Written by Ruth Jones

The Cardboard Boat Race...a favorite during E-Days. (Tyson Brown)

The Cardboard Boat Race…a favorite during E-Days. (Tyson Brown)

The ore cart pull, the trebuchet launch, cardboard boat races fireworks. Springtime and E-Days just seem to go together.

The first Engineering Days (E-Days) was held in 1927, and the event has been celebrated on campus annually ever since. Fast forward to 2005 when E-Days festivities began to make their way to cities around the globe, with activities ranging from pig roasts to beach bonfires. E-Days ‘Round the World extends the campus celebration and brings alumni together in their local communities to raise a toast to Mines, marking this most popular of spring rituals.

Mines alumni celebrated E-Days 'Round the World in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Mines alumni celebrated E-Days ‘Round the World in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The 2015 E-Days ‘Round the World events were sponsored by Assured Flow Solutions, who generously supported the 42 cities that celebrated in places as far away as Perth, Australia, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Assured Flow Solutions was proud to sponsor E-Days ‘Round the World to help connect the global community of Mines alums, said Elijah Kempton ’00, onshore manager and flow assurance advisor from Assured Flow Solutions. The cardboard boat race on campus brought back many fond memories of spending time with friends during E-days as a student. We hope that the various celebrations around the world were able to recreate that same E-Days feeling even thousands of miles away from Golden.

Madison Stingerie was one of the youngest attendees of E-Days 'Round the World, celebrating in Stavanger, Norway, with her parents Darcy '08 and Jason Stingerie '07.

Madison Stingerie was one of the youngest attendees of E-Days ‘Round the World, celebrating in Stavanger, Norway, with her parents Darcy ’08 and Jason Stingerie ’07.

Groups of any size are invited to participate in E-Days celebrations each year, and non-Mines alumni are welcome to join in the festivities. Here in Trinidad and Tobago, I only have two or three Mines alums on my list every year, says Roxanne Skeene ’83, a senior geophysicist for BP Amoco Production. I consider my best friend (not an alum) an honorary Miner now, since she has been there with me every year, and we both look forward to our E-Day celebration with or without other alums.

In Butte, Montana, alumni joined professors and deans from Montana Tech, mining industry professionals, and local geologists to share in Mines unique tradition of camaraderie and school spirit. Our dinner was a great success, mostly for getting together people with common interests, experience, and current business, said John Gabelman ’43, MSc ’48, PhD ’49.

 

E-Days ‘Round the World events took many shapes and forms this year, including:

  • Re-enactment of the M Climb in Colorado Springs at the famed Incline just outside of town
  • Museum tour and laser light show in Boston
  • Rooftop toasts in Houston
  • Happy hour cocktails served in beakers at the Science Club in Washington, D.C.
  • Home-style, deep-fried alligator served up in Bone Valley, Florida
  • Portland area potluck
  • Pizza party in Coeur d’Alene
  • Wetsuit-sporting alumni who competed against current students in the cardboard boat race down Clear Creek in Golden
The San Diego section gathered at the Ballast Point Brewing Company to celebrate E-Days 'Round the World.

The San Diego section gathered at the Ballast Point Brewing Company to celebrate E-Days ‘Round the World.

Alumni in The Woodlands, Texas, celebrated E-Days 'Round the World on the rooftop of Grimaldi's Pizza.

Alumni in The Woodlands, Texas, celebrated E-Days ‘Round the World on the rooftop of Grimaldi’s Pizza.

 

CSMAA's Ruth Jones (second from left) joined Mines alumni in Polk County, Florida, for the annual Bone Valley picnic in celebration of E-Days 'Round the World.

CSMAA’s Ruth Jones (second from left) joined Mines alumni in Polk County, Florida, for the annual Bone Valley picnic in celebration of E-Days ‘Round the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All around the globe, Orediggers gathered to celebrate the E-Days tradition in their own way, reminisce about their student days, network with one another, and most of all, continue nurturing the spirit of Mines that binds them together no matter their class year, industry, or hometown.