Ask Alumni: What Are Your Favorite Iowa Keepsakes?
This past fall, many alumni, friends, and fans added a new homecoming button to their collections—an Iowa tradition dating back more than century. Buttons, however, are just the beginning. Whether it’s a well-worn sweatshirt, cherished photograph, or keepsake tucked away on a bookshelf, Hawkeyes carry Iowa with them long after graduation.
We recently asked Hawkeyes to share the mementos and snapshots that take them back to their days on campus. Here are a few of their Iowa treasures.
I still have my football ticket for the Nov. 23, 1963, football game against Notre Dame that was canceled due to the John F. Kennedy assassination. I had an apartment on East Burlington Street and was listening to the noon news when the assassination of JFK broke. On the way to class, I stopped at Schaeffer Hall and tapped on a ground level window, where a friend had class. I told him about the assassination through the window, and the class was immediately dismissed.
H. Keith Erickson (65BA)
Cedar Rapids
There was the epic day in 2015 I met Jedi Herky in a downtown ramp on my way to campus. It was a fantastic moment, something I’ll always remember when I think about my time at Iowa. One minute I’m stressed about finding a parking space, thinking about everything that needs to be done before the class I’m going to teach; the next, there’s Herky in a Jedi costume, and the chance for a photo together brightened my day, both then and now. May the Force be with you, UI!
Jennifer Burek Pierce
Professor, UI School of Library and Information Science
My dad (Thom Chesney) joined me on REACH weekend 2021 for the Hawkeyes’ win over the Gophers. I remember how surprised I was that we were sitting so close to the field. I was an intern at UI Health Care then, too, so when we did the Hawkeye Wave to the children, it was especially meaningful to me. I had probably met some of them when they came in, as I was a patient mover. No matter the weather, Hawkeye games feel warm and welcoming.
Drew Chesney | 2024 UI REACH program graduate
Santa Fe, New Mexico
I kept the autographs of the men’s basketball staff from my two years as head manager of the team from 1974-76. That is Lute Olson’s autograph on Herky’s left calf; Jim Rosborough (66BA), Tony McAndrews, and Floyd Theard filled out the staff, with Barb Kuncl serving as staff secretary.
After college, I joined the Navy and graduated from Surface Warfare Officer School. When the USS Iowa BB-61 was reactivated, I was asked to serve as the officer-in-charge on board during its tow from Philadelphia to New Orleans. I reached out to the UI basketball office, and they sent enough Iowa hats to cover the entire crew. Football coach Hayden Fry also sent a giant Iowa flag that was flown from the yardarm as the ship came into Avondale Shipyard. I’ve kept a plank of teak from the deck with other memorabilia from my time in service.
Andrew Deming (76BA)
Martinez, Georgia
I made lifetime pals Viva Lindman Boerschel (77BSN), Carol Roemig-Heusinkveld (76BS, 81MA), and Jan Sebern Gilliland (77BS) at Iowa. The first photo was taken in 1975 during spring of our sophomore year in Kate Daum Hall; the second was taken at a reunion in 2023. Don’t tell anyone that we had to sneak into the dorm to take the photo. We’re all in good enough shape to climb to the eighth floor to take the authentic photo reenactment.
Jody Adams Howells (77BS)
Mooresburg, Tennessee
Here is my original student ID card in all its beat-up glory. I kept it together as long as I could until I was told to get a new one, which I still have too.
Roger Conely (86BSPh)
Phoenix
My bestie from Chariton High School, Rachel Mathes Arendt (pictured with me at right), and I wanted to be Hawkeyes for as long as I can remember. Rachel and I moved to Iowa City in 1983, and we never missed a home game and traveled to many away games, always decked out in ’80s Iowa fashion. For our 40th high school reunion weekend in 2023, we went to the Iowa-Northwestern game at Wrigley Field to celebrate our 40 years as fans. It has been such a special part of our friendship. We lived in Iowa City together until 1988, and on game days it can still feel like yesterday!
Mary Kay Morr Radavich (88BA)
Litchfield Park, Arizona
Homecoming buttons from 1983–86 and a Chuck Long 1986 Rose Bowl jersey.
Lori Hansmeier Smith (87BA)
Oregon, Illinois
The five-inch floppy disk I stored my master’s paper and research on.
Brian Hammer (86MA)
Durant, Iowa
Hancher Auditorium Joffrey Ballet Nutcracker poster from December 1987.
Bev Stevenson (87BBA)
North Liberty
Nov. 22, 1981, copy of the Big Peach [the Des Moines Register’s former Sunday sports section] headline: “IOWA TO ROSE BOWL”.
John Wieland (81BBA)
Des Moines