Girl with the Arrow

Mrs. Elizabeth (Libby Ann) Reid Balentine (class of 1933)
Mrs. Margaret Miller Erbey (class of 1934)
Mrs. Margaret (Peg) Reed Sweitzer (class of 1940)
Mrs. Lorraine Hook Davis (class of 1941)
Mrs. (Myrtle) Jean White Kettlewell (class of 1945)
(July 2003)
Kianu Alumnae

Interviews:

This month's Girl with the Arrow is an interview with five Kianu alumnae from the 1930's and 40's. Thanks to all five women for their participation!

Mrs. Balentine

Mrs. Erbey

Mrs. Sweitzer

Mrs. Davis

Mrs. Kettlewell

• For many years, we have had the house at 163 Montgomery Blvd. Where was the Kianu house when you were at MC?**
  Mrs. Balentine '33: The original Kianu House was on Thompson Avenue (The Law House). It had living quarters for the house mother on the first floor. A Mrs. Hunter was the housemother for several years and Mrs. DeJong (Prof. Gerrit DeJong’s wife) was our advisor. There was an annex for a short time on Montgomery Blvd. (the Herron house) which housed 8 Kianus. Mrs. Herron was the Kianu cook. In the fall of 1932 the Kianu house was on Lakeside in one of the large houses up near the dorm (Patton).
  Mrs. Erbey '34: As I recall, the house was on Lakeside Dr., opposite the girls dorm (now Patton), but we moved to the present house in 1931-32, my sophomore year. Agnes Smith and I shared the attic room on the third floor.
  Mrs. Davis '41: Meetings and meals for all were at 163 Montgomery. There was an “annex” across the street. (update: After reading the accounts of the other women, Mrs. Davis wrote, "Right off I became aware that I believe I confused 'Montgomery' and 'Thompson'. I can so well picture the houses in my mind but not the street names. Please don't count my testimony for 'Montgomery'... We were next door to the Stag House as I remember." The Stags did not move to their current house until the 1950s, and we do not know where the old Stag house was when Mrs. Davis was at MC.)
  Mrs. Kettlewell '45: When I pledged the house was on Thompson Avenue. During the summer of 1943, the college made it possible for the Kianus to move into the present house at 163 Montgomery Boulevard. I recall Professor Ernest Work who helped us with the official step of acquiring the house. He also personally took care of some of the repair work that the house needed.
  The Kianu seniors elected to live there the first year it was open, the fall of 1944. Betty Smith Holderman and I moved into the front room upstairs. We agreed that the President would use that room. Since I became President, I had that privilege. Our housemother, Mrs. Knapp, had a small two-room apartment at the back of the first floor.
  
  **Note: The timeline of Kianu houses is somewhat confusing due to conflicting records. According to our records, we bought the current house on May 25, 1946 and paid it off in October of 1962. This conflicts with several accounts above. Also according to our records, the first house was located at 156 Montgomery Boulevard. In the "History of Muskingum College" by William Fisk, it states that Muskingum College fixed up and sublet a house on Montgomery Boulevard (presumably 156 Montgomery) to the Kianus in fall of 1927. It is not clear when we actually acquired the current house, but it was sometime between 1931 and 1946. We suspect that we may have acquired the current house in 1944, but actually bought it in 1946. According to a Black and Magenta issue from the 1958-1959 school year, "the (Kianu) club has had many homes" although the article does not elaborate.
  
  
• Did pledge sisters receive big sisters?
  Mrs. Davis '41: We didn’t have designated big sisters, but I roomed with a senior my sophomore year, Dorothy Emmick Spencer. We have remained close, life-long friends.
  Mrs. Kettlewell '45: Being a Kianu was very significant for me during my college days, 1941-1945. As freshmen, we were assigned a big sister. My big sister was Evelyn Keppel who married Don Simcox and is now deceased. She was a big help in getting adjusted to dorm living and college life. My (real) older sister, Mary Virginia White Evans (class of 1942) was also very helpful. She was president of the Kianu club her senior year.
  
  

  This is a picture from the Kianu 25th anniversary reunion. It was taken in front of the Kianu house (163 Montgomery) in May of 1952. The Kianus in the picture are (l-r): Elda McKorvan (sp?) McCoy, Sarah Uherka (sp?) Hunter, Libby Ann Balentine, Mary Belle Rankin Dolder, and Mabel Wheeler Shipe. They all graduated in 1933. Photo provided by Mrs. Balentine.

  
  
• What was the rush process like for potential members?
  Mrs. Erbey '34 : We were invited to dinner at clubs which were considering us for membership. I chose the Kianus because I liked the members although my best friend went FAD.
  
  
• What sororities and fraternities were at MC?
  Mrs. Balentine '33: (In addition to the Kianus), the Deltas, FADs and also the Wawyins were active clubs.
  Mrs. Davis '41: The sororities were Kianu, Delta, Wawyin, and FAD. The men’s clubs were Sphinx*, Mace, Stag, Stoic and Alban*. There was lots of rivalry.
  Mrs. Kettlewell '45: There were five girls’ clubs: Kianu, FAD, Wawyin, Delta and Kona. There were five boys’ clubs too: Mace, Stag, Sphinx, Stoic and Alban. (I married a Sphinx)
  
  * Note: Sphinx is now Kappa Sigma, and Alban became Phi Kappa Tau.
  
  
• What was pledging like for you?
  Mrs. Erbey '34: It’s been 72 years since I pledged Kianu. The pledge period was six weeks. As pledges we were required to memorize the club history... and wear black and magenta beanies the whole 6 weeks.
  Mrs. Kettlewell '45: I was happy to be invited to become a Kianu pledge with about twenty other girls. As I recall the pledge duties, we were asked to help take care of the house which was then on Thompson Avenue. Learning names of members and procedures, we tried to be helpful to upper class sorority sisters. We were proud of our purple and gold colors and our hearts and arrows.
  
  
• What kind of rules and regulations were imposed on girls who lived in the XAN house?
  Mrs. Balentine '33: We did lots of campus walking as cars were a “no, no”, as were Sunday dates. We could get a demerit for disobeying a rule or (have to have a) conference with Dean (of Women) Cora I. Orr.
  Mrs. Kettlewell '45: We had to sign in and out in the evening when we were going to the library or having a date. And we had to be in by 10:00 p.m. on weeknights, 11:30 on Saturday nights. Shall I tell this? I guess enough years have gone by to let the world know. One night at 11:00 p.m., I slipped out of the house with the help of friends, for a date with Ken on the hillside above the lake. I had baked a cake, and we ate cake on the hillside.
  Through the years, many couples have met on campus and dated, and married. That was the way with me. Our senior year, Ken Kettlewell and I began to date. He was a local New Concord fellow. We were both in the play, “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” He was Social Chairman of the YMCA and I was Social Chairman of the YWCA, so we had “Cupid’s Carnival” to plan together. As I have told the story through the years, he did the talking at our planning sessions and I did the work. Ha!
  
  
• Was the club known only as Kianu, or were the letters Chi Alpha Nu used as well?
  Mrs. Erbey '34: We were known as Kianus.
  Mrs. Davis '41: We mentioned the Greek name infrequently.
  
  
• Which Kianu sister had the biggest impact on you?
  Mrs. Erbey '34: I liked all of the Kianus and would hate to single out one.
  Mrs. Davis '41: Dorothy Emmick Spencer ’39 has seemed almost a sister though much of our togetherness has been via letters! I also was close to Elizabeth (Betty) Walker Hershey ‘41, a former XAN president. I saw her and her husband Merle from time to time, but only about every 10 years because they were on Navy assignment all over the world. Two others from the class of ’41 made up a round robin: Esther Zika Welborn and H. Taggart McCreight.
  
  
• What made you want to pledge Kianu?
  Mrs. Davis '41: I decided I wanted to be a Kianu during rush because the Kianus had leadership qualities, diverse interests, attractive personalities and style.
  
  
• What kind of activities and parties did the club have while you were there?
  Mrs. Balentine '33: The activities and parties were very limited and restricted by today’s standards. Several of us dated the men of Mace and enjoyed some good times (Mrs. Balentine’s husband was Mace Kenneth Balentine). One of our favorite “eateries” was Lou’s diner on the Main Street. He served up the best hamburgers. Thinking about eating- the club girls were responsible for the weekly menus and looking back I marvel at the good, balanced and attractive meals prepared by our cooks without all the appliances, etc. we have today. We often had guests- faculty, friends, other club members: students who (normally) ate at the “forts”- campus dining houses.
  Mrs. Erbey '34: Mrs. Hunter was our housemother, an elegant lady who required that everything be done properly. We were not allowed to dance, drink, or play cards. The dancing and cards were permitted the year after I graduated (1935). Despite the rules, we girls danced and played Brook (bridge with rook cards). I loved my years at Muskingum and as a Kianu.
  Mrs. Davis '41: We had serenades and formals.
  
  

  This picture was taken on June 11th, 1983. These women all graduated in 1933, and this was their 50th reunion celebration at Muskingum College. The women are (l-r): Mary Belle Rankin Dolder, Dot Laird Buckman, Mabel Wheeler Shipe, Elda McCoy, Sarah Hunter, Libby Ann Balentine, and Elizabeth Classman Young. Photo provided by Mrs. Balentine

  
  
• How many girls were in your pledge class? the whole club?
  Mrs. Balentine '33: There were 17 Kianus in the class of 1933… four are still living as far as I know and we exchange holiday greetings. I roomed with Libby Stemm my freshman year, she had a sister, Kay, who was a Kianu and roomed with my best friend from Youngstown, Alice Smith who was also a Kianu. However, my big sister was a Delta. My ties to MC and the Kianu Club are strong. There was a time when we had several Youngstown-area Kianus.
  Mrs. Erbey '34: The college enrollment was smaller then (900-1000) and the clubs were smaller- about 20-30 members. Our pledge class was small. There were six of us.
  Mrs. Davis '41: There were 12 in my pledge class and about 35 total members, but MC enrollment was smaller then.
  
  
• What impact did World War II have on Kianu and Muskingum?
  Mrs. Kettlewell '45: In 1943, during World War II, (Muskingum) President Robert N. Montgomery planned with the government to bring Engineer Cadets to the campus to study. Many of the Muskingum men had joined some branch of the military service and were no longer on campus. Thus there was room for the ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program) unit. They had a heavy class schedule but entered into college activities also. It made a different atmosphere on the campus. It proved to be a worthwhile contribution which Muskingum College made to the nation.
  Some of the college girls dated army men. I had one date with a fellow the very night before the unit left the campus. I remember a group of us going to the train depot in New Concord to wave goodbye to the men as they left.
  The social activities continued in campus life and the Kianus entered into everything that came along.
  During the war, we (Kianus) couldn’t find a cook. I went personally from house to house on several streets, knocking on doors, and trying to get someone to be our cook. Not finding anyone, we girls decided to take turns preparing the meals. We had lots of fun doing that. Nobody criticized because they appreciated somebody doing it.
  
  
• Did you wear letters when you were an active? Did you receive XAN pins upon activation?
  Mrs. Balentine '33: We did not have all the “rush parties” you use today, nor did we wear shirts. The Kianu pin was a lovely jeweled shield with pearls and the guard was an arrow set with pearls.
  Mrs. Erbey '34: We did not wear letters. We could buy the Kianu pin to wear. As I remember the pin cost $75 and at the end of the great depression that was a lot of money.
  Mrs. Davis '41: People did not wear letters when I was at MC. Some had pins but many of us could not afford them.
  
  
• What is your favorite memory as a Kianu?
  Mrs. Sweitzer '40: One of my proudest moments was to be president of Kianu. We were the best. Wonderful girls. Good students. The best.
  Mrs. Davis '41: Our “serenader” Doris Mellott, an outstanding music major, would mark out a program around a theme. We would learn all of the words- and there would be solos. Then we loaded the piano on a truck and serenaded the men’s clubs!
  Mrs. Kettlewell '45: I remember the serenades we had each year. We would put the piano in the back of a truck and walk along with it from the college manse to the men’s clubs, one by one. As President, I had the speaking to do my senior year at these serenades. With a flashlight in my hand, I read my script. Among our songs we sang, “I want to be a college girl, um and a little bit more, um and a little bit, um and a little bit, um and a little bit more. I want to be a Kianu!”
  One more memory… One spring day when it was warm and sunny, several of us decided to sun-bathe. With our swimming suits on (not bikinis in those days), we posed on the roof of the back room of the Kianu House. I have the picture somewhere, but I won’t be sending it to you.
  O yes, and another memory, wonderful Mrs. DeJong, our faculty advisor. Her husband was a history professor. As I write this, I ask myself what her first name was. I don’t think I know. I do know this, we never called her anything except “Mrs. DeJong.” She was a wonderful role-model for us. O now I know her name. She was Helen DeJong. She and her husband lived in the right half of the lowest faculty house overlooking the lake. She came to our board meetings, and every so often I went to her home for counsel. She was devoted to her “Kianu girls”.

Special thanks to the following people for their help with this piece: Bethany Drake '04 for scanning in the pictures, Jen (Schultice) Bronner '97 and Leigh Ann (Blickensderfer) McCray '91 for factual verification, and Marni Chidsey and the MC library for helping sort out the details surrounding the timeline of Kianu houses.

Last Update: July 2003