By Grace Shackman

The Apostles, an organization for bachelors on the University of Michigan faculty, received a lot of kidding about their unmarried status. "Banding together for mutual protection" was how a 1908 Detroit News Times article described them. "Three times a day they indulge their appetite for pie, cake and coffee and discuss—who knows—perhaps the affairs of the other fellow's heart."

But Apostle Frank E. Robbins, in his 1932 history of the group, protested against the commonly held idea that club was to "cheat cupid." The Apostles "crave comfort and cheerful company at mealtime, this is the sole reason for the club's existence," he wrote in "The Apostles," a work preserved in the archives of U-M's Bentley Historical Library.

Gail Kellum Curtis, widow of Professor of Geology Lewis Kellum, who was an Apostle before he married, backed Robbins. In a telephone interview, she said that her husband had "joined primarily because he wanted a place to live, not eating out all the time—to generally have a community."

The Apostles club existed from 1900 to 1943. Most members were young men, and many went on to hold important positions at the University or the outside world (see box). Members fitted as many as possible into the boarding houses they lived in, while the rest roomed nearby. They kept the membership low, somewhere in the teens, so that all could eat around the same table. "They had what you'd call a 'house mother' if they weren't so mature," Curtis reported. "She managed the house."

Besides eating and sleeping, the group admitted to a third purpose, "recreating," as it was called in their bylaws. They amused themselves in a range of activities from playing baseball against a team known as the HPH (henpecked husbands) to formal dances to hosting parties known as "At Homes." Ann Arbor was a small town in those days (fewer than 15,000 residents when the club formed), and society more rigid and formal. By joining together, the Apostles could hold a position in society without the expense of trying to run a house by themselves on a junior faculty salary.

"The club came into existence in 1900, by the simple process of covenanting with their landlady, Mrs. [Elizabeth] Stowe, to eat together and share the cost," Robbins wrote. All the references to the group agree that the name "Apostles" came from Sarah Caswell Angell, wife of U-M President James B. Angell (term of office 1871-1909), although the reasons differ. Some say it was because there were originally 12 of them, while others say the name referred to their inherent goodness and because they would pose as martyrs at times. There is no indication that they were named after the secret intellectual society of that name at Cambridge University in England.

The Apostles moved from their original quarters at 1218 S. University several times over the next four decades. Their first move was to 1008 Hill St., which had table room for all and living space for some. In 1913, they moved to 819 S. State, "where the proximity of Ferry Field [predecessor of Michigan Stadium] made entertainment of guests on football days a natural and pleasant custom." In 1924, they bought their own house at 1015 Church St. after Charles Fessenden (engineering professor) and Phil Weatherill (chemistry professor) had figured out the finances of the transaction.

Meals, the central Apostolic activity, were a time of great fun. A member with the office of "bouncer" maintained order. Puns were fined (which must have resulted in a large kitty, because, as the reader will soon see, their papers are full of puns), as was boastfulness. "It has been ruled that the answer 'no' to the question, 'have you ever been fined?' constitutes boastfulness," Robbins noted.

Alfred Oughton Lee, a professor of modern languages and the history of medicine, was bouncer until his 1912 marriage, after which he was called "bouncer emeritus and bouncer in perpetuo." His obituary stated that "his impressive stature and build made him the natural occupant of this position."

The group ate well if a sample 1911 menu from the so-called "Hotel Apostolique" is typical. It included both roast lamb and "roast duck a la Hale" (a reference to member William J. Hale, professor of chemical engineering and later director of organic research at Dow Chemical Co., who got kidded about a duck hunting incident whose details are lost to history). Applesauce, wafers, celery, pineapple and asparagus on leaf, and cranberry tarts completed the meal. Another menu contained such punny dinner fare as "artie jokes," "conserve of archives" and "clear noodle soup." The menus alone could have filled the kitty for punning.

After dinner, the Apostles adjourned for "postprandial activities," mainly games or music. Hale, Alexander Ziwet (math), and E. L. Adams (a language professor) played chess. The so-called "varsity" bridge team turned to cards. For a while "Go" was the rage-not the Japanese game by that name but a form of double solitaire used as a gambling game. Robbins recalled that it was played "by as many persons as possible and as much noise and gusto."