I went on a little biking adventure since I had to get out of the house for all the realtor showings. I started off in Columbia on the MKT trail. I've biked this trail before, but instead of heading south to its intersection with the Katy Trail, I rode north to the Mizzou campus.
Universities are known for tradition, and Mizzou is no exception. Many iconic structures are still in good condition on campus, like the Columns. On this particular day, they were having an induction ceremony for several honor societies. I remember getting tapped for Mortar Board under these same columns. But our ceremony was at 6 am; not noon.
My old dorm, Lathrop Hall, was not to be found. It was torn down in 2017 and replaced with a new environmentally-friendly, LEED-certified dorm. Brooks Hall (shown behind the tear-down) has solar panels on the roof to preheat water for the showers. It's also got built-in air conditioning and a computer center on the main floor. When I went to Mizzou, there were no computers. It was a bigger deal to bring your own record player to campus. I had a tiny little portable device that played 45's and LP albums. Carole King's Tapestry was my favorite at the time.
There's a new bookstore, student union, and green-space called, Traditions Plaza. I never knew Mort Walker, comic artist for the Beetle Bailey cartoons, since he went to Mizzou in the 40's, but he was always a well-known name on campus.
Mort Walker often featured The Shack in his comics. The Shack was a popular hangout for students, known for jelly dates where students would meet up for a soda or beer in between classes (now kids go to Starbucks). I never went to the Shack when I was at Mizzou, because (as you can tell from this old photo) it was a really seedy place.
The original Shack is long gone, replaced with a circular drive in front of the Alumni Center. The new Shack is in the student union. In addition to a large food court, it includes a multi-purpose programming space with a stage, 2 large-screen projection TVs, and a sound system. I had a hard time thinking of this as a "shack." In response to COVID, all the tables have acrylic screens dividing the tables in half.
My last stop before biking back to my car was the Engineering School. I didn't get my engineering degree from Mizzou. I never even took an engineering, math, or science class while I was there. But it was a nice place to sit and sketch for a while and enjoy the glorious afternoon.
