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Daily Nebraskan
Wednesday, October 13, 1832
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50-year-old residence hall continues
housing UNL students - despite 'ghosts'
Photo courtesy of University Archives
Raymond Hall residents congregate on the east
steps during the early 1950s. This view of Raymond
from 17th Street is now blocked by the Cather
Pound residence halls.
By Kema Soderberg
Ghosts of the past, present and future haunt the
corridors of Raymond Hall, the oldest portion of the
Neihardt Residential Center, which is celebrating its
50th anniversary this month.
These ghosts are not spooks, however. They take
the form of memories.
Jay Curtiss, a graduate student, is in the process of
writing a paper on the history of Raymond Hall and
the buildings adjoining it. Most of the historical facts
included in this article are based on his research.
Raymond Hall was opened Oct. 8, 1932, although it
was named for Carrie Belle Raymond on April 13 of that
year.
Raymond was employed by the University of Ne
braska for 33 years, beginning in 1894. She served as
choir director, organist, music director and vocal en
semble director. The chorus grew to 300 voices during
her tenure.
Raymond actively participated in the development of
music in the community as well as in the university.
She organized the community chorus and helped bring
the Minneapolis, New York and Chicago symphonies to
Lincoln.
Raymond Hall is the central portion of the residential
complex. Heppner Hall and Love Hall were built in 1939.
while Piper Hall was added in 1956. The structure was
then known as the Women's Residence Hall.
Men move in
In 1970, men moved into the complex for the first
time, and on Oct. 29, 1973, the name of the complex
was changed to the John G. Neihardt Residential Cen
ter. With the opening of the hall in 1932, women who
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had oreviously lived in sororities, boarding houses or
with families had a fourth choice in housing.
Curtiss cited two of the arguments for building the
hall in his paper.
"Without a system of residence halls there is a lack
of control of the mass of the student body. In a way,
residence halls are more important than classrooms."'
"This residence hall provides living and social condi
tions for all women students on a par with those facili
ties formerly restricted to members of Greek letter
organizations."
Questions raised
With the building of Raymond Hall, questions on
the social standing of dormitory girls arose. A May 22,
1932, editorial to the Daily Nebraskan said:
"There is one great question in the social aspect of
this dormitory. Perhaps to many it is trivial, but to the
girls who will live in the hall, the questions will have
great significance. Will the fraternity men upon the
campus date the girls in the dormitory? The easiest
way of answering this question is by evading it and
declaring that it makes no difference anyway. But sane
observation will show that it does. Fraternity men have
always had an exaggerated sense of their own impor
tance and with characteristic snobbery may refuse to
date the girls in the dormitory because the dormitory
has no rating. One thing is certain, the girls in the dormi
tory will be the same kind as those in the sororities
and fraternity men would do well to forget their high
hats and be fair."
Mrs. Adolph Wenke, a former resident and residence
director at Raymond Hall, says the problem raised in
the editorial was nonexistent. She said she thinks the
reason why fraternity men dated sorority girls before
the opening of the dormitory was that a "high percen
tage of students lived in the sororities and fraternities
and those were the ones that you met."
Wenke lived in Raymond Hall as a student during
the second or third year it was open.
"1 never had any idea I'd go back as a residence di
rector," she said.
Waiters brought food
One daily activity she remembers is formal dinner
service. White-jacketed waiters brought food to the
tables where it was served family-style.
Other activities she remembers include hour dances
in the fall ("when people were all new"), open houses,
speakers, programs and floor or hall parties.
When Wenke lived in the residence hall the women
had to keep hours. At one time they had to be in at
9:30 p.m., but when more students began to have night
courses it was changed to 10:30, she said.
"Students today say it's terrible to be locked up."
Wenke said, "but I think it gave them an opportunity to
get to know each other. The pressures were off and when
you closed the hall doors you could run around in your
pajamas."
However, she said she doesn't believe today's lack of
hours is necessarily bad. "It's all relative to the time,"
she said.
Ghosts living in hall?
Some students believe that something is still "locked
up" in Raymond Hall. According to Curtiss' report, a
ghost is rumored to reside in a room on the third floor
of Raymond Hall.
As the story goes, one resident died in her room
from the flu or pneumonia. Before she died she had a
high fever and was delirious and kept asking that the
curtains be opened and closed. Years later, another stu
dent noticed a mysterious opening and closing of the
curtains in her room.
Wenke said she does not believe the story.
"I had never heard anything about a ghost story
until a year ago," she said. "Someone is always dreaming
up something."
But no one has dreamed up much change in Raymond
Hall. Curtiss said the building "hasn't been remodeled
that much."
"Probably the biggest renovation has been the addi
tion of fire doors," Curtiss said. "Some of the room
usage has changed, but all four fireplaces still work
and the furniture is original though some of it may have
been rcupholstered."
Today, Raymond Hall houses the Modern Language
Floor on its second level.
In honor of the hall's 50th birthday, the Neihardt
Council, comprised of students from the entire com
plex, is considering a project to improve Raymond Hall.
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