Year
Built: 1952
Capacity: 184
Male or Female? Always male
They call themselves: the Green Wave but also
refer to themselves as Fishermen. Others call the hall Fishy Fisher
for its location next to the South Dining Hall's trash receptacle.
First-floor residents sometimes refer to Ellie, the 6-year-old
basset hound of Rector Bob Moss, CSC, '68M.A., '72M.A.. as "Smellie."
Named for: Frederick Fisher, one of the founders,
in 1908, of Fisher Body Company, now part of General Motors. The
$750,000 it took to build the hall was donated in 1949 by Fisher's
wife, Sally, in memory of Fred, who had died in 1941. He had been
a member of the University's Board of Lay Trustees for more than
20 years. Fred and Sally had no children of their own but were
fond of Notre Dame. When Sally donated the money for the hall
she also gave $250,000 to create a loan fund for students. Two
years later she donated more than a million dollars worth of rare
paintings and tapestries to the Snite Museum. By the time the
hall was dedicated in the fall of 1952, she had also passed away.
Distinguishing features: The large green letter
F over the main entrance first appeared in the late '80s and was
built by students. The lower case letter was stolen in 1991 by
residents of neighboring Pangborn, then a men's dorm. The thieves
broke the letter and scattered the pieces over the golf course.
Three Fisher residents decided to build a new F, this time making
it a capital letter. The result was so heavy it took 10 men to
lift into place and was secured with chains. Guards stood watch
over it the first few nights. The next year Pangborn became a
women's dorm and the rivalry ended. Four to five years ago the
rotting letter fell onto the roof. Administrators did not want
to replace it but residents managed to convince them. The new
F is made of plastic. Fisher was only the second dorm on campus
to have a social lounge. The hall was built to be a law/graduate
dorm and thus had mostly single rooms. It remained that way until
the late '60s, when it was remodeled to create doubles. Fisher
still has approximately 40 singles, among the most of any dorm.
The four-story structure was originally designed to have seven
floors, but the University ran out of money.
History Made There: A memorial fund honors Chad
Sharon, a Fisher resident who disappeared December 12, 2002, after
leaving a party near downtown. Two months later his body was discovered
in the Saint Joseph River underneath a bridge on Angela Boulevard.
The death was ruled an accident. Freshmen are now told about Sharon
as a reminder never to leave a friend behind at a party to walk
back to campus alone.
They Lived There: Quarterback Joe Montana '79;
basketball stars LaPhonso Ellis '92 and Orlando Woolridge '81;
television personality Regis Philbin '53; Chicago Bears defensive
tackle Darrell Campbell '04.
Lore: A friendly rivalry with Carroll Hall resulted
in the prank of sinking Carroll's boat for the Fisher Regatta
(see "Traditions") in 2003. Carroll's boat had won the four previous
races. Fishermen good-naturedly retrieved the boat from the bottom
of the lake the night before and helped get it ready for the race,
which Carroll ultimately won. Joe Montana returns every year for
at least one football game and has his picture taken with the
lucky Fishermen occupying his former room.
Traditions: The Fisher Regatta, begun in 1987,
is a huge homemade-boat race across Saint Mary's Lake. All dorms
compete in the single-elimination tournament with separate divisions
for men and women. The week leading up to the Regatta is known
as Fred and Sally Week. Every night features a different event,
including a guest speaker, pie-eating and arm-wrestling contests,
"The Roommate Game" (like the Newlywed Game), and Mock
Awards named after infamous past Fisher residents. The Fisher
Roofsit, begun in 2002 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
the hall, features Fishermen and representatives of other halls
sitting on the roof for 50 hours straight to raise money for charitable
causes. The original Roofsit benefitted a law student whose young
daughter had cancer. Currently half the money from the roofsit
goes to the Chad Sharon Memorial Fund and the rest to a separate
charity. This year's other half went to the American Cancer Society
in honor of Tim Solic, a Fisher alum who was battling cancer.
(January 2006)
