9. Bessie May Allen and Agnes Jones
by Bonnie McDonald
Two women have been responsible for the steady growth and de-
velopment of the home economics program at University of Wisconsin-
Stevens Point: Bessie May Allen and Agnes Jones.' Both deserve special
recognition in any discussion of women in the UW system.
Bessie May Allen, a pioneer in the field of home economics, was born on
3 May 1882, in Castalin, Iowa, the only child of the village innkeeper and
stage coach agent. Allen earned a diploma at Iowa State Teachers College
at
Cedar Falls, and B.S. and M.A. degrees from Columbia University. She did
additional study at both the University of Chicago and the University of
Hawaii.
She taught in Iowa in a rural school and at New Hartford High School be-
fore she returned as principal to the Castalin school she had once attended.
She first taught home economics in a private girls' school in Whitby, Ontario.
She also taught at Illinois State Normal School before joining the faculty
of
the Stevens Point Normal School in the fall of 1913.
Her arrival in Stevens Point coincided with the Board of Regents' ap-
proval of a major expansion of Old Main which was to add the east wing for
"domestic sciences and arts" and an auditorium.
Bessie May Allen was one of those chiefly responsible for organizing the
Wisconsin Home Economics Association. She served two terms as its presi-
dent (1924-27).
Undoubtedly Allen was a forerunner of the current feminist movement. In
an era when women took a back seat and men served in leadership roles,
Allen was elected president of the College Faculty. Also, in the economic
squeeze following the Depression of the 1930s, the Regents voted to curtail
the home economics program at Stevens Point. However, Allen marshalled
her forces and staked a defense zone around her program with the result that
the following year this decision was reversed. The home economics program
continues uninterrupted to this day. It is also of interest to note that
when the
state normal schools were empowered to grant four-year degrees in ed-
ucation, Bessie May Allen saw to it that the first two degrees went to home
economics education graduates.
It is a tribute to the perseverance of Allen that home economics survived
the lean years that came during her stewardship of the program. She was
honored in her lifetime when one of the two student residences was named
Allen Center. She died in Stevens Point on 4 February 1969.
Today the School of Home Economics continues to thrive under the
leadership of Professor Agnes Jones, one of the most prominent women ad-
ministrators at UW-Stevens Point.
Agnes Andersen Jones was born in Withee, Wisconsin, the oldest child of
Mr. and Mrs. Sam Andersen. After earning her bachelor's degree from UW-
Madison she taught in high school and continued her education on a part-
time basis working toward her master's degree.
From 1943 to 1956, with the exception of one year, Jones was employed
by UW-Madison. She served as an assistant librarian in the agricultural libr-


57