Northwest School of Agriculture Reunion Set for June 23 and 24
Four alumni will be honored at the annual Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) Alumni Reunion Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC). In addition to the traditional 5- and 10-year rotating schedule of class years for the reunion, this year’s event is an “all-school” event. All NWSA alumni are encouraged to attend the festivities.
Receiving the Top Aggie Awards will be: Andrew Skaar ’40 of Thief River Falls; Leroy Johnson ’49 of Glenview, Illinois; Dr. Andrew Nielsen ’49 of Oak View, California; and Roger Odegaard ’60, of Crookston.
Festivities begin on Friday, June 23, at 9 a.m. with a 9-hole golf scramble followed by lunch at Minakwa Golf Club in Crookston. Tours of regional attractions are scheduled throughout the afternoon. At 7:00 p.m. alumni members will take part in the all-school gathering at the Northland Inn in Crookston. "This will be a great time to come and reminisce with other classmates, graduates, former teachers and UMC faculty and staff," according to Bill Gatheridge, NWSA alumni president.
On Saturday, June 24, reunion registration begins at 8 a.m. in UMC’s Sahlstrom Conference Center and continues all day. Campus tours begin at 11:00 a.m., with a pig roast scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on the Mall.
At 1 p.m. the newly constructed Harris A. Peterson Gazebo will be dedicated. The gazebo will be the focal point of a planned centennial park and garden. A special marker inlaid in the base of the gazebo commemorates the U of M’s Northwest School of Agriculture, UMC’s precursor from 1905-1968. During that time 5433 alumni passed through the halls of the NWSA. Many of these former “Aggies” have gone on to become professional, agricultural, business, and community leaders across the country.
The marker will also recognize Harris A. Peterson ‘42, who donated $50,000 toward the project. Peterson is the owner and CEO of Minn-Dak Growers, Ltd., a world-wide supplier of mustard, buckwheat, and confection sunflower ingredients to the food industry. Additional markers will eventually be added to the park and garden to recognize contributions of other UMC and NWSA alumni and to commemorate other events. The centennial park concept will evolve as the campus nears the year 2005. In that year the University of Minnesota will celebrate 100 years of educational service at the site now known as UMC.
Continuing the events of June 24, NWSA class meetings will be held at 2:00 p.m. Class pictures will begin at 3 p.m. The evening buffet dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. followed by the annual business meeting and alumni program honoring the Top Aggies for 2000. The evening will conclude with the Barbershop Singers at 8:30 p.m.
Disability accommodations are available upon request. For more information, or to register for the reunion, write or call the Northwest School of Agriculture Alumni Association, University of Minnesota, Crookston, 2900 University Avenue, Crookston MN 56716 Telephone: 218-281-8437.
Posted 06/08/2000
Contact: Andrew Svec,
218-281-8380