Fifty Years Ago in the Missoulian. . .

Fifty years later alumni returning to Homecoming still attend dances, a parade, a football game, open houses and social hours. The Alumni Association still holds registration, although no tables in Butte, and tailgate parties surely result in unscheduled hi-jinks. This year’s Homecoming also featured fireworks, an art fair, a gubernatorial debate, several dedications, a show stopping Singing On the Steps and more reunions than ever before.

A 50th reunion took place for the 1950 Grizzly football team. Teammates Ray Bauer, Don Campbell and Hal Sherbeck chaired the event, working from notes and plans left by the late David “Moose” Miller, who arranged the team’s 40th reunion ten years ago. At Friday evening’s banquet, master of ceremonies Tommy Kingsford introduced the team’s manager, Ian Davidson, who joked that only in Montana would a team invite its former waterboy to a reunion. “The rest of us joked that we should have followed in Ian’s footsteps,” Hal laughed, as many 1950 Grizzlies went on to careers in education and coaching, not into the investment world as did Ian. Grizzly coach Joe Glenn joined the group and soon had them singing “Up With Montana” to his piano accompaniment.

Team members gathered for a pre-parade brunch and were presented on the field at halftime. They met for dinner following the Griz win over Sacramento State. “Don’t call me again to head up a reunion, unless it’s for one in 2050!” Hal razzed his teammates as they said their goodbyes. In 1950 they beat their Homecoming rival Utah State 38-7. That year the Grizzlies went 5-5 overall and played the last season in the Pacific Coast Conference.

Alumni Events January, 2001 7-14 Montana Alumni Caribbean Cruise February, 2001 8 Alumni Gathering, Denver 15 Charter Day, Missoula March, 2001 1-11 Alumni International Travel Legends of the Nile 3-10 Alumni International Travel Sea of Cortez & Baja 9 Alumni Reception, San Diego April, 2001 30-5/8 Alumni Campus Abroad Salzburg, Austria May, 2001 17-19 Class Reunions: 1941 & 1951 19 Commencement June, 2001 27-7/11 Alumni International Travel - Prague, the Elbe, Berlin & Poland July, 2001 19-8/3 Alumni International Travel - European Waterways September, 2001 24-10/2 Alumni Campus Abroad Portugal October, 2001 11-13 Homecoming 2001 For more information on these events, call the UM Alumni Association at 1-800-862-5862.

Hal Sherbeck returns to campus each week during football season from his home in Polson. This former Griz, UM football, basketball and baseball coach, and 31-year veteran of the football and athletic departments at Fullerton College, spends Tuesday through Thursday with UM’s athletic department. “I just watch the players,” he explains. “It’s my chance to keep in touch with football.” A touch that’s lasted well over fifty years.

International Discovery Continues

The smiles said it all. When twenty-four of UM’s international graduates returned for Homecoming 2000 their camaraderie returned with them. They immersed themselves in the spirit of continuing discovery, attending campus open houses, the Homecoming parade and the football game. Saturday ended in dinner together in the Presidents Room of Brantly Hall, where faculty, staff, administrators and Missoula host families joined them.

“While it might be difficult to imagine the significance of Homecoming for a student from a foreign country, this event was truly a homecoming,” said Udo Fluck ’94, M.I.S. ’95, M.Ed. ’95. Udo traveled from Bad Homburg, Germany, where he directs the International Media Business Administration department at the International Business School. “The University of Montana was at some point a home for every single foreign student during the time of their study in Missoula. Homecoming to international students is coming home to our educational roots.”

Jessica Aranda Woodall ’88 originally came to UM from her homeland of Peru. This fall she traveled from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she is a vice president for technical services at Licom Systems, Inc.. “Although it has grown and there are quite a few new buildings at U of M and around the city, the friendliness and warmth of the people still make this University so unique,” she said.

For the past two years, UM administrators have made a special effort to keep track of international alumni and keep them active as ambassadors abroad. “It was decided that the year 2000 should be the start of a new initiative to encourage international alumni to visit the campus during UM’s Homecoming weekend,” said Effie Koehn, director of foreign student and scholar services. “Plans are to organize similar international alumni reunions every five years with assistance from those who already attended this year.”

Ramona Roedl of Missoula and her family look forward to Homecoming 2005 as much as anyone. “We have had wonderful experiences hosting and just being friends to a number of international students since 1977,” she said. “Our family is much larger because of these fine people.”

Returning graduate Lina Barakat ’90 was a member of UM’s Homecoming Royalty Court in 1984. Originally from Lebanon, she now teaches fifth grade in Oakland, California. “It was a wonderful walk down memory lane,” she said of the reunion. “UM is really engraved in my mind and heart forever.”