| QUOTE (Sunday @ Jun 23 2008, 12:00 AM) |
| If you have pictures of the passing years, you can do a "Fashion through the ages" sort of thing? |
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| The Story - Pemberton Hall was built in 1908, and opened in 1909 through state funding. Stanton C. Pemberton was the state senator who was responsible for bringing the proposal up to allow an all-women's dormitory on the campus of the then Eastern Illinois State Normal School. The idea of an all-women's dormitory was quite unheard of at that time (as women going to college at this time was still rather rare, especially in rural Illinois - which was, and still is, largely farmland), and the proposal was rejected a few times before it was finally passed. Pemberton Hall was meant to be the social center of not just campus, but of the surrounding city, as well. During the time, in order to be considered as being a decent place to house young ladies, curfews and various rules were set. Young women were to be in the building by 7 PM every night. Women were only allowed to be outside of Pemberton Hall without a chaperone for church and classes only. From 7 to 10 pm was study time, with lights out being at 10:30. The woman who was put in charge of Pemberton Hall was known as Mary Elizabeth Hawkins. (more about her later) The women of Pemberton Hall could be housed there for as long as they wished, but they were billed for room and board by the week. I don't quite remember what the amount was, but it was pretty steep for the time. In return for the rent, the building itself was quite a sight in terms of it's grandeur. It contained 1 reception parlor, 1 large parlor, 1 dining room, a study area, 4th Floor Maid and Butler's quarters with a Music room and an attached gymnasium. The 2 Parlors and the Dining room both had their own fireplace, and the study room was a rather big area in it's own right. 100 women, at the time, were housed in Pemberton, with rooms of different sizes. The Hall Matron (now Associate Resident Director) had her residence on one entire wing of the building, with an entire apartment, offices, private bathroom, private kitchen, and even a guest suite, which would make for her 3rd bedroom. The only other room that was public on her wing was the front desk, where mail was kept. High teas were held on Sunday afternoon. Dinners were a rather extravagant affair, with silverware and fine China that bore a "P" or a picture of Pemberton. Dinners, primarily, were co-ed, but the men were only allowed to be on the public wing of the building. Parties were constantly held at the building, in it's large parlor, as well as in the Dining room. For the men, they could also use the gymnasium attached to the building as well. The matron of the Hall, Mary Hawkins, was from England, but had lived in the US for nearly 10 years before she was appointed as the Hall Matron in 1910. She is the most the building's most famous (or infamous) Hall Matron due to not just her kindness, looks and, if needed, strict demeanor, but she is also the source for a lot of ghost lore about the building itself. It is rumored that in the 1910s, during her time there, a young woman was raped and mangled on the 4th Floor music room by a crazed janitor with an axe. From here on, two stories of this story exists. One version states that the student was another girl who crawled down the stairs, with bloodied footprints, and scratched on the doors of the residents for help until she finally got to Mary Hawkins door - where she died. Upon the discovery of the girl's body at the foot of her door, Mary was overcome by guilt and eventually left her position, later committing suicide out of insanity. The second version states that the murdered student was Mary. Ultimately, Mary's spirit is said to roam the halls of Pemberton to this day, checking on her students, closing and locking doors, making rounds and making sure that her girls are safe. What is said to corroborate this story is that Mary did die from insanity (but that was due to late stage syphilis), the 4th floor is sealed off (but for structural reasons - the 4th floor has loose floorboards and is considered unsafe), and the fact that strange things happen; doors close themselves (which is actually due to drafts), Transom windows close themselves (also due to drafts), furniture moves around, etc. Today, Pemberton Hall is now on the National and State Register of Historic Places. To this very day, 100 years later, the building retains it's original usage - as an all-women's dormitory, despite various desires to make it into a co-ed dormitory. Currently, it houses Upperclass women and very few Freshmen Honors students and a lot of sciences and mathematics majors. A few changes that have been made has been a building addition in 1962, to house 115 more women (which is referred to as the 'New Side'), the old gymnasium has been moved several buildings down and the old gym space is now used for Textbook Rental. The dining room is no longer used for dining, and has been used for registrar as well as admissions and records offices and, most recently, a private, resident-only parlor. The reception room is no longer a reception room - but instead, a dining room for when high-profile people come to campus. It has also been reduced in size. The Hall Matron is no longer a Hall Matron, but instead, the Associate Resident Director, who is a grad student. Pemberton Hall also has its own service sorority, known as Phi Epsilon Mu. Still, Pemberton Hall contains beautiful gardens, a very good (and almost breathtaking) view of the Old Main "castle" on campus, very competitive parking, some of the largest dorm rooms on campus, a strict curfew for males in the building; men must be out by 11 PM on Sunday - Thursday Nights, and women must have a key to get into the building after 10 PM every night, and the Pem Girls Bond - going without Air Conditioning for Summer and early Fall months. |