Mildred Heinrich letter to Walter Busker, 1930

Mildred Heinrich letter to Walter Busker, 1930

Between 1930 and 1934, Mildred Amelia Heinrich and Walter Edwin Busker exchanged dozens of letters. The two would later marry. Heinrich attended Bradley Polytechnic Institute for two years and received a teaching certificate and Busker attended Illinois. The letters provide insight into college life at the time.

In this letter, Mildred comments on the strangeness of sorority rushing, calls out a mean girl named Gretchen, stays up all night at a slumber party, and complains about registering for classes. If you are interested in reading more about student life and love at Bradley in the 1930s, visit our reading room to view all nine volumes of “A Romance: Letters between Mildred Heinrich and Walter Busker.”

Mildred Amelia Heinrich and Walter Edwin Busker

Sept. 23, 1930

Greek letter societies; College students--Women

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Peoria, Illinois - September 23, 1930

Dear Walt,

I surely was glad to receive your letters. It’s so nice to hear from you because it seems just ages since I saw you. I’ve been terribly busy. Do you want to know about everything? Well, here goes: Sunday afternoon, as you know, I went to the leas, I never drank as much tea in one afternoon before in my life. Then that evening I received Date Books from Sigma Chi Gamma and Delta Kappa. The Date books are the invitations to all the rushing affairs. I don’t think they have them at Illinois, do they?

Every Manual girl was black-balled in Lambda Phi by Gretchen Hulsebus. Don’t ask me why; I don’t know. But I know it’s time that she did it, and she isn’t even active. They work things differently here than they do down there.

Well, anyway, rushing began Monday. The D.K’s gave a luncheon at the Creve Coeur with a theater party following. That night I went to the Sigma Chi slumber party at Meyer’s Cottage at Rome. And what a slumber party! Some of the girls really slept through. I never closed my eyes all night, and we went out on the beach and watched the dawn break. I was surely a wreck the next day. And that time, of all times, Mr. Venard called me down to the studio, and I worked hard all afternoon. THen that evening the Sigma chi’s gave a dance at the Club. I was surely wishing that you were in town. We would have had lots of fun. It was a lovely dance.

Wednesday night I went to the Delta Kappa’s formal dinner at the Pere-Marquette. Thursday evening we got our bids, and also a chance to get a little sleep. Friday night was pledging at the house and a big mixer for the whole school afterwards. It was glorious!

I am now a Delta Kappa and beginning my duties as a pledge. At the meeting last night we were given “sorority mothers.” Mine is Rosemary Catcott. She’s so sweet, so I’m not very much afraid. We have to do everything that our “mother’s” tell me. Also we have to ask her for every date, and she has the privilege of refusing us!! We have to spend two hours in the library everyday, not cut classes, etc, etc.

The house this year is at 312 So. University. I love it and the girls and Bradley - and everything! I have a fairly nice program at school too. Am taking Biology, English, Speech, History, Education, Latin, and gym. I have an eight o’ clock class one morning a week - Tuesday. I am out at eleven on Fridays and don’t have another class until nine on Monday. That’s almost like your program! Talk about registering - I never went through such a trying ordeal in my life! I was a nervous wreck when I finished.

Do you know who I’ve started to go around with a lot this year - Lais Hagel. We have most of our classes together, and are together quite a bit out of school. I have surely been meeting a lot of people and making some of the most interesting acquaintances. That reminds me - do you know either Bill Brown or George Pring? They’re both Sophomores down there. Katherine, my cousin, goes with Bill Brown. He came up last Saturday and brought his roommate with him. The four of us went out together Saturday night. When they saw my pledge pin, they started to tell me about Hell Week. I don’t know what frat they belong to, but both are Ag. students.

There aren’t very many from last year’s class at Manual going to Bradley. Dorothy Adamson, Elenaor McCann and Frances Hélling are the only ones I think you know very well that are going. John Sanderson is a freshman this year, too.

Oh, I like college. But I do miss you and wish you were here.

Yours,

Mildred