6
WSU Currents
•
Fall 2012
1962
“
Homecoming was one of the events
that brought the campus together,”
“
Homecoming was one of the events that brought the campus together,”
says
Marilyn Grob ’62
when she recalls the events she experienced 50 years
ago when she was a student at Winona State College.
“
Then it was kind of a ‘suitcase’ school, particularly for students whose
hometowns were only 30 or 40 miles away,” adds
Gary Grob ’62
,
who went
on to earn his master’s in 1965. “For homecoming there was a week full of
social and athletic activities that everybody got excited about.”
Marilyn and Gary have attended a lot of Winona State Homecomings.
Gary, after all, spent 44 years as a student, teacher, and baseball coach
at Winona State. Marilyn taught elementary
school just a few miles from campus and faithfully
attended hundreds of baseball games.
In her senior year, Marilyn was on the Homecoming Court. She
remembers that Furs by Francis outfitted the entire group for the
Saturday morning parade through Winona. Mums were sold on
campus for boys to present to their dates. And the Warriorettes,
of which Marilyn was also a member, “marched all over.”
A giant bonfire, built behind Somsen Hall where the Performing
Arts Center now stands, lit up the Friday night sky and roused
campus for the next day’s parade and football game. “Football
had a big following and the emphasis was on alumni coming back
for the game,” says Gary, whose brother played on the team.
Both Marilyn and Gary say that WSC
Homecoming was a highlight of the year
on campus. “Everyone was involved,”
says Marilyn. “Even President (Nels)
Minné attended most of the events
during homecoming week.”
Gary Grob is professor emeritus at
WSU, a member of the Athletics Hall of
Fame, and the first baseball coach in
Minnesota to reach 1,000 victories. Marilyn (Schroeder) Grob
taught elementary school in the Winona area for more than
20
years.
