A Little History
In the Fall of 1991, Erik Juhl (Class of 1987), then Hall Director and Wellness Coordinator at St. Olaf, asked Greg Kneser (then our Director of Residence Life, now Dean of Students) and his wife to do a program about dating in Northfield. We heard too many times (and still do) that there's nothing to do in Northfield and that nobody dates at St. Olaf College. Erik's idea was: if Greg can find his wife, successfully date her, get engaged - and ultimately married - here in Northfield...he must be some kind of expert!
He'd be the first to admit that he's no expert. Creative and resourceful - yes. Expert - no. So Greg's wife, Sandy, and he sat down to plan a program called "Fifty Nifty Things to do on a Date in Northfield". Two basic ideas formed this initial program and they still hold true as we continue to do the program today:
- Dating is a part of a healthy lifestyle.
- A date is defined as one person enjoying the company of (and common experiences with) at least one other person.
Since the program is presented with college students, the following guidelines are in place. A date must:
- be relatively inexpensive (there are some noteable exceptions on the list)
- involve a minimum of transportation (i.e. utilize the Northfield area as "home base")
We try to break the "norms" of dating. In other words, make the date extraordinary. What will you remember 10, 20 or 50 years from now.
And lastly, we add to the ever-growing list. Students generate new ideas for dates each time we do the program and we choose "winning ideas" to be added to the list. After "Fifty Nifty Things..." came "101 Things..." and so on. The list is currently in the low 500's which is why we title it: "Things to do on a Date in Northfield". Not very catchy, but true.
