UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #368
MUELLER, OTTO E.

MUELLER, Otto E. (1912- )
Undergraduate Student; Staff, Residence Halls; Director of University Housing
At UW: 1935-1942; 1945-1953

Interviewed: 1984	
Series: Housing
Interviewer: Barry Teicher
Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes

Background; Arrival at UW; Studies in institutional management; Life at Mack House; House fellow program around 1940; W. Norris Wentworth and Arnie Damen; Residence Halls Faculty Committee; Donald Halverson and Lee Burns; Opening of Elizabeth Waters Hall; Director of Housing Bureau; Involvement of deans of men and women; Student Life and Interest Committee; Post-WWII housing shortage; Discrimination; Presidents Glenn Frank and Clarence Dykstra.

First Interview Session (1984): 
Tape 1/Side 1
Time	Keywords

00:00:00	Interviewee’s introduction. 

00:00:29	OM arrived in Madison in fall of 1935.  Graduated high school in Aberdeen, South Dakota.  Went to South Dakota State College, worked in Washington, D.C., then went into Army and spent one year at West Point.  Graduated from UW in 1939 with ROTC commission and BA degree.

00:01:38	OM entered Madison as a sophomore.  Majored in political science, wanted to get involved in city government.  Discusses professors he had classes with, like Salter, Gaus, Jones, Pfankuchen, Wingert, and Edenstein.  

00:04:25	Got job through NYA, which was connected to Union.  First job was supervising toboggan run.  OM also worked on equipment for Hoofers and was involved in student activities. 

00:05:53	OM model for Paul Bunyan murals.

00:06:33	OM promoted to student desk and earned 35¢/hr. as opposed to 25¢ he had been earning.  OM helped set up art galleries, ushered at theater, and helped on workshop projects.

00:07:47	Concert Committee was responsible for big concert held every year in Stock Pavilion.  National Progressive Party begun with LaFollette as presidential candidate.  

00:08:38	Students, mostly men, worked for these campaigns and were paid in food coupons, and later cash.  At same time dorms expanding.  Men who had worked together on campaigns wanted to live together, so petitioned for space for a cooperative.  Housing contract only, no food contracts. Cooperatives developed a house council.

00:10:49	Mack House originally called Unit C.  Later named for State Supreme Court Chief Justice. 

00:12:02	OM did graduate work.  Took course in preparation for position in student union or residence halls, but no formal degree in institutional management.  Took food service and administration classes like Tea Room Management, and Group Work Theory and Practice.  Never finished his degree, but classes helped in later University positions.

00:14:31	Don Halverson and Lee Burns supervised food management course.

00:14:47	Room-only fee at Mack House $27 a semester.  Men did all maintenance in House.  OM elected Chairman, like house fellow.  80 men in House.  Three floors and group leader on each floor, who was on house council, which developed the house operations.

00:16:08	OM asked to take over the fellow appointment at Turner House, and the Showerman House.  Later OM appointed graduate house fellow to supervise the house fellow program in 1940.

00:18:01	OM married, and he and wife supervised summer housing for married students.  40 couples lived in house.  Gilman was chosen because the residence hall library was located on the ground floor and provided additional activity space.  Performed the same duties as a house fellow.  Very involved in social activities.

00:20:01	W. Norris Wentworth was on-site manager of house fellow program at Tripp and Adams.  Arnie Damen hired in 1940 to supervise student activities and government.  OM appointed to help Wentworth with overall program.  Wentworth trained OM.

00:22:22	OM chosen house fellow because of experience with Mack House.  Normal procedure was to apply with a formal application to the faculty committee, who interviewed candidates.  Committee included Porter Butts, Dr. Harold C. Bradley, Dr. Otto Kowalke, Don Halverson, Walter Agard, and Dick Husband.  Fellows chosen went through indoctrination.

00:25:14	Most important for house fellows to know their residents and be part of program.  Each given a Blue Book, which outlined rules and procedures.  A personal history sheet had to be completed by end of first ten days of semester.

00:26:20	Freshman arrived day or two before upperclassmen.  Orientation would be conducted with them.  Harry Stuhldreher and Ray Dvorak would give students pep talks.

00:27:04	House fellows also responsible for getting to know residents, and getting them involved in extracurricular activities.  Daily contact.  Open door policy.  Consulted on grades.  Discipline not really a problem.  Some examples of pranks.

00:30:13	Quiet hours enforced.

00:30:54	Each house had annual banquet at Union.  Would invite speaker.  Also held picnic.

00:31:22	Activities. Student government in each house.  Was a president, secretary/treasurer, and social chairman.

00:32:50	Dining room in Tripp and Adams called refectory.  There was a dress code.  Men had to wear jackets and ties.  Tables assigned.  Served by student waiters, family style.  As population grew, went to cafeteria style. 

00:35:04	Don Halverson set tone for whole housing program.

00:36:35	House fellow program at UW only one of its kind.

00:37:22	Was a distribution of classes within houses.

00:38:32	Expanded residence halls led to milestones.  Kronshage units were built.  New cooperatives were begun, like Swenson, Jones, and Gilman.

00:38:50	Dinner guests invited by students included Sinclair Lewis, Martha Raye, Lawrence Welk, and Cab Calloway.

00:42:09	Liz Waters opened in 1940 and boosted social programs like dating and exchange dinners.

00:42:32	Fraternity house programs competed with residence halls for active students.

00:43:12	In March, 1942, Arnie Daman and OM ordered into active duty.

00:44:02	Halverson and Burns kept in touch with house fellows.  When OM returned, he met with Halverson, and was offered new position of Director of Housing Bureau.

00:45:53	Had been on-going housing program within the offices of the dean of women and dean of men.  This responsibility transferred to Housing Bureau.

00:47:21	End of side

Tape 1/Side 2

00:47:34	Supervisors for housing in dean of men's and women's offices were transferred to Bureau.  

00:49:00	Staff also included two housing inspectors and three clerical personnel.  Bureau's main responsibility to increase housing space.  Standards established.  Created a liaison with city health inspector and code inspector.

00:50:08	Dean of women's office advised sororities, and men's office advised fraternities.

00:50:39	Off-campus housing before Bureau conducted by deans' offices.

00:51:40	Standards of housing agreed upon and established.  Regular inspections conducted of all university housing, but not private homes.

00:53:01	OM left Bureau in September 1952.

00:53:39	Story about returning veteran and his search for housing. Bureau director reported to vice president of business.  

00:55:05	Greek housing and residence halls all considered part of university housing and were subject to same standards.

00:56:06	During War some of fraternities closed and sold.  Later opened by private residents to women students.

00:57:17	As director of housing bureau, OM appointed to Student Life and Interest Committee, where he served on subcommittees for Society, Fraternities, and Policy; and Living and Hygiene. 

00:59:28	Dr. John Brown supported the bureau's inspection service.

00:59:41	As student, OM worked part-time for Dr. Jerry Rolling.  In 1950, Rolling returned to the UW as professor and became chairman of Student Life and Interest Committee.

01:00:47	During 1946-1953, UW acquired additional housing units through the University Building Corporation and the UW Foundation.  Many of these used for married student housing.

01:02:07	Alumni research area turned into married student and faculty housing.  Trailers set up at Camp Randall.  Truax Field and Badger Village also used.

01:03:21	Listing of housing availability had to be available to all students regardless of color or religion.  Fraternity houses bought during WWII catered mainly to out-of-state women.  Many attracted Jewish students from Philadelphia, New York, and Pittsburgh. 

01:04:48	Were no serious prejudices against black students during OM's time.

01:05:19	The Bureau provided listings of available units to faculty and staff.  Developed wide range of communication within and outside University.  

01:08:00	Summer enrollment largely out-of-state women.  Bureau compiled, published bulletin that listed approved accommodations.

01:09:16	Comments on Professor Page of Law School, who taught contracts.

01:10:42	Comments on Dr. Birge and ice shoes.

01:11:58	President Frank hearings.  National press on campus during 1936.

01:12:23	John Stuart Curry painted farm animals in Stock Pavilions.

01:12:43	Comments on midget named Meinhart Rabb.

01:13:40	Random thoughts about University personalities.

01:14:32	Ed Fleming throwing Daily Cardinal issues into Lake Mendota.

01:15:50	OM married in December, 1939, in Newman Club on State Street.  

01:17:34	OM responsible for teas held by President Dykstra once a month.

01:18:14	After WWII, OM returned to Madison, and until he found place to live, he and wife lived at President's home in University Heights.  President Fred living on campus.

01:19:29	OM served on University Centennial Committee.  Helen White on the Committee.  Called Lavender Lady because she always wore lavender.

01:22:00	Summer of 1940 Liz Waters a showcase.  Used for conference seminars.

01:23:11	Housing Bureau worked with media and established communications network locally and state wide.

01:24:27	Many private homes took in students after WWII.

01:24:50	Lists Housing Bureau's activities.

01:27:04	In 1940s, Delta Epsilon founded by Men's Resident Halls Government.  OM a charter member.  Ten to twenty-five members elected each year.

01:28:17	During WWII Halverson and Burns sent newsletters to house fellows, updating them on friends and associates.

01:29:25	Corrections: Meinhart Rabb in class of 1937.  Paul Bunyan prints given to OM by Jim Walters and not Porter Butts.

01:34:44	End of interview.

END