The Exponent, 2001-10-03

              See Gypsy Day Edition pages 1041
THE
OF NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY
October 3, 2 0 0 1
Volume 1 0 0 , Issue 3 • stupub@northern.edu
100 Years
of Howling
Gypsy Day:
aturday, November 18,
1916, was the beginning of
the homecoming
tradition of Gypsy Day. The day's
events included everything from a
parade of multi-colored gypsy
students, to a thousand-person
barbeque, to a 26-12 win over
Madison Normal on the football
field. According to the Nov. 27,
1916, Exponent, "the first Gypsy
Day was a grand success." The
archive gives an overview article of
the Northern Normal and
Industrial School's first
homecoming.
The morning began with a
parade, a myriad of colors. The
throng featured everything from
"Fatty Fleischman", a Northern
Normal student who had stuffed his
oversize costume with hay, to
Bernice Remde, the Gypsy Queen,
"so beautiful, so benignant, so
queenly". There were cars and
floats, horses and wagons, and a
wandering mass of gypsy students
pervading over all.
"Aberdeen people who visited
with us on Gypsy Day had nothing
but words of praise for us and the
parade was said by onlookers to
have been one of the best to have
ever passed over the streets of the
city," describes The Exponent
archive.
The football game that day was
against Madison Normal School
and was characterized by "much
punting and loose playing on both
sides." Credit for the win was
divided between the "very credible
work" of the backfield, as well as an
80-yard breakaway run by the
quarterback and captain, Arthur
Johnson. The final score of 26-12
eliminated Madison Normal from
the hunt for the state Normal
1916, 1940
school football championship.
A barbeque, organized by Miss
Young and her "grub committee",
wound up the day's festivities.
Approximately a thousand people
attended and were fed sandwiches
made with meat that had been
professionally prepared in an
outdoor oven for two days.
"Nobody had any excuse for going
away hungry," sums up the student
sentiments.
The classic article first written on
the success of Gypsy Day predicts
well the events of the future. "Plans
are already being laid for a bigger
and better Gypsy Day next year and
the alumni and students will be
brought to know each other better if
these plans materialize."
1940 "25 years of Gypsy Day"
At the beginning of the 1940-
1941 school year, students at
Northern State Teachers College
were promised that the 25th
Anniversary Gypsy Day
homecoming would be the biggest
and best in history of the Romany
clan.
The October 22, 1940 Exponent
declared Gypsy Day a "gala
success." The 25th celebration was
kicked off Friday, Oct. 11 with a
program of amateur student talent.
This was followed by a pep fest and
a traditional bonfire where students
joined in a snake dance, complete
with yells and songs, that flowed
through the downtown section of
Aberdeen. The evening ended with
a free show at the Orpheum theater.
The next morning, coronation
was centered around a gypsy village
where members of the clan readied
themselves for the arrival of Queen
Carol, who choose her successor.
Patricia Schmidt was crowned the
Gypsy Day queen. The Marshal was
Lloyd Sundheim. Also included in
the program were musical
selections, songs and dances.
A two mile long parade "which
wove its multi-colored way through
Aberdeen's business section"
carried out the theme 25 years of
Gypsy Day. The parade "lent an
atmosphere of gaiety." The queen's
float was "beautiful" and the "center
of attraction" that "drew much
comment."
Later in the day "a stonewall
defense and a high-geared running
attack" led the Wolves' football
victory against the South Dakota
School of Mines. The last buzzer
sounded with a score of 20-3.
Heidi Seyer, Brandy Schnabel,
Victoria Lusk
Campus Reporters N orthern State
University
celebrated a
"hundred years of howling" with
the 2001 Gypsy Day coronation
on September 27. The evening
recapped many of the
unforgettable NSU memories
from the past century.
Jay Ruud, dean of liberal arts
and sciences, and Vicky Rusch,
director of the Writing Center,
served as MC's for the festivity,
which was sponsored by the
Campus Activity Board.
An abundance of school spirit
was expressed through comical
game show skits, the NSU Wolves
band, and the Northern
Highlights dance routines. "From
A gay fun fest led off the evening
activities. The fest program
included musical numbers from the
college dance orchestra, vocal solos,
organ selections, novelty tap
members, a baton act, and an
exhibition of magic.
The day was culminated by a
colorful dance. A large crowd full of
"gay lighthearted student gypsies,
alumni, and townspeople" danced
to the music of Dick Mills'
orchestra. "As the last strains of
music faded away", the 25th Gypsy
Day passed into NSU's history and
"a quarter century of Gypsy Days
had passed."
1901-2001, NSU has served the
people of South Dakota. Through
the years, the mission to provide
excellence in education has
remained the same," President
John Hilpert said.
Among the highlights of the
evening was the generous
donation of $4,000 from the
Royal Order of Gyps. Grant
Oleson was selected as the 2001
King of the Gyps.
Several generations of NSU
pride were represented through
past Gypsy Day royalty. In
attendance were the 1958 and
1968 queens and 1989 marshall.
"I will never forget my
Northern experience. Playing
football here and meeting people
from across the country was
amazing," Kendel Hoelkein,
Warner, 1989 marshall, said.
The ten finalists for the honor
of being named the 2001 Gypsy
Day Marshall and queen were
introduced wearing unique Gypsy
Day attire. The NSU Marshall
candidates included Russel
Braun, Andy Foster, Charles
Hermanson, Houston Reed, and
Brad Thorstad.
Andy Foster, sponsored by the
Student Athletic Mentors, was
named the 2001 Marshall. "I was
just happy to be nominated.
Being named as king really adds
to it. I guess I don't really have
words for it," he said.
Dara Bowser, Valorie
Cammack, Sharma Dahl, Rebecca
Valdez, and Lisa Wagner were
NSU queen candidates.
Dara Bowser, sponsored by the
Student Association, was
honored to be crowned the new
queen. "It was a great honor to be
selected as queen. I will always
treasure the people that I have
met here at Northern. The
experiences that I have had with
friends and being involved in
various organizations has made
college unforgettable," she said.
Ifard Bowser, sponsoredl the
foster, sponsored by the lien
udent ns.ort rlfnn , sias honored to he crowned the new mi..,
Meth- Mento, "r is kilned the 2on1 Aita•.h,11 Photo By Ashley Sutton
1918 Queen Georgia Swan Photo Courtesy of Wiilliams Library.