In the early twentieth-century, fires threatened college campuses. At Wittenberg, fires destroyed Hamma Divinity Hall (1901) and damaged the Alpha Xi Delta house (1911 and 1914), Carnegie Science Hall (1917), the Phi Kappa Psi house (1930), the Beta Theta Pi house (1939), Blair Hall (1949), and even the Kissing Bridge (1950).
But Wittenberg鈥檚 most tragic fire occurred in May 1928.
Born to Daniel Sipe and Dora Hawk Sipe in Jackson, Ohio in 1908, Hilda Sipe graduated from Shelby High School in 1927. She was a member of the Biology Club.
At Wittenberg College in 1927-1928, she lived in Woodlawn, a wood and brick structure on Woodlawn Ave. used as a dormitory for freshmen women.
Some time after midnight, on Tuesday, May 15, 1928, a fire of undetermined causation broke out at Woodlawn. A fraternity had visited the house for a midnight serenade, so a number of the ladies were still awake when the fire was detected at 2:00 a.m. This proved fortunate, because the fire spread very quickly, so quickly that women upstairs had to jump from the second floor. Five were hospitalized with injuries, one seriously enough that doctors feared for her life (she recovered).
Over twenty escaped without harm. But when they regrouped outside the house, Hilda was not among them. It took until 3:30 for the firemen to control the fire and to get inside, where they find Hilda鈥檚 body, upstairs near a bathroom, where she had succumbed to the smoke.
The fire鈥檚 cause was never determined with certainty. As David Finster, a former volunteer fireman himself, explained to me several years ago, the structure of that house made updrafts a risk and the rapid spread of fire likely.
Two days after the fire, Dean C. G. Shatzer and Dean Ruth Immel, along with 35 Wittenberg students, attended Hilda鈥檚 funeral in Shelby. All of Wittenberg鈥檚 social activities were cancelled the following weekend.
Hilda was twenty years old. Today, April 8th, is her birthday.
About The Project
With Wittenberg now celebrating its 175th year, and the University unable to hold regular in-person classes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor of History Thomas T. Taylor has started circulating several pieces on Wittenberg's history. Some originated in earlier series, either This Month in Wittenberg History or Happy Birthday Wittenberg. Others have their origin in the Wittenberg History Project or in some other, miscellaneous project. Sincerest thanks to Professor Taylor for connecting alumni, faculty, staff, and students through a historic lens.