One Day in May, 1971 - Family Day

It turns out that May 15 was Family Day in 1971, so if you went back in time to that day, you might have seen students walking around, showing off the campus to their parents. You could stop by a morning coffee reception at the President's home, and then maybe join some of the students and their families for a "steak luncheon" at the Campus Center. In the afternoon, you could go to a baseball double header or a track meet. It was nice weather for it (no rain and a high of 75 degrees). But if you wanted to stay indoors, you could take a dip in the Campus Center pool. (The College had extra swimsuits to loan out, in sizes for teenagers and adults.)

We know all this from the student newspaper and historical weather data. What we don't know are the everyday details. What did the coffee taste like and how was it served? What could you see when you walked across campus in the sunshine - were people playing frisbee? lying on the grass? Could you hear music coming out of open dorm room windows? Were students studying in the library or working in the biology lab?

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Sources: "Family Day," Triangle, Hanover College, 14 May 1971, 1; "Louisville, KY Weather History" for 15 May 1971, Weather Underground, https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/KSDF/date/1971-5-15 (accessed 15 May 2020). (Photo is available at https://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/hcarchive/id/167/rec/1 [accessed 15 May 2020].)