Mattie McLean came to Bowling Green from Mississippi in 1902 and enrolled at the Bowling Green Business College. After graduation, she accepted a position as Henry Hardin Cherry's private secretary–a position that, one observer noted, required the diplomacy of Talleyrand, the firmness of Stonewall Jackson, and the patience of Job. It didn't hurt to be a good stenographer, either.

But "Miss Mattie," as she came to be known, was equal to the task. Students soon came to realize that she was the power behind the throne, helping them with everything from employment to landlord problems as she directed President Cherry's never-ending stream of visitors and correspondence. One student recalled that she "absorbed more shocks and soothed more ruffled souls than we will ever know." Another said that when a student reached the end of his rope, she showed him how to stretch the rope.

When Miss Mattie retired in 1945, she left generations of students with memories of her efficiency and loyalty–but when she died in 1954, she appeared to leave something else behind. Although she used to live in Potter Hall, some say that her spirit remains on campus, residing in–where else?–McLean Hall, named in her honor and opened in 1949.

Before McLean Hall went co-ed, the women who lived there sensed Miss Mattie's presence. "She thinks of us as her girls," insisted one. They could hear her strolling the halls, checking up on things, looking out for them. Communications with Miss Mattie, via ouija board, found her a friendly, motherly type. Sometimes, however, she liked to play tricks on her girls and even appeared to them from time to time upon request.

No one has deployed the ouija board to find out what Miss Mattie thinks about the current co-educational status of her hall. Perhaps she is handling the changing times with her usual efficiency. But chances are, she's still watching out for her girls.