If you’re not serious about your current “steady,” you may want to think twice before stopping for a smooch while passing by Friendship Oak in the heart of Southeastern Louisiana University’s
campus. Legend has it that doing so may result in eventual matrimony.
The iconic Friendship Oak has held court in Friendship Circle for over a century. According to history professor emeritus and Southeastern lore connoisseur C. Howard Nichols, the tree earned its name when it served as campus courtship central.
“The women’s dormitory across the street (Senior Hall at the time and now Campbell Hall) may have contributed to the name since the tree’s spreading branches provided a somewhat secluded ‘courting place’ for male suitors who called upon the female co-eds,” he says.
Friendship Circle at Southeastern. Photo by Randy Bergeron.
The Kenelly family can attest to this. According to Ken Kenelly (’75), his parents began their courtship beneath the oak’s languid limbs. Pat (’47) and Bert (’47) Kenelly attended what was then Southeastern Louisiana College in the years following World War II. Pat was a Hall of Fame inductee for football, baseball and distinguished service as both a coach and an athletics director; Southeastern’s baseball diamond is named in his honor—Pat Kenelly Field at Alumni Stadium. An inductee in his own right for distinguished service as a football player, coach and administrator, Ken says there were countless memories from the baseball dugout and Strawberry Stadium, but Friendship Oak held a special place in his parents’ hearts.
“I remember my dad saying that Friendship Oak was the special place on campus because they didn’t have cars, so that is where they dated,” says Ken. “He used to say, ‘If that oak ever starts talking, I’m going to have to chop it down.’”
So while the name may only refer to friendship, it’s understood with a wink and a smile to mean romantic friendships, not the BFF kind.
State Senator A.G. Crowe (’73) is quick to point out that not only were he and Linda (’73) sweethearts in their college days, they’re still sweethearts today. “We stood under Friendship Oak, and I let her know she passed all the tests,” he says, jokingly. “I proposed and let her know that if she would have me, I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”
It was also beneath the canopy of Friendship Oak’s branches that Brad Bendily (’96) proposed. According to the former Erin Buratt (’96), he couldn’t have picked a more perfect place. “We both lived on campus, so lunches and quiet walks under Friendship Oak were a regular occurrence, in addition to the numerous student events we participated in near Friendship Circle,” she says.
Friendship Oak was also a favorite nighttime stop after performances in Pottle Hall and Student Union activities for the couple. “The moonlight shining through the oak’s branches was a beautiful sight,” she says. “It always set the stage for a romantic kiss good-bye.”
One fall night in 2001, following a dinner to celebrate her job, Brad made a detour to campus to retrieve something he “forgot” in his office. “He parked in front of Friendship Oak, which didn’t seem unusual, given that his office was in nearby McClimans Hall,” says Erin. “But when we got out of the car, instead of walking toward McClimans, he led me under Friendship Oak, knelt down on one knee, told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him.”
She said yes—and nine years ago, they were married.
Erin currently serves as deputy superintendent of the Office of Developmental Support for the Louisiana Department of Education and Brad is systems administrator for Administrative Computing Services at Southeastern. Once upon a time, however, they were both student workers on campus who met through their involvement with the Student Government Association. Apparently, during the mid-1990s there were quite a few “computer issues” in the Office of Career Services where Erin worked that required “fixing” by a certain student worker in the Office of Administrative Computing Services.
“Brad’s employment at Southeastern keeps us even more connected to the campus, still participating in various activities, enjoying the return of football and hanging out with our Southeastern family,” Erin says.
Their two-year-old son, Gavan, has already been introduced to the Southeastern scene—as evidenced by one of his first photo sessions that featured a Lions football helmet, a stuffed Lion and a Southeastern shirt. Erin says, “He’s made several trips to campus, including to our beloved Friendship Oak, getting to know the campus of possibly his own future college home.”
Friendship Oak in the 1930s.
In the case of Ellie Schroder (’83), her future husband could have been called for a blatant offsides penalty when they first met on Southeastern’s intramural flag football field—John (’84) was the coach of Ellie’s opposing team.
“I was editor of the Le Souvenir yearbook, and my office was on the top floor of East Stadium,” says the former Ellie Daigle. “I used to watch him walk across campus from my window.”
The couple dated on and off throughout their college years. A wrong mailing address threatened to thwart their long-distance courtship, but it was overcome, resulting in 26 years of marriage.
“John left for basic training after graduation. I was not happy that he signed up for the military and I didn’t know about it. When I started getting calls from him at basic training, I refused them. I didn’t know that he had been sending letters,” she says. “And then one day, either Scott Perriloux (’84) or Jay Barsenick (’84), who lived in the apartment next to me, brought me a stack of letters and told me that I needed to give Schroder my correct apartment number.”
“After reading the letters, she started accepting my calls,” says John, with a grin.
There was mention of a parking lot in what is now the Lions’ baseball stadium right field where students would go for “quiet time,” but the Schroders also found some time to actually go to the library and study in between courting and canoodling, as many college sweethearts tend to do. They credit Southeastern for providing them with excellent educations and have established an athletics scholarship in their names. Ellie is a technology resource teacher at Bayou Lacombe Middle School and has her bachelor’s-plus-30 and supervision certification, all from Southeastern. John received his bachelor’s in criminal justice from Southeastern, serves as State Representative for District 77 and is a small-business owner. “We love Southeastern for many reasons,” he says, which is fitting, since Southeastern happens to be where they met and fell in love.
Socializing in the circle continues a tradition that dates back to the 1930s, when Friendship Oak’s much younger branches sheltered a popular student hangout. At one time, wooden benches sat at the base of the landmark tree’s trunk, and a small frame structure housed a refreshments stand that dispensed coffee, soft drinks and hamburgers that cost a nickel each. Dubbed the “Pop House” by students, it was razed once the War Memorial Student Union was constructed in the early 1950s, according to Nichols.
By the 1980s, a circular bench that wrapped around the massive tree’s trunk had been installed. In 2004, a wooden deck was constructed to protect its root system from further compaction and damage.
Since the return of football in 2002, the Lion Walk has become part of the Southeastern game day tradition. As the team makes its way to Strawberry Stadium two hours prior to kickoff, players and coaches are greeted by loyal Lion tailgaters who flock to Friendship Circle on game days. Students have also begun hosting Live @ The Oak on evenings before home football games. Plenty of music and food set the mood to kick off tailgating for the next day.
Registered with the Louisiana Live Oak Society, Friendship Oak reigns with arboreal authority over Friendship Circle and beckons passers-by to socialize in its shade.
Whether you believe in the legend of a kiss beneath its branches is up to you. However, the next time you stroll through Friendship Circle with your sweetheart, be sure to glance at the Spanish moss that graces the oak’s branches. When the breeze catches it just right, it can easily be mistaken for a bridal veil made of heirloom lace. Perhaps it’s trying to foretell many kisses yet to come.
Filed under: Football, Front Page Feature, Hammond, History, January-February 2012
