Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1945)
Past Homecomings Dusted Off for Review Football, Mustaches, Signs, Mark Traditional Weekend Dy iUAHl l.A HUWAKU Homecoming! When weeks of planning add up to a weekend of memories both “old” and “new” students never will forget! When Oregon spirit and traditions re appear in full force! But how many students have seen a Homecoming ? It's been two years now and perhaps some of the traditions have been forgotten. One of the old, old traditions is that freshmen must wear rooters lids at all times (except in build ings), and Order of O men see that it is enforced by hacking the offenders on the steps of the law school. This was the dictum even back in 1920, when rooters "caps” cost as much as 85 cents apiece. Freshman women, too, have to pay if they don’t wear green hair ribbons at all times. Also, all stu dents must greet everyone they meet on Hello Walk, between Vil lard and Fenton halls. During the weekend no smoking is allowed on any part of the old campus, in or out of buildings. Once ‘Alumni Day’ This, the first Homecoming in two years, had a modest begin ning as “Alumni Day” when it was inaugurated by President Prince Lucien Campbell in 1914. Students, naturally have come back to the WELCOME GRADS You'll Find rn. OREGON MUMS Fox- the Homecoming Game , at Chase Gardens 58 E. Broadway Phone 4240 University ever since the first class graduated, but until October of that year no organized effort for “Homecoming” had been made. About one hundred former stu dents attended a short meeting which rated only a brief Emerald write-up and an editorially-ex pressed hope that Homecoming “might become a permanent event and a powerful link between alumni and undergraduates.” That first Homecoming had a typical beginning when a dark rainy day kept campus visitors from too boisterous a celebration. But there was a big freshman bonfire the night before the game, now an old tradition. There weren’t so many alums then, only about three or four hundred. They just came back for those first Homecomings; class distinctions weren't so strong and there weren’t any special class reunions. But there was always a noise parade with fireworks, and of course a football game. There were football games before there was Homecoming. The first game was played in the field across from the old Co-op in March, 1894. Prob ably the highest score the Univer sity ever piled up was the 97-0 victory over the old Portland Academy. Behold—the Rainy Season Rain and victory go hand in hand at Oregon—a Homecoming game without rain would be trea son. Oregon got off to a promising start by winning the first Home coming game, beating Whitman, 29-3. Not all Homecoming games have been with Oregon State; some have been with Montana, Idaho, Washington State and even the University of California. And not all have been played on the home field. In 1931 Oregon State played their Homecoming game in Eugene, with a nothing to nothing score, so in 1932 Oregon played her Homecoming game at Cor vallis, coming out with a 12-6 vic tory. By 1942 Oregon and OSC had played 47 games. Seven were tied but 25 were won by Oregon and 15 by Oregon State. An unusual feature mentioned back in 1923 was the “senior men’s (tueten Lftlong presents New, heady make-up combination that «ets heart* spinning... creates Havoc! TIFFMY-DAVIS HAVOC LIPSTICK... rich sultry Witchery - fl HAVOC FMI powoir ... blended to acctnt tnose bewitching Up* — f2 havoc touot... to complete the Havoc «-*l HAVOC QUICK CHANO,...whisk It 00 ** ywr fingertips — *2 («U plus ut) ) annual mustache race.” The “bush iest, tickliest, most luxurious one selected" was to win a glittering new safety razor—the lucky guy! Also dating back many years is the frosh team annual tug of war. A cup used to be offered to the men’s house which produced the loudest noise-making instrument in the noise parade, the money ex pended not to exceed $10. Class donations ci $50 each were used for fireworks during the parade. Eugene merchants, in 1922, through whole-hearted coopera tion, were able to get 50 trucks to carry students in the parade. Says an Emerald story: “Everything from a crochet hook to a steam calliope, band saw. circle saw, meat saw and any saw that ever sawed will have a welcome place in the ordeal of screech. . . . Trac tors, steam rollers and anything else that will move will see action in the parade tonight.” Cups for Winners Cups are also given to the men’s and women’s hqfuses registering the largest number of alums, and of course to the two having the most original and best interpre tation of the Homecoming theme for their sign. For a decade after its initiation, the traditional "noise parade’’ and bonfire were the highlights of Homecoming, but in 1920 the burning of the “O” on Skinner's butte, in later years preceded by a skyrocket display, took precedent over the freshman bonfire. Frosh bonfires, which have ranged from 40 to 75 feet high, have a strange habit of burning down ahead of schedule. The fresh men fooled the sophomores in 1936, hiding the real material to be used and leaving 15 bails of excelsior in plain view on Skinner's butte from which the freshmen vigilantes who were guarding it were recalled in order to give the would-be arson ists a chance to achieve their pur pose. But the frosh in 1938 were not so lucky and the bonfire again burned down prematurely. A Uni ersal Newsreel photographer came down from Portland to get action shots of the building and b irning of the bonfire. (Please turn to parte fen) WINS EVERY PARTY'S VOTE! FULL QUART SERVES SIX To the Oregon Alums Welcome to Their 1945 Homecoming from Medo-Land Creamerg 675 Charnelton _ Phone 393