Sacramento State students could be cheering as the Sac State Elks if the hornet had not been chosen as the college mascot over 50 years ago, said Jean Nickles, an English and physical education graduate from 1949.

“The elk came in second,” said Nickles, who was a member of the graduating class that chose the university’s colors, mascot and fight song.

Nickles was one of 59 graduates who gathered at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Alumni Center for Sac State’s “Golden Grads Luncheon.” Of the 60 attendees, 38 were Sac State graduates who earned their diplomas prior to 1959. They were joined by family members, spouses and faculty.

The group gathered to have lunch, reminisce and look over memorabilia such as photos, newspaper clippings and yearbooks. Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez also addressed the group in a short speech describing changes the university has made and new construction projects under way.

“(Sac State) has changed quite a bit, but it still has a good feel,” said Mavis Wright, a health and physical education major from the class of 1951. Wright said her class was very small and was more intimate with teachers. She said they would even have occasional softball games with teachers until one faculty member broke a leg sliding into a base.

Sac State, previously known as Sacramento State College, originally offered only upper division classes at what is currently the Sacramento City College campus until 1954.

Another alumnus who had an important role at Wednesday’s luncheon was Dave Morse, the first student to enroll at Sac State as a freshman, the first student body president and the first president of the board of alumni.

“(Morse) is the spirit of Sac State,” said Tina Treis, president of the Alumni Association.

Morse stood before the group and led everyone in a recital of the fight song, which was read from fliers that had been passed out to them.

“OK, who remembered the words without reading them?” asked Linda Canfield Scott, alumni services and events organizer for the Alumni Center, as she visited with attendees.

Sac State had a rocky beginning, but was held together by spirit and determination, Morse said.

“The school didn’t have unity,” said Morse, “This fight song won and we sang it together. The moment we sang this song was when we first felt like we had unity and spirit.”

Cody Kitaura can be reached at [email protected]