I very much hope that Iowa State preserves at least one complete Pammel Court unit for posterity. Not just as an exterior, but as habited interiors.

Pammel existed for more than 50 years, and legions of ISU married students passed through those Quonset huts and later, the sheds that provided cheap comfort.

Alums today still drive their children and grandchildren through Pammel. I can only guess, but I would imagine that more people do this than visit, say, the Farm House, which is a campus institution. So, too, is Pammel Court.

It would be a real pity if it were allowed to perish without someone rescuing at least one unit (four apartments) and preserving them in, say, the style of the ’40s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.

Not to do so would be to confine to oblivion a most important part of the University’s post-war history.

J. Thomas Emmerson

Professor

Journalism & mass communication