Alumni Group Celebrates Centennial

Something big must have been happening in the 1890s ... some event so huge that it distracted members of the CC Alumni Association so much that they misplaced their organization's constitution.

Let's see, the country was on the brink of war with Spain, the women's suffrage movement was very active, the first U.S. patent for a gasoline-powered automobile was issued, basketball was invented and gold was discovered in them thar Klondike hills. All of this was going on about the same time the school's official alumni documents vanished.

Imagine the members' chagrin when the association met on June 15, 1896, and officially logged in their minutes, "Whereas the constitution of this society has been lost and diligent efforts have been made to recover it without success."

Yeow ... 22 years after CC opens its doors and the alumni association loses all previous records of its existence. Not a red-letter day for the annals of history.

In true college spirit, however, the association resolved to start anew with a new constitution. Today, 100 years after the group's bylaws and mission statement were redrafted and adopted, the CC Alumni Association is officially marking in its centennial.

"We're very excited to be celebrating what we think is the 100th anniversary of the Alumni Association in 1997. We're planning many events during the Alumni Leadership Forum in March and at Homecoming in October," said association president Laurie Marvin '80.

At the forum, the association will review its constitution "to make sure it is in gear for the next century," says Diane Benninghoff '68, director of the Tutt Alumni Office. The group plans to print commemorative t-shirts as well as acknowledge the centennial in all alumni publications. There will be a fashion show at the March meeting, with members modeling vintage campus clothing, including a beanie from 1911, old letter sweaters, a band uniform and an old football uniform.

To further celebrate the anniversary, former presidents of the association are being asked to send a letter, reflecting on their time as head of the group.

"From its inception, the association's mission has always been to involve alumni from across the country in activities going on at the college," says Marvin. "The bond we feel as CC alums certainly carries no geographical boundaries, and is a special tie which we all cherish."

One hundred years ago, there were about 20 graduates. Today, there are 21,700.

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