The legend of Mississippi State University’s Old Main lives on in “Old Main: Images of a Legend,” a book of memoirs and photographs of the dormitory available on campus for purchase this weekend.
The four-story, 500-room residence hall housed an estimated 40,000 students over 80 years. In 1959 the dormitory was destroyed by a fire. While the building remains no more, the memories still survive. Generations of former residents remember much about the historical building.
Thomas W. Moore, class of 1939, writes, “Life can be divided into three mental phases: memories, the here and now, and anticipation. Of these, the most important is memories. Mississippi State alumni who attended this great university before 1959 have memories of those years punctuated by, of all things, a huge building on campus known as Old Main.”
The book, which consists of facts, statistics, photographs and written experiences from alumni who lived in Old Main, was compiled by Charles Lowry, head of MSU’s history department, and Roy Scott, one of the University’s William L. Giles Distinguished Professors and former president of the Mississippi Historical Society.
“Gigantic in size, Old Main had just about everything to make its occupants want to forget it. It was cold, it smelled, it was noisy, it was overcrowded, it was underlit, it was damp and it stood in constant need of repair. But no one who lived there can shake the memory of Old Main, and that memory always is the fondest of thoughts,” Moore writes.
Libba Andrews, associate director of the Alumni Association, said, “Even if you have never heard of Old Main, this is a must-read book! When I picked it up for the first time, I found that I couldn’t put it down. It is light, nostalgic reading and full of great stories told by the men who actually lived in the dorm. It is one of those books that just makes you smile.”
The book will be on sale this weekend in the Alumni Association Building. The cost of the book is $29.95.
If ordering over the phone, add $3 for shipping and handling and $2 for additional copies. Mississippi residents must add $2.10 per copy for state sales tax.
