This Oral History Interview was conducted in Waldo Hall March 3, 2013. OSU student Allison Burr interviewed Gail Nickerson as a follow-up to the interview from 1995.
In this interview Gail discusses dress codes, rules, formal dinner on Sunday with the "house mother" and her impression of the changes made to Waldo Hall over the years.
"You could not have a date to go to a football game – there was no “Fussing." Boys sat with boys and girls had to sit with girls. There was NO sitting together."
"It was probably too strict – but for the times it probably wasn’t any stricter than most peoples parents.”
"The rules were meant to say to the parents 'this college is taking care of their kids'"
"You couldn’t wear pants unless it was to go to gym class.”
"You couldn’t walk across campus unless you had a coat across your pants.”
"I went out with a guy who was a pianist… I think the only reason he went out with me was so he could play the fabulous grand piano in the lounge at Waldo."
"There weren’t a lot of people involved in hop research … so you can be an expert.”
"We developed new varieties of hops that were disease resistant."
"The varieties are Cascade, Nugget, Columbia, Willamette were developed at OSU with the USDA."
"If you do something long enough you either get better at it or you leave."
"I think I have forty-some articles that have been published."
"I got to go to Strasberg. One person from each country is nominated for The International Order of the Hop Award. I am a “Chevalier” of the Hop!"
"Thank you Gail for your excellent service to OSU, to science and to the Corvallis community."