More Than Just a Place to Sleep and Eat

A Tumblr dedicated to spreading the history of the Collins Living-Learning Center at Indiana University, Bloomington. Use the search box at the bottom of the page to look for photos, dates, people, places, whatever! If I've tagged it, it'll be there!

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Alumnus Thoughts

Hello Collinsites! Over break I got some more cool notes from our alumnus Glenn. He lived at Collins in the 1950s and lived in what is now Ed 2. Here’s what I learned-

The floors had names: “North Hall (Cravens) had 3 units, Cavaliers, Barons and Friars.  South Hall (Smith) was mostly athletes.

Thins were cheaper: “Also, my annual cost was $684 for room and meals... My total expense for the year was $1,000 or so.  A far cry from today.“

Collins still had extracurriculars: “I earned pocket money by bussing dished in the MRC dining hall... I was Chairman (of BOG) for a very short time 'cause no one else wanted the job.” [Side note- BOG was held in the now Collins Library!]

We might be haunted: “During my stay on the second floor of West (Edmonson), Norman Seay of Beechwood In hanged himself on the 3rd floor.“

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Good news, Collinsites! This year, Collins got 1st place in the Residence Life Division for the Homecoming Parade. That trophy is now in the Coffeehouse next to our 1966 1st Place trophy!

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I present the (hopefully) complete Collins Little 500 rankings from 1951 to 2015. I separated the document the document into sections based on the year. Men’s teams are blue, women’s teams are red. Bold text means we were in the top 15. Red text means we were in first place.

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Quick Update

1. I’m going to be taking pictures of our old Collins blackboards to preserve them for posterity. Pictures to come.

2. Our super cool alumnus Glenn has sent me more of his recollections and I can’t wait to share them!

3. I’m compiling the complete rankings of the Collins Little 500 teams of the past 60ish years. This is actually a huge pain because they are under various different names depending on the year. But it’s going well!

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Thoughts from an Alumnus

Hey there Collinsites!

A Collins alum named Glenn McCullough emailed us recently about his time at Collins. When I asked if I could share his memories with you all, he said “Go ahead.  Those were four of the most pleasant years of my life, right up there with my 18 months in Germany as a member of the 4th Armored Div. Band.“

So here you go:

“The former MRC was my home for 4 years , on the second floor #205 from "52-'56.  I loved the place and could see the ZBT house from my window. I was a member of the Marching 100 all 4 years and went with them, as a freshman, to Ike's first inaugural parade.  I don't think Indiana has participated to that extent since.  We were with the Ball State ROTC drill team and the Purdue Men's Glee Club.”

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Visit Original Link

I’ve finally gotten my computer to copy the CDs into mp3 format! I’ll be posting these as I get them organized, but for now, here’s “Joy” by Steve Kuhn from the giant, multiyear 28/29 Dancing Star!

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Collins LLC in World War II

Okay, so you’ve probably seen the pictures of sailors, both men and women, hanging out around Collins, or what was then known as the Men’s Residence Center. But if you’re like me, you have pretty much no idea what the Navy was doing around here. What did this University look like going through a war? And what the heck is a WAVE?!

Well, I’ve written a (quite lengthy) research paper about the USS Bloomington, and what a college education was like in the 1940s. If you care to flip through it (it’s got pictures!), I’ve posted it in Evernote, where you can view/download it without an account.

Here’s the link.

And thanks for reading - Jeneva, an old Collins historian

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In the spring semester of 1944, coed women volunteered their Saturdays to helping nearby Crane Naval Base with the loading and unloading of parts and ammunition for the war. In April, this also apparently included getting lost.

I know this has little to do directly with Collins history, but it is still interesting, and an example of what life was like on campus during the war. Also, it is important to note that just because Indiana is nowhere near the ocean, doesn’t mean we don’t have anything to do with the Navy.

“Groan!” IDS, January 15, 1944.

“Pres. Wells Says” IDS, February 25, 1944.

“!?!” IDS, April 4, 1944.

-Jeneva

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“Sittin’ In”

“The Center of the Universe,

the Jens, Johns, Heathers, Stephs and

other assorted individuals in

tiedyes and black, hooped earrings and

draped cloth laugh in circles

of thoughts on gods, emotions,

measles and dance breaks out

to the music and telephones from

the windows near the library up high.

Monty intensely discusses knees with

cicadas adding an octave of closure

and safety to the bank of trees

that protect our thoughts and

connectedness to the concrete and

limestone slabs covered with

cigarette butts, poison ivy and

PUCK desert we call home.”

by Dan Rice

from the Collins Columns October 9, 1989

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By the way...

Anyone who lives in Collins and wants to learn about/get involved with Collins history, definitely visit my office hours Tuesdays 5:30-6:30!

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Here's a serious throwback- am intramural tennis trophy from 1927-1928! That before the MRC (Collins) was even built!

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There used to be an annual event called IU Sing and Collins always killed it. This trophy from 1976 commemorates the MRC winning first place for a medium production.

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In the 1950s and 1960s, Collinsites played a lot of basketball. The three smaller trophies recognize the following: Basketball Champs Smith 1 in 1965; the Ancient Order of Friars basketball team in 1949 and 1950; and Basketball Champs "Baron's Hall" in 1962. The big trophy recognizes different floors as basketball champions for 1965 through 1969.

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People forget that Collins was an all-men's dorm for years, housing the Navy, the swim team, and the first winning Little 500 team throughout its history. This 1923 trophy commemorates the Men's Winning Division for a Student Memorial Campaign... not sure what that is, but it's old and cool!

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Visit Original Link

In keeping with my promise, here’s a song from the 2013-2014 edition of the Dancing Star. I have access to various CDs from 2003 to 2015.

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Hey everyone! School has started back up and I (Hailey) am historian again. I know I let this blog go dormant, but I have plans for this year, including:

-Exploring some old Collins trophies

-Uploading old Dancing Star submissions

-Bringing some old photo boards into the digital age

So stick around, because this year should have way more activity!

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Please don’t forget our old Brown and Greene Halls on the Hill. Built in the 1950s, named for the counties surrounding Monroe, became part of Collins in the 1980s, and closed in 2014.

Some photos from Collins yearbooks, a flyer from the Collins collection at the archives, and several photos are from an alumni’s Flickr page.

-Jeneva, the old historian