In looking for UW Homecoming images from the past, we came across two short films from 1938. One is a 6-minute clip of that year’s Homecoming parade through the streets of Laramie. Amazing floats!  Although we do have some sympathy for the folks riding in the stagecoach.

The other is a short clip of a gathering of UW students, highlighted with a display from a talented baton twirler.

Both films (and other interesting blasts from UW’s past) can be found in the UW University Relations/Media Services records.

What else was happening at UW in 1938?  For one, the Wyoming Union was under construction. Ground was broken for the project in March 1938. Funding for the Union was aided by a loan from the Public Works Administration. The PWA was one of the programs created by the U.S. government to counteract the Depression by providing construction jobs to build public works. Many UW students were involved in the construction and twenty-five students were trained to be stone-cutters. The building was completed in 1939.

Wyoming Union not long after its completion in 1939