bowlesalumni - Mrs. Beynan

Mrs. Margaret Beynan was housemother from 1955 to ??. In contrast to Mrs. Gilmore she was rather a stern figure but did act as a stabilizing influence on Hall antics through the late 1950 and thru the 1960s. She died in 1983.

Margaret Beynan came to the Hall in the Fall of '55. She was scheduled to come in the Fall of '54 but was unable to because of illness. Eleanor Marino came to the Hall in the Fall of '54 in Mrs. Beynan's stead, and was there the whole year. [ Elliot Baum '55 ]

A Bowlesman remembers:
Her husband was Dutch and she spent WWII in occupied Holland with him. I believe that her husband was an officer in the Dutch Army and went underground when the Germans invaded. He joined the Dutch resistance and was shot in their backyard by the Germans in the latter months of the war.

As I remember, Mrs Beynan came to the Hall in the winter of 1955. I found her to be a very gracious and friendly person. She was a bit more reserved than Rose Gilmore. Mrs Beynan shared with me that the UC Housing office had sent her to BH in Rose Gilmore's wake to get the antics of Bowlesmen more in line with what the Housing Office deemed proper. She had modest success, hence the belief of some that she was "stern".

She enjoyed theater and music. I accompanied her to several plays on Campus in '55 & '56. She also supported the replacement of the Hall's china with the Bowles crest in '55 when the Housing Office wanted to replace breakage with generic china used in other campus dorms & dining facilities.

I was the Hall's resident facilities repair and replacement person that year, and
recall her help with the Housing Office. She did many things w/o fanfare.

She had 2 sons. When she left Bowles Hall, she lived in Berkeley till she died.
I believe that at least one of her sons lived in Berkeley too... May still be there?
Ken Wiersema, Bowles Hall '56

Comments:

The name Roger Samuelson is bouncing around in my head. Could that be the name of Mrs. B's replacement?

I am from the class of 1964 and stayed one addition semester through January of 1965. I recall Mrs. Beynan still there in June of 1964 but I believe a young husband/wife team took over her duties in the fall of 1964. I can't recall their names. I'll ask a fellow Bowlesman from the class of 1966 what he remembers.