***NJC Press Release***
The Northeastern Junior College Alumni Association will hold a special reception and open house to showcase the progress made at the Alumni Heritage Center now located in Hays Student Center. This event is open to the public and free to attend. It will be held Saturday, March 31 from 1 to 4 p.m. Officially opened in 2006, this is one of the first organized viewing opportunities to be offered to the general public since then.
A number of new items have been added to the Alumni Heritage Center since it was opened. The large room in the upper level of the student center has been converted into an artistic showcase of memorabilia and historical recollections. Recently added is a picture display of retired faculty members and administrators and past Board of Trustees and Advisory Council members—including all of these individuals to serve since the college was started in 1941.
Preserving the history of NJC has been a labor of love. In 1995 a committee was formed of college alumni called Frontier 2000. This group was given the task of assembling a reunion of as many graduates as possible from the years 1941-1950. There were 24 alumni and three teachers at this reunion. This group was invited to lead the NJC graduates into the arena during the 2000 commencement ceremony. In addition, this group donated monies to pay for a beautiful Alumni Bell Tower which was erected on campus and dedicated in January 2000. The Frontier 2000 Committee continued to meet and from this group came the idea to establish an Alumni Heritage Center on campus— a place that would preserve and showcase the history of the college.
Since 2000 some members of this group have rallied to locate various historical items and documentation which has been placed in the center. The NJC Alumni Heritage Center continues to evolve and includes additional historical items and information on a regular basis. The college’s original telephone switchboard and photos of some of the earliest student groups are now on display.
Among those who have given of their time and resources to make this historical center possible are: Peter Youngers, Jack Annan, Thelma Davis, Jim Hoffman, Esta Fetzer, Walt McKinstry, Jr., Hollis Jackson, Ken Guenzi, Francis “Rock” Roche, Ed Breidenbach, Ellis and Glenis Schmidt, Elda Lousberg, and Al Renzelman. Jim O’Toole, Ruth Browner and Neal Gregory also were very committed member of the NJC Alumni Heritage Center Committee prior to their passing.
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