This summer, Augustana hosted a bid-to-buy online auction for the treasured Morrison Commons mailbox doors. The auction was a first-class success, with 650 mailboxes sold and $39,430 raised for the AU Scholarship Fund.
💌 Dr. Rich ‘92 & Tammy Allen (Pictured right)
“I met my wife, Tammy, the summer after my freshman year at Augie. She went to Concordia College (now University), St. Paul. Needless to say, we had a long distance relationship. We wrote to each other every day. This picture shows the 261 letters she wrote to me. Going to my mailbox every single day to get a letter from my girlfriend (later fiancée) was a highlight of the day.”
📫 Dan Ahlers ‘98
“Call me sentimental, but I couldn't resist bidding on mine.”
📮 Dr. Robert Geigle ‘69 (Pictured right)
“I graduated from Augustana in 1969 (B.S.) and 1973 (MAT). Despite spending all that time at Augie, I couldn’t recall my box number. So, I bought two — 1223 for my date of birth and 1947 for my year of birth.”
💌 Jolene (Boyken) Mittelstedt ‘91
“I attended Augustana from 1987-91. Throughout those four years, my mom would mail me a card every single Monday. She would also send me a letter later in the week, every single week. These letters and cards were the love from home I always needed. Checking my mail in the Commons was one of the highlights of my day.”
📨 Linda (Ballard) '70 & Robert Hofstad '69 (Pictured right)
In 1968-69, Robert Hofstad ‘69 served as the Augustana Student Association (ASA) president and appointed Linda (Ballard) ‘70 — simply an acquaintance at the time — to the curriculum committee. Needing to send her intercampus mail for the committee but not knowing her box number, Hofstad was forced to ask the mail person. But, Ballard appeared at the mailboxes at the same time, and it struck him: “Why haven’t I asked her out before?”
Now, after more than 50 years of marriage, Hofstad surprised his wife with the mailboxes that started it all.
“Since college, Linda has had a recurring dream that her mailbox is chalk full of mail, but she can’t remember her combination,” Hofstad said. “But, we received the combination with our mailbox doors, so she was finally able to open her mailbox. I have a feeling, after all these years, the dreams may stop.”
📫 Dr. Echo (Bartos) '14 & Dr. Kyle Kopplin ‘14 (Pictured right)
“Kyle and I met on move-in day freshman year and began dating one week later. We shared our mailbox combinations and used to leave notes and snacks for each other in our mailboxes. What a special memory to have in our home now!”
