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Special reports, clips and features from Impact 89FM's news department.
A group of 12 Michigan State University alumni returned to East Lansing to celebrate the fifty eighth anniversary of Holden Hall's first residents. This lively group has stayed in touch since 1967 despite going every which way post graduation to pursue careers around the nation. In the 60s, it was a common practice for residents to name their floor. This group of residents landed on the name C. W.
Speaker 1:Moss, inspired by the Bonnie and Clyde movie, originally pitched by Tom Cuny.
Speaker 2:He saved the getaway vehicle by some mechanical needs because he was just a shape tree mechanic. Bonnie and Clyde welcomed him into the their little crowd. He got in the back seat, and they took off. But I was the one who brought up the idea of naming our the hall that's the C. W.
Speaker 2:Moss Living and Learning Institute.
Speaker 1:Paul Vigilante is one of the original 16 Spartans that lived on the 2nd Floor Of Fulton Hall. Vigilante felt incredible to be back on campus.
Speaker 3:Our group that started when Holden Hall opened up in 1967 has stayed together over the years. We've all stayed connected and the friendships have lasted a lifetime and that's the wonderful thing about it. And it all happened because of Holden Hall.
Speaker 1:Vigilante majored in television, radio, and journalism at MSU and worked as one of the three interns in sports information for the university's athletics department as well as for the student radio station, then called the Michigan State Network. Vigilante called MSU hockey games for the radio station.
Speaker 3:It back then, it was aimed at Busoni, and it was demonstration hall, and that's all we knew. Munnarina, Ice Arena hadn't even gotten it on the on the on the boards. So that's where hockey was. And Michigan State had a good program back then. They've always had a good hockey burger.
Speaker 1:Vigilante described how he and his color commentator had to go up the bleachers of demonstration hall and down through the rafters to get to their broadcast location. He said how he would wonder if he would fall because they were looking straight down into the penalty box from their location.
Speaker 3:The students handled the non revenue sports. So back then, hockey was a non revenue sport because it didn't have enough seats. The three students, we divided up every semester the different non revenue sports.
Speaker 1:After leaving MSU, Vigilante spent five years announcing minor league hockey games because of his experiences at Michigan State. The East Lansing campus also gave Mary Ann and Karl Baumke something, each other. Brad Louie and Karl were friends and it was their sophomore year. They had went to the auditorium to where all the freshmen were going to be for their convocation. Mary Anne and her roommates were there because it was their first weekend of freshman year.
Speaker 4:I was a little bit shy in high school and decided when I got to college I was going to try not to be so shy. And so I came out and saw Carl. Now we had worked together at a garden center. I was 15, he was 16. I was a cashier, he was a stock boy.
Speaker 3:However,
Speaker 4:he was going with Kathy the cashier, so I had no chance.
Speaker 1:Marianne had went up to Carl and said, oh, Carl Bemke. I didn't know that you went to Michigan State.
Speaker 5:I could not remember what this cute girl's name was. And I was too embarrassed to admit that I couldn't remember her name. And that the only person I could think of that would know both Mary Anne and me at Michigan State was my former girlfriend. Kathy DeCasture.
Speaker 1:Carl called Kathy and asked her if she knew the blonde that used to work with them at the garden center, Frank's nursery. Kathy told Carl, Oh yeah, Mary Anne Hitch. Carl immediately called the campus operator to get Mary Anne's number.
Speaker 5:I called her up and asked her for
Speaker 4:a date. Do you want to go for a motorcycle ride and see the university cyclotronomy?
Speaker 1:Marianne and Carl dated seriously for four years and got married in 1972. Time and distance didn't prevent this group of Spartans from staying in touch. After fifty eight years, they are still close friends and bantering with one another because of what they had developed with one another as freshmen and sophomores at Michigan State University. For Impact eighty nine FM, I'm Faith Flickenscher.