Sept. 22, 1909

At 6.30 we took the train for Beloit after saying an emotional number of tearful good byes … Nic and I had a fine ride and jollied and laughed all the way. Arrived at Madison at 4 a.m. and caught a train for Beloit at 6.00.

T.H. Chrischilles (1912) employed wit and artistic talent in his diaries of College life.

With those words, Theodore H. “T.H.” Chrischilles, of the class of 1912, embarked on his second year of studies at Beloit College. The son of a merchant, he left his hometown of Algona, Iowa, in 1908 for the long trip to Wisconsin. Nearly a century later, T.H.’s great-grandson—Ben Chrischilles—retraced his path eastward to the Beloit campus. A member of the class of 2009, Ben is the fifth member of the Chrischilles family to find a home away from home in Beloit. Ben was also preceded by his grandfather, the late Theodore R. “Ted” Chrischilles, eldest son of T.H. and a 1942 graduate, and Ted’s brothers, Jack’44 and Julian Chrischilles’50.

Beloit figures prominently in Chrischilles family lore, in part because of T.H.’s four handwritten journals, which he kept faithfully during the two years he studied at the College and his later years at the University of Minnesota. Remarkably well-preserved, the volumes are illustrated with colorful sketches and satirical cartoons that offer a fascinating glimpse into college life in the early 20th century.

Brimming with vitality, T.H. thrived at Beloit. Whether studying class assignments, or joining Sigma Chi fraternity brothers in card games, or happily squiring campus co-eds to evening dances, he approached each day with gusto. His journal entries reveal a young man eagerly embracing all the College had to offer.

Chrischilles’ fond memories of his alma mater may have persuaded young Ted to enroll at Beloit in 1938. Like his father, Ted found fellowship in Sigma Chi. Brother Jack arrived in 1940 and also pledged the fraternity. Both men declared majors in psychology but pursued separate interests. “Ted had his set of friends and I had mine,” Jack says from his retirement home in Jacksonville, Fla.

From left: Ted’42, Julian’50, and Jack Chrischilles’44, the second generation of the family to attend Beloit.

For the second generation of Chrischilles students, carefree days of classes, fraternity functions, and dinner dates at Beloit’s elegant 615 Club restaurant were cut short by the United States’ entry into World War II. By the spring of 1942, students were preparing for an uncertain future. “The men were quite concerned about going into the Army or the Navy,” Jack recalls.

The Chrischilles brothers both enlisted in the Navy, a move that enabled Jack to continue his studies in summer school until he matriculated in 1943. After officer training school, he was stationed in Daytona Beach, Fla., where he filled administrative positions for more than three years. Ted, who had graduated the year before, was immediately inducted into the service. He fought in Europe and was awarded a Silver Star for bravery under fire during the amphibious assault on Salerno, Italy, in 1943.

Following the Allied victory, the brothers returned to Algona, where they both began working at The Chrischilles Store, an enterprise that T.H. inherited from his grandfather and father and co-managed for many years. Eventually, Ted and Jack became partners in managing the store, which remained in business until 1990. T.H. passed away in 1981, and Ted died in August of this year.

The 1946 arrival of Julian coincided with a new era at the College. A Navy veteran, he was among many recently discharged GIs to enroll then. “Beloit seemed like a natural fit, since my father and brothers had attended it,” he says. “It was quite exciting, because it was the first time that it was a mixture of somewhat older students with younger ones.”

Greg Anderson

Ben Chrischilles’09 shows a 1909 volume of his great-grandfather’s illustrated diary about his Beloit years. When Ben returned to campus this fall for his senior year, it was exactly 100 years since T.H. Chrischilles arrived at Beloit for the first time. Click to enlarge

Julian joined Sigma Chi and built a network of off-campus friendships while working as a correspondent for the Beloit Daily News. “I loved the town and the school,” he says. After graduating, he, too, returned to Algona, where he launched a career in newspaper reporting and publishing. He later retired to Okoboji, Iowa.

The Chrischilles’ association with Beloit might have ended there, had Ben not chanced upon a description of the College as he reviewed admissions materials highlighting Midwestern colleges. Raised in Iowa City, he was unaware of family ties to the school until his father pointed them out. “I wanted a liberal arts education and realized that Beloit was a great opportunity for that,” he says. “The fact that it was a family legacy made it that much better.”

In Beloit, Chrischilles family history still resonates. As an economics and management major and math minor, Ben is often in Campbell Hall—one of Beloit’s oldest structures, and a building his relations would remember as North College. Although he is not a member of Sigma Chi, he has scanned the fraternity’s collection of class portraits looking for familiar names and faces. His downtown apartment is located in the building that once housed the Hilton Hotel, an establishment that his great-grandfather visited. Down the street, the 615 Club remains in operation.

Recently, while paging through one of T.H. Chrischilles’ journals, Ben marveled at his great-grandfather’s creativity. Although he has never kept a journal—text messaging is more his style—he is glad to have a tangible and direct link to his family’s Beloit connections. “Every time I look at my great-grandfather’s journals, I can’t help but compare his experiences with mine,” Ben says. “It’s amazing how things have changed, but there are still a few lingering similarities.”

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