewater the opportunity to relax and enjoy the spring weather as a campus and community, and more students were staying on campus to enjoy the festivities.

[1] “WSU-W Students Prepare for First May Week,” The Whitewater Register, May 1, 1969.
[2] “WSU-W Students Prepare for First May Week,” The Whitewater Register, May 1, 1969.
[3] “Dorms Show Super Spirit,” The Royal Purple, February 11, 1976.
[4] “Inconsiderate students mar May Week events,” The Royal Purple, May 7, 1980.
[5] “Sponsors,” The Royal Purple, September 18, 1985.

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.