A Great Year Ahead for MSU-Northern!
Summer 2001

We are poised at the end of a great year here at Northern and in the midst of all of the wrap up; we are planning to make next year even better. I would like to take this opportunity to talk about a couple of the exciting events planned and to thank some very important people.

Graduation and Reunion week on campus is always the most gratifying and rewarding time for those of us who work here. It is a very busy time for many of the twenty-four local volunteers, your alumni association board members, who take on the responsibility of planning and doing the work to make all of these events happen. They also raise the funds required to support it all. They are truly a "working" board and deserve kudos for all the time and heart they give to Northern.

As we grow, the size of some of our new events and the number of alums involved necessitate more help from the other members of the association. One such event will be the 70's Decade Reunion, planned for Homecoming Week, October 15-20, 2001. In addition to the regular Homecoming activities, we will host the Alumni Games, and the 70's "Blast From the Past". It is important to mention that all alums who were attending Northern at the beginning and end of that decade and who want to participate are more than welcome. The board members, and the Reunion and Homecoming Committees, have asked that you please contact any board member or the Alumni Office (406) 265-3770 as soon as possible if you are willing to help with this event. We also need you to help us by letting us know you are coming. We have included a registration form on the last page of this newsletter for your convenience. Registering is an important courtesy for the committee to assist them in planning a memorable event.

Also, those of you who love golf please note that we are planning a golf session on the Friday of registration for the 70's Reunion. If you would like to golf with an NFL Football Legend, we may have the opportunity for you. The MSUN-Foundation and Pheasant's Forever are planning a fundraiser called the Legends for Light's Football Pheasant Jamboree earlier that week and those players who do not have to leave for NFL game obligations may be available to golf with you on Friday.

Even if you are not a history buff, the tales and lore of Northern's early days lend exciting perspective to the present day challenges. The new NMC/MSUN history publication, called "A Northern Reflection", is very near the printing stage. We are working on final drafts, layout, pictures, and cover pages and that means it'll be ready soon.

Anyone with an interest in local history and Northern will find this a fascinating read. The story about how the book came about is no less fascinating. The original text was co-authored by Louis W. Hagener and Antoinette (Toni) R. Hagener, in 1979, and presented to the institution as a prospective fundraiser for the alumni association. However, with the turnover in staff at that time, the intent for this was lost and the alumni association had the copies, but not the communication. The manuscript was used as reference information in the office for many years until the need for an update on the institution's web page created the need for research and this story was revealed. By this time, another twenty years of history needed to be accounted for so a volunteer committee of alumni and friends, Toni Hagener, Lou Lucke, Wells Lamey, Val Hickman, Bill Lanier, Lynn Hamilton, and Judy Bricker joined forces to review and update the text through 1999.

The Northern Alumni Association has provided the funding assistance to publish this material as a service to graduates of Northern, the campus, and Havre community. We will be selling this book to recover our costs, but since the rest of the work was all a labor of love, we have been able to keep it reasonable.

This will be our last issue until October, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks for reading!

Judy Bricker, Director of Alumni Affairs