Wonderful Wednesday is an annual tradition that has been enjoyed by all Milligan students since 1969. On Wonderful Wednesday, all classes are canceled and students are invited to participate in planned events around campus. Through the years, Wonderful Wednesday has taken on different themes, activities and free foods.
“If I had to give a name to my favorite Wonderful Wednesday, it’d be ‘The First’ since it was the first Wonderful Wednesday and it was on a Wednesday,” Milligan alumna Marie Wright (class of …) wrote in an email. “Guess we really didn’t know what to think! Who ever heard of a college calling off classes?”
The earlier Wonderful Wednesdays consisted of students meeting in focus groups around the campus, led by faculty, where they could express their opinions on a variety of things. After the focus groups, the students would then attend the events that the school offered. A picnic and ice cream social was one of these events.
One of the most memorable themes, according to Sue LaDuke (class of 1989), was a Western theme in the 1985-1986 school year. Several of her old classmates agreed. Students wore bandanas, had a cow chip throwing contest and a three-legged race.
“Part of the fun of the day was the anticipation of the day,” LaDuke wrote. “I also really enjoyed when they rented the drive-in theater in Elizabethton, but sadly I don’t remember any of the movies we watched!”
1987-1988 was the year for Coca-Cola shirts and a “Catch the Wave “ themed Wonderful Wednesday. There were red and white balloons around campus and they had Max Headroom and a variety of Coke products. They also watched “Creature from the Black Lagoon” in 3D in Hyder.
Wonderful Wednesday themes the past few years have varied- Disney and travel to name two. When the theme was Disney, the planners of Wonderful Wednesday decorated the cafeteria like Cinderella’s castle, had people dress up like Mickey and planned Disney themed events.
Sue Harrod, a current student, said, “I enjoyed the Disney theme and liked that they decorated the caf into Cinderella’s castle.”
The travel-themed Wonderful Wednesday brought a hot air balloon to campus as well as a rock wall and free Rita’s Italian Ice and pizza.
Most students would agree that while the actual day is fun, it is also fun trying to guess when the day will be and waking up to see that it is Wonderful Wednesday.
Laura Doolittle, who was on the Social Affairs Committee during her time at Milligan said, “ The best part was getting that slip of paper under the door (yes, back in the day before tweets and texts). Or if you were on the Social Affairs Committee … trying to keep the secret up until it was time.”