As the Nobel Conference winds down and the weekend draws closed, the anticipation for Homecoming is becoming the focus here on campus. Homecoming has been a time-honored tradition since around 1910. There is still debate today about who hosted the first foot-ball oriented celebration.
The two schools in question are Mizzou and Illinois. Much of the evidence that can be found points to Mizzou as the “winner”. Mizzou’s first homecoming was held in 1910 during the border wars between Kansas and Missouri. Chester Brewer, who was the Athletic Director for Mizzou at the time, wanted to use homecoming to instill more hometown patriotism so he invited alumni to “come home” for the celebration.
This first homecoming’s festivities included a parade and football. Although there is a debate as to who truly held the first homecoming many of the early homecoming festivities all shared the same aspects: football games were the main event, there were rallies, parades, speeches, and dances. These events were used to unite both alumni and students while creating a stronger sense of school pride.
The theme for students this homecoming is “Gold and Black, Take Me Back” and includes a multitude of fun events for everyone to participate in. From a Medallion Hunt spanning the majority of the week (with some pretty great prizes) to a Pizza Off on Friday there is something for everyone.
The Gusties will take on Concordia at 1 pm on Saturday. But homecoming is not just for the students, but for alumni as well.
The theme for alumni this year is “The Great Gustie Gathering”. This reunion happens every fall to allow alumni to celebrate and reminisce about everything they enjoyed about Gustavus and Gustavus’ homecomings.
This was not always the case alum Jeff Lunde ‘86, he spoke about how the homecomings he experienced in the 80s did not include reunions. They were conducted over Memorial Day weekend in parallel to the graduation ceremonies. Jeff is celebrating his 30th year reunion this Saturday and has fond memories of homecoming festivities during his time at Gustavus.
His favorite memory was attending “Barn Busts”. A bus would be available to transfer students to and from a barn outside of St. Peter that had been cleaned out and converted into a “massive party area”.
He says that the main area was not very interesting, but the hay loft had a large space for dancing, tables, and for a band. Students would pay roughly five to eight dollars for the bus ride and the fare included a cup for drinks. Many other alumni have fond memories of homecoming festivities as well.
Lisa Comstock, ‘92, remembers getting excited for graduates to return as she reached her junior and senior years. She loved being at the game and the atmosphere it had.
“I loved beinga part of all the excitement, but probably never knew what the score was, just like “beat ‘em bust ‘em that’s our custom” is the only part of the rouser I ever knew.”
As students prepare for this busy weekend, alumni are preparing to return to a place they still consider home, and relive their own homecoming experiences.
The earliest records of homecoming at Gustavus were from 1952 and found in the archives; it had the theme “Fantasy Prompts You” for the Variety Homecoming Show. As one moves forward there seems to be many of the same things that are held today, such as a Homecoming Queen and Pregame festivities.
But there were also many differences. In 1955 there was an All-School picnic in which the sororities handled serving the food, a bonfire with a short program that included a pepfest, cheerleaders, the pep-band, the captain of the football team and was followed by the snake dance. The “snake dance” was a common fixture in Gustavus’ homecoming throughout history, but is not as exotic as it may sound.
A snake dance is simply a term used to describe a parade that occurred before or during a college’s homecoming. The parade would include floats that were built by each respective class, marching bands, and students. It was also used to describe a line of students celebrating and typically moved from the central business district to the college’s property.
Homecoming is a time-honored tradition that will likely be a part of many people’s lives for a very long time. Coming “home” for just one weekend is an amazing experience for alumni, and all the free food is even better for the students.