In 1988, the St. Olaf Choir performed in South Korea - for the Olympics!

Punt, another Punt, and oh wait, the Oles are driving. Risky fake handoff into a toss sweep. The oles are running down the sideline, the 20, the 15, the 10, the 5-meter line, TOUCHDOWN! 

I am your host, Jesus Zayas, and these are the stories of the hill. 

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Amidst rising tensions during the Vietnam War, students across the United States raised their voices in dissent. In May 1970, a flyer boldly stating We’re On Strike circulated around the St. Olaf campus, but not everyone agreed. 

Please be advised that this episode contains content related to swearing, war, and death. 

Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Lauren Schilling, and these are stories from the Hill.

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A sad, silly wooden goat. This little goat represented a battle between the colleges that share the city of Northfield, Minnesota. The stakes, though, were higher than a mere game of football. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Tenzin and these are the stories from the hill.

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The year is 1962 and a large metal tin sits on a shelf, waiting for a future no one wants. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Sydney Hugdahl and these are the stories from the Hill. 

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A rusted and worn copper trophy, once lifted above the head of St. Olaf’s finest female athlete, and nearly a century later, an archival object that speaks to the immeasurable growth of women’s athletics in the United states. Welcome to Back at St. Olaf: I’m Otelia Lighthill and these are stories from the Hill.

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When people think about the legacy of music on the hill, they think of the choirs, orchestra, and band. What people rarely think of is St. Olaf's history of Barbershop quartets. What people rarely think of is St. Olaf's history of Barbershop quartets. But, hidden deep within the St. Olaf Archives, pasted between the pages of a huge scrapbook, which has begun falling apart at the seams, sits the 1921 St. Olaf Male Quartet Concert program. This is Back at St. Olaf, I’m Braeden McCollow, and these are stories from the hill. 

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I’m looking at a picture of Old Main, where I’ve had class for the past three years. But in this image, there are no backpacks slung over shoulders or professors chatting on their way to lunch. Instead, there are about 60 young men in uniform, some smiling, some not. Why are they here? And where did the students go? Welcome back to St. Olaf. I’m Sam, and these are the stories from the Hill.

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A large, wooden bowl. About the size of your head. It’s well worn – scuffed white in some places, and stained dark brown in others. There are three holes drilled around the rim, with thick metal wire tied through each. The wires meet above the middle of the bowl, where they hang a metal device. The wire isn’t quite straight, and the device isn’t quite level. The device is a microphone. The bowl is a reflector. The sound of a speaker’s voice reflects off the inside of the bowl, concentrates at the microphone in the center, and is converted into an electric signal. The electric signal is converted into a radio signal, and broadcast across the Upper Midwest. It’s heard as far away as Lawrence, Kansas, 400 miles south. This is Back at St. Olaf, I’m Elliot Gengler, and these are stories from the hill.

Transcript and bibliography