since elementary school and they had been compatible, even as roomies at Parham. Posie’s boyfriend, Buck Birdsall was a football player at Livingston and he had strongly urged her to transfer so she could be with him. Posie tried out for cheerleader at Livingston and had been chosen as an alternate. One of the girls who had made the team got married and so Posie would start her sophomore year at Livingston as a cheerleader and girlfriend of one of the most popular campus jocks. Winifred’s other friends from high school who attended the University of Alabama were in sororities. Winifred would start the year with a roommate she did not know.
Angelina Tortoli, Winifred’s new bedfellow, was an Italian woman from Brooklyn, New York. Angie told Winifred that she’d transferred from Sarah Lawrence College. Angie had never been south of the Mason Dixon line and now she was enrolled at Alabama. The day before Winifred arrived, Angie had moved into their room, on the west wing of third floor, not far from the counselor’s suite at the end of the hall.
Martha Parham Hall was the newest building on campus. It could easily have been mistaken for an elegant apartment building had it been on the upper Eastside of Manhattan. The building covered an entire city block with an east and west wing and a huge entrance in the middle with a reception desk in the center of the lobby. On the first floor was a stupendous living room with a baby grand piano. The dining hall, where all the residents ate their meals, was on the west wing on the ground floor. A snack bar that served hamburgers, hotdogs, and soft drinks all day was in the east side.
The elevators at Parham were located in the center of the building. At the end of each wing were TV rooms, bathrooms, and rows of lavatories. Parham was strictly women’s quarters as Alabama had no co-ed dorms in the 1960s. In fact, if a resident’s father wanted to see her room, he had to sign in at the front desk and take the elevator with his daughter. When they reached her floor, she had to shout, “Man on the floor,” in order for him to get off the elevator and follow her to her room. The rooms on each floor were all designed for two residents and were all in a row that ended where the TV rooms, lavatories, and bathrooms began. At the very end of each wing was a suite for graduate students who served as counselors for the wing. And, Miss Barton, the house mother, had her own private apartment on first floor, where no student was ever allowed.
When Winifred arrived at her room, Angelina was there waiting for her. Winifred was surprised to see her. “Hi, I’m Winifred! You must be my new roommate.”
“Hello, I’m Angelina Tortoli, but all my friends call me Angie.”
Winifred began introducing herself to Angie. She told Angie all about her life in Homewood, Alabama, how her father had died in an accident the year before, how she went to college in the summer so she could finish college in three years, and how she couldn’t afford to join a sorority because her family didn’t have enough money. She explained that she was a fashion merchandising major in the College of Home Economics and hoped to get a job in New York City as a fashion designer some day. Winifred added that she was glad Angie was her new roommate because she could tell her all about what it was like to live in New York. Winifred was nervous at meeting Angie and so she talked. She talked and talked, but that was Winifred. She rambled when she was nervous.
Angie reciprocated, using a less revealing and more restrained approach. She told Winifred all about being from a large Sicilian family, about growing up in Brooklyn, attending Sarah Lawrence College, and never having been to the South before now. She explained that she had come to Alabama to major in criminal justice because Alabama had a good program. Then Angie hesitated for a moment, but decided to go ahead and ask Winifred about the protests and arrests that had occurred in Birmingham recently.
“Homewood’s near Birmingham, right?” asked Angie.
“That’s right,” replied Winifred. “Sometimes I tell people I’m from Birmingham. Everyone knows where Birmingham is, but some people may not know about Homewood.”
“In New York I read a lot about what’s happened in Birmingham this year. I’m sure you know more about it than I do, living in Birmingham. I read about Martin Luther King Jr.’s arrest, but I guess the Children’s Crusade was the most interesting to me. I couldn’t believe Eugene Connor, I think they call him “Bull” Connor used hoses and attack dogs on all of those young children.”
“You know I don’t know that much about it,” explained Winifred. “College has consumed most of my time, but my mama told me to never go into downtown Birmingham.”
Winifred was intrigued with Angie. She had so many questions she wanted to ask about Angie’s life, but first Winifred wanted to know something else. She inquired, “Do you know what’s happening on campus? Everything has changed since last year. Did you see all the National Guardsmen on the street? and now, they’re all over Martha Parham Hall. What’s goin’ on?”
Surprisingly, Angie seemed to know all the details about the chaos on campus and the dorm. She spelled out, “The National Guardsmen are here to keep the peace, prevent riots, and protect Vivian Malone; they were also at Paty Hall to safeguard James Hood from any danger or harassment. The National Guard is supposed to be here for as long as necessary to make sure nothing happens to Vivian.”
“They’ll be here in the dorm?” Winifred asked, surprised.
“ For as long as needed,” explained Angie.
“How did you find out?”
“I arrived yesterday, so I asked around and found out most of it from Miss Barton, the dorm mother. Do you know her?” asked Angie.
“Uh-huh! Miss Barton was here last year,” explained Winifred. “It’s almost time for lunch. Do you want to go with me to get something to eat?”
Angie agreed and then Winifred asked, “Do you know how meals are served here?”
“I figured that out yesterday as well,” remarked Angie.
Winifred smiled and suggested that Angie knew more about Parham Hall and what was happening on campus than she did.
“Oh no, I’m sure I have a lot to learn from you.”
As they went down the hall to wash their hands, Winifred noticed two plain clothed young men were standing at the end of the hall in front of the counselor’s suite. She didn’t say anything but wondered why they were there. Winifred and Angie went to the elevator. There, another uniformed young man was standing. When they got on the elevator, he got on with them and accompanied them to first floor. When the door opened, there was another soldier by that elevator.
Winifred was flabbergasted by all the young men in the building. She noticed that Angie did not seem to give this any thought at all. Perhaps colleges in the north had men in their dorms. Her mother, Frances, had often discussed how Yankees were so different and had numerous liberal ways.
At Alabama, as with other old southern universities, dormitory rules and traditions were still rather formal, especially in the dorms for women. Residents had to sign in and out of the dorm any time they would be out after dark, and also when they went on dates. Records were kept as to where students were at all times, where they went, and who they were with. The dining room at Parham used steam trays at each meal. Residents usually ate at the same table, though they could sit anywhere. Each table had freshly pressed linen tablecloths with napkins to match.
After serving their plates, Winifred and Angie found a table. Their designated next door neighbors on third floor, Matilda Manasco and Cupcake Saunders, were already sitting at the table. Two other women shared their table. Winifred didn’t know much about Cupcake, but she knew all about Matilda, whose father, Roland Manasco was some
