Remembering Henry Hall

After 51 years of serving as the on-campus home to generations of students, Waight G. Henry Jr. Residence Hall—or simply Henry Hall or New Dorm—is coming down this summer. In remembrance of its five decades, it’s time to honor its significance to so many.

Share your story here, or use the hashtag #HenryMemory to share your recollections on social media.

Celebrate your Henry Memory!

Consider sharing a story and making a gift below in honor or in memory of your roommate, resident director or assistant, housemother or friend. Also, take home a memento from Henry:

With a gift of $25 or more, you can request one of the room number plaques. These will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis and mailed via U.S. Postal Service. 

Your Recollections

I was an R.A. during some of my time in New Dorm. I remember standing on the balcony and Mrs. Hitchcock (our dorm mother) coming up to report to me that “someone was throwing water balloons from the building!” I tried to act surprised.

Little did she know that I was holding a water balloon behind my back, which I quickly and discreetly passed to my roommate, Ronda Holloway ’83, who deposited it into our room.

—Jane Cooley ’83, M.Ed.’84

I lived in Henry from Fall 1996 until May/June 1998. It was a great dorm that everyone wanted to live in during that time, and I was fortunate to have a single room in ’97-’98. Sorry to see it go, but most of campus looks nothing like it did in the ’90s. C'est la vie.

—Tracy Eley ’99

My work-study job was working the intercom in the lobby of the New Dorm. I had to go to the girls’ rooms because the intercom didn’t work. I was working on the night Dobbs burned. 

—Julianna Nesbit Etheridge ’71 

There are so many: standing on the balcony and watching the “streakers” run down the street, sitting in Jay Lowe's room on the first floor and listening to Eric Clapton's Layla, sitting with my boyfriend Rocky in the common area on the third floor, sharing a room my sophomore year with Catherine. It was so nice to have A/C, heat, a phone in your room and a semi-private bathroom after having lived in Hawkes.

—Shelly Wilson ’76

By far, my favorite Henry memory is Mary Wilson, who was the Resident Director for Henry for years. It wasn’t any one in particular, but the collective which is the memory of Mrs. Wilson. Mrs. Wilson was the epitome of the Southern lady, genuinely loved her kids and was so sharp. Every Friday she would go to the beauty shop to get her hair taken care of, and she was always in to judge campus activities when asked. I think she judged at least two Hill of the Hill pageants.

She was an older lady but clearly enjoyed spending time with college kids, and most of us loved her. She had her funny quirks, and depended on the RAs, but that, in its own way, was endearing for me. I was one of those RAs. She wanted to be an aunt figure, and I feel she succeeded.

If I had to come up with one memory it would be her description of “The Bouncer.” In the 2009-2010 academic year, there was someone who would bounce a ball at all hours of the night, and she couldn't ever determine who it was. It drove her nuts. So much so that the following year she would talk about this mystery figure quite often. I, as an RA, heard about this person often. It is a great memory because I was the mystery bouncer. I didn’t realize it at first, but later all of the details came together perfectly. I never told her.

—Cody Furse ’12

Going onto the balcony walkways to watch storms roll in and the all-nighters in the Henry computer lab.

—Matt Montgomery ’07

Does anyone remember the Bible study in “New Dorm” basement? In the early ’80s there was a weekly Bible study with singing and guitars. It was a great way to make friends, see your crush . . . oh, and study the Word, of course. ☺️

—Lori Anderson ’83

October 4, 1995. My senior year. I was living off campus on Waverly Way. Hurricane Opal was coming toward us, and it was ugly. When the eye of the storm crossed over us, we all headed home from a Hurricane Party (naturally) at the Delt house. I could not get in my driveway because there were nine trees down in my yard. So, my roommate and I headed back to campus and ended up staying in a first-floor room with about 12 other people, as the second half of the storm blew over us.

—Cynthia Shonts ’96

My children and I moved into Henry for three weeks when I first accepted a job at the college in 2001.  We ate out of a cooler and used one of the desks for our kitchen counter. The kids slept in one room and did their homework on the desks.

—Cindi Bearden, Faculty

The 2009 “rave” party. Half of the freshmen on Mooney’s football team managed to fit in one suite before an assistant coach showed up. We had to run 100-yard suicides after practice for like a month. We made a lifelong bond over that, lol.

—David Hambrick ’13

I spent the first quarter of the summer of 1975 in New Dorm. My roommate was one of my best friends, Carol Blanton Brown. We woke up in the middle of the night to screams, police cars and ambulances—all in front of New Dorm. Found out the young woman had delivered her baby—by herself in the room below us! Scary, but memorable!

—Julie Watson ’76, M’09

One of my favorite memories at Henry Dorm was when my Mom (Mary Wilson, RD of Henry Dorm) and I took care of all the South African Olympic team during the ’96 Summer Olympics. It was so cool to host real Olympic athletes. They were all so awesome to me and my mom that summer.

I am fortunate to say I got to grow up on the LaGrange College campus and especially at Henry Dorm. Mom lived there for over 15 years as the Resident Director/Dorm Mom. I will cherish all of our walks around campus to go to dinner and the basketball games. Mom was a mother to thousands over the years and absolutely loved her time living at Henry Dorm. I remember being 10-11 years old and walking down from Henry to the gym for ballroom dance classes.

As time went on, we would celebrate family Christmases in the lobby of Henry Dorm. Sometimes, some of the students who didn’t go home for the holidays would join us. Mom always looked after everyone she could. Mom misses Henry Dorm, her students, and the college so much.

—Josh Wilson ’02

Myself and Tony Alverson lived in the room right under the dorm mother. It was fun, and I'll cherish those memories always.

—Gerald Lancaster ’88

I remember the first floor that faced the ball fields. I once dragged a couch onto the concrete, ran a cable and TV outside my room, and had the refrigerator outside the room. We watched MTV and UGA football on Saturdays. Oh, good times. As Delts, we owned the first floor of Henry Hall for years before we moved out and onward. I liked the first floor because there were no suite mates, so we had a bathroom between you and your roommate.

Lots of good memories of Henry Hall. Getting caught on the girls’ floor, panty raids, late-night parties on the second and first floors, and hanging out on the sun deck at the rear. What a great place, and no freshmen were allowed in the dorm. You have to be a junior or senior, and if you were lucky as a sophomore, you knew how lucky you were to be living there. What a great place.

—Tom Fucci ’87

Walking down the hill after class one afternoon and busting it hard with people watching from the balcony. I gracefully got up and waved as they all laughed. 😂💖

—Lauren Beauchamp ’01

When I lived in New Dorm, men were on floors 1 and 2, women on 3 and 4. Men had to go to the buzzer/intercom right outside the dorm mother’s apartment to call up to your room when they were picking you up for a date or whatever. That’s right, there were no cell phones back then!

—Eugenia McCall ’81

My fondest memories were making lifelong friends and learning about life.

—Lisa Griffith ’83

A knock on my door at like 4 or 5 in the morning because a student from Florida had never seen snow and wanted to play in it.

—Rob Looney ’02

My roommate, Spencer Cullom, and I resided in Henry for the 2009-2010 academic year. It was OLD then! We were the only one of our friends to stay in this hall as Spencer hated community bathrooms. We had our own bathroom but shared a common area plus a bathroom with two others whom we never knew. It was strange. I was so glad when we moved to Candler the next year!

My fondest memory of Henry is from our softball team. We had a team-building activity one night, Ninja something, dressed in our all-black sweats turned inside out, and went to the Henry computer lab to print off terrible pictures of our team. We went to Coach Claybrook's house and pasted them all over the front of her house and her front yard. The pictures I have still make me giggle today of that fun night.

—Emmie (Trull) Cass ’12

… For the last three years at LaGrange College, I called Room 103 my room. Sophomore year, I shared the room with Eddie Johnson, then junior and senior years I was able to be there on my own. …

To keep order was our “house mother,” now better known as “resident advisor,” Mrs. Hitchcock. Bless her soul, she had to try to bring order to kids who were growing up. She was a saint. …

The building had a master antenna going to each room. Funny thing, in the planning process, no one ever worried if the antenna worked. In fact, the two NBC affiliates (Atlanta and Columbus) were left off the system. Students would bring these shortcomings up to Austin Cook, LC’s Business Manager. His stock answer: we were there to study, not watch TV. Of course, he was correct.

Kids growing up. During my three years living in Henry, we saw streaking for several days. Constant fireworks, water balloon battles. One night some fraternity brothers found a billy goat and brought him over to a fellow’s room and enjoyed keeping Dean of Students John Love very busy at night. One time, some guys actually moved the Coke machine into the elevator. No wonder things were breaking down. We never gave Dean Love the credit he deserved for keeping us in line. He really had a tough job, and he would go to bat for a kid if he thought it would make a difference.

I would not trade my time at LaGrange for anything. LaGrange College saw something in me, developed it, and I am so very thankful.

Goodbye, New Dorm/Henry Hall. It was fun, but it’s had its time. Great memories for sure. I hope that Dr. Henry will be memorialized in a more appropriate way down the road. He was a transitional leader, making LC co-ed, building all the new buildings on the Hill and Dodd and Price, building our endowment, etc.

—George Wheelock ’75

I lived with some wonderful people who became friends with me. The dorm was named after my grandfather Waights G. Henry, Jr. I had great years at the college as a student and a grandson. I read over past postings and came to the forgotten memory of Mary Wilson, who was the Resident Director for Henry for years whom I meet along with my uncle George Henry, who is the son of Waights G. Henry, Jr.

—Edward Preuit Kirven ’97

Hanging out with friends, enjoyed Bible Studies in the basement. Bid Day in 1980. Each sorority had a lobby area on the third, fourth and fifth floors for their new members to run to. It was exciting to see who was coming down the hill from the patio and guess which floor they were going to get off on.

—Betsy Parker ’84

When my sister graduated, I moved into her room, No. 403, in the New Dorm. I served as president of the dorm and really enjoyed working with Mrs. Hitchcock, who was the House Mother. During that time, we eliminated the curfew and acquired cable TV! Of course, my favorite memories are of the wonderful times spent and bonds made with my sorority sisters and many other friends! I treasure these memories!

—Julia Barber ’74

I was a KD at LaGrange and we would have “concerts” on the balcony. There were a few of us who loved The Producers band and would put on a show. What a great time!!!!

—Tracey Hardy Thompson ’88

There are so many. We would often turn up our stereos and sing into our hairbrush microphones.  Apologies to anyone studying or sleeping during those times! Mrs. Hitchcock was not a fan and hastened to tell us to go inside and turn it down!!!

—Anne Ellington ’82

So many wonderful memories in this dorm!! From getting ready for formals on the fifth floor to singing with the chorus in the basement with Mrs. Doc. Studying in the lobbies. Charging up one side of the stairwells accepting my Phi Mu bid to harmonizing with friends in the stairwells on the other side.  Running lines over and over for Main Stage and summer theatre at Callaway. Laughing until the wee hours with suitemates. Feeling like a champ when you could get one of the coveted parking spots on the street in front of the dorm. Walking into the main lobby and seeing what friends were waiting to greet you on the floors above. Waiting on the elevator. Running from one side of the suite to the other if the RA was approaching! Looking over the balconies to see if anything was happening at the fraternity houses or the soccer field. The memories go on and on. Thank you for all the grand times, Henry Dorm!

—Mary Leslie Hardy ’93

PLEASE MAKE A GIFT BELOW IN HONOR OF YOUR HENRY MEMORY!