5 minute read

do you miss most about being on campus?

1950s

“East Campus and the College of Agriculture — those locales were like a home with their buildings, departments, faculty and fellow students.”

Denzil Clegg (’54) is a Nebraska Alumni Association life member from Fort Worth, Texas. He and his wife Beverly recently celebrated their 70th anniversary with a group of more than 30 family members that included 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

1960s

“Being part of all the activities in the Student Union. I spent many hours in the Associated Women Students office which was in charge of the rules for on-campus living including curfews for female students at the time.”

Carol Bischoff (’67) and her husband are self-proclaimed “snowbirds.”

They enjoy five warm months on the coast of Maine, and the colder months on the southwest coast of Florida.

1970s

“The buddies that I was with every day, the scenes around campus, the weekends, and the excitement of football Saturdays.”

Ken Kirchhoff (’77) is a longtime annual member living in Fort Collins, Colorado. He has two granddaughters currently attending UNL.

“Walking around campus alone or with friends for class or to some sporting event and being thankful for the opportunity to attend college. Also, activities with my Theta Chi fraternity brothers.”

Steven Anderson (’79) is a life member living in Lincoln with his wife of 40+ years. He recently retired after 42 years as a CPA in public accounting.

1980s

“I miss being within walking distance of all my friends. The campus layout made it easy to see friends within minutes.”

Karen (Hesselink) Caverzagie (’85) lives in Papillion and is the mother of six boys — five who attended UNL. Her youngest son is still in high school and will “probably” be headed to Lincoln as well.

2000s

“Killing time in between classes in the firstfloor lounge in Nebraska Hall with all of its charms as an old brick factory.”

Matt Bruening (’00) is a life member living in St. Helena, Nebraska. He

1975

just celebrated 22 years with Southland Industries — a mechanical design engineering and construction firm he started.

“The hot steamers (steamed flavored milk) on cold mornings at the Dairy Store”

Theresa (Orcutt) Haney (’07, ’08) is an annual member living in Centreville, Maryland. She works with a group of healthcare providers serving military veterans.

2020s

“I miss the community. From collaborative coursework to clubs and Husker sporting events, the campus always felt alive and unified, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Thomas Fleischmann (’21) is an annual member originally from West Bend, Wisconsin, who recently proposed to Brianna Moser (’21). He also began a new role with Baird’s Private Wealth management arm.

“I miss the people — everyone is so nice. When I moved away it made me realize how amazing Lincoln really is.”

Andrew Martin (’22) is beginning his career as a golf professional with Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

“The Temple Building, without a doubt. It was an epicenter of creative thought and action.”

Alan Schuster (’75) is an off-Broadway producer with 30 years of experience who brought the show Stomp to the Lied Center last fall.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?

ROCK N’ ROLL RUNZA

As a child, Renee (Everett) Sjulin (’86) visited work with her dad, Don Everett Sr., franchiser and son to the founder of Runza Restaurants. He’d set Renee on the counter and she’d help prepare drinks, foreshadowing her high school and college years employed there. With a love of Runza instilled and an accounting degree, she returned to work in the corporate office right after school and is now the vice president of Runza National. Witness to all the rise and fall, including the turn of the 1990s, when Don Everett Sr. had an idea — he turned over headquarters to Sjulin and her siblings while he created Rock n’ Roll Runza, the full-service retro carhop Lincoln classic.

“That is something he’s always wanted to do — to return to his roots and what a restaurant looked like in the ’50s,” Sjulin said.

From 1991 to 2004 the restaurant, located at 14th and P streets, provided a quick lunch or a place for families to hang out after a day at the Children’s Museum, plus featured an upstairs banquet facility for parties called Top of the Rock. The eatery served Runzas and burgers, but also specialized in ’50s diner staples — cheese frenchees, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, chili dogs. A soda jerk manned the soda fountain, crafting homemade sundaes and banana splits in glass dishes. Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and pink Cadillac murals lined the drive-thru that tunneled through the building; a walk-up window; a DJ spinning records in the corner; a jukebox and neon lights and an old-fashioned car-turned-couch.

Becky Perrett (’99, ’07) — who patronized the restaurant while earning her bachelor’s degree and has been director of marketing with Runza for 22 years — said the atmosphere was frenetic: “Your waitress carried six malts or shakes or pops on roller skates, flew right up, stopped on a dime and handed them out and didn’t spill a drop.”

It took many people to realize Don Everett Sr.’s dream. The roller skate waitstaff were sought after positions among college students as the role required theatrics. All hands on deck — Sjulin never laced up her skates, instead working a couple shifts as supervisor because early on they were “uber-busy.”

By 2004, the place had run its course. The demise of the Rock n’ Roll theme wasn’t any one thing in particular. Full-service took away from other areas of company growth, like the launch of Braeda Fresh Express Café. Lunch business was great, but dinner business began to slow. The building was too big for what they needed, and developers were inquiring about buying the space. Even so, Runza learned a lot moving forward from this chapter.

“It opened our eyes to getting better at hospitality,” Sjulin said. “There were things that we learned in the full-service that we could apply with a quick-serve. A lot of our top employees came from Rock n’ Roll Runza — they’re still with us.”

The location eventually became home to Noodles & Company and now Wells Fargo Bank. There are no plans for a Rock n’ Roll revival, but Runza still has its eye on restaurant innovation with updated layouts and design. To this day, impassioned fans, many who visited as kids, champion its unlikely return on social media. Sjulin knows that would put a smile on her dad’s face.

—Grace Fitzgibbon

1940s

Elizabeth Evans Brown (’45) Lake Forest, Ill., Oct. 10; Margaret

Neumann Dietz (’46) Akron, Ohio, Nov. 1; Helen Hormann Roesler (’47)

Wayzata, Minn., Aug. 25; Alice Rife

Wiedrich (’47)

Decatur, Ill., Nov. 21; Paul Exstrom (’48)

Dubuque, Iowa, Nov. 21; Dale Gibbs (’48)

Lincoln, Nov. 4; Marilyn Eden Wellensiek (’48)

Syracuse, Nov. 21; Neal Garey (’49) Grand Island, Oct. 18; Betty Aasen

Kjelson (’49)

Pfafftown, N.C., Aug. 26; Richard Koch (’49) St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 6

1950s

Paul Andreas (’50) Omaha, Oct. 23; Jack Brown (’50)

Alamosa, Colo., Nov. 2; Jerald Jacobson (’50) Elkhorn, Sept. 25; Robert Johnson (’50)

Hastings, Oct. 22; Angeline Liakos (’50)

Loveland, Colo., Oct.

8; Jean Leisy Sehnert (’50)

McCook, Dec. 2; Willard Classen (’51) West Des Moines, Iowa, July 5; Richard Crom

(’51) Concord, N.C., Sept. 12; William Greer

(’51) Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 7; Donna

Rudisil Heins

(’51) York, Sept. 20; Robert Holder

(’51) Austin, Texas, July 22;

Leonard Kehl

(’51) Lakewood, Colo., May 10;

Eileen Derieg

Raun (’51)

Minden, Oct. 18; Iris Wells Steinhoff (’51)

Santa Fe, N.M., Oct. 10; Charles

Burmeister (’52)

Lincoln, Dec. 7; Wayne Foster

(’52) Lincoln, Oct. 20; Everett

Jenne (’52)

Albany, Ore., Nov. 6; Leslie

Mann Miller

(’52) Clifton

Park, N.Y., Nov. 12; Delmer

Toebben (’52)

Omaha, Sept. 26; Bruce Villars

(’52) Minden, Sept. 25; Idonna

Burkhart Florell

(’53) Lincoln, Nov. 4; Robert Ingram (’53)

Kearney, Aug. 5; Gordon Krogh

This article is from: