At 8 a.m. on Nov. 4, 1945, the women of the Chi Omega sorority slept peacefully in their beds.
By 8:15 a.m. the house was in a commotion.
“Fire!”
Residents sprang to their feet and ran out into the chilly morning to escape the billowing smoke.
“There we stood in the backyard in our nightgowns or pajamas and coats, watching our house burn,” an unamed Chi Omega active wrote in The Collegian on Nov. 13. “From all the smoke, it appeared we would have only one wall standing when the fire was finally put out.”
The chapter had redecorated the house that fall, and all the furniture on the first floor was brand new. The fire department quickly arrived and began battling the blaze. Fifteen minutes later, men of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity arrived to help clear out the furniture to prevent smoke damage.
“Our hearts nearly broke when one of the firemen took his ax and chopped holes in the floor and walls,” the Chi Omega explained. “However, when we saw the flames burst from these holes, we realized it had been necessary.”
The girls were guests of the faculty and staff while repairs were made over the next five days.
One week later, women woke to smoke in the house and were evacuated again. This time, there was no fire. The coal stove in the basement that heated the house had emptied, pushing smoke upstairs.
Most of the wall and floor space in the hall of the house had to be removed as a result of the fire on Nov. 4. Although electrical repairs were made within two weeks, the residents remained out of the house until the end of the fall semester.
“When they returned from Christmas vacation the house was more beautiful than ever before,” the 1946 Winona reported. “Once more the Chi O’s could entertain campus.”
The fire occurred weeks after the twentieth anniversary of the Rho Gamma chapter of Chi Omega on campus. The chapter was founded on Sept. 15, 1924—the second Chi Omega chapter founded in Michigan. During the first four years of the chapter’s existence, Chi Omegas lived in the house on the corner of Union and Fayette streets.
Groundbreaking ceremonies for the current Chi Omega house were held on Sunday, Sept. 25, 1927.
“Several of the fraternity songs were sung,” The Collegian reported. “Katherine Harrison offered a prayer after which Gertrude Theurer, president of the chapter, broke ground with a spade wound with cardinal and straw.”
The house was completed the next year, and immediately became a center of hospitality on campus. Construction was largely funded by Metta Woodward Olds and Eldora Dow. In 1929, women in the house issued an open invitation to students and faculty for dinner every Sunday evening.
“I think that part of the Greek life experience is having a house because then you have your own unique place,” said junior and current Chi Omega President Geena Pietrefase. “You can invite other people over, but you can still go to your own house. It’s a lot better than dorm life.”
The chapter paid the last bank note on the house in October of 1933, and held a special celebration. Actives enjoyed entertaining one another in their local paper “Owl’s Feather” which was published regularly until 1950, when the paper was discontinued for financial reasons.
Chi Omegas were known for their ability to balance their hospitality with other responsibilities in campus clubs and as class representatives.
“What do you think of when you think of a Chi Omega? A Greek goddess?” The Collegian asked in February of 1976. “Athena, goddess of justice, is the holder of the scales. Like Athena, the Chi O’s strive to attain a balance in their activities and daily lives.”
In 2004, catastrophe struck again when a gust of wind blew a sheet into an unattended candle used during initiation ceremonies. The sheet caught fire, and 40 women were evacuated from the house. The fire was contained to one room in the basement, but several of the actives’ belongings were damaged.
“I cannot describe the feeling when you walk in a room and everything you own is destroyed,” then Chi Omega active Julie Tedesco told The Collegian soon after the incident. “It was like walking into a bad dream.”
The house was repaired, and more recently refurbished to allow space for 28 residents.
“We just got some major renovations done in the past couple of summers,” Pietrefase said. “We have a gorgeous living room with neutral colors—it’s very warm inside. The house used to be kind of dark. The decorators got carried away with the cardinal and straw theme.The social room used to be red wallpaper with sunflowers going around. Now it’s an off-white with very welcoming, friendly colors.”
On bid night each year, new pledges run out the doors of Central Hall into the house that Chi Omega calls home.
