Back at St. Olaf

It’s 2004. Uggs over low-rise jeans are trending, Janet Jackson just had a wardrobe malfunction on national television, and when you walk into Buntrock Commons, the same poster is covering the walls. This poster is huge, and when you take a closer look, you recognize the smiling face of Jimmy Carter. The poster features three people, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, and Eboo Patel, highlighting them as the plenary speakers of a forum. In loopy cursive, the top reads “Striving for Peace: Roots of Change.” It identifies the five Midwestern colleges of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America who take turns hosting the annual Nobel Peace Prize forum. The bottom of the poster features contact information of the five colleges.  Welcome to Back at St. Olaf. I’m Josie Hannah, and these are the stories from the hill. Transcript and bibliography

In 1988, the St. Olaf Choir performed in South Korea - for the Olympics!

Punt, another Punt, and oh wait, the Oles are driving. Risky fake handoff into a toss sweep. The oles are running down the sideline, the 20, the 15, the 10, the 5-meter line, TOUCHDOWN! I am your host, Jesus Zayas, and these are the stories of the hill. Transcript and bibliography

Amidst rising tensions during the Vietnam War, students across the United States raised their voices in dissent. In May 1970, a flyer boldly stating We’re On Strike circulated around the St. Olaf campus, but not everyone agreed. Please be advised that this episode contains content related to swearing, war, and death. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Lauren Schilling, and these are stories from the Hill. Transcript and Bibliography

A sad, silly wooden goat. This little goat represented a battle between the colleges that share the city of Northfield, Minnesota. The stakes, though, were higher than a mere game of football. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Tenzin and these are the stories from the hill. Transcript and bibliography

The year is 1962 and a large metal tin sits on a shelf, waiting for a future no one wants. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Sydney Hugdahl and these are the stories from the Hill. Transcript and bibliography

A rusted and worn copper trophy, once lifted above the head of St. Olaf’s finest female athlete, and nearly a century later, an archival object that speaks to the immeasurable growth of women’s athletics in the United states. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Otelia Lighthill and these are stories from the Hill.Transcript and bibliography

When people think about the legacy of music on the hill, they think of the choirs, orchestra, and band. What people rarely think of is St. Olaf's history of Barbershop quartets. What people rarely think of is St. Olaf's history of Barbershop quartets. But, hidden deep within the St. Olaf Archives, pasted between the pages of a huge scrapbook, which has begun falling apart at the seams, sits the 1921 St. Olaf Male Quartet Concert program. This is Back at St. Olaf, I’m Braeden McCollow, and these are stories from the hill. Transcript and sources

In front of me is a postcard from the first tour of the St. Olaf Choir. There is a picture of the choir members on the front, not in their distinct purple robes. On the back, a note to Professor Christiansen written in Norwegian. Someone is complaining to him about a repetitive thumping sound.Transcript and bibliography

I’m looking at a picture of Old Main, where I’ve had class for the past three years. But in this image, there are no backpacks slung over shoulders or professors chatting on their way to lunch. Instead, there are about 60 young men in uniform, some smiling, some not. Why are they here? And where did the students go? Welcome back to St. Olaf. I’m Sam, and these are the stories from the Hill.Transcript and bibliography

A large, wooden bowl. About the size of your head. It’s well worn – scuffed white in some places, and stained dark brown in others. There are three holes drilled around the rim, with thick metal wire tied through each. The wires meet above the middle of the bowl, where they hang a metal device. The wire isn’t quite straight, and the device isn’t quite level. The device is a microphone. The bowl is a reflector. The sound of a speaker’s voice reflects off the inside of the bowl, concentrates at the microphone in the center, and is converted into an electric signal. The electric signal is converted into a radio signal, and broadcast across the Upper Midwest. It’s heard as far away as Lawrence, Kansas, 400 miles south. This is Back at St. Olaf, I’m Elliot Gengler, and these are stories from the hill.Transcript and bibliography

Pea soup, rice mush, fish omelet, rhubarb lemon pie. These are some of the recipes taken from the Phi Kappa Phi cookbook, which was the key to an especially important recipe for St. Olaf: the right for women to have higher education, specifically the right to their own dorm. Let’s get cooking! Welcome to Back at St. Olaf. I’m Kathryn Looney, and these are stories from the hill.Transcript and bibliography

Kristiansund, Norway, July 12, 1906. A photograph on a postcard shows a large crowd greeting an arriving vessel, whose passengers are standing on the deck. Some, surprisingly, are holding instruments. They are, in fact, the 48-member, all-male St. Olaf College Band, who are in the midst of an immensely popular month-long tour of Norway, which served as a homecoming for both band members and the college itself. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Evan Atchison, and these are the stories from the Hill.Transcript and bibliography

I’m looking here at an old program for St. Olaf’s 52nd founder’s day celebration and dedication of their new music hall. It’s not particularly long, only 3 single pages after the cover, and is discolored from years of wear. Inside are listed several events to celebrate the anniversary, which I’ll touch on later. Looking back from St. Olaf College’s sesquicentennial, which is a fancy word for 150th anniversary, I can’t help but wonder. How big of a deal was 50? Did they have all the same pomp and circumstance which we partake in today? How did Oles get down a century ago? Let’s find out. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf. I’m Will Christensen, and these are the stories from the hill.Transcript and bibliography

Coming soon: episodes from the St. Olaf History Department students!