UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
Interview #446
MIMS, PAUL C.
MIMS, Paul C. (1923- )
Undergraduate Student, English
At UW: 1946-1949
Interviewed: 1994
Interviewer: Mailed questionnaire
Length: 57 minutes
Background; Military service; Housing; Campus politics; Job in Harry Harlow's
laboratory; Women and discrimination; Career.
Tape 1/Side 1
00:00:05
PM gives his family background.
00:04:35
He joined Marine Corps and in 1943 became part of the highly secret naval glider
mission. In 1945 he was discharged from the military.
00:18:15
The G.I. Bill enabled him to go to college. PM decided on UW because his
mother, who had died when he was young, was from Wisconsin.
00:20:00
Upon arrival at UW, PM was shocked at the amount of snow and ice. He was also
in awe of the Rathskeller, which he thought looked like a posh officer's club.
00:21:00
PM had difficulty finding housing. His first roommate, Chuck Davis, lived with
him in an apartment off State Street. During his first semester, Davis contracted
malaria and withdrew from UW.
00:23:10
In December of 1946, PM met his wife-to-be, Ann Lichten, an early childhood
education major, at Groves Food Co-op. Three weeks later they were married.
Housing for married couples was extremely hard to find. Many homes had no
kitchen facilities so the majority of meals were eaten in restaurants. One year, PM
and his wife were able to use the kitchen of an Israeli couple they babysat for.
00:30:00
PM befriended Ralph Peterson, a well-known leftist writer. The friendship ended
when Peterson made a pass at his wife.
00:34:17
PM was always interested in journalism, but decided to major in English instead.
His favorite teachers at UW were Philo M. Buck, Professor of Comparative
Literature and Helen C. White, Professor of English.
00:37:00
PM worked his first semester as a laboratory aide in Harry Harlow's monkey
laboratory. He speaks of his duties there and recounts two humorous incidents,
including one in which four apes escaped because he forgot to lock their cage. The
Sunday edition of the Milwaukee Journal has a photo of PM with one of the
fugitive apes.
00:40:20
Leisure time was spent following boxing, renting equipment from Hoofers, and
attending plays (he appeared in one production of the Dramatic Society).
00:40:45
PM recalls the mass student protests of 1949 against the UW football coach Harry
Stuhldreher, who was blamed for the team's losing season.
00:41:03
The popularity of fraternities diminished as veterans flooded the campus.
00:42:30
In 1946, PM published poems in the Literary Preview. He also wrote book reviews
for The Daily Cardinal.
00:44:20
At UW, PM was exposed to socialism. The 1948 progressive party candidate Henry
Wallace visited UW as did President Truman, who drove down University Avenue.
There was a very strong anti-communist sentiment on campus. There was protest
against communists who visited the campus, such as Paul Robeson.
00:47:04
PM speaks about the abolition of "W" Day, when football players were free to
chase down coeds and kiss them. Many veterans and especially their wives were
offended by this tradition.
00:47:40
End of side.
Tape 1/Side 2
00:47:42
Salt was regularly spread on the Bascom Hall hill after a handicapped veteran fell
on the ice.
00:48:00
Women were discriminated against at UW in a variety of ways. They were not
supposed to use the Paul Bunyan Room or the Rathskeller, though this rule was
ignored. Women also had curfews, 10:30 on weekdays and 12:30 on weekends.
Being from the south, PM was surprised by the intermingling of white and black
students. One of his good friends at UW was Curt Gwynne, a black graduate
student from Wyoming.
00:50:36
Drugs were not in common use for the majority of UW students, except for what
PM calls the "arty set."
Paul C. Mims (#446)
00:51:54
PM talks about "campus ghosts," students who remained in Madison after
graduation or who never graduated. Heath Jones was one of these people. Her
lesbian partner helped PM study for his quizzes. He admired both women.
00:52:55
In 1959, PM graduated from UW. He speaks of his career.
00:55:20
The days he spent at UW "were the most meaningful in my life." PM's daughter,
Drusilla, became a student at UW in 1970. He and his wife were shocked at the
change in the city and campus, because to them it seemed that the streets were filled
with "bikers, tattooed bimbos, and freaks." His daughter graduated from UW and
PM hopes that his grandchildren will attend as well.
00:57:29
End of side. End of tape.
END
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