Interview with Lee Stabenow, Class of 1937
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Description

Oral history interview with Illinois State Normal University alum Lee Stabenow, Class of 1937. The interview was conducted on October 9, 1982, by Diane Amend of the Student Alumni Council. The conversation covers the impact of the Great Depression on student life, as well as Stabenow’s living situation.

Stabenow recalls the physical presence of President Fairchild, his positive impression of faculty members like Kenyon Fletcher and Blaine Boicourt, and his active involvement in extracurricular activities such as Glee Club, marching band, and debate. Stabenow notes that he lived for a time with Coach Clifford “Pop” Horton and his wife Garnet.

Stabenow discusses the strict regulations on campus, such as the prohibition of drinking, and contrasts the campus facilities of 1937 with the improvements observed during his return visit in 1982. The interview concludes with Stabenow sharing his thoughts on the democratic and inclusive nature of ISU, emphasizing the value of extracurricular activities and the importance of social life in college. Stabenow also reflects on the bittersweet experience of parting with friends after graduation.

Interview Date

10-9-1982

Index

  • Introduction: 00:00-00:40

  • Great Depression, tuition costs, and housing: 00:40-01:56

  • Administrators and faculty: 01:56-03:34

  • Comparing college in 1930s and 1980s: 03:34-07:05

  • Extracurricular activities: 07:05-12:01

  • Campus services; prices for common goods: 12:01-13:38

  • Typical mode of dress: 13:38-15:38

  • Marching band: 15:38-18:39

  • Entertainment: 18:39-20:38

  • Recollections of Bloomington and Normal: 20:38-22:20

  • Favorite parts of college: 22:20-24:26

  • Campus buildings: 24:26-28:21

  • Humorous memories: 28:21-29:40

  • Parting with friends: 29:40-31:11

  • Gym classes: 31:11-32:40

  • Conclusion: 32:40-33:50

Biographical Statement

Lee Delmar Stabenow (1911-1990) was born to Edwin and Elisa (Rohde) Stabenow in McConnell, Illinois. According to a Nov. 1, 1935 profile in The Vidette, he attended ISNU “because of this school’s high scholastic rating,” having “heard of old Normal from [his] uncle” who “was in school here at one time.” He participated in the ISNU marching band for all four years and was president of that organization in 1935 and 1936. Stabenow was also a member of the men’s glee club, Blackfriars, Kappa Phi Kappa, Pi Gamma Mu, and University Club. After graduating in 1937 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, Stabenow taught for a time at Kewanne High School in Kewanne, Illinois. He married Daisy Ann Wright in Kahoka, Missouri in 1941 and the couple’s two children were born while they were living in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1940s. The family moved several times over the subsequent decades, including to Waddams Grove, Illinois in the 1950s, where Lee worked as a teacher at Lena High School and salesman at a uniform company, and to Kansas City, Kansas in the 1970s. Stabenow died in Walterboro, South Carolina in 1990 at the age of 78.

Interview with Lee Stabenow, Class of 1937

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