On the Tip of Your TongueRemembering Oregon State Through Food.

What’s the flavor of memory? For Beavers, it might be a morning maple bar at the MU, the gooey perfection of sticky rolls shared with friends after class or the tang of ketchup on greasy fries after hours at Squirrel’s. Food has a way of carrying us back to the people we knew, the places we loved and the moments that shaped us. From Bishop’s Bread in the 1950s to midnight breakfasts in the 2010s, let these alumni recollections take you through Oregon State history, bite by bite.

Go here to see recipes for Sackett Hall Bishop’s Bread and our approximation of the legendary Memorial Union Sticky Rolls. You’ll also find our recipe for The Bomb, a bygone TOGO’s favorite.

1950s

Way back when OSU was still OSC (Oregon State College), Sackett Hall C — and probably Sackett Halls A, B and D, too — always knew when it was Tuesday, because Bishop’s Bread was served with dinner. Same thing, same day, and always a freshman’s favorite! I’ll provide a sorta close version of the real thing. Mama Heckers could probably do better, and most likely, in the original proportions, which were something like: 16 cups of flour, 6 eggs, 8 cups of sugar — and grease a 40-inch baking pan! Here’s my attempt. (See here.)

—Mary O’Connor Carskadon, ’59

1960s

I was a pharmacy major at OSU, and some of our classes required extensive notetaking. However, if the professor had a rapid speech pattern, it was impossible to write fast enough to keep up with everything. Our favorite food solution? A group of us would go immediately to the MU and order those wonderful Gooey Rolls (or maybe they were called Sticky Rolls?) and coffee. We gathered around a table and started going over notes. What one person got, another had missed. By going over these notes together, we could all come away with a complete set of notes and with questions and confusion resolved. Of course, the best part was the Gooey Roll! A favorite OSU food memory, for sure.

—Sue Ann Irving, ’67

In the spring of 1969, a friend proposed watching the sunrise from the roof of Education Hall. What could go wrong with a good idea like that? So on the next warm day, we stocked up on large bottles of wine. Our contact opened a “secret” window into the hall that he had previously unlocked. We found our way to the roof, drank our wine and enjoyed the daybreak. It was a great experience for students immersed in numbers and formulas and imminent military service.

As we left, we passed the office of the “Big Man” — a dean or administrator of some sort that one of us was on the outs with — and arranged the empty wine bottles on his desk. Our contact went in early Monday morning and relocked the window. We heard there was a little commotion when the bottles were found. So what were we to do? Do it again, of course. This time the sunrise was brighter; the air was warmer; and the “Big Man’s” door was still unlocked. But on the third Saturday night, our contact reported that the door was locked and patrol lights roved around the building. That was the end of drinking wine on the roof — or was it?

—Joe Beelart, ’69

1970s

One of my small luxuries through my four years at OSU was a breakfast of coffee and a maple bar at the MU. The cast of characters there was quite a lesson for an immigrant turned Eastern city kid, and some of the people I met there are still friends.

Other than the dorm meal plan my first year and part of my sophomore year, food had to be cheap and filling. Taste was a bonus. Senior year, five of us shared a house on Fifth Street known as “The Corvallis Gothic.” One roommate enrolled us in the surplus food program to get a regular supply of cans and bags and boxes of food. The honey and butter was used for making honey butter, the bulgur wheat was added to some sort of stew and the cheese was very odd. The one absolutely inedible “food” came in a can labelled “Beef Stew” — even our cat wouldn’t eat that. We somehow survived.

Since then, I’ve learned to cook food from all over the world. Drawing on my experiences working at PJ’s 1890 Pizzeria as a student, I made pizzas for my sons’ birthdays when they were younger, always twirling the dough almost up to the ceiling, and always catching it before it could hit the floor.

—Mario Núñez,’70

I worked in the cafeteria that served Buxton Hall, and on the dish line we used to have fabulous food fights behind the scenes, throwing Jell-O cubes and assorted other tidbits of food that people left perched on trays coming down the conveyor belt. We also used to have an occasional “Tom Jones Dinner” as a special meal. This free-for-all involved trying to eat your food with no utensils. The best challenge was mashed potatoes and gravy, but peas were a close second. Then we’d butter a knife and “attach” peas to flick them onto the ceiling of the room where we were dining. Such hooligans.

—Linda Griepentrog, ’71

When I transferred to OSU, almost all the food on campus was underwhelming and unhealthy institutional fare — just donuts, burgers, plain sandwiches and hardly a reason to stay on campus for breakfast or lunch. Fall of my senior year, I visited the head of food service, Paul Scoggin. He was interested in my complaints and after 20 minutes suggested that I come back with a plan and proposal. I’m not sure what my flash of inspiration was, but I decided that this was an important milestone as a motivated Ag Sciences student. Why not be creative while getting my degree?

Back then, the northwest corner of the MU had a perfect area with two large doors and coat racks for rainy days. The size was about 20 by 25 feet — a nice, underused space. After researching, I came back to Paul with the idea for a deli called The Closet with a budget of $2,500.

My breakfast menu incorporated home-cooked bagels and granola, and preparing fresh fruit and yogurt for pickup in the deli. We added coffee, teas, and warm banana breads and muffins. These were all easy to hold, toasted at the deli and could be served all day with no real wait. For lunch we had a deli sandwich station. Breads were classic rye, whole wheat, fresh and sliced. Meats, cheeses, tomato and greens were all available. Salads could be assembled, too. Given the cool and rainy northwest weather, we had at least one or two daily soups.

Sure enough, The Closet was a hit. As the year went along and the menu grew, the old coat rack area became the best, new profitable addition to the entire food service program. In 1976, I ended up starting a Mexican restaurant, Papagayo, in Corvallis. For eight years, I had a fun and supportive OSU community, all starting with the confidence from The Closet deli.

—Randy Stern, ’73

In the northwest corner of the MU cafeteria was a small food service called The Closet in the ’70s. Great weird sandwiches like peanut butter with apple slices on raisin bread. Many others were notable, so I have kept a menu from there all these years. Another favorite of mine was at the eastern end of the MU that had the best carrot cake, only equaled by Rose’s Restaurant in Portland.

—Scott Ninneman, ’79

1980s

My food memory is “Fresh Roast Grosbeak” on the menu at the entrance to the dining hall when the birds were thick in the quad and walking under the trees was inadvisable. It was pretty funny! Hopefully, whoever did the whiteboard didn’t get in trouble.

— Professor Emeritus Virginia Disney Bourdeau, ’80

My first year at OSU, I lived in Sackett Hall where, if I remember correctly, they made the granola we had in the mornings. I loved that granola, so much so that the “Freshman 15” came on more quickly than I’d expected. I would love it if anyone can re-create it!

—Gretchen Bree Brown, ’81

My husband, Bill Merrill, ’85, and I met at OSU and have been married for 40 years this August. Our food memory is our first date at that legend, Woodstock’s.

At the time, Bill was a full-time vegetarian. His housemother at the Delt house had even started some veggie meals for a number of the guys, which was very progressive for the early ’80s! Bill and I met at a fraternity function and bonded over a mutual dislike of James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. So when he asked me out, I was excited. He was cute and smart! Apparently, he thought the same of me.

However, what I found out later is that he was afraid I might think being a vegetarian was weird, so when we got to Woodstock’s, he ordered pepperoni pizza, which was the first meat he had eaten in quite a while. Pepperoni or veggie, it was a successful first date of many and the first of many visits to Woodstock’s as well. Forever tied to our romance is pizza and Oregon State.

—Gigi Merrill, ’84

1990s

During the ’80s, I felt that cafeteria food wasn’t that bad. I mean, if they’re going to let you eat Cap’n Crunch whenever you want — come on — that’s livin’, baby!

—Charlie Johnson, ’91

Huli Huli Chicken changed my life! They gave it a new name while I was at OSU, but I try to stop at Local Boyz every time I’m in Corvallis and never order anything else. I don’t even know what the name is now, I still just say Huli Huli Chicken.

Side note: when I still lived in Southern California, I took my son on a trip to Corvallis. He also fell in love with it. Later, when he was on campus for a summer wrestling camp, he would sneak off campus to get Huli Huli Chicken, too.

—Derek Abbey, ’99

2000s

Campus food was fine as a student, but you didn’t feel truly grown until you got a meal off campus beyond Monroe. There were many options — from budget-friendly to must-haves — in the town. I always appreciated Corvallis’ “if you know, you know” delicious hidden gems. One such place was Old World Deli on Second Street, where I’d get an on-point pastrami sandwich after walking in to see cobblestone streets, old-world murals and charming decor that made you feel like you weren’t just grabbing a meal but were escaping the college town vibe for a little while.

—Tory Campbell, ’00

2010s

On the last night of Recruitment Week, or Preference Night, our sorority would always serve pie, and we called it Pref Night Pie. It became this famous thing in the house, like, “I can’t wait for Pref Night Pie!” It was a kind of ice cream pie cake, and it was always super hyped up. They served it back when my mom was at OSU in the same sorority, too, so it was a cool continuation of a tradition. I remember one year they didn’t do it, and everyone was outraged. Like, “Where’s the Pref Night Pie?”

– Ally Miklasz, ’15

The most vivid food memory I can recall is Midnight Breakfast at McNary, which was basically just what it said it was. At midnight during finals, we came in and there was a bevy of breakfast food splayed upon the table. We all just chowed down on pancakes and bacon and hashbrowns. I was what they call a “nontraditional student,” so it was always a little weird for me, since McNary was a freshman hall, basically, and I was this 25-year-old who had been in the world and felt like this adult. But things like Midnight Breakfast really helped me start feeling in community with everyone in that dorm.

—Joe Ellis, ’15

2020s

One of the rituals that my MFA cohort had was going to Treebeerd’s Taphouse to watch a game, get a drink or debrief after class. We were always haunting one of the bars downtown. If you went to Treebeerd’s and you didn’t see guys there, you went across the street to Squirrel’s to find them. At Squirrel’s, we had a regular spot upstairs, because we were such a large group, so you’d have to carry your beer or fries or whatever all the way up the stairs. There’s a specific memory of us being the last to leave Squirrel’s one night, because we had been there so long chatting about classes and students and teaching and life — just everything, really.

—Kosisochukwu Ugwuede, MFA ’23

I vividly remember breakfasts in Arnold Hall my first year. Early on, there would always be new students there looking for tables to eat at. The tables are round at Arnold Hall, and it made meeting new people feel almost natural. Every morning, no matter the day, the weather or the time in the term, I could always count on seeing familiar faces. Some of those familiar faces are now my closest friends.

—Carissa O’Donnell, ’24