UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #561
KAYSER, HELEN

KAYSER, Helen (1892-1985)
Undergraduate student; Assistant to the Dean of Women
At UW: 1910-1913; 1933-1960
					
Interviewed: 1982	 
Interviewer: Ruth Doyle
Length: One hour, twenty seven minutes

Childhood and education; Paul Kayser; Sophomore advising at UW; Dean of Women’s office; Stella Kayser; Women at UW.

Interview Session (December 10, 1982): Tapes 1-2

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:14	Helen Kayser was born and grew up in Madison. She discusses her family and her childhood. She attended and graduated from the former Madison High School and attended UW.

00:01:54	HK talks about her parents and her siblings. All of her siblings attended UW, she says.  

00:07:33	HK describes her high school education, and mentions a fourth grade teacher who made a difference in her life.   

00:10:38	HK discusses her social life as child. She spent a lot of time at a nearby lake swimming, she says.  

00:13:53	HK says she pledged the sorority Pi Phi at UW, but she did not have anything to do with sororities after college.  

00:15:27	HK describes her parents and their involvement in her life.  

00:17:36	The UW had 6,000 students when she attended, HK says. She discusses living in the Pi Phi house throughout her college career and returning home in the summers to help with household chores.  

00:23:35	HK talks about her brothers and sisters and their accomplishments and shortcomings. She points out that one of her brothers, Paul, was a successful owner of a Ford dealership and one of her sisters, Stella, was a remarkable teacher.  

00:29:05	End of side. End of tape.
	
Tape 1/Side 2

This side is blank.

Tape 2/Side 1

00:29:12	HK tells of dating in college years and the places men would take their dates on 	campus.  She again tells of sororities and the worst aspects of joining them.  

00:35:19	Two of her older sisters decided to get married and ended their Madison schooling early, HK says. Her sister Stella was extremely popular, but this did not make HK jealous. She talks about her love for Stella and her musical ability along with the other siblings' musical talents.

00:43:03	HK discusses the various music students whom Stella taught. Larry Elliot, one of her brightest students, is one HK remembers because of his natural musical talent.  

00:46:35	HK describes her role as a sophomore advisor at UW. She says she worked with sophomores to help them decide on a major.  

00:48:29	She talks about Emily Chervenik and her career in Santa Barbara, CA where she teaches on a volunteer basis.  

00:51:01	HK discusses the decline of employment opportunities in the engineering field and the decline of students who want to teach.  

00:52:12	Students who had received bad grades were called into her office for conferences, HK says. She also met with students who had missed classes the day before Thanksgiving.  

00:58:25	End of side.

Tape 2/Side 2

00:59:20	HK talks about her father and her childhood with him. She talks about his dedication to his family while working as a lumberman in the north.  

01:05:21	HK and Ruth Doyle discuss Mrs. Coleman, a former classmate of HK’s.  

01:06:32	HK discusses her brother and her father.  

01:07:57	When HK graduated from college, she went into social work in Alabama, she says.  She describes her surprise at the prejudice against blacks. She says she returned to Madison after realizing the South was not the place she wanted to live.

01:10:42	HK tells of her next job as a gift shop owner, a job which ended quickly.

01:11:17	HK and Ruth Doyle discuss Melvin Douglas and his musical ability. They also talk about Douglas’s father, who was an outstanding pianist.  

01:14:28	HK describes her first university job in the Dean of Women’s office.  

01:17:01	HK talks about high school and university class reunions. She tells of her experiences at her reunions and the people she saw.  

01:18:32	HK discusses the critical views of students by adults in the city of Madison. She says she has high respect for the students of the present.

01:19:40	She says her major was political science. She talks about doing work at the University of London where she studied political science and philosophy. She describes the differences between American schools and the London school she attended.

01:23:45	HK discusses Louise Troxell. She also discusses the limitations of women when she attended college and the many opportunities that now exist. 

01:27:38	End of side. End of tape.  

END