Excitement is in the air this week as Mississippi University for Women prepares to welcome its alumnae back to campus Friday and Saturday for Homecoming festivities.
It”s a particularly poignant time for members of the Class of 1961, who are celebrating their 50th reunion this year and are affectionately known as the “Golden Girls.”
Class members got together Tuesday afternoon to look through old pictures and reminisce. Evelyn Egger Thompson, who lives in Columbus, said it”s particularly special for people like her, who remained in town, to welcome back their former classmates who haven”t seen the city since college.
She”s spent the past two weeks calling old friends, encouraging them to make time to return for what she sees as “a once in a lifetime” opportunity.
She said the small-town atmosphere provided her and her classmates with a close-knit family feeling rarely found at larger universities.
“Our teachers really cared about us, and it gave us that solid foundation so we could step out into the world,” Thompson said. “We had such a wonderful time on campus.”
Indeed, for many of the “Golden Girls,” attendance at MUW has been a family affair. Thompson has two granddaughters attending MUW.
Yesterday, Gabie Franks Neighbors showed her classmates a medallion and blue grosgrain ribbon her mother received at her 50th class reunion. She will wear her mother”s medallion, along with her own, as she attends the various homecoming activities this week.
As the reunion draws closer, memories are rushing back. One of Thompson”s favorite memories is from her time as president of the campus Home Economics fraternity, Phi Upsilon Omicron.
She and her fellow Phi U”s spent weeks preparing to host board members of the fraternity”s national organization. As northerners, the visitors were enchanted with her Southern accent — until they met the girl from Georgia.
“They thought I was so Southern until they heard her say ”wah-ter”,” Thompson said, laughing. “It was so much fun having those out of state people come in and winning them over to our culture. That”s what we”re known for. We make people feel at home.”
That was certainly the case for Class of 1961 alumna Betty Clyde Jones, who originally hailed from Louisiana. She said she walked onto campus not knowing a soul and walked away with a host of lifetime friends.
Of course, they”ve changed a bit over the years.
“We were looking at yearbooks yesterday, trying to remember faces from 50 years ago, comparing what we look like today,” Jones said. “I used to be a tall, thin brunette, and I”m a tall, white-haired lady now. But we”re having fun and we”re looking forward to it. We”ll just have to have good name tags.”
The Golden Girls will have a luncheon Friday at 11 a.m. in the Pope Banquet Room at Hogarth Dining Center.
Other activities will include a Class of 1938 memorial garden dedication, open houses, campus tours, an art exhibition, and a fish fry.
Saturday activities will begin with a campus walk with MUW Interim President Allegra Brigham, followed by brunch, an Alumni Association Meeting and presentation of alumni awards, and reunions for four-year and two-year social clubs.
For a full list of activities, or to register, call MUW”s Office of Alumni Relations at 662-329-7295 or visit http://www.muw.edu/alumni.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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