The Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections at W.R. Coe Library is celebrating “Homecoming through the Decades” by featuring the historical Homecoming Editions of The Branding Iron that were printed from the years 1921-2015.
This display exhibitions the homecoming traditions that the University of Wyoming has had in the past years. It is an opportunity for the students to learn about the university’s historical customs.
“Claire Quade and I were thinking out how the BI was doing a homecoming edition now, so we decided to display all their previous editions for people to see how homecoming has changed though the times,” special collections aide, Cameron Green said.
The main idea behind this is to show students how homecoming was celebrated in the past and how it is different now.
It is also a wonderful opportunity for visiting alumni to get a glimpse of their years here at UW.
“This is definitely informative and it is very interesting to see the differences in the newspapers in that period and todays current period” library aide at the reading rooms, Makayla Buszek said.
Another library aide, Kylie Woffinden said, “I think it’s pretty cool that we still have all those editions from such a long time preserved in our library.”
The University of Wyoming held its first Homecoming in 1921 to welcome back alumni and to celebrate the university’s existence. The excitement and the celebration has grown ever since.
Homecoming has continued to play a big part at the university. It creates a lot of events such as The Big Event, Scavenger Hunt, Tailgate party, Homecoming Dance, and the Homecoming Parade which brings together the student body and the alumni.
“While reading through the older editions of the BI, we noticed how the Homecoming ones were different. They were full of events and funny stories. Now is a good time to show how homecoming brings us together as a student body, both past and present,” Green said.
Students can get a glimpse of the homecoming football games that took place, along with all the players through the years. The papers also display all the special events and games that took place during the homecoming season.
Also up for view are the parades, floats and special bands that have been organized by UW students in the past years.
It also explores historical stories of how a donated pony became a fan-favorite, Cowboy Joe Mascot, why UW cancelled Homecoming during WWII and other Homecoming traditions.
“Homecoming is a wonderful time for togetherness. Students can come here to look of pictures of their older generations, maybe see their parents or grandparents. Alumni can come and relive their own university days,” Green said.
He also said,” Newspapers have always played an important role in recording events. Because of the special editions, students are now able to see what occasions were taking place back then. So in a way we show encourage them to keep supporting Branding Iron. These are memories and stories of the Cowboys and Cowgirls before us and we can now record stories of our own.”
The printouts of the Branding Iron’s homecoming editions have been hung up for display on the hallway leading up to the Chisum Reading Room and Special Collections.
Also available for public viewing is the interactive exhibit that explores The Wyo yearbook as curated by the library’s digitization team.
The Homecoming exhibit will be displayed through Tuesday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is located on level 3 of W.R. Coe Library in the hallway near Emmett D. Chisum Special Collections.
