University of Mississippi - Ole Miss Yearbook (Oxford, MS)

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ERNEST PHILLIPS, a native of Natchez, Miss,, and an Ole Miss graduate, lounges with his family and friends at his Grove tent in front of Barnard Observatory. Phillips now lives in Longview, Texas, (continued from page 23) Seeing one of his sons, Chris, suit up in Ole Miss home colors for the first time as an offensive lineman would be the moment Ken said he would take away from Homecoming 2004. After all, it could be said Chris ' position as an Ole Miss Rebel has been a work in progress over the last three decades. My mom worked here at the university in 1976, and I went to school here in 1975, Ken said. All three of my brothers went to school here, so this is home. To see his sou siiongiy carry on a two- generation-old lamily cullure cmbrddcd within the university amazed Ken, he said. His mother, Charlenc Baker, a lifelong Oxonian who could be cotisidercd largely responsible for starung the whole thing, simply (ailed il what il was - tradition. Once you get family ,L;oing, you just sort of ha e to keep it going, she said. People going .o the Grove in droves for homecoming or any home football game is a tradition that has taken flight over the last few decades, said Don Foosc, a 1974 graduate and attorney out of Mobile, Ala. The Grove has changed. In those days, you drove up and tailgated. Oxford has changed. There were no restaurants in those days. Students didn ' t come to the Grove the way they do now. Foose remembered the (Jrove as the |)laygr()un(l ol parcnls and aliunni during his years at Ole Miss. For Foose and many parents who flocked to campus Oct. 2, the lure of homecnn ling grew stronger when I heir child I ' cn enrolled at the imi ' ersity. Since their children are iilien Inindreds III miles away from home, man ' out-of-state families find a worthy excuse to unite amid a buzz of Hotty Toddy and football fen ' or. When Foose, a Tchula, Miss., native graduated with a bachelor ' s degree in math, he mo -ed to Dallas and didn ' t come back to Oxford until his own sons enrolled at his alma mater in 200(1. After all, the Foose men followed a tradition of their own. Foose ' s son. Ransom, followed a family legacy, pledging to be a fourth-generation Foose in Phi Delta Theta fratcrnit at Ole Miss. According to Don, Ransom ' s choice was not a result of any pressure he had put on his son. He came up here his junior year of high school and loxcd it, Don said. His younger son. Can-ran, follnwed in his brother ' s lootslejis and found himst ' lf in the national spotlight when The History {flannel featured him and his Rush experience in the 200 ' ' i d()cumentar ; Frat Hoys. 24 I The Ole Miss 2005

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Homecoming for some Ole Miss fans means more than a parade, a court processional or a football game. For some, it is a true homecoming. wntteii by LAURA HOUSTON r- p whomphed In DARRELL BLAKELY pd smiling|aces. It ' s going to the Grove in pricey duds grandmother ' s jewehy. It ' s eating catered cuisine and home-cooked delicacies off of fine china, inSnts and under chandeHersiga It ' s watching satSte feed of colleee football eames on And oh yeah, there ' s a Southeastern Conference football oil mto. tball game would be the homecoming highlight .w. s.en Baker; who grew up in Oxford, played in the Pride oL,the-2=86uth marching band and graduated from the Ole Miss business SGhooLin 1980. He then saw the w orld with the Air Force ' BKtded in O ' Fallon, III, with his wife, Marlene, and his sons. (continued an page 24; Student Life I 23

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A HOMECOMING doesn ' t have to occur on Ole Miss ' s official homecoming. Every home game, a number of fans bring their families and friends to support the Rebels, AS WITH EVERY HOME GAME, the excitement level is always high in the Grove as the Pride of the South band plays Dixie before kick-off. But that doesn ' t mean Don wouldn ' t recommend Ole Miss to prospective students, especially based on his time on campus in the early 1970s. It ' s a big school, but it has a small-school feel, he said. Maybe it was that intimate atmosphere at Ole Miss that appealed to Ernest Phillips more than half a century ago, but even he doesn ' t know. What he does know is he loves coming back every time. In the beginning, something indistinguishable drew Phillips to Ole Miss, even while he was growing up in Natchez, Miss., less than 100 miles away from LSU, a school where most of his childhood friends chose to go. Instead, Phillips opted to travel almost three times the distance from Baton Rouge to go to Ole Miss, pledging Delta Kappa Epsilon and graduating in 1953. He didn ' t seem to get enough of Oxford, later earning a law degree in 1960. He then roamed the world with business before ending up in Longview, Texas. Even though he ' s been to Thailand and seen the sights in Hong Kong, Phillips will always have a soft spot for the aesthetics Ole Miss offers. I think it ' s probably the most beautiful campus, Phillips said. For Homecoming 2004, Phillips made the trip from Longview, Texas, to see the Rebels play Arkansas State, but more importantly, to see his son, Justin Hawkins. But even though Phillips held a special place in his heart for Ole Miss, he wasn ' t foolish enough to recommend the school to his son. If I had suggested this to him, this would have been the last place he would ' ve gone, Phillips said, adding that Justin ' s friend praised the school highly, and that appeared to be the hook that reeled Hawkins in. Once he made the journey from Texas to Ole Miss, Phillips ' tent was a little piece of East Texas planted in front of Barnard Observatory. His caravan of Texans bedecked their base with the Lone Star State ' s flag, ready with finger foods waiting and playing country music. Phillips just seemed to enjoy being with his family on the campus that captured his youth. Perhaps homecoming on campus is more pronounced than it used to be, but the traditions enveloping it blossom ever time there ' s a home game. Family, fine food and football on a Saturday in the Deep South - few things match the uniciue character the Ole Miss campus assumes when it ' s gameday, homecoming or not. Student Life | 25