Faculty recall Viking Days past

Beautiful ball gowns and suits, Viking Varieties and a parade downtown represent some of the homecoming traditions Augustana has left behind since it first held the celebration in October of 1924.

As the university prepares to record 100 years of homecoming, alumni turned faculty recognize that much of the celebration has remained the same over the years.

Augustana’s first homecoming consisted of one day of events rather than a week-long celebration. The events included lunch in the dining hall, a parade, a football game, an Augustana Student Association meeting and illuminating the administration building. A bonfire and alumni reception ended the night.

By the time retired English professor Sandra Looney was a student in the late 1950s, homecoming started with coronation on Thursday and concluded on Sunday.

“As an English professor, I teased students that homecoming was becoming a longer and longer event. No more Thursday through Sunday,” Looney said.

The homecoming parade has also evolved over the years. It started as a much larger parade downtown in conjunction with the Festival of Bands.

English professor Beth Boyens, 1989 Viking Days co-chair, remembers preparation for the parade requiring lots of work to coordinate with the large musical event.

“There were, like, a bajillion bands from all around the area, and our part was to fill in floats between the bands,” Boyens said.

Rev. Jon Splichal Larson, class of 2006, remembers marching with the Augustana Marching Choir down the streets of Sioux Falls and painting his chest with four other men to spell out “Augie” for the football game.

“I had an ‘A’ burned on my chest for a week or two,” Larson laughed.

The Vikings football team played the homecoming game across town at Howard Wood Field until 2009, when Augustana moved both the game and parade to campus.

Sanna Strenge, a career and academic planning specialist and former Viking Days co-chair, was a freshman in 2009. The parade began by Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, went past the apartments and around the entire campus block.

“I think maybe the parade lasted an hour, but it felt a lot longer because we were in charge of it,” Strenge said.

The Viking ship float that the royalty members ride on has stayed a tradition for many years.

“I remember stuffing that [ship] with the napkins. . . I feel like I stuffed that entire float,” Boyens said.

Looney said she remembers one year the Viking ship collapsed, and the royalty walked alongside the broken boat in the parade.

Rev. Ann Rosendale, class of 2004, said she always enjoyed the parade, but Viking Varieties was “the high point” of homecoming week.

Viking Varieties was a talent show that students auditioned for. Augustana held four shows throughout the homecoming weekend. Students performed the show at different locations throughout the years, including the Orpheum Theater Center, the Washington Pavillion and Edith Mortenson Center Theatre.

Viking Varieties would go on a week-long tour after homecoming to promote Augustana. Tim Homan, a career and academic planning specialist, graduated from Augustana in 1981. He said he remembers Viking Varieties coming to Milbank High School when he was a student there.

Rosendale said her friends were the masters of ceremonies at Viking Varieties and everyone always looked forward to seeing their classmates perform.

“There was a really wonderful men’s acapella group called ‘The Augustana Choir Boys’ that were around during my time, and they were very good,” Rosendale said.

Strenge performed in Viking Varieties as a student and member of the dance team.

“We danced to a Lady Gaga song, so we were all dressed as Lady Gaga, and that was one of my favorite memories of my entire life,” Strenge said.

Many alumni wish Viking Varieties still existed because it showcased the talent of students. Boyens said she liked how it brought everyone together, including the Sioux Falls community. Larson said he enjoyed watching the acts and seeing how they were different every year.

The homecoming dance is another event that has gone away over the years. Homan said Augustana hired a big band for this event, and people would wear tuxedos and formal dresses.

“It was this old-time big band, so it was formal dancing like waltzing, two-steps, and when they really got fast and crazy… it was the jitterbug,” Homan said.

The dance was held in the dining hall before it moved into the Elmen Center in the early 2000s.

The Norwegian sweater tradition for homecoming royalty once was only used for the parade and football game. Royalty wore tuxedos and formal gowns for coronation.

Looney said the queen candidates wore long white evening gowns, the orchestra played and a king candidate did not exist.

Boyens said royalty also would walk down in pairs, instead of each royalty member selecting someone special to walk with them.

Augustana also removed the titles of “king” and “queen” in 2021 to be more inclusive.

“I love the fact that now they don’t crown a king and queen. I don’t know if I noticed that when I was a student here, but now after having more professional development, I think that’s a really cool change,” Strenge said.

Strenge said she is also excited that the fireworks display will be back for Viking Days this year.

She remembers her committee being in charge of picking up all the fireworks early in the morning on the Tuesday of homecoming week.

Many Augustana alumni are happy to see how homecoming has evolved over the years.

Boyens said she remembers feeling like she was “invaded by old people” when alumni would visit during homecoming, but now as an alumna herself, she appreciates the time to reconnect with people.

Rosendale said she hopes students appreciate alumni’s visits more than she did as a student.

“Augustana belongs to all of us,” Rosendale said, “and that’s really, ultimately, the beauty of homecoming."