From 1914 to 1918, Hamline campus sweethearts Luella Phaff and Benjamin Fuller wrote each other letters that offer a glimpse into their lives. They had met as first-year students, and continued their romance after Fuller returned to his family farm in Redwood Falls.
“This is truly their hearts on a page, talking about Hamline, about what they are doing and how they feel about each other,” said Shandi Burrows, university archivist.
Personal letters like these were the focus of “Pieces of Hamline: Postmarked and Preserved,” a Homecoming and Alumni Week lecture led by Burrows. The presentation explored Hamline history through four collections of letters, from Civil War correspondence to notes exchanged between campus sweethearts, like Phaff and Fuller.
“Standard official histories tell us what happened, when it happened, and where it happened, but they leave out the heart,” Shandi Burrows said at the Oct. 2 event.
The couple’s letters capture what Burrows described as a blossoming campus romance from a century ago. In a November 1914 letter, Fuller described himself as “tickled” to receive Phaff’s note and joked that he might have it framed because he hoped she would write to him again.
A June 1918 letter from Phaff offers another glimpse into their relationship, as she lists some of her fondest memories, including their first kiss and the day Fuller placed an engagement ring on her finger.
The details in the letters stood out to Burrows, who received the collection in early 2026. She chose them because they portrayed student romance and daily life in the 1910s “so perfectly.” The collection inspired her to make personal letters the focus of the lecture.
Phaff and Fuller’s correspondence was one of four collections Burrows shared. She spoke about Joseph P. Garrison’s collection, with letters from 1859-1863 that reflected on early campus life and his correspondence with his sister during the Civil War. Garrison was wounded at Bull Run and became one of the school’s earliest wartime sacrifices.
“They show us the real texture of student life,” Burrows said. “The unscripted, emotional moments that fall outside administrative logs.”
Professor Gregory Walcott’s letter scrapbook, “Golden Years,” a collection of heartfelt letters compiled by former students, showcased a lasting bond between a professor and his students from 1907-1928.
Lastly, Hollywood actress and 1943 graduate Coleen Gray’s collection looked at how her time and theater experience at Hamline helped spark her career on the big screen.
“Personal correspondence in the archives is so vital because it conveys raw, real emotion that no building record, administrative memo, or timeline can ever capture,” Burrows said.