1950s Way back when OSU was still OSC (Oregon State College), Sackett Hall C — and probably Sackett Halls A, B and D, too — always knew when it was Tuesday, because Bishop’s Bread was served with dinner. Same thing, same day, and always a freshman’s favorite! I’ll provide a sorta close version of the real thing. Mama Heckers could probably do better, and most likely, in the original proportions, which were something like: 16 cups of flour, 6 eggs, 8 cups of sugar — and grease a 40-inch baking pan! Here’s my attempt. (See “Baking Memories.”) —MARY O’CONNOR CARSKADON, ’59 1960s I was a pharmacy major at OSU, and some of our classes required extensive notetaking. However, if the professor had a rapid speech pattern, it was impossible to write fast enough to keep up with everything. Our favorite food solution? A group of us would go immediately to the MU and order those wonderful Gooey Rolls (or maybe they were called Sticky Rolls?) and coffee. We gathered around a table and started going over notes. What one person got, another had missed. By going over these notes together, we could all come away with a complete set of notes and with questions and confusion resolved. Of course, the best part was the Gooey Roll! A favorite OSU food memory, for sure. —SUE ANN IRVING, ’67 In the spring of 1969, a friend proposed watching the sunrise from the roof of Education Hall. What could go wrong with a good idea like that? So on the next warm day, we stocked up on large bottles of wine. Our contact opened a “secret” window into the hall that he had previously unlocked. We found our way to the roof, drank our wine and enjoyed the daybreak. It was a great experience for students immersed in numbers and formulas and imminent military service. As we left, we passed the office of the “Big Man” — a dean or administrator of some sort that one of us was on the outs with — and arranged the empty wine bottles on his desk. Our contact went in early Monday morning and relocked the window. We heard there was a little commotion when the bottles were found. So what were we to do? Do it again, of course. This time the sunrise was brighter; the air was warmer; and the “Big Man’s” door was still unlocked. But on the third Saturday night, our contact reported that the door was locked and patrol lights roved around the building. That was the end of drinking wine on the roof — or was it? —JOE BEELART, ’69 Go online to see recipes for Sackett Hall Bishop’s Bread and our approximation of the legendary Memorial Union Sticky Rolls. You’ll also find our recipe for The Bomb, a bygone TOGO’s favorite. Scan this QR code or go to OregonStater.org/tag/recipes. 1970s One of my small luxuries through my four years at OSU was a breakfast of coffee and a maple bar at the MU. The cast of characters there was quite a lesson for an immigrant turned Eastern city kid, and some of the people I met there are still friends. Other than the dorm meal plan my first year and part of my sophomore year, food had to be cheap and filling.Taste was a bonus. Senior year, five of us shared a house on Fifth Street known as “The Corvallis Gothic.” One roommate enrolled us in the surplus food program to get a regular supply of cans and bags and boxes of food. The honey and butter was used for making honey butter, the bulgur wheat was added to some sort of stew and the cheese was very odd. The one absolutely inedible “food” came in a can labelled “Beef Stew” — even our cat wouldn’t eat that. We somehow survived. Since then, I’ve learned to cook food from all over the world. Drawing on my experiences working at PJ’s 1890 Pizzeria as a student, I made pizzas for my sons’ birthdays when they were younger, always twirling the dough almost up to the ceiling, and always catching it before it could hit the floor. —MARIO NÚÑEZ,’70 I worked in the cafeteria that served Buxton Hall, and on the dish line we used to have fabulous food fights behind the scenes, throwing Jell-O cubes and assorted other tidbits of food that people left perched on trays coming down the conveyor belt. We also used to have an occasional “Tom Jones Dinner” as a special meal. This free-for-all involved trying to eat your food with no utensils.The best challenge was mashed potatoes and gravy, but peas were a close second. Then we’d butter a knife and “attach” peas to flick them onto the ceiling of the room where we were dining. Such hooligans. —LINDA GRIEPENTROG, ’71 When I transferred to OSU, almost all the food on campus was underwhelming and unhealthy institutional fare — just donuts, burgers, plain sandwiches and hardly a reason to stay on campus for breakfast or lunch. Fall of my senior year, I visited the head of food service, Paul Scoggin. He was interested in my complaints and after 20 minutes suggested that I come back with a plan and proposal. I’m not sure what my flash of inspiration was, but I decided that this was an important milestone as a motivated Ag Sciences student.Why not be creative while getting my degree? Back then, the northwest corner of the MU had a perfect area with two large doors and coat racks for rainy days. The size was about 20 by 25 feet — a nice, underused space. After researching, I came back to Paul with the idea for a deli called The Closet with a budget of $2,500. My breakfast menu incorporated home-cooked bagels and granola, Alumni Memories 46
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