[Alumni-chat] Memories Of Miriam Dickenson ("Ma Dick"), Antioch Registrar in the 1960's, now alm

[YAZZ Allen]

Jan. 13, 08
 
Hi from Yazz (David) Allen '66 (Email me at YazzAllen at Yahoo.Com)!
 
Thanks, Freda Bluestone '65 (Mrs. Birnbaum!) for your kind message re: Mom Dick (which may indeed be the proper unoffocial name, rather than "Ma Dick"...........45 years have passed since I got a letter from my then "Dean" and I'm not certain if "Mom" or "Ma" was the right title!).
 
Jean Janis was another very interesting Antioch staffer/ person of importance and influence during the early 1960's.  She was an unusually tall graduate of Radcliffe College in the days before Harvard College became co-ed, and she wore many hats during my time at Antioch...wore them simultaneously!  She headed the housing program (1,000 plus students on campus per quarter, was Dean of Students for groups of Freshmen, and also taught psychology courses [I took her excellent SMALL GROUP FUNCTIONING] course in the summer of 1964 in which Jean Janis provided "fictional" case histories of Antioch Freshmen co-eds who had set up tents in John Bryan State Park during a summer quarter, and were attended there by out of state boyfriends for weeks at a time!.........I actually KNEW Antioch co-ed girls who DID all that during the summer of 1963.......but Jean insisted it was all fiction about the mythical "Swann Hall" at Antioch!]).
 
Jean Janis was charged with the very difficult job of assigning Antioch on-campus students with housing, pairing up room-mates,  and putting out various "fires" part of housing problems.
 
When Antioch 1950's President Sam Gould put Antioch on the "year-round" calendar, the school boasted it had been able to "double the student population with only a 10 percent increase in hired [probably adjunct or temp or short term] faculty).   Then (middle 1950's) dorm space for the increased student numbers was not made available, and the problems of housing Antiochians on campus became one of the school's undiscussed, but still big problems.
 
Small houses the college owned around Yellow Springs near the campus became girls' dorms, and the "men" (males) were all housed in three buildings:  South Hall, Corry Hall (now Spalt Hall), and Mills Hall.
 
Jean Janis had a hard job with this situation dumped in her lap.  In time, "The Presidents" dorms were built (the fact they were leveled and are no longer with us is testiment to how unsubstantial they were) to relieve this crisis.  Making the dorms "co-ed" starting in the late 60's when that became acceptable and even fashionable helped the whole housing management crisis.
 
Antiochians (later Dr.) Jaimy Gordon '66 wrote a book in 1989 titled SHE DROVE WITHOUT STOPPING about a fictional Antioch College co-ed of the mid-60's (Antioch was called "Harmonia College" but was clearly Antioch College of YSO!), and the main problem the heroine of Jaimy Gordon's story has was................housing at Antioch, and the fact it was a big problem in the early 60's.
 
Jean Janis always had a smile and a good attitude about everything.  She was unflappable, and needed to be as head of Antioch's housing program during the school's "Golden Age" in the early and middle 1960's.
 
I heard Jean Janis left Yellow Springs, Ohio and re-located to the East Coast, but I'm not sure about that.
 
Jean was a great person....once of the many interesting staffers part of early and middle 1960's Antioch College.
Best,
Yazz (David) Allen '66

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Contact "Yazz" (David) Allen directly via email at YazzAllen at Yahoo.Com, mail to 644 Shrewsbury Commons Ave., #239, Shrewsbury PA USA 17361...Phone (717) 235 - 1982!
 
See my pro movie actor photos and recent credits/resume by visiting WWW.IMDb.Com (world's largest movie info database, owned by Amazon.Com) IMDb RESUME.  Also WWW.SAG.Org "IActor" file.  Also WWW.CastingNetworks.Com and/or WWW.NYCasting.Com. > Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:05:40 -0500> From: fbb6 at columbia.edu> To: alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu> Subject: Re: [Alumni-chat] Memories Of Miriam Dickenson ("Ma Dick"), Antioch Registrar in the 1960's, now almost 100 years old! Best, Yazz (David) Allen '66> CC: fbb6 at columbia.edu> > Dave, I loved your description and salute! For some reason, I recall her > as "Mom Dick" but as she was your dean I'll have to bow to your > recollection! Jean Janis was my dean at one point and that was no small > thing either. To the best of my knowledge she is still living in Yellow > Springs. I enjoyed reconnecting with her on the reunions I managed to get > to.> > I heard or read somewhere that Harry Steinhauer died recently at 100. > The old order changeth...> > And you are so right on about those solid Ohio "types". Thanks for the > post.> > Freda Bluestone Birnbaum, '65> > > _______________________________________________> Alumni-chat mailing list> Alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu> http://w3.antioch.edu/mailman/listinfo/alumni-chat> Visit http://www.Antioch-College.edu today!
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