Memory Lane: Summertime, and the livin’ is easy
Illini who’ve remained on campus have found no shortage of summertime activities. Above: Sipyard outdoor bar. (Image courtesy of Experience Champaign-Urbana) It’s a truism that the Illinois campus empties out during the summer months, but every year there are thousands of students who decide to stay put, whether it’s for a summer job, a summer class, or the sweet, sweet independence of living on one’s own.
Many alumni recall the wide variety of outdoor attractions C-U offered, from block-party concerts in downtown Champaign to dozens of local parks and nature preserves that were ripe for exploration. Others remember the relative quiet of the summertime campus and the sense of freedom they felt by venturing into the local community, where they learned about businesses and events they would enjoy for the rest of their college days.
For Mindy Spencer, ’97 ACES, MBA ’98, it was outdoor festivals like Strawberry Jam at Meadowbrook Park and the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival, and the Independence Day celebration at Memorial Stadium. For Hanna Ahn, ’08 LAS, MS ’09 IS, it was the Urbana farmers market—“a great place for college kids to get fresh produce”—while for Anna Knipfer, ’18 ACES, it was “cooling off at Jarling’s Custard Cup” after a day of sand volleyball near the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC).
Many alumni cooled off at another Champaign landmark: Sholem Pool.
“My fellow farmhands from the Illinois Dairy Farm would head over after our shift to go down the Rainbow Bend water slide,” says Allison Winter, ’03 ACES, MHRIR ’17 LER. “It was great, after a day of putting up hay!”
Later in the evening, students would return to campus for events on the Quad, including the U. of I. Summer Band’s twilight concerts and the Illini Union Board’s Summer Movies on the Quad series. “My favorite was the night we showed the original Psycho!” says Wayne Sutton, EDM ’01, CAS ’07 ED.
Left: farmers market on the Main Quad. Right: outdoor pool at Activities and Recreation Center. (Images by L. Brian Stauffer/U. of I. STRATCOM; Fred Zwicky)
Of course, for some, summertime didn’t mean outdoor sojourns or evenings on the Quad, being eaten by mosquitoes. “I’m an indoor cat!” says Bill Bell, ’98 MEDIA, MS ’03 IS. “Country Fair had a dollar theatre, and we made it over there several times.”
Back on campus, Michael VanBlaricum, ’72 ENG, MS ’74 ENG, PHD ’77 ENG, enjoyed another kind of theatre: “The highlight of my summer was attending repertory theatre at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts,” he says.
Other students opted for more active pursuits. “IMPE [the Intramural Physical Education Building, now ARC] wasn’t crowded, so you could get racquetball courts easily,” says Patty Robinson, ’81 ACES, MS ’85 ACES.
Students being students, another favorite pastime was checking out the downtown bar scenes.
After a long day teaching swimming lessons, Terri Reifsteck, ’00 BUS, “spent a decent amount of time visiting The Office and Les’ Lounge in Urbana, followed by biscuits and gravy at Courier Cafe in the morning.”
Kristen Blankenship, ’12 LAS, MS ’21 IS, became a connoisseur of bar contests, including the popular “Mr. Mustache” competition at the beloved, but now closed, Mike and Molly’s. Blankenship once showed up wearing a blond, real-hair, horseshoe mustache from the costume shop Dallas and Co. and “a loud, tropical-print shirt” from a thrift store. “And while I didn’t win,” she says, “I’m so glad I got to be part of that tradition.”
Other alumni became regulars at local institutions. For Jason Norris, ’08 ENG, that meant “hot and joyful nights dancing to bluegrass at the Rose Bowl and slamming Bosco Sticks at Bunny’s.”
No matter how they spent their C-U summers, for many Illinois alumni, the best part of the experience was feeling like they belonged to the greater community. “Living like a townie,” says Norris. “That was my favorite thing.”
