Lincoln Hall Project
To Follow a Dream
By Dee Lobdell, AB ’53, general curriculum
The summer of 1949 was hot and humid, and the nation was on high alert because the polio virus was taking victims among the very young and very old. It was into this uncomfortable environment that I, together with my husband, George Lobdell, and our eight-month-old daughter, Connie, were just arriving in Champaign-Urbana to begin our lives on the University of Illinois campus.
I am Dee Lobdell, and my story is really that of a family determined to realize its dream of a good education. My husband and I had experienced numerous interruptions along the way: when George was a senior at the University Of Nebraska, he was called to serve in the Army during WWII, and I worked at the Martin-Nebraska bomber plant in Omaha. After his discharge, he earned his MA and I completed my junior year at the University of Nebraska. After another year of military service at Ft. Riley, Kans., George received his acceptance as PhD candidate in history at Illinois. Connie had joined our family in January 1949 and we were now dedicated to follow our dreams.
Student housing in Champaign-Urbana was at a premium, but we did locate a small, furnished apartment with a family in Champaign, and George began his work in American history with Frank Friedel, who became his advisor, teacher, mentor, and friend. At the end of the first semester, the family with whom we were staying left for the winter in Florida and once again we sought help. This time we found our way to the student housing office and a dear lady named Florence took pity on that cute little girl in the pink snowsuit. She was able to place us in a zero bedroom unit at 300 S.Goodwin. What a wonderful home that was for us!
George continued his studies at Lincoln Hall for the most part, and I transferred my credits to the University of Illinois. To coordinate our schedules was a challenge, but Connie and I would walk from the apartment across the Quad toward Lincoln Hall to meet George coming from class. I would go on to my classes. Other students began to look forward to seeing Connie as she ran cheerfully toward her daddy when she saw him coming across to meet them. It was all a part of the daily ritual on campus.
All went well until early Thanksgiving morning in 1950 when a special delivery letter from the army arrived at our apartment. It was a summons to George to report to Ft. Riley’s Intelligence School where he had served previously. His service would be “for the duration” of the Korean War. On a very cold December day, Connie and I stood shivering on the platform of the railroad station in Champaign and waved “goodbye” to George as he left. It was a huge disappointment for him to have to leave just then as he was scheduled to defend his dissertation in January.
I posted a notice on the bulletin board at 300 S. Goodwin to ask for someone to look after Connie while I went to class and completed the semester’s work before Connie and I would leave for Ft. Riley to be with George. A kind neighbor volunteered her services!
We found the people at Illinois were always willing to help each other as much as possible. As soon as finals were over in January 1951, another neighbor in the building kindly helped me pack the car and get under way on a very cold and icy January morning. After a difficult trip of many miles and parts of three days driving, Connie and I reached Ft. Riley to stay until the summer of 1952 when we all could return to the University of Illinois and pick up the threads of our education.
This time, we were granted an apartment in veterans’ housing at Stadium Terrace, which was a community of made-over army barracks. The family now consisted of two little girls, as Cathie had joined us at Ft. Riley in January of 1952. Once again, as neighbors, all of us on our street were willing to help each other with baby-sitting when the parents went to classes or sometimes to various work responsibilities.
Our experience as students at the University of Illinois was certainly not that of the usual young man or woman in search of high education. But in spite of the many interruptions along the way, I was granted a BA on June 21, 1953, and George became a PhD the following year on June 20, 1954. Not only was the University of Illinois the opportunity for an excellent education, it was the firm foundation for a family as well.
Before George and I retired to Arizona in 1992, he served as a professor of American history and assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, for 37 years. I earned an MA in English at Ohio University and taught in Athens secondary schools for 16 years. After Connie earned her BA at Ohio University, she retuned to the University of Illinois to do graduate work and has become the superintendent of two of our national parks in southwestern Colorado. As a family, we thank the faculty at the University of Illinois and those fine and helpful people who were students with us. So many folks helped us realize our dreams. We shall always be proud to be Illini.
The views expressed in Storyography are not necessarily those of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or the University of Illinois.