Multnomah University - Ambassador Yearbook (Portland, OR)

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l ll .K it The dean's department looked like a bus stop by the end of each week, with a long queue of girls waiting to get in to see the dean. Each girl had to give the details of every proposed date and get it okayed before she could accept. Prewar dates usually began and ended with a walk. Most kids were too poor to af- ford a car and no one minded too much because everyone else walked too. The few cars that were owned by the more affluent were such rattletraps that it was a good idea to take out a life insurance policy before climbing into one. Walking was a lot safer. Where was the out that they went to? Sometimes in the first few years, it was a drugstore-soda fountain 6 blocks away. That was the closest, Then downtown there was Youth for Christ meetings, restaurants, and concerts seasoned with a lot of fresh air and maybe rain. Yes, they even walked down- town. In 1942, a major portion of the guys were drafted, which didn't do much for Mult- nomah's social life or its enrollment. The annual was discontinued for lack of funds during the war years, so there is no record of school functions. After the war, everything perked up again. The G.I.'s were back, most of them looking for wives, so dating began again full swing. Cars and busses were more available so dates had a little more comfort and a little more variety. Of course dances and movies were always listed taboo. The relationships between the sexes were not as candid as they are today, the alum- nae agree. Notes and gifts between friends of the opposite sex were unheard of and three dates meant you were probably engaged in everyone else's mind. tSome of ae- C. today's students might say that hasn't changedl The social pressure pushed marriage. The only other option most women considered was the mission field. Many MSB girls took that option. Dress length wasn't a problem in the ear- ly yearsg the popular style dictated well below the knees, but pants presented more of a problem. In the last years on the old campus, girls secretly slipped on their ped- dle pushers and jeans Crolled up of coursel, covered them up with long coats and sneak- ed off campus. One day a couple of pant- clad females without the blessings of long coat camouflage, exited campus around behind the buildings and went to a little grocery store, only to be trapped behind a display counter by James Braga. They smil- ed a lot and tried to look unsuspicious, but they were never quite sure if he realized why they remained frozen to their places the whole time he was there. He apparently did not report it, since they were not ap- prehended. Church had its own brand of dress for girls. They all had to wear hats according to school mandate and no Sunday outfit was complete without gloves. For the guys, hair length was not an issue, because their ears were not in the slightest danger of even being tickled by the hairstyles of the day. Makeup, however proved to be a point of real division in the MSB body, especially during the last years as it gained some acceptance. Makeup was not generally accepted in Christian circles prior to this time. Arriving at a spiritual Bible school like Multnomah, they were shocked to find some girls putting on lipstick and others fgaspl even more than that. California girls especially had no qualms about the

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2,71 - W n student: listen to a lecture during one of tbe oon affer the move to the present campnx. St d is from one of the early classes sing Chrisnnas I in rlownlown Portland. teaching at the school, along with Misses Josephine Neil and Doris Coffin. The stu- dent body consisted of 29 full-time and 10 part-time students-. The only fee that first year was registra- tion: S10 per year. The biggest cost was room and board, originally on an individual basis in neighboring homes. Most of the boarders earned their room and sometimes their board by doing house or yard work. Money came in small quantities for the early studentsg financial aid was a thing of the future. Although the costs grew from year to year, the administration devised a method to curb them somewhat. Every week all students worked from four to five hours for the school without pay, so the school would not have to hire extra staff. They did all the jobs students do today as campus employment, such as waitressing, secretarial, kitchen, and maintenance. Dorm life hasn't changed much: R.A.'s tcalled dorm repsl, roommates, and gossip in the girl's dorms probably will never change. Guys had roommates and they probably gossipped, but they didn't have proctors. A few rules have changed though, especially for the girls. One particular girl did not approve of the 10:30 lights out rule in her dorm. She waited until all were nestled snug in their beds, then crawled out the window and headed for a burger joint. She did it so often that other girls often placed their orders with her for a midnight special delivery snack. Would you believe MSB sanctioned a co- ed dorm at the old campus? Mrs. Steiglemeirs boarding house hosted MSB girls on the fourth floor and Oregon Dental school men on the third. The girls were not allowed to stop on the guy's floor on their way upstairs and could not even talk to their Early Multnomah xtzrdentx put on a skit :luring missionary conference. .S't1m'ents have a social in the dining room of the tben- neu' camjmx. third floor neighbors. This posed an in- teresting problem, since nobody told the boys why the MSB girls gave them the cold shoulder. They went on trying to be nice. One day some poor maid and dental student received the wrath of Mrs. Steiglemeir because she had asked him to help her carry a trunk downstairs. Some guys just can't win for losing. A large gong sounded the start of all meals in the main dining hall. The kids there ate family style, with assigned seating by lot for the evening meal. The food during the early years pleased almost everyone, except when fried liver was on the menu, which is understandable to non-liver lovers. Even with the smaller housing, diseases still traveled quickly through the student body. In 1940 school had to close early for Christmas vacation because the flu epidemic had reached the point where the school nurse, Miss Unruh Cpronounced Unrool could not handle it. She later receiv- ed a special tribute for the 24 hour vigil she kept during the flu season. For the society of that day, MSB followed a middle-of the road policy of social regulations. Students could not date their first year fa common policy of all Christian schools of the timel, nor could they marry during their three year course of studies. The school was not down on guy-girl relationships, but wanted to make sure the priorities kept themselves in right align- ment. Of course there's an exception to every rule. Jim and Artis Worthington married with full faculty approval in their junior year. It seems Jim's grades took a turn for the better when he started dating Artis and the school just couldn't argue with success. N5 M53

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ws Multrzonzulfx first slzldent hozly Toduyk .vtudenls sing in chapel. la I I D h ll y th t e xcaoo are r. john Mitt e tj Dr. lVillard Aldrich ffronl row, 2nd j M H len Carlson Mth rouffrom front. 4th l H I K fl K3 d f f I fivifm efer ,r row rom ron, lellj. spirituality of looking more beautiful with a little help from Maybelline. Other students wondered how God could ever use someone with paint on her face. Christian service has always been re- quired at MSB. The kids really went to work with enthusiasm. Consider these figures from 1941: Tracts distributed ............ 32,244 ta whole week devoted to tract distribution! Bibles distributed ............. 1,099 Persons witnessed to .......... 2,354 Conversions ...,............. 225 Backsliders restored ......... 66 The student body only had 143 students too. During 1941, they conducted 317 Bible classes, 244 chi1dren's classes, 933 Sunday School classes, 318 church services, 71 open air meetings as well as various other types of meetings. In fact, a lot of present MSB customs originated at the old campus. There was the daily male ter, maill call, after dinner devotions, campuses ibut only three in- fractions were necessary to get onel, sign- ing in and out, skit night, and Multnomah Falls trips. They even had school housing on Pacific Street ibut in the 600 block insteadl. Many special events had their start there too: parents' weekend Ccalled open housel, Missionary Conference, days of prayer and praise, new student reception, and of course, chapel. Only a few traditions have been discontinued: early morning prayer meetings, campus cleanup day, and mis- sionary tea. Despite all the Christian service and other spiritual emphasis at Multnomah, pranks abounded during the early years. One of them went as follows: The girls who had late jobs could come in and turn on the lights after 10:30 p.m. lights out but of course they had to be quiet. One girl's friends hooked up the vacuum cleaner to her light switch. When she flipped on her light late that evening, the vacuum in the closet let out a bellowing howl. So did the terrified girl. Nicknames made you really in in the post war years. Some of the lady-like epithets for girls were Alleycat, Fido, Monty, Mousie, Fish-eyes, Bug, Scrib, and Snipf' The new campus, purchased in 1952, provided much hard work for the students of that year. They tackled the work days with gusto, scraping paint and scrubbing walls as unto the Lord. They completed John Mitchell Hall first, joining two separate buildings to form the new struc- ture. Everyone pitched in, even some of the faculty. Miss Carlson, then a C.E. teacher, tried out the fire escape chutes in the new Sutcliffe Hall and landed bottom side up in front of some school executives who were passing by. One by one the new buildings were filled and ready for operation. The present print shop served as a library, the post office building was the choir room, Sutcliffe dorm Cupstairsl was prepared for the men and what is now the men's dorm was readied for the women. The move in 1952 marked the end of an era, but not the end of Multnomah. The god- ly lives of those early pioneer students and their dedication to the Word of God brought most of us to Multnomah. They started out as college kids just about like us. Our heritage: not stuffy golden oldies but for-real people used by God. by Debbie Fleetwood