Diane Lally Culhane, Interview with Scarlett Andes, 2020

Diane Lally Culhane, Mundelein class of 1968, was interviewed by Loyola graduate student, Scarlett Andes. Lewis discusses how Mundelein College allowed her to explore her faith and enabled her to be confident in expressing her views and in her later career. Lewis characterizes her time at Mundelein as one shaped by three major events — the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, and the Vietnam War. In particular, she reflects on how the mid 1960s marked a transition away from the “seeming safety” of the 1950s to a time when one felt like they were “walking on eggshells”. Lewis also outlines her involvement in student activist efforts such as Students for McCarthy and the Chicago Area Lay Movement.

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October 28, 2020

Diane Lally Culhane grew up in Libertyville, Illinois. With the help of scholarships, she was the first member of her family to attend college. Diane chose Mundelein College both because she could get scholarship there and because she liked the atmosphere when she visited for an Open House. At Mundelein, she lived in the Northland dorm and went home to Libertyville for the weekends. She majored in English and volunteered, both for Chicago Area Lay Movement (CALM) tutoring inner-city children, and campaigning in Wisconsin for Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy in 1968. After graduating from Mundelein in 1968, she earned a graduate degree at the University of Illinois and held a career in editing. She currently lives in Arlington Heights, Illinois with her husband Paul Culhane.

Scarlett Andes is a graduate student in the Public History Master’s program at Loyola University Chicago and is a Sesquicentennial Scholar at the WLA, working on projects to mark Loyola’s 150th anniversary. She grew up in Vernon Hills, Illinois and studied anthropology at the University of Illinois.

Diane Lally Culhane
Interview with Scarlett Andes, October 28, 2020
Via Zoom
Time Log

0-5 minutes
Introduction, Culhane’s parents moving from North Side of Chicago to Libertyville, decision to attend Mundelein College, attending a Mundelein open house, choosing to major in English, teachers welcoming questions and expressions of opinion
5-10 minutes
Discussion with theology professor Sister Mary (Thomas Daniel) Donahey, BVM, about losing faith, Mrs. Chobanion teaching about the Vietnam War, role of current events in Mundelein atmosphere, living at the Northland dorm during the week, roommates
10-15 minutes
Roommates and Northland dorm amenities, going home on the weekends, Sunday evening dorm meetings to announce engagement news, lasting friendships and staying in touch, reliving the college experience, volunteering for Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy in 1968, Class president Marge Sklencar
15-20 minutes
Volunteering in Wisconsin and Indiana for political campaigns, President Johnson announcing he would not run for reelection, assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy in 1968, Black students at Mundelein opening up about their experiences not feeling welcome, volunteering for Chicago Area Lay Movement (CALM), roommate who went to Selma
20-25 minutes
Roommate who went with Mundelein group to Selma to march with Martin Luther King, Jr., Culhane regretting not joining the trip, how Mundelein changed during her time there, Speakeasy events with speakers, class days, limited socializing outside of school
25-30 minutes
Interactions with Loyola students, snowball fight with the Loyola basketball team during the Blizzard of 1967, how students adapted during the blizzard, religious traditions, robes and hats, favorite places at Mundelein, the old library (Piper Hall)
30-35 minutes
Popular music such as the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and Peter, Paul and Mary; watching and reading the news at night, Speakeasy events on Vietnam War, the draft, the tension of the 1960s
35-40 minutes
Going to University of Illinois for a master’s degree in English, different behavior of female students compared to at Mundelein, working in editing at Scott Foresman, marrying and moving to Texas and back, freelancing, Culhane and Andes discussing the editing industry and University of Illinois, anti-Catholic stereotype from students there
40-40:24 minutes
Wrapping up interview

Diane Lally Culhane 2020 Index 
 
KEY 
DLC = Diane Lally Culhane Interview 
 
INDEX 
Arlington Heights, Illinois, DLC 0-5 
Beatles, DLC 30-35 
BVM, DLC 0-5, DLC 20-25, DLC 35-40  
Candlelighting Ceremony, DLC 25-30 
Catholicism, DLC 0-5 
Chicago Area Lay Movement (CALM), DLC 15-20  
Chicago Blizzard of 1967, DLC 25-30  
Chicago “L,” DLC 0-5, DLC 10-15 
Chicago Public Library, DLC 25-30  
Chobanion (professor), DLC 5-10 
Dale, Stan, DLC 20-25 
Donahey, Mary (Thomas Daniel), BVM, DLC5-10 
English, DLC 0-5, DLC 25-30, DLC 35-40  
Glenview, Illinois DLC 35-40  
Gregory, Dick, DLC 20-25 
Humboldt Park, DLC 0-5 
Holy Angels School, DLC 15-20  
Home Economics, DLC 25-30  
Houston, DLC 35-40  
Ignatia (woman religious), DLC 20-25 
Indiana, DLC 10-15 
Jesuits, DLC 20-25 
Johnson, Lyndon B., DLC 15-20  
Kennedy, Robert, DLC 10-15, DLC 15-20 
King, Martin Luther, Jr., DLC 15-20  
Libertyville, Illinois DLC 0-5, DLC 10-15, DLC 20-25 
Logan Square, DLC 0-5 
Loyola University Chicago, DLC 20-25, DLC 25-30  
Loyola University Chicago Loyola Lounge, DLC 25-30  
McCarthy, Eugene, DLC 10-15 
Milwaukee, DLC 15-20 
Mundelein College, DLC 0-5, DLC 5-10, DLC 15-20, DLC 20-25, DLC 30-35, DLC 35-40 
Mundelein College Coffey Hall, DLC 5-10, DLC 10-15 
Mundelein College Coffey Lounge, DLC 20-25  
Mundelein College/Loyola University Chicago affiliation, DLC 5-10 
Mundelein College McCormick Lounge, DLC 15-20 
Mundelein College Northland Hall, DLC 5-10, DLC 10-15, DLC 15-20 
Mundelein College Piper Hall, DLC 25-30  
Mundelein College Tea Room, DLC 25-30  
Newman, Paul, DLC 10-15 
Nietzsche, Friedrich DLC 35-40  
Percy, Charles, DLC 20-25 
Powell, Paul, DLC 20-25 
Selma, Alabama, DLC 15-20, DLC 20-25 
Scott Foresman, DLC 35-40 
Simon and Garfunkel, DLC 30-35 
Sklencar, Marge, DLC 10-15 
Speakeasy, DLC 20-25, DLC 30-35 
St. Xavier’s, DLC 0-5 
Students for McCarthy, DLC 10-15, DLC 15-20 
Washington Park Housing Project, DLC 15-20  
Wisconsin, DLC 10-15 
The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, DLC 30-35 
Theology, DLC 5-10 
University of Illinois, DLC 35-40 
University of Illinois Daniels Hall, DLC 35-40 
Vietnam War, DLC 5-10, DLC 30-35 

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