No other event brings people together quite like homecoming. Old friendships are renewed and new ones begun. At impromptu reunions at Mario’s Pizza Parlor and a hundred other places, alumni reminisce about days gone by and catch up on the latest. Then there are the official class reunions. And there are more than enough homecoming events to fill the weekend.

The tradition of homecoming goes back only to 1947. That was the first year the alumni were officially invited back to campus for a fall visit. The event coincided with the annual community-college choir presentation of "The Messiah" so the alumni could participate. In those days, a "campus hostess" was elected during the weekend, a forerunner of today’s homecoming queen.

In 1950, the dates of homecoming were moved up to early November. That was also the year the first year of the varsity-alumni basketball game, which the varsity won. The first queen coronation took place in 1955, when Doris Rich was crowned by the mayor of Greenville.

The 1957 homecoming was memorable because it did not happen. The event was canceled due to a large flu outbreak.

In the early years, a big part of the festivities was a parade through town, complete with marching bands, dignitaries, and elaborately decorated floats. Probably because of the amount of preparation required, the parade was discontinued after 1960.

Today’s there’s no parade, but the homecoming committee still goes all out to orchestrate a memorable weekend for students, faculty, alumni, and friends. The weekend gets into full swing with homecoming chapel on Friday morning. In the evening, "This is Your Life" takes center stage. The program is put together annually by the Ladies of Elpinice.

On Saturday the pace really picks up. There are the class reunions, the President’s Run, the football game (a new tradition), ladies basketball game, varsity-alumni soccer game, queen (and now king) coronation, and varsity-alumni basketball game, to name a few. In more ways than one, it’s a weekend to remember.