Friday, October 17, 2008 10:48 PM CDT
'Pemites' celebrate relationships forged in EIU's Pemberton Hall
By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com
CHARLESTON — June Giffin, Eastern Illinois University Class of 1948, recalled how the male population of the Charleston campus had dwindled in her era because of World War II.
This scarcity of Y chromosomes could have been problematic — especially for the success of gala dances at the historic, all-women Pemberton Hall.
“There weren’t enough men around here, so they brought men down from Rantoul,” Giffin told a roomful of current and former EIU students, community members and officials, eliciting shouts of laughter.
A lot certainly has changed during the last century at Illinois’ oldest, state-funded residence hall. But one thing has remained the same: Past and present “Pemites” on Friday all said the friendships and memories cultivated during their years at Pemberton Hall are as enduring as the building itself.
The hall was constructed in 1908 and named in honor of state Sen. David Pemberton of Oakland, who along with President Livingston Lord convinced the Illinois legislature and governor to pay for the first-ever residence hall at a state college.
When Giffin enrolled at Eastern in 1944, there were about 365 students, of whom the vast majority were female. And about 100 of them lived in Pemberton.
During Friday’s ceremony celebrating the hall’s legacy, Giffin recalled how each room had its own large mirror and sink, prompting whimpers and whines of protest from current residents who go without such amenities.
Many of the present residents dressed in period attire from the last 10 decades to commemorate the anniversary Friday.
Giffin remembered making popcorn in her floor’s candy kitchen; signing in and signing out to go on dates; and Christmas caroling late at night on the “haunted” fourth floor.
Since she graduated, Giffin has lived about a block from Pemberton, and she worked for many years at EIU’s Old Main adjacent to the dormitory. “I will always remember it fondly, and I hope you will too,” Giffin said.
Jill Nilsen, current EIU vice president for external relations, was a student and Pemberton Hall resident from 1970 to 1973, during the tumultuous final years of the Vietnam War. She said these were “three years that changed my life, shaped my life, altered my life.
“I was not a member of a sorority — I was a member of a community of women.”
Nilsen talked about rushing downstairs to get the mail; decorating the hall for Halloween and Christmas; dining on “exam snacks” while studying for quarter finals; and scaring freshmen with tales of a girl supposedly murdered on the fourth floor.
“And, yes, there were still panty raids in the early ‘70s,” Nilsen said with a grin.
Men were officially allowed inside only once per semester, “but doors were open, feet on the ground,” said Nilsen.
Her fondest memories, however, are of her friends at Pemberton Hall, including one who was openly gay, and one who became pregnant, she said.
Four of her friends in particular remain in close contact, reuniting at least once per year.
At Pemberton Hall, Nilsen said, “We found ourselves.”
Current student Emily Steele, an officer of the Pemberton Hall Government, said she offhandedly referred to the residence hall recently as “home.” But like one’s home, she said, Pemberton is a place where residents “learn and grow ... We’re not just a residence hall; we’re a family.”
As a freshman, Steele said she disliked EIU, and was reluctant to get involved. All of that changed when she started participating in Pemberton Hall Government activities.
Even something as simple as studying in the lounge is meaningful to Steele, because she realizes other women have done the this for many years in that very lounge. “I feel like I’m a part of history,” she said.
“Here, time means nothing. Each and every woman who has lived here (made) this hall what it is.”
Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.
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Matt Toon wrote on Oct 18, 2008 1:06 PM: