Contact: Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State University students, employees, alumni, and friends are being invited to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the night Old Main Dormitory was destroyed in a massive fire.
Sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association and University Libraries, the Jan. 22 public program begins at 7 p.m. in Lee Hall Auditorium. A video of the conflagration and day-after smoldering rubble will be viewed, followed by a discussion among a group of residents who witnessed the spectacular event.
Amazingly, only one death was recorded.
Built in sections beginning from 1880--the year Mississippi A&M College opened for classes--Old Main was, at its demise Jan. 23, 1959, a four-story, brick-and-mortar quadrangle situated where the Colvard Student Union and McCool Hall now stand.
With a maximum capacity of some 1,500 students, the facility was reputed to be the nation's largest collegiate dormitory under one roof.
Jimmy Abraham, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association, said invitations have been sent to former Old Main residents. About 150 are expected to attend, he added.
"Given Old Main's reputation among former students and retired employees of a certain age, it will mean a great deal to those who lived in Old Main to have a packed house," he said. "We anticipate hearing some great stories of what took place that cold night half a century ago."
The Old Main alumni will be special guests for a reception to precede the Lee Hall program.
For more information, contact Abraham or associate director Libba Andrews at 662-325-3444.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.