A comprehensive history of the university from the dedication of early residents to secure the university in Boulder to the dramatic protests of the 1960s. Written by former head football coach and Alumni Association director Bud Davis (PE’51,EdD’63), the two books chronicle the university’s history from 1860s through 2000.

Click here to visit the Alumni Association website to order your books. The $50 price, if shipped within the U.S., includes tax, shipping and handling. Please allow one-to-two weeks for the books to arrive.

If you have questions, or wish to have the books shipped internationally, please contact Mona Lambrecht at the Heritage Center.

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We have modified our Athletic gallery to include the new Keeping Time: The History of the Golden Buffalo Marching Band. 

Swing by the Heritage Center to learn about the long history of the band and influential band directors, find out about the evolution of the CU fight songs and see how uniforms changed over the decades.

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Pins like those above were worn by CU-Boulder staff and alumni including former CU-Boulder volleyball assistant coach Ricci Luyties, who won the gold in volleyball during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and William Hybl (Law’67) who served as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2000. He led the United States Olympic team delegation at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Described as “the number one spectator sport” at the Olympic Games, pin trading is gaining in popularity.

Cardboard pins were first issued in 1896 to identify athletes (blue), judges (pink), and officials (red). Today the pins have been upgraded to sturdier materials, including glass, copper and brass, that allow for more intricate and lasting designs.

The first souvenir pin was struck in 1912 for the Stockholm Olympic Games. In 1924 at the Olympic village in Paris officials and athletes were housed together, which allowed for mingling and swapping of pins as a form of friendship and respect between nations.

By 1984 there were over 1,300 pin designs and some visitors attended simply to trade rather than actually watch the games. A pin’s rarity can increase its collectability and price, such as the pin produced for the canceled games in 1940. Many pins are available to the public, but others are exclusively for athletes and participants.

Most pins are official and authorized, but unauthorized and even counterfeit ones are sold. As a collector it is important to know the difference. Lists, blogs and catalogs are available to guide the beginning collector and describe the rules of trading etiquette, which are strictly observed.

For more information about 2012 Olympic pins, fun history of Olympic pins and collecting check out:
London 2012 pins
Classic pins
Pin collector site

The post What’s the number one spectator sport at the Olympics? Pin collecting! appeared first on CU Heritage Center.

His strongest event was the 400-meter, a record he still holds in the decathlon competition. Toomey won his first decathlon Olympic gold at the 1968 Games in Mexico City. In 1969 he broke two world records, one in the decathlon, a record he held for nearly three years, and the other for the pentathlon, which still stands.

After his Olympic athletic career, Toomey worked on the U.S. Olympic Committee as a director for fundraising, helping build the training center in San Diego, co-founding the World Olympian Association where he worked closely with the Peace Corps developing international programs.

He has been accepted into numerous halls of fame, has visited over 70 countries, and is a known broadcast personality and motivational speaker. Since retiring from his athletic career, Toomey continues to work out every day doing sit-ups and going for a run, not a jog, which he calls “boring.”

The post Gold-medal Olympian and world-record holder appeared first on CU Heritage Center.

Bolen earned fourth place in the 400-meter dash at the 1948 London Olympics. Upon return from the games, he received the Robert Russell Memorial Award and became the Most Outstanding Athlete in the Rocky Mountain Area in 1948. His success in the Olympics opened up many racing opportunities in Eastern Europe for Bolen and his teammates in following years.

In 1950 Bolen simultaneously earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business that led to a highly celebrated career in politics and economics. CU’s first Olympic athlete broke records in both sports and politics. His international career began in 1974 when he was named U.S. ambassador to Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. In 1977 President Carter assigned Bolen to negotiate agreements between the Americans, East and West Germans and the Soviets.

The post 1948 to 2012: CU comes full circle in London Olympics appeared first on CU Heritage Center.

What is the name of CU’s live mascot?

When did the first Ralphie start appearing at games?

How many buffalos have served as Ralphie?

What are the real names of all the Ralphies?

What are the main responsibilities of the Ralphie Handlers?

What is the name of CU’s human mascot, a costumed buffalo?

Has CU’s human mascot ever had a companion?

When was Ralphie crowned Homecoming Queen?

Who kidnapped Ralphie in 1970?

Is Ralphie a bison or a buffalo?

Who donated $40,730 for the care of Ralphie IV and future Ralphies?

Check your answers here!

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Through the Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative (NASHI), an interdisciplinary collaboration of faculty and students is seeking to improve housing conditions on tribal lands through research, education and outreach activities. This initiative establishes an ongoing academic service-learning program between the CU environmental design program and the construction technology program at Oglala Lakota College in Rapid City, South Dakota.

The CU Heritage Center exhibit focuses on addressing the need for healthy, sustainable and affordable housing for the Oglala Sioux Tribe. This includes the program’s studies and plans for straw bale construction using sustainable and durable materials for energy efficient homes capturing solar, wind and geothermal energy.

The exhibit will be updated later this year to include the program’s progress during the 2012 summer season. Visit the CU Heritage Center and track the NASHI’s design and construction of sustainable, affordable, culturally inclusive and regionally appropriate housing on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

CU Heritage Center
Third floor of Old Main
Hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
303-492-6329

For more information about the
Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative contact
Rob Pyatt, instructor and research associate at
rob.pyatt@colorado.edu
or 303-803-6810.

The post New Exhibit: “Designing for People and Place” appeared first on CU Heritage Center.

Join the always entertaining and enlightening Alan Nelson, CU senior grounds specialist, on the Tree Walk to learn about the campus arboretum. As senior ground specialist, Nelson has been conducting this popular tour for more than 20 years. Some of the trees, including the majestic 100-year-old cottonwood outside Old Main, are native to this region, while others were imported from the east coast, the southern U.S., Europe and Asia, and are rarely seen in Colorado except on CU grounds.

The tour departs from the west steps of Norlin Library on Wednesday, May 2 at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a reception at the CU Heritage Center and a presentation on notable trees by Kathleen Alexander, city of Boulder forester.

This event is free to the public.

Come rain or shine!

This FREE event is co-sponsored by the CU Heritage Center, the city of Boulder and CU Facilities Management.

The post Tree Walk appeared first on CU Heritage Center.

Director Williams held a public talk earlier that day to announce CU-Boulder’s No. 1 ranking for Peace Corps participation. CU-Boulder currently has 112 alumni, ranging in age from 21 to 77, volunteering for Peace Corps service. Each has pledged two years of service abroad under challenging conditions for the social and economic development of global communities. CU’s No. 1 Peace Corps ranking for two years in a row is tangible evidence of something we have always known: our Forever Buffs are service-oriented and down-to-earth, working tirelessly to benefit communities and people around the globe.

Read more about it here!

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Cast in 1877 by Van Deuzen & Lift of Cincinnati, this bell was first hung in the belfry of Old Main in 1878. It signalled class changes until 1926, when a large crack appeared during the celebratory ringing that followed a big football victory over the Colorado School of Mines.

Under pressure from alumni groups not to discard the cracked bell, President George Norlin promised to preserve it in the University Musuem. Instead, the bell wound up in the lobby of the Men’s Gymnasium, where it remained until about 2:30 on the morning of October 12, 1948.

Then, while the night watchman was on his lunch break, pranksters spirited the 1,200-pound bell out of the building, loaded it onto a truck, and vanished into the night.

Exactly two years later on October 12, 1950, the bell, caked with mud and sporting a large M on its side, appeared on the School of Mines campus in Golden, near where it had most likely been buried. Despite some fuss and bluster from CU administrators, the Orediggers responsible were never apprehended.

The theft was only the last of numerous pranks perpetrated on this bell, which has repeatedly lost its clapper over the years. The previous time was the result of a freshman conspiracy in 1926 when some class members removed the clapper and did not return it until 1929. The tradition of bell tampering dates back to the 1880s, when some from of the class of 1886 filed almost all the way through the clapper one night in the hopes that it would drop out when the bell was rung the next morning. Nothing happened for a month. Then, according to Glory, Colorado, a history of CU, “without warning, one day it came hurtling down, narrowly missing the head of the janitor, and crashed through three floors to the basement. The janitor was deaf and continued to pull the rope long after the clapper had disappeared.”

 Now, the bell is located in the CU Heritage Center’s Collection Room.

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