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Alumni Can Own a Piece of Gage

Mailbox doors available for $15.

2013-02-15
Amanda Dyslin, Mankato Free Press, 2-15-2013

With the news of of Gage dorm’s impending demoli­tion came phone calls.

Lots of phone calls.

Requests came in for door­knobs, mirrors and other memo­rabilia so that alumni of Minnesota State University could have a keepsake from their fresh­man residence hall.

Those conversations — as well as advice from an architect to remove memorabilia before asbestos abatement begins — gave the Alumni Relations depart­ment an idea.

Each of the 626 mailbox doors in Gage has a unique number, and all were used by thousands of stu­dents over the years.

So they decided alumni would probably love to buy them, said Jen Myers, interim director of alumni relations and special events.

“We thought the mailboxes were really unique — one of a kind,” she said.

For $15, people can buy a mail­box door. Reservations have to be made by Feb. 25, but more than 150 already have been purchased. So Myers is urging people to email or call sooner than later.

Proceeds will go to a scholar­ship fund for legacy students (those who had parents or grand­parents who attended MSU).

Many people are calling and ask­ing for the mailbox door they had when they lived in the dorm. One person called and requested the numbers of their kids’ birthdays.

The mailboxes are the only keepsakes the university is selling. Most other items in the building are being sold in bulk to companies, including everything from doors to fire extinguishers.

However, keys and bricks likely will become available this summer, Myers said.

The demolition day for Gage has not been set, nor has the manner in which it will come down, Myers said.

The entire version of this story can be read in a print copy of the Mankato Free Press. Call the Mankato Free Press at 625-4451 or (800) 657-4662 to find out how to purchase a print copy. The Free Press also prints select stories online at www.mankatofreepress.com.

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