According to the Buzzer yearbook, 1956 was the year the Salk vaccine was first marketed, Elvis ushered in rock and roll, and the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the World Series, 4-3.

For the 20 graduates in the Class of 1956 who returned to campus Homecoming Weekend to celebrate their golden reunion, memories fixated on the weather and the temptations of young adulthood. As the rain drizzled, reunion participants reminisced about how cold it used to be having to wear dresses and walk across the Quad in winter and of throwing candy from a front-end-loader scoop hoisted up high along the Homecoming parade route. During the social hour preceding the dinner that honored Gerald R. Sherratt as alumnus of the year, talk turned to glory days in sports—to remembered games and respected coaches and to hi-jinks in the dorms.

In 1956 George “Doc” Nelson was the wrestling coach who gave his name to the fieldhouse. These were the days before the Spectrum, when the football stadium was where the physical ed and recreation center is now, and you could drive all the way around the student union building in your car. Daryl Chase was president of the university and there were sheep penned in the Military Science Building parking lot. No University Inn, no parking terrace, yet.

Max Cologna ’56 wrestled for Doc Nelson, who reputedly had wrestled a bear in San Francisco. Max gestured with his description. “He had cauliflower ears like a croc.” Max and his roommates, “The Sons of Italy,” stayed in an apartment downtown, but Ted Ramsdell ’56 said they should have been in jail for their constant flirtations with the law, Logan Police Chief Eli Drakulich. Ted says their group of friends, which includes Carl E. Ebert ’55 and “Mr. Aggie,” Dave Kragthorpe, all-conference tackle 1951-54, still get together for a week-long vacation each year. In 2002 seven of them went to Denver to visit beloved football Coach (1951-54) John Roning, who told the nurses, “My boys are comin’ to see us.” They sang songs and reminisced about the Thanksgiving day game of 1954 when we beat the University of Utah 35-19.

Jack Moore ’41 played his last game of football for Coach Dick Romney just two weeks before Pearl Harbor was bombed. He then enlisted in the Navy Air Corps and came out a lieutenant commander. He returned to campus and still remembers how Romney greeted him: “By Gad! Big Jack, come on back and play football.” Jack, who had turned down two offers to go pro, said he would if Romney could match his military salary. “Goodbye, Jack,” he said. Jack at 87 wore his letter jacket again. He was glad to be informed of this year’s reunion; the alumni association had him deceased for his 50th.

Brent Nyman, who claims he learned to ski on Old Main Hill, and classmate Lee Burke played football with Merlin Olsen. But Brent was already an avid USU fan. At age 11, as a “Carrier of the Week” for the Herald Journal, he received seats at the game. On off weeks, he’d sneak in through a hole in the fence.

USU psychology professor Carl Cheney ’56 pledged with Sigma Nu and remembers being marshaled through various theatrical paces by roommates Eugene Tueller and Gerald Sherratt. He mentioned the “wild” boys from Wyoming and Nevada, frat brothers who decided one day to shoot out the helium balloons at a downtown car dealership. The Sigma Nu house “was built like a castle, with turrets on the third-floor deck,” and they took out their deer rifles and drew a bead. Nothing was hit; the targets were weaving and so were the shooters.

Carl has loved his work. He says he’s been paid for 38 years, but has taught for six (the first six.) He wonders why with four children and two spouses holding degrees from USU that he can’t get a parking ticket fixed.
Logan winters are still cold, the traffic is much more manic, but it always feels good to win the game on Homecoming. From the joy of an unexpected upset on the gridiron to firearms on campus, perhaps the more things change, the more they remain the same. —Marilyn Liddle ’73 ’96MA