Transcript
Index
00:00:00 - Origins of Badger Village. It was planned in early 1946, in response to large
numbers of students entering University at end of WWII on GI Bill. At that time,
there was a critical shortage of housing, especially for married students. Until
this time, there had never been a significant number of married students at
University. University saw housing solutions in structures once used for
defense. For instance, they bought trailers for Camp Randall.
00:03:47 - Badger Village set up particularly for families. Transportation was a
problem, so University obtained buses. LH discusses his return from war in March
1946. LH visited Don Halverson, Director of University Residence Halls, and Lee
Burns, Associate Director, whom he had worked for in 1942. They offered him job
as manager of Badger Village, in addition to his salary, he was to have use of a
two-bedroom house. This offer was attractive to LH and his wife.
00:07:35 - LH discusses use of Truax for unmarried students. This was used as a solution
to problem of inadequate space for unmarried students in campus residence halls.
There was bus service to and from campus. Truax was used for housing until
1950.
00:09:44 - Veterans were more serious students than non-veterans, since they had
postponed education, and were eager to start their careers. Twelve-week summer
sessions were instituted to allow them to make quick progress toward degree.
Type of curriculum veterans sought. Veterans interested in taking courses to
help them in career goals. Engineering and Business Schools were very popular.
More on contrast between veteran students and pre-war students.
00:13:32 - Faculty members readjusted their classes to accommodate veterans. Professors
put more effort into designing courses and covered more ground than before.
Journalism School substantially reorganized curriculum. Veterans wanted it to be
more practical. E.B. Fred and his wife were very interested in veteran students,
especially married students. Provided much support to veterans and their
families. Fred arranged for establishment of nursery school, since many wives
had jobs to support families.
00:18:21 - LH describes two types of housing available. One was row housing. Living
quarters were close. Heating consisted of a coal space heater and a cook stove.
Many families used oil, and cooked with hot plates and roasters instead.
Apartments were not sufficiently wired for this, though, causing some fires.
University spent $50,000 on rewiring. Second type of housing was barrack-style.
These were converted to accommodate families with one infant, and bathrooms were
shared.
00:23:41 - Describes adverse conditions that sometimes led to domestic tensions. These
were sometimes resolved by informal counseling.
00:27:30 - Grounds were fairly bare, but students sometimes planted shrubs, muddy
conditions. Describes roofing problems.
00:30:18 - Spirit of veterans and families remained good despite adverse conditions.
Many maintained life-long friendships. How people view their experiences there
in retrospect.
00:32:45 - Badger Village as a small town of 2,700 people. Stores included a
supermarket, drug store, post office, barber shop--all served needs of
community. Also, there were weekly bus trips to Prairie de Sac, Sauk City, and
Baraboo for shopping. Village shops also used by nearby rural residents. Local
school district accommodated veterans' children. Doctor provided by University
part-time. Nurse worked full-time. Some families also used local doctors and
dentists.
00:38:35 - LH mentions particular people who lived in Village as students. These
included former University President Edwin Young; Former Wisconsin Governors
John Reynolds and Lee Dreyfus; and current Chief Justice of Wisconsin Supreme
Court, Nathan Heffernan. Some current faculty members also lived there. All in
all the residents were a vigorous group of students with a strong academic
record. Badger Village was intended to serve as a residence for three or four
years.
00:43:53 - Students living there made a strong case for remaining there, didn't want to
be abandoned.
00:45:30 - As far as LH remembers there were no minority veterans living there. There
were no questions about race on applications. There were some Asian wives in
Village. There were no divisions among veterans according to their ranks in
military, where they had served, etc. Due to severe shortage in civilian
clothing during first few years after war, veterans often wore their military
clothing. LH gives example of initial shortage of production: he ordered car in
1946, but received it in 1949.
00:51:26 - Discusses dances and orchestra as entertainment in Village. Don Voegeli's
orchestra played at Village, and cabarets were popular.
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