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@Mizzou readers share Summer Welcome memories…

My fond memory of Summer Welcome is 1973, when I was a Summer Welcome orientation leader. I remember walking backward giving tours to freshmen and parents. (The parents were the best because they asked you everything; the students were too “cool” to ask dumb questions). I made some great friends that summer. Summer Welcome pretty much changed my life because after that summer I decided to get a master’s degree in student affairs and went on to become the director of a college union. And you know what, I think of Summer Welcome every time our orientation leaders bring their tours through my building.

— Guy Conway, AB ’73, M Ed ’75

When I think back about my experience at this thing called “Summer Welcome,” I remember feeling a little more mature, very anxious/nervous and quite proud of myself. Attending the sessions, registering for classes and staying in a real residence hall room was a definite wake-up call. Reality sunk in. I really had decided – all by myself – to go to Mizzou. In two months, I was going to be in this huge place and wouldn’t know a soul. But I also grew more excited for that late-August day, my first day of class. I remember wanting to just walk around all day during Summer Welcome so I could figure out where all the buildings were. Perhaps the most lasting Summer Welcome memory is that I ended up living on the same floor as one of the girls who had been in my student group. And five years later, we’re still friends.

— Christen Terry, BJ ’02

One of my fondest memories of Summer Welcome was driving around campus with
my parents and seeing young fraternity men on lawn chairs outside of their houses sipping lemonade, smiling and waving — just like Eddie Haskell! That was
way back in 1974 when I enrolled in Mizzou’s School of Nursing. My other
wonderful memory was getting a chance to visit the libraries on campus, especially the medical school library. I was really in awe of the extensive collections of knowledge from all over the world. It opened my eyes to the unlimited possibilities of learning.

— Linda Mast, PhD ’00

The best part of my Summer Welcome experience was that I felt I knew someone on campus (my orientation leader) who I could go to if I had a problem. Coming from a high school graduation class of 123 students to a university with more than 23,000 students, Summer Welcome made all the difference in making me feel more confident and at home when I started my freshman year. I specifically remember the evening coffee house program and how talented and fun all the orientation leaders seemed to be — it is what made me apply to become part of the Summer Welcome program in 1976.

— David Roloff, BES ’78, MA ’85

The great thing about Summer Welcome was that you got a head start in learning your way around campus! That really helps when your dorm is Smith Hall and you have a 7:40 a.m. Spanish class!

— Sean Guess, AB ’87, JD ’91

I remember that the weekend I was at Mizzou in the summer of 1972 was very hot, muggy and rainy. I remember walking through the tunnel under the street from the library to Jesse to have my ID picture taken. I went through my Mizzou days with my ID photo reflecting the hot, muggy, rainy day!

— Cathy Ketter

The articles about Harry Truman speaking at graduation brought back memories. In 1960 or 1961 (don’t remember) a bunch of us were having coffee in the Tiger’s Den (basement of the student union), and an older man asked if he could sit with us. I assumed that he was a member of the political science faculty, as he spoke about politics. He was enjoyable and interesting, and then he had to leave. A friend pointed out that it was Harry Truman, and I didn’t even recognize him. He had driven from Independence in his Chrysler to speak at a dedication of a room named for his old partner in the haberdashery business. I’m not sure I have all the background information correct, but it was him.

– David Levine

I was at that 1950 commencement with Bob Busse, Richard L. Ornauer and Harry Truman. As Ornauer recalls, the deluge came after the President’s speech, which was billed as a major one on foreign policy, but not particularly memorable. I think President (not Chancellor) Middlebush had conferred one or two doctoral degrees, besides the President’s honorary degree, when the clouds burst.

I distinctly recall Pres. Middlebush stepping up to the mike, spreading his arms and quickly announcing:

“By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Board of Regents, I hereby confer upon each of you the degree he is supposed to have conferred upon him,” or something like that. Then we all bolted.

Some of the rented robes ran dye, and some beautiful dresses and snazzy suits may have been ruined.

It was believed to be the first outdoor commencement ceremony in the history of Mizzou, and I was told by a faculty member on the commencement committee that the experiment was tried to accommodate the crowd President Truman would attract and because it had never rained on commencement day before.

The president emerged, robed, from a tent in the middle of the playing field and the academic procession then walked between the robed graduates who lined the track on either side. Can you imagine a president today walking within a few feet of hundreds of people wearing robes within which a machine gun could easily be hidden? Times have changed!

The next day I talked with future University President Elmer Ellis, with whom I had a class, about the affair. I commented that President Truman looked rosy-cheeked and healthy. Replied Professor Ellis, “If you had had two fingers of straight bourbon before leaving that tent, you would have been rosy-cheeked too!”

— Gordon E. Parks, AB ’50, MA ’55

He was the first president I saw in person. This was at the 1950 commencement, and I was standing on the sidewalk leading to Jesse Hall, hoping for a glimpse of Harry S Truman as he left a reception at the President’s house. He was supposed to walk down the short walk, make a left turn and walk up to Jesse. As he reached the main sidewalk to Jesse, I heard someone call, from the direction of the Columns, “Hey, Harry!” Truman looked up, and without breaking stride, walked straight into the crowd and onto the grass. For a second or two, the secret service guards were in total confusion. Truman walked over to the man who had called, and they talked for a second or two, and then Truman walked on.

Being a good J-school student, I buttonholed the man. Who was he? “Oh, hell, I ran Harry’s campaign back in ’34 in Moberly. We always kept in touch.”

Of course it rained at the commencement that afternoon!

— Alfred JaCoby, BJ ’51

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Last Update: November 15, 2007