Alumni share: What Ohio State memento have you kept?
More than 225 Buckeyes told us about the objects that still spark memories of friendships, milestones and student life.
Some things are more than objects—they’re time machines. Whenever I come across a red purse with colorful embroidery, I’m back in the early 2000s at a burger place, studying economics with a classmate from China. We talked about our families and cultures, and giggled too much. I’ve saved the purse she gifted me in a special keepsake box.
For Steve Brown ’86, his collegiate mementos come more in paper form. He has 28 autographed napkins. “We had a bartender sign a napkin at each stop on our ‘walk of death’ graduation bar crawl,” he says with a chuckle.
“Probably one of the best signed napkins we got was from the Newport. It used to be the Agora,” says Brown, who’s on the left of this slightly blurry photo. “There was a concert that night and so they wouldn’t let us in without a ticket, but we talked them into letting us get in and just get the napkins signed as part of our ‘tour.‘”
More than 225 alumni wrote in to tell us about what memento they’ve kept since their days on campus. Here is a sampling.
More paper products
“I would have to say my diploma. I look at it some days and I’m still amazed I have one.”
— Mary Middleton ’65
“A picture of my mom watching me walk across the stage when I received my PhD diploma. She was absolutely glowing … the last of her children were out of college, at last.”
— Martin Saperstein ’78 MA, ’81 PhD
“My four ‘Dates & Data’ books, one for each school year. They note academic stuff, but also who I was dating and where we were going, and my feelings about both.”
— Dorie-Ellen Niewood Eisenman ’72
“Some of my college books, like physiology, from grad school. I had to really study hard. The books are like a trophy for completing the work, all the effort put in, and getting good grades. Proud to be an Ohio State alumni for undergrad and grad schools!”
— Lynda Peel Brown ’79, ’89 MA
“My old ID card from 1970. My wallet was stolen that year when I was in Morrill Tower and a decade later, I got a package in the mail from Ohio State. An elevator repair man had found it at the bottom of the shaft. I’d graduated eight years before and yet someone took the time to find me and send the wallet back. That’s Buckeye Nation.”
— Cornelia Rutherford ’73
All things football
A piece of a Rose Bowl goal post
“On Jan. 1, 1969, Ohio State played USC in the Rose Bowl. The winning team would become the national champion. Several of us Evans Scholars traveled on the university trip to the game, which we won 27-16.
“As time ran out, we ran onto the field and attacked the temporary wooden goal post, bringing it down in a mighty crash. I managed to get a piece, which I brought back with me and still have today … after 57 years. It was originally about 3 feet long, but I gave away some parts to friends who were at the game with me.
“I also have my Rose Bowl game ticket, which cost $8. Here, my ticket sits on the goal post piece. It’s USC-colored. Our tickets were behind the end zone of their goal post. The opposite goal post had our scarlet and gray.”
— Jim Zielinski ’72
“I’ve kept my football tickets all these years.”
— Leslie Smith Moore ’86
“My jar of turf from Ohio Stadium”
— John M. Cutter ’74, ’76 DDS
“The field at Ohio Stadium used to be lined with 3-foot-high red wooden guideposts, through which they would put a rope. They served as a small barrier to people from walking on the turf. After Ohio State’s 50-14 victory over Michigan on Nov. 23, 1968, the announcer invited people to take the posts, as they would be redoing the field next year—at least, that’s how I remember it! My roommates and I inscribed the momentous occasion on the post once we got back to Drackett Tower. To this day, every time I look at it, I smile and recall that exhilarating experience 57 years ago.”
— Jeffrey Blaga ’72, ’74 MA, ’78 PhD
“My Varsity O letter jacket—football ’73-’76”
— Robert Hyatt ’77
“My old Beat xichigan T-shirt—now part of a quilt I had made from my old Buckeye T-shirts. It can keep the whole family warm on movie night!”
Free gifts
“A disposable camera we got at Convocation my freshman year. I have NO idea what pictures it holds. I’ve been tempted to turn it in to find out, but I like having it on my desk instead—a mystery!”
— Brittany Savko ’11, ’11, ’19 MA
“I have two: My homecoming king sash and my Psi Chi hoodie, which reminds me of the amazing people in the Psychology Department at Ohio State Newark.”
— Charles Cayton ’15, ’18
“My brother, who has a senior when I started college, gave me a buckeye on the first day of classes. I kept it in my bookbag as my lucky buckeye and carried it everywhere. Almost 20 years later, it continues to move with me into every new bag I start using.”
— Zach Usmani ’10
“A ‘Beasty Brew’ mug from Papa Joe’s. Somehow it was never broken during college and remains in excellent condition.”
— Jason Keller ’95
Etcetera
“An individually team signed basketball from Ohio State’s 1960 national championship team.”
— Roger Moore ’65
“A snow globe of the stadium with a blimp in the air”
— Lynn Smith Angell ’81
“My book bag. I bought a military shoulder bag, converted it to a book bag, and used it until I graduated. I can see myself riding my bike with that bag across my chest going to classes, track practice or the Big Bear grocery store. I still have it.”
— Johnny E. Davis ’78
“My husband. We met in our sophomore year and have been married 36 years.”
— Shari Shapiro Gordon ‘86
“My wife. We met as freshman and dated all through our four years. I was a basketball player at Ohio State and Lynn was my biggest fan. We got married my last quarter in school and Lynn still had a couple of extra quarters. We eventually moved to Detroit to start my career with GM. Fifty-eight years later, we are still best friends.”
— Alan Rowley ’67
