When Bob and Nancy Linson were students, Ball State was a teacher's college with an enrollment of 3,015, but nearly six decades later, the couple's Homecoming pride is as strong as ever.
The Linsons, who met while attending Ball State, have missed only two Homecomings since 1948, and the 2006 Homecoming will be the 62nd they have attended as a couple, Bob said.
Bob graduated in 1947 and Nancy graduated in 1948, and there are many differences between Ball State in 1948 when she graduated and now, she said.
"We had the bonfire on Friday, and the parade on Saturday and on Saturday, of course, the ball game," Linson said. "The played on the football field over by Lucina Hall, and it was small enough so you could see all of your old friends as they got there. There were no restrooms, so you had to go over to Ball Gym. In the evening, we had the homecoming dance in Ball Gym."
With the influx of veterans following World War II during the 1946-1947 academic year, Ball State underwent many changes, including the allowing of smoking on campus and the refusal of incoming freshmen to wear traditional "frosh beanies," according to "Ball State: An Interpretive History" by Anthony Edmonds.
Before the passage of the GI Bill of Rights in 1944, which awarded grants for U.S. military veterans attending college, Ball State was a predominantly female college. In fall 1945, enrollment was 1,010, but this number nearly tripled following the return of the veterans.
"I think that changed the face of the nation, to be honest," Nancy said of the GI Bill. "Once men went to college, parents found money for women to go college."
Bob was director of alumni relations from 1955 to 1980 and was vice president of the university from 1980 to 1987, while Nancy taught dance and women's physical education.
"They were very involved with Ball State all the way through," Peg Edwards, who was a member of the Gamma Gamma sorority with Nancy, said.
When the Linsons were students, Nancy said, Bob was chairman of the Homecoming dance. One night, after collecting money from the dance, Bob realized there were no faculty members to give the money to, so he stuck it in the toe of one of his boots for the weekend before he could find the appropriate person to give it to.
"There was about $1,700 dollars, probably all in ones and fives," Nancy said. "The money was in his closet, and he didn't know where to hide it. It was a new thing [the dance], and they just didn't think about taking care of the money afterwards."
Bob said that after spending the majority of their lives in Muncie, he and Nancy have no desire to move.
"I think we found a home, he said. "We love Ball State and the students. We had the opportunity to come back, and we did. There's a lot of good people. It's a very congenial place to work."
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