Editor’s Note: For now over 75 years, The Baylor Line has been publishing vivid storytelling from across the Baylor Family. I don’t think our archives full of deep, inspirational features should live solely on shelves, so we are bringing them back to life in BL Classics. This March – April 1968 Classic article reflects on the adventures of the famous Keys Quads and their time at Baylor.
The world-famous Keys Quadruplets, renowned and beloved Baylor graduates of the Class of 1937, are not only rare in the incidence of their birth and rare, among multiple-birth records, in having lived normal and healthy lives, now into their fifth decade, but they are rare, as individuals, for their intellectual attainments, their magnetic personalities, their Christian leadership, and their totally winsome charm.
Born in Hollis, Oklahoma, to a family of modest means which already included four children, two girls and two boys, the “Quads” lived a normal childhood, due largely to the determination of their parents that they should not be exploited in any way and that their education should not be interrupted by public appearances or undue attentions.
“Until we were about ten years old,” one of the sisters told the editor of The Baylor Line when they visited their Alma Mater last Homecoming, “we did spend a week each year at the Oklahoma State Fair and at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. But we thought that was meant as a special treat for us! It was great fun. We loved talking to people and being fussed over. But when our parents felt the thing was getting out of hand, they stopped letting us do even that ; and they repeatedly turned down commercial offers all our lives — for advertising, public appearances, and movies — although the family could well have used the funds offered, because they were convinced that it would not be good for little girls to grow up in the unnatural glare of such limelight. We used to think they were being a bit narrow about it, but now we are very grateful to them.”
“Built-in Playmates”
“We never felt any different from anybody else.” a second Quad added. “We just had built-in playmates and sparring partners!”
“In fact, we thought we were pretty lucky,” a third one volunteered, “because so many nice things seemed to come our way — like President Neff’s invitation to us to attend Baylor University on scholarships. That was in 1933, you know— right in the middle of the Big Depression — and we could hardly have attended Baylor, otherwise. How thankful we’ve always been for that!”
“Baylor is Ours and We Are Baylor’s”
“And, of course, we were always glad to do anything we possibly could for Baylor in return,” the last one finished. “In fact, we enjoyed it thoroughly because Baylor is ours and we are Baylor’s!”
The Quads entered Baylor with as little fanfare and as much personal excitement as any other wide-eyed Freshmen. They were assigned to adjoining rooms, with connecting bath, in the then-new Memorial dormitory — rooms which they occupied their entire four years in Baylor and which came to be known as “the Quad-Wrangle.”
Roberta and Mona, who are the “identicals” in the foursome, always roomed together; Mary, who bears a sisterly resemblance to them but is not an identical, and Leota, who drew on entirely different ancestral strains for her physical characteristics, were the other pair of “roomies.”
The girls always dressed alike during their years at Baylor wherever they went, and were soon the darlings of the campus and, for that matter, throughout Baylor “territory,” for they were taken to State Baptist Conventions throughout the South by President Pat Neff and to all sorts of denominational and educational gatherings, where they became real good will ambassadors for the University.
They made Baylor history by being the very first girls ever allowed to play in the Baylor Golden Wave Band, and were acclaimed wherever the Band went, being featured as the Baylor Quadruplets’ Saxophone Quartet. Mona played the tenor saxophone, Roberta and Leota played the altos, and Mary, baritone.
They Visited the Dionne Quintuplets
One of the highlights of their Baylor days was their trip to Canada in the spring of 1936 in the company of President Neff to invite the Dionne Quintuplets, then only two years of age, to attend the Texas Centennial Celebration in Dallas the following fall. “We have always counted the opportunity of getting really well acquainted with two of the most colorful and truly great personalities of our era — President Pat M. Neff and Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, the physician and guardian of the Quints — as one of our life’s greatest privileges,” the Quads now attest.
To Each Her Own
`During their Baylor years, each of the girls had her own sphere of duty in the foursome.
“We had to be ready to go at the drop of a hat — or a call from the President’s office,” Mary explained on a recent visit to The Baylor Line office. “So it was necessary to divide responsibilities and for each of us to have absolute authority in her area.”
Roberta (“the careful one,” according to Mary), who had been valedictorian of their graduating class in Hollis, was always “Mistress of the Exchequer” or busines manager of the group, doling out allowances, checking up on expenses, paying the bills, and generally keeping the somewhat complicated financial mat¬ ters of the group in order.
Mary (“the busy-body one,” by her own appraisal) was the chief designer and planner of clothes, complete with accessories, and the “selector and layer-out” of daily outfits to be worn, down to the last necklace, stocking, and purse. She was also the official chauffeur when a car was at their disposal.
Mona (“the quiet one”) was Mistress of the Wardrobes, keeping all clothing in repair and readiness for use, sending out and checking in all laundry and dry- cleaning, and expertly supervising the packing of their travel outfits.
And Leota (“the talkative one”) was always Mistress of Ceremonies, the spokesman of the group, the program-planner, and, in general, the decision maker and “shot-caller.”
“So everyone was ‘Mistress’ of something but you?” Mary was asked. “Oh, well,” she replied, “I guess I was like that character in The Mikado called ‘Lord High Everything Else’ — I was Mistress of Anything-that-had-to-be-done- that-wasn’t-someone-else’s-to-do.”
“And you know what?” the irrepressible Mary continued. “To this day, that’s about the way we stand. Leota has made quite a name for herself, as you know, as a book-reviewer, critic, and public speaker; Mona and Roberta are efficient home-makers, teachers, and church-workers ; and I still run all over the place from one to the other — getting our families together and generally making whoopee!”
“Each of us has her own special interest and forte,” is the way Leota puts it in a recent letter to the editor. “Mona’s special talent,” she says, “lies with little children. She’s a marvelous kindergarten worker — taught three and four-year-olds for 24 years in the First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, directed her own private Pre-School for a number of years, and for the last eight years has taught kindergarten classes in the city school system. Roberta is equally good in school and church work at the junior high level in Houston — Roberta always does everything well, you know. And Mary is, as always, our true Good Will Ambassador. She ought to have gone into Public Relations work, for she knows how to make and keep people happy. As for me, I haven’t discovered exactly what I’m good for, but I’m still working at it!”
Roberts is Mrs. Roland S. Torn of Houston, wife of an investment banker. (“You see?” comments Mary. “Roberta was always on good terms with money!”) The Toms are the parents of two daughters and a son. The older daughter, Susan, graduated from Baylor last June, married a classmate, Paul Young, and they are now serving with the Peace Corps in Honduras. The other daughter, Marjorie, is a freshman this year at Baylor; and the son, Sam, named for a maternal great-grandfather, Sam Curry (father of the Quads’ mother) is a sophomore at Texas A. and M. Roberta, herself, teaches in one of the leading junior high schools of Houston and is active in the women’s affairs of Houston’s great South Main Baptist Church.
Mona, the first of the Quads to marry, is Mrs.Robert W. Fowler of Oklahoma City. Her husband has been with the tax department of Kerr-McGee Oil Company for the past 28 years. And, as her sister stated, she herself has been busy helping to educate the city pre-schoolers for years. They have two children. Their daughter, Gloria, now Mrs. B.J. Williams, is in her doctoral program in psychology at the University of Washington, while her husband works toward his doctorate in English. Their son, Robert Keys Fowler, is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a Master’s degree in Business Administration. Having completed his active duty with the Army, he is now working in the Marketing Research division of Humble Oil Company in Houston.
Two Met Husbands at Ft. Hood
“It may be of interest to know,” writes Leota, “that both Mary and I met our husbands at Ft. Hood during World War II where both of us worked as directors of Enlisted Mens’ Service Clubs.”
Mary’s husband is Baylor graduate Jack Anderson, a business man of McKinney, Texas, where he is a dealer in wholesale and retail Butane and Propane gas. He is a former All-Conference tackle at Baylor and later played professional football for a time with the New York Giants before going into service during World War II. He is an active worker in the Baylor Bear Club and “B” Association and ardent supporter, along with his wife, of all Baylor activities. Mary is president of District 9 of Baylor Ex-Students Association. and also president of the WMU of McKinney First Baptist Church and past-president and active worker for McKinney Hospital Auxiliary.
The Andersons’ daughter, Sally, is a junior Business major at Baylor, and their older son, John Flake (named for his maternal grandfather) is a freshman pre-medical student. A younger son, Jim Curry, 14, gives promise of following in his Dad’s athletic footsteps in both football and basketball.
Leota Was Centennial Speaker
Leota, who was elected “Most Representative Girl” of their senior class and who was later chosen to represent Baylor’s women graduates as their speaker at the University’s Centennial Ring-Out Ceremony in 1945, is Mrs. Robert T. Hall of Oklahoma City. Her husband, who had been for the past 20 years with the State Employment Security Commission of Oklahoma, died March 26, 1967. Their children are Mike Keyes Hall, a freshman at Centenary College at Shreveport, and Harriet, 13, a junior high school student in Oklahoma City.
Leota, for the past 22 years, has been a popular and widely known book reviewer of the Southwest. “What started out as a hobby has turned into something of a profession,” she admits. “I speak on the average of about twenty times a month ; and naturally, I travel a good deal. I enjoy my work, and I am well aware that whatever success I may have had is due in large measure to the excellent training I had at Baylor!”
Leota also provides a revealing, brief account of the activities of the Quads from the time of their graduation from Baylor until their marriages :
Mona’s Marriage Broke Their ‘Act’
“After we graduated in 1937,” her letter relates,“we traveled throughout the South and Southwest, making personal appearances sponsored by schools, civic clubs, and churches. We had a wonderful time, met lots of interesting people, and made enough money to make it worthwhile. Mona’s marriage in June, 1940, however, broke up our ‘Act’ — and the other three of us had to go to work!
“The Baylor Teacher Placement Bureau saw to it that we put those Baylor degrees to good use with Roberta’s first teaching job at Canton. Texas, Mary’s at Edmond. Okla.. and mine at San Marcos Baptist Academy. But Roberta married in 1941 ; and when
Mary and I discovered that Camp Hood was near Waco, we accepted jobs as Service Club directors there at once, because we’ve always felt Waco was about as near Heaven as you can get!
Oklahoma Honored Their Mother
“Just one more thing!” the letter adds. “Please don’t fail to mention that our Mother was named Oklahoma Mother of the Year in 1952. We are very proud of that! Our parents were devoted to their family, their church, and to Baylor University all their lives.”
Their father, Flake M. Keys, a modest man in the general mercantile business all his life and a strong Baptist layman, died in 1949. Mrs. Keys, the former Miss Alma Curry, died in 1963. One older son and daughter survive them along with the Quadruplets.
Mary, in a later comment on the national honor that came to their mother, pointed out that when Mrs. Keys had a choice of going to New York to receive the Mother of the Year award or attending the Southern Baptist Convention which was meeting at the same time in Houston, she chose the latter. “ That was our Mother!” she chuckled indulgently.
Leota succinctly sums up the relationship of the Quads in her latest communication :
“Because We Are Four”
