Gregory Behle, Professor at The Master’s University in Santa Clarita, California, and kick-off presenter of the Archives Sesquicentennial Speakers Series, March 2, 2017, authored this post at the request of the Student Life and Culture Archives to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first day of class. Behle’s research focuses on accessibility, student life, and campus culture at the University of Illinois from 1868 to 1894. Slides from his 2017 presentation are available HERE.
The holiday season is once again upon us and along with it an Illinois tradition returns. From December 7 until December 13, thousands of callers from around the world will dial in to Snyder Hall 24 hours a day to be serenaded with yuletide tunes.
An advertisement for Dial-a-Carol (Daily Illini, 12 December 1975)
Betty Gordon is commonly credited with conceiving of the Dial-a-Carol idea around 1960 when she was working as a clerk in Snyder Hall. “The story goes that she was speaking with a friend on the phone and her friend mentioned she could hear Betty’s radio playing while they were talking. Betty was inspired and thought it would be a neat idea to play carols on the phone to friends. She started Dial-a-Carol with the help of Snyder Hall residents and the rest is history,” said Snyder Hall RA George Carrera in 2008. [1]
Snyder Sanctum member Steve Price participates in Dial-a-Carol in 1962 (Daily Illini 11 December 1962)
Traditionally, the student volunteers have kicked off their 24 hour carol hotline with a call to Gordon at 12:01 am on the first day of the event. “As the students always do, they asked me if there was anything special I would like to hear,” Betty said in 1982, “Then no matter what I said, they sang ‘Jingle Bells’ at the top of their voices… After they sang, I told them the same thing I always do: what you lack in talent, you certainly make up in volume.” [2]
The early years of Dial-a-Carol were managed by members of the group Snyder Sanctum who occupied the second floor of East Snyder Hall. They cleared out the furniture in freshman Gary Allen’s room and filled the space with telephones, turntables, and holiday records. [3] The Daily Illini described the scene as “a mad mixture of sleigh bells and telephone bells.” [4] Callers would be greeted with a volunteer saying the name of the next carol that was to play. They would then hold the receiver up to the turntable for the duration of the song. “We hope you have enjoyed listening to your carol. Good evening and Merry Christmas,” ended the call. [5]. Over the years, the students put the records aside and began singing the festive songs to callers. By 1966, residents from all over Snyder Hall served as volunteers and “carol headquarters” had taken over the lounge. So many students wanted to volunteer, organizers were forced to limit shifts to hour long time blocks. [6]
By 1962, the group was already answering nearly 4,000 calls. While most calls came in from Illinois, callers did ring in from other parts of the country. After a New York radio announcer mentioned the event, calls came in from those who “just wanted to find out if it was really true.” [7] A 1966 United Press article generated calls from Miami, Alaska, and Hawaii. [8] In 1973, a Dial-a-Carol alum paid a hefty long distance fee to call in from Austria for a carol. [9] As the tradition gained notoriety, calls began pouring in from all over the world. In 2015 alone, students answered 16, 354 phone calls from 70 countries. Calls had come in from all 50 states within 14 hours. [10]
Some members of the 2015 Dial-a-Carol Team (@DialaCarol Tweet 30 November 2016)
Champaign-Urbana residents are the most frequent callers, and early volunteers were particularly excited about the cheer they were able to bring to area children and hospital patients. “Little kids call Dial-a-Carol before they go to school in the morning and when they get home in the evening. It’s really funny to hear them- especially when a group call together- fighting over whose turn it is to listen,” a Snyder Sanctum statement said in 1962. [11] That year, the Dial-a-Carol phone number was very similar to the number of a local professor who found himself singing holiday tunes to the mistaken callers. [12]
You can join in on this Illini tradition by dialing 217-332-1882 24 hours a day from December 14 to December 21. For more information, check out the Dial-a-Carol website.
[1] “Carols and Carolers Just a Phone Call Away at the University of Illinois,” University of Illinois News Bureau Press Release, 9 December 2008. Record Series 39/1/1 Box 51.
[2] “Dial-a-Carol,” University of Illinois News Bureau Press Release, 17 December 1982. Record Series 39/1/1 Box 51.
Eighty-seven years ago, on a warm day in June, our Alma Mater statue was unveiled as the centerpiece of the 1929 commencement week program. The concert band played and a host of officials gave speeches. UI President David Kinley prophetically declared, “The significance of this gift is for the future, what it will mean for future Illini.”[1]
President David Kinley (left) and Lorado Taft in front of Taft’s Alma Mater during the sculpture’s dedication, 1929
Surely, he had no idea how true these words would be.
Sculpted by Lorado Taft (Class of 1879) and funded through the senior gifts of the classes of 1923 through 1929 and the Alumni Association, Alma was “temporarily” erected behind the Auditorium (named Foellinger in 1985) until a more prominent location could be secured. She remained at this spot for thirty-three years. [2]
In 1962, the Alumni Association identified the perfect setting for Alma—the corner of Wright and Green, her present location. Not everyone agreed and many felt more discussion was needed. A Daily Illini reporter wrote:
Alma Mater is moved from Foellinger to its current location, August 20, 1962
“Admittedly, the site behind the Auditorium is isolated from the mainstream of campus events. But what a cheap and tawdry relocation has been suggested! The Green-Wright intersection is congested with cars, trucks, Illi-Busses, a bicycle lane, the constant roar of traffic and the blue haze of auto exhausts. No perspective, no quiet, no thoughtfulness is possible nearby. Placing the beautiful Alma Mater in such a location seems to be a violation of all standards of good taste . We hope, indeed, that the Alumni Association will not move to an ultimate blasphemy and place traffic signals in the hands of Learning and Labor, providing the Alma Mater figure with a No Left Turn signboard.” [3]
The move occurred in summer (August 20, 1962) with little fanfare. [4] Except for a brief visit to Chicago for restoration in 2012-2014, Alma Mater has graced this corner ever since.
Students have their photo taken with Alma, 2016
Over the last decades, one of the most memorable Illinois commencement traditions is for new graduates to line up for photos in front of the Alma Mater. In 2010, Public Affairs made this tradition even more special by outfitting Alma in her own regalia for the occasion.
Zack Stein is a graduate student in Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois. He is currently completing a practicum at the Student Life and Culture Archives.
It has been nearly three years since the death of Roger Ebert. To most of us, he was one of the most famous film critics in history. He wrote weekly reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times, co-hosted a film review show with fellow Chicagoans Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper, and started his own film festival which has been held at the Virginia Theater in Champaign for the past 17 years. He also was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. While film was his subject of expertise, his true drive and passion was his love affair with the written word. A voracious reader of science fiction and Henry James, Mr. Ebert knew from an early age that he wanted to be a writer. It was his time as the editor of the Daily Illini at the University of Illinois where he was able to exercise his writing to the fullest. It was also his abrasiveness that got him noticed and earned him the respect he deserved. Continue reading “A Life in Words: A Look Back at the College Career of Roger Ebert”→
Instructor Mary Hays Rhetoric 105 Portfolios, 2000-2014The Green Caldron, January 1935
Written by Ellen Swain
As finals wind down and students leave campus for a much needed winter break, the SLC Archives thanks all students who visited the Archives this semester for class introduction sessions and tours or to conduct research for essays and final papers!
