Monday Memories--How we saved energy in our dorm room

JoElla and I told each other in elementary school that we would room together in college. I'm not positive I knew exactly what that meant, but I lived in Mt. Morris, Illinois, where my parents and grandparents had attended college. It closed in 1931 with the buildings being used until recently by a publishing company. JoElla's parents also attended that school, but a few years before mine. By the time we graduated from high school we didn't know each other all that well, because I had moved away from Forreston in 6th grade, where we'd met. But, we must have checked with each other and agreed it was a good idea. We moved into the very elderly Oakwood Hall of Manchester College in September 1957. My cousin Gayle lived down the hall, and JoElla's cousin Sylvia also lived in the dorm. Her brothers were near by on campus, and my sister was a few miles down the road at Goshen College.

I got a huge chuckle reading about Tulane's "Energy Star" showcase dorm room. A 2 person dorm room could save about $37 just by using the various products recommended. If all the 3700+ students at Tulane did the same, there would be a savings of about $69,000 in energy costs. I looked through the list--micro-refrigerator, 2 lap top computers, a printer, various lamps and light bulbs, a phone and audio components. Not doing without, mind you, oh no! Just changing the brand name. Wow. JoElla and I didn't have any of these things and we still managed to get a first class education! Refrigerator? We kept our food on the windowsill. Lap tops? We didn't even have a portable typewriter between us. Audio? I suppose we might have opened the door to hear someone else's radio. Phone? It was down the hall, down the steps, through the lobby, and into the office. But the boys still managed to call and make a date. There were runners to tap on your door to alert you. If you weren't home, you checked the message board. It was very exciting, and good exercise. The only footprints we worried about was whether someone in the shared bathroom might have athlete's foot!

Photo: JoElla 4th from right, second row; Norma 1st left, first row.

Fashionista Freshman, 1957
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