Vol. 40, No. 3 Summer 2008 - University of Minnesota, Crookston

Bendix still has his diploma,signed by Lotus Delta Coffman,fifth president of the U of M, 78 years ago.Ninety Nine Years Won’t Dim Aggie MemoriesPlaying football for theNorthwest School of Agriculture(NWSA) during the GreatDepression is a treasured memoryfor Harold Bendix, ’30. You canhear the warmth in his voice whenhe recalls the rivalry with the WestCentral School of Agriculture atMorris, Minn. Itis easy tovisualizeBendix, whocelebrated 99years in May, asa young man –quick and agile– makingtackles to thedelight of acheering crowd.Students atthe NorthwestHarold Bendix tookthe train to theNorthwest School ofAgriculture from hishometown ofHenning, Minn.School, a residential high schooland predecessor to the Universityof Minnesota, Crookston, werewatched closely by the staff whoserved as surrogate parents to theyoung students who attended theschool.Bendix came to the NWSAwhen he was 17 years old on thetrain from Henning, Minn. Theyears have not dimmed his memoryof the school he loved. “I reallyenjoyed going to school inCrookston,” he says. “It served as agreat help to me my entire life.”Livestock judging, playing classbasketball and the PioneerLiterary Society kept theyoung Bendix busy, butwhat he remembers most isfootball.Although he wasn’tinvolved, Bendixremembers some schoolpranks. “One Halloween,students brought a sheepinto the girl’s dorm andwhen the teacher camedown in the morning, shenearly fainted when she sawit. Another time, a pigletwas put in the window.”Bendix was “campused” forreturning late after walkingto Crookston to catch amovie. Being campused, acommon discipline practice,meant a student wasrelegated to campus for aspecific period of time.Another vivid memory iscoming home after playing Morrisand having the front wheel comeoff the bus a few miles out of town.A rear axle shaft came out whenthe bus was pulled so the boysended up walking the eight milesback to Morris. That night, in themotel, they played banjo and sanguntil someone came and told themto stop. “As soon as the personwho told us to be quiet was out ofearshot, we started right up again.”Every Tuesday night, there wasHarold Bendix, ’30, still lives on his own and enjoys hisseven grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and twogreat-great grandchildren.a dance. “We got to dance for anhour and I enjoyed that eventhough I don’t think I was much ofa dancer,” Bendix smiles. “I thinkthat the thing I remember most isfootball. It was the biggest deal forme to play football at the school.”Today student-athletes at theUniversity of Minnesota,Crookston continue the footballtraditions begun at the NorthwestSchool. To learn more aboutGolden Eagle athletics, visitwww.goldeneaglesports.com.6 www.UMCrookston.edu