Robert Harilee vacuums his room at Pomeroy Hall. The 17-year-old lived with 11 girls and 15 other boys in Pomeroy Hall while attending nearby American High School on the Seoul Area South Command Post, as there were no high schools for them to attend where their families lived. (James Vestal/Stars and Stripes)
This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Pacific — Korea edition, Dec. 16, 1960. It is republished unedited in its original form.
SEOUL — A home away from home may sound a bit trite but it describes the situation of 27 American girls and boys here.
The 11 girls and 16 boys are dependents of U.S. Army officers and civilian personnel in Pusan, Taegu and Uijongbu. They live in Pomeroy Hall, a low green structure, while attending nearby American High School on the Seoul Area Command South Post. There are no high schools for them to attend where their families live.
The boys and girls eat all their meals during the week in the high school cafeteria, but go home on the weekends when the “billets” are closed.
Cherry LeClear, a 14-year-old from Rapid City, S.D., looks longingly at her idol singer Fabian. LeClear lived with 10 other girls and 16 boys in Pomeroy Hall while attending nearby American High School on the Seoul Area South Command Post, as there were no high schools for them to attend where their families lived. (James Vestal/Stars and Stripes)
“It is really nice,” said 15-year-old Jean Knight, “even though we do have to be in every night at 7:30 and have two hours of compulsory study. Lights go out at 11 p.m. and we must be in our rooms at 10 p.m.”
“And since our grades fell off recently, we have to do all our studying at our desks,” added Cherry LeClear, a 14-year-old from Rapid City, S.D.
Supervisors of the dorm are Joyce Blevins and Joe Crosswell, who both said they thoroughly enjoyed their work as combination tutors and housemothers of the students.
The girls said they had to go all the way to Taegu or Pusan to date boys due to the week-day curfew. Ardell Ammerman, 15, from Aberdeen, Md., said, “I have boy friends here, but I have to ride the train five hours to date them.”
“Miss Blevins is about like a second mother,” said 15-year-old Joan Knight, who is president of the dormitory council.
Sue Smee looks on as Cherry LeClear combs her hair. The two girls lived with 9 other girls and 16 boys in Pomeroy Hall while attending nearby American High School on the Seoul Area South Command Post. (James Vestal/Stars and Stripes)
Paul Anka is tops on the girls’ popular singers charts but Elvis Presley and Johnny Mathis are close behind.
Cherry LeClear’s favorite is Fabian, to whom she has devoted a shrine containing a huge picture of the teen-age idol.
Pizza, birthday and holiday parties help to break the monotony of the daily life.
Judy Anglemeyer, 14-year-old from Missoula, Mon., said the boys don’t dance much, “but the twist is the panic of the moment. It’s not like any other dance at all. It’s one of its own.”
Over in the boys’ section, Crosswell said their problems ranged all the way from worry over the loss of hair to conflicts over the use of the three showers and one telephone.
Dan Edson (center) and Richard Beaudry chat as they wait for Keith Jewell to finish up in the shower. The three boys lived with 11 girls and 13 other boys in Pomeroy Hall while attending nearby American High School on the Seoul Area South Command Post. (James Vestal/Stars and Stripes)
The phones stay busy in each section, explained Crosswell, and the boys sometimes call their parents several times a day.
Duane Eddy reigns supreme as the singer of the moment among the boys, but some prefer instrumentals. Many of the boys spend their spare time taking tangsu-do (Korean karate) classes at the high school.
Gerald Madison, a 16-year-old junior, said he liked the life in the dorm “for a change from life at home. There is nothing to do in Taegu if we were there all the time.”
The boys are divided as to their plans for the future. A quick poll showed two in favor of West Point, one in favor of the Navy, one planning to take ROTC in college and one was “waiting until they come and get me.”
“The boys won’t admit it, but they are very girl conscious. The time they spend in front of the mirror proves it,” said Crosswell.
“It is a strange situation, probably unlike any other in the Far East,” the dorm supervisor said, “but I think they really like living together like this.”
