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-Kansan photo by Larry Trebar
$50 well-worn Allesbär
QUEEN FOR A DAY—Mrs. Forrest C. Allen, queen of the dedication of the new $2½ million Allen fieldhouse, is shown after receiving a bouquet from a KU cheerleader. On Mrs. Allen's right are two of her daughters. Mrs. Jane Mons is to the left of the picture and Mrs. Mary Hamilton is nearest Mrs. Allen. Another daughter, Mrs. Eleanor Glenn, and two sons, Milton P. Allen and Dr. Robert E. Allen, are not shown in the picture.
By ELIZABETH WOHLGEMUTH
The fieldhouse was dedicated and named last night after Dr. F. C. Phog Allen but in the background through his many years of coaching has been Mrs. Allen who has helped and encouraged both Dr. Allen and his basketball players.
Mrs. Allen, 'Queen of Dedication,' Has Helped 'Phog' and Teams
Mrs. Allen has had a great but little heard of influence on the lives of many basketball players.
Before the advent of big-time basketball and assistant coaches, Mrs. Allen tutored basketball players who were having trouble with their grades. She helped them with English composition and rhetoric, French, and algebra.
"How slowly I have come to realize what a wonderful tribute the naming of the fieldhouse after my husband is," said Mrs. Allen. "The impact hit me when I saw the signs saying 'to the Allen Fieldhouse.' It was then that I realized that it was a memorial to my husband's great spirit."
Wednesday, March 2.1955 University Daily Kansan
For the past several years, Mrs. Allen has been inactive, since she said, "The boys now have paid tutors and assistant coaches to help them with their problems. Many of the boys now don't even know who I am."
Mrs. Allen has been a charming hostess at many parties given for basketball players at their old home at 801 Louisiana. During the season the Allens would give several small parties and usually at the end of the season a big party.
"I always worked for nothing and was always glad to be able to help," she said.
"My father was rather skeptical about Dr. Allen when we got married just as any father is concerned. He wanted to know what he was going to do, how he was going to make a living, and what type of person he was," she said.
"It was after the war that I began to notice the difference in attitude in basketball," she said. "It wasn't quite so collegiate anymore. They used to come because they loved the school and the game. Now they go out for the players."
The party she remembers best was given at the end of the 1939-40 season. "We gave a dinner-dance," she said, "complete with a five-piece orchestra and favor dances. We had steak, baked potatoes, and all the trimmings. Boys always like funny but the girls just didn't eat much. The boys seemed to look forward to the parties for weeks."
"The Chamber of Commerce and other civic groups now give the parties and I only see the boys if Dr. Allen," she said regretfully.
But, she said "I was so in love that I didn't even worry about it. I always did my part, saved every nickle, took care of the children, and did my own house work. I
loved him enough to think he would make a living and he has."
The closest she ever came to fame was in 1951 when Mrs. Doris Born of Medicine Lodge, mother of B. H. Born, a KU varsity basketball player, nominated her for Mother of the Year. "I wasn't selected," she said, "but I was thrilled to think she thought I was qualified."
Dr. and Mrs. Allen had six children. Forrest Jr. died at the age of 14.
All of the children were here for the dedication.
"I go to all the ball games here, I used to go on all the trips with him, too. When Dr. Allen was coaching at Springfield, Mo., we used to take the whole family on the trips," she recalled.
Mrs. Allen was born in Lafayette county Missouri in 1887 as Bess Milton, the only daughter in a family of six sons. She was graduated from Central Missouri State Teachers college. She taught at Blue Springs, Mo. for a year.
She and Dr. Allen have been married for 47 years.
More than anything Mrs. Allen has been a wife and a mother whose influence is seldom seen or heard—just felt.
Acacia Ambulance Wins Stamina Bet
By DICK WALT and KATHY KECK
The Acacia ambulance, which first appeared in public during the cross-country race between Wes Santee and his fraternity brothers now is going in for long distance. To settle a bet on the endurance of the dilapidated white Plymouth a familiar sight on the KU campus, four members of the fraternity made a trip to Strong City located near Emporia.
Dick Gilstrap, business junior, Leon Mattassarin, education freshman, and Larry Welch and Kenneth Scholfield, college freshmen, left Lawrence at 2:35 p.m. Sunday, driving the ambulance and following with another more reliable car in case of breakdowns.
Five minutes later, the group made its first stop—to readjust the hood, which had become unfasted. Resuming their journey, the four-some was soon detained again, this time by a flat tire. The loose hood and tire trouble proved to be lasting rather than temporary problems, as two more flats were picked up before the ambulance reached Emporia, and the hood came loose so often that the dismayed adventurers tore it from the car.
In addition to these problems, the trunk lid disappeared and the tire jack broke. This breakdown necessitated the temporary confiscation of some railroad ties from the Santa Fe railroad to serve as a substitute.
Nearing Emporia, the group ran into heavy fog. The headlights on the ambulance did not function, so the travelers were forced to borrow a flash light from a filling station to light the road.
The group arrived in Emporia at 6:00 p.m. more than three hours after leaving Lawrence. The four boys checked into a hotel, but lack of funds forced them to share a single room and one bed.
By this time the ambulance was also serving as a tow car, pulling the emergency car which had broken down.
After a long and uncomfortable night, the group arose and returned to Lawrence, pulling the reserve car behind the ambulance, the boys made it back to Mt. Oread at 9:20 a.m. Monday—just in time for class.
Shakespeare Originals Shown
Several original editions of Shakespeare's works are now on display in Watson library. The books are from the Folger Shakespeare's library in Washington, D.C., the greatest Shakespearean library in the world.
The quarto editions of "The Merry Wives of Windsor", which was published in 1619, and "A Mid-summer Night's Dream," also published in 1619, are the oldest works in the display. A quarto edition contains only one play.
The "First Folio," which was published in 1623, the "Second Folio," published in 1632, the "Third Folio," published in 1664, and the "Fourth Folio," published in 1885, are also on display. The "First Folio" represents the first time that someone collected plays and published them in one edition.
This is the first time that these editions have been shown in this area.
Because of their great value the books are on display only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. At night they are locked in a fireproof vault.
Also on display are costume plates for the University Theatre production of "Richard III." The costume plates are by Milton Howarth, technical director.
A map of the Globe theater, one of London's first Shakespearean theaters, is also on display.
The display will close March 19.
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