Earlier this week I had the pleasure of roaming around BYU with my EC and a few of my kids. We usually stop by when we are in Utah to hit the bookstore, the creamery, and the Museum of Art (to see this in person). This time around it was especially fun, because FOML4 just received his acceptance to BYU for Summer and Fall. My EC and I are excited for him to have this experience before his mission, as it is something we both did, and his grandparents before him. (Yes, Cougar blue runs deep. But I do know better than to live and die by the 3.)
I remember my parents taking me around campus when I was a new freshman. I remember thinking they were disproportionally excited as they told me of their experiences. I mean, they attended there in the 50’s. It’s not like I was going to be attending sock hops. So I gave them a cursory listen.
I get it now. I was a freshman during the 1979-1980 school year. That was 36 years ago! I’m sure that to my son it seems like the age of the dinosaurs, and he might be right. Walking through campus can bring back memories, but also make you feel very, very old. But you want to share it with them, because it is becoming part of a shared experience.
BYU is a sort of time machine. You can walk through the new student housing and be amazed at the fancy new digs, and then walk past the bowling alley in the Wilk and feel like you have stepped back in time.
My dorm is gone. It was part of Deseret Towers, that has since been torn down and rebuilt as New Heritage. Although the buildings are gone, the memories are strong. Too little sleep, too much pizza, hilarity, craziness, and everything that you would not want your kids to emulate.
There were also friendships forged in that dorm that have stood the test of time. The friends I made during my freshman year are still my friends. I anticipate the will always be my friends. They, along with some fun memories, are what I took from my year in the dorms.
Speaking of fun memories, I lived in “W” Hall, which was run by an older lady Sister Foster. She ran a tight ship, but was also very kind to us. (Which means she tolerated our shenanigans.) She was an old “Southern Belle,” and had the accent to back it up. A lot of the young men were afraid of her. We loved her.
One afternoon, my friend Kent was in the dorm taking a leisurely shower, since nobody else was around. We didn’t have our own bathrooms, but all shared a communal bathroom.
He finished up, and was on his way to his dorm room. He held his shampoo in one hand, his conditioner in the other, and besides the towel draped around his neck, he was buck naked.
He turned the corner, only to find Ma Foster standing there in front of him. He freaked- trying to find a way to cover himself. Ma Foster just rolled her eyes and drawled in her slow Southern style,
“Don’t worry Kent. If I see anything I haven’t seen before, I’ll throw a rock at it.”
With that, she turned on her heels and walked away.
Hopefully my son will be a little more careful….
Here
I spent some time on BYU campus once. I carried my diet coke in a brown paper bag.
I wish I’d been at work when you were here – I am the Dept Secretary for Air Force ROTC. I would’ve asked for your autograph! But, we were in Houston for a grandson’s baptism.
My parents were not BYU grads (my dad was a Ute), but when they moved to Atlanta in 1960, they realized going to BYU would be the key to marriage in the church. I was indoctrinated from age 5 – when it came time to apply, I told them I wanted to go to a nursing school in Atlanta. Dad said that was fine, but the only college he was paying for was BYU!
I met and married my husband at BYU, and since we were in the Air Force, we began indoctrination at birth for our children. Husband’s parents lived in Provo, so our kids had yearly trips to BYU. It worked for them – they all four met and married someone from BYU.
When we retired and moved here 17 years ago, it took 3 years for me to realize I wasn’t on vacation, going to school, or attending Education Week or Seminary Symposium.
I cried when they tore down Young Hall in Heritage Halls.
The boys in my freshman ward lived in W Hall. Such fun memories! (I was in Heritage.)
U hall alum here!
Long live May Hall in Helaman Halls!! That’s the place I gained some of my best forever friends–and had my fair share of shenanigans. I still have my “it’s worth the walk” T-shirt since it was the Helaman Hall that was farthest from everyone else. I love my BYU memories.
I lived in U Hall freshman year. So many memories!
I have several bricks – certified from W hall – that were salvaged when it was torn down. Maybe 12 or so. I don’t know why.
Maybe to throw at things you haven’t seen before.
That is hilarious! She made a great impression and much loved memories, I’m sure.
This is so funny. Sister Foster ran T Hall when I was a summer resident assistant. She always said she had water marks around her ankles when she was a kid from living in the Louisiana bayou. What a wonderful lady.