Harriet and Me
Written by Judy Hyde Hines for Ari Emile-Levine-Bart who was born on the same day I was born except 71 years later. As I proof this piece from the patio, the garden moves into the dog days of summer with the last daylily bloom.
Once upon a time in the year 1959 or thereabouts, two college girls were brought together. I attended the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and Harriet, your Grandma, was studying to become a dental hygienist at the University of Minnesota. (U of M) Both were members of a sorority, Alpha Epislon Phi. Sororities are organizations on college and university campuses designed to bring like-minded women together. Same thing for men except their groups are called fraternities.
The AEPhi chapter at the U of M was in need of more pledges because they moved into a large sorority house and had a financial commitment. At AEPhi headquarters, the plan was to invite a junior or senior from Pitt to live in the AEPhi sorority house in Minneapolis to be an all-around advisor and bring enthusiasm to the group. Pitt was one of the universities, if not the first, to move to the trimester system so their academic year ended in April. It made sense for a Pitt AEPhi to live in the U of M sorority house through June. Bottom line: to obtain more women to pledge the U of M chapter of AEPhi to guarantee financial stability.
No juniors/seniors at Pitt wanted to get involved in the project. When sophomores were asked which included me, I knew this might be the beginning of a great adventure. Even though I was a member of a sorority, I was not very supportive of sororities and fraternities in general. Sororities could be hurtful for girls who wanted to be a part of a particular sorority and were not asked. To become a sorority “sister” one had to be nominated and voted into membership. Each sorority was stereotyped – the Kappas were the sexy, popular girls. The Chi O’s the same but maybe more nerdy, and the Delta Gamma girls were known to be unattractive. This stereotyping did not rest well with me. AEPhi was a sorority for Jewish young women. Same for the fraternities who were well known to have beer blasts and wild parties. As I recall, the sororities/fraternities did not stress service or scholarship. The Greek system was governed by a Pan-Hellenic Council – Greek, ha ha.
Arriving at the AEPhi house in late April or thereabouts, I was introduced to Harriet Levine, the president of the chapter with whom I would share a room. We hit it off immediately – me a flaming red head and Harriet a blond. Soon I realized Harriet was not fond of the Greek system either. What in the world were we doing in leadership positions? I realized the seriousness of my taking on the job of bringing spirit to this group and moving them to attracting a substantial number of pledges even though I questioned the sorority/fraternity grouping of young adults. Wasn’t college supposed to be a broadening experience whereby people of diverse cultures might get to know one another?
The sorority house was large with a commercial kitchen, an eating area, and a spacious room for meetings and social events. I do not remember the upstairs well other than our room and the bathroom. And there was a house mother, someone who stayed at the house to make sure things were to be as they were supposed to be.
My banjo-uke, “Abraham” frequently accompanied me to social functions including pow-wows or parties on the banks of the Mississippi where the climb down and up was challenging to the point where I had to hold onto tree branches along narrow paths, walk-ways leading the way as others meandered down the steep slopes through the years. I remember the river police patrolling the river in their motor boats and I wondered if the singing would attract their attention – maybe they would want to join us?
There was an event on campus -- can’t remember exactly what it was called –something like Spring Festival ?? The sororities were to perform a dance routine that would be judged, a kind of competition. Without choreography experience I was able to come up with cute costumes and choreographed a piece using a song from the Broadway classic, Guys and Dolls, “Luck Be a Lady Tonight.” I was flying by the seat of my pants. To everyone’s surprise, the small group of AEPhi dancers placed Third.
For girls interested in becoming an AEPhi, a party was held a the sorority house drawing a sizable crowd. Things were moving right along and I was confident membership would grow which was my goal. One evening, though, the house mother was concerned because I was out late and returned inebriated frequently using the bathroom for relief. Little did I know the house mother heard me retching throughout the night. I do not remember if Harriet heard me – something tells me she slept through this, however I remember it clearly.
Harriet was dating a medical student, Bruce Bart. who fixed me up with a buddy of his also studying medicine. Bruce and Harriet were “a couple” and Warren (Butch Hoffman) and I were dating so I decided to stay the summer after the semester ended. Harriet and I along with two other girls found a great 2 bedroom apartment close to campus but we had a week whereby we had nowhere to live. Our moving into the apartment could not happen until the week after the sorority house closed. No problem. Harriet and I would stay in the sorority house (she had a key) even though this was against campus rules. We would rise early and return without using lights so it would appear as though the house was unoccupied. I remember we kept the blinds pulled at all times. A problem did occur, however.
AEPhi headquarters got in touch with us (don’t remember exactly how this happened because neither Harriet nor I would have answered phone.) I do remember a woman named Blanche Greenberg, a honcho at AEPhi headquarters reading me the riot act over the phone. She said I was sent to Minneapolis to set an example. The sorority had a large enough pledge class so the spirit of the chapter was on the upswing. Everyone was happy including Harriet and me.
We had to vacate the sorority house but we had no place to sleep and had very little money so we decided to sleep under the bushes in front of Northrop Auditorium on campus. This worked out okay except I was worried about Harriet because she was scheduled to take the dental hygienist boards. That is when we decided to stay at a hovel of a hotel in Dinkytown paying $2.00/night for a sagging double bed. I cannot remember how long we stayed but it wasn’t very long, maybe two or three nights. Two or three nights too many!
The question arose, what might we do with our belongings? Happily, the tenants of our unit let us store our two foot lockers before the actual move-in date. I enrolled in two summer school courses and was hired to work in the Office of Financial Aid. My job was to type letters to people who had or had not won scholarships. But I misspelled the word scholarship – but no one caught the error! In fact, they were so pleased with my work they wanted me to continue at the job throughout the next academic year but I would be returning to Pittsburgh at the end of August. I remember being bored to death with one of my classes, a sociology class, and decided not to open the book at all and take the exam cold. I got a D on the exam but because I never missed a class, I was given a C which would transfer to Pitt. The other class was in Contemporary American Music and was most enjoyable. I learned about Benjamin Brittain, Arnold Schoenberg’s 12-tone scale and Aaron Copeland among others. I pulled an A with flying colors. And later on when my husband, Ed, was doing graduate work at Columbia University in New York, I joined a choir that rehearsed every day at noon with a holiday performance of the entire Carol of the Bells written by Benjamin Brittain.
Another fond memory. My twin brother, Jan, who lives in NYC came to Minneapolis on our 21st birthday so we could celebrate together. The apartment was located near a train yard and he was and continues to be a serious train buff. We had some good train-watching sessions and came very close to hopping a train.
The summer came to an end and I returned to Pitt. Harriet returned to the sorority.
We carried on with our respective lives but one more thing – Harriet’s father was in Pittsburgh for business and had time to drive out to the house where I grew up to meet my parents. They had a grand time.
Harriet continued to date Bruce whom she married and who is your Grandpa, and I visited them in the Maryland area (I think) when your Uncle Brad was a little baby. Harriet’s mom made this incredible hot fruit compote which was served in a chafing dish and placed in the middle of the table. I’ve made that dish several times but without the chafing dish. Harriet can relate more to you about this visit which had to do with Tammy, her sister who recently passed away.
And of course in her 30’s your Grandma went on for a second college degree, this time in art with a major in textiles. I never could see her as a dental hygienist although I think she worked in this field for a few years. Sometimes at holiday time Harriet would send me a miniature of a facet of her work – always treasured.
When Harriet had a show in NYC, my twin brother attended the reception. When she did an installation – can’t remember where – she and Bruce stopped at our house in Normal, Illinois because they were passing through. Unannounced, of course. Happily we were at home. And we surprised Harriet and Bruce when she had a reception in the St. Louis area after one of her installations. Come to think of it, it may have been for the same piece of art. Can’t remember.
In the mid ‘90’s I was on the faculty of a middle school here in Bloomington, IL. It so happened the PE teacher ordered too many large, 36” diameter yellow, rubber play-ground balls and made them available to faculty. I wanted one for myself, one for my twin brother and one for Harriet.
Fast forward: Our son Neal upon graduating from Grinnell College in Iowa, took a masters at U of M with an interest in mercury as it pollutes water. I was elated I would be returning to Minneapolis and thus pick up with the Barts, your Grandma and Grandpa. Now back to the yellow play-ground ball.
On a visit, I decided to take the chance and visit Harriet’s studio without calling first hoping she would be there. She was. The door was cracked. I opened it and rolled in the huge yellow, rubber ball and then disappeared behind the door. She had no idea what was happening and then I entered the studio. We hugged and laughed.
In 1990 when Neal first moved to Minneapolis, we visited Harriet at the Dolly Fitterman Art Gallery where she was exhibiting some of her work. Neal was with us and this would have been the first time he met her. He was frustrated because one of the pieces, he had seen somewhere but didn’t know where. This bothered all of us but upon returning to his apartment, he picked up a Minnesota Symphony program and on the back cover was Harriet’s piece! He attends the symphony often.
And finally, on July 10 2011, Neal married Carla Merkow. Your Grandma and Grandpa could not attend the wedding festivities because all of the Bart family including you – a wee, wee little boy only a few days old, was to leave for Hawaii. Your Grandma and Grandpa and your Grandpa’s parents were married in the same temple, Temple Israel in Minneapolis where Neal and Carla were to become husband and wife. How do you like that for a coincidence? Beautiful, beautiful are the serendipities of life which I hope you will experience when you grow up.
On Thursday, July 7th, two days before your big trip, your Grandma and Grandpa opened your Grandma’s studio so Neal and Carla and a few of the family might visit. What a celebration. Drinks, appetizers – a lovely time was had by all and I was proud to introduce Carla and her family to Harriet.
So through the years, we’ve remained in touch not communicating often, but every time we are together, we slide back to when we were young girls. A very special friendship, indeed, Harriet and me.
August 9, 2011
Harriet presented me with a dozen pinky balls when she stayed here with Ed and me at our house in Bloomington, Illinois on her way to an artist’s retreat. |
