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Imagine a university whose founding fathers prescribed a curriculum fashioned not in academia, but celebration. An institution whose alumni promote get-down-boogie, not book worms. Actually, such a lyceum exists only in mind and attitude, but it is steeped in a rich tradition in the vacation paradise of northwest Iowa. The campus is the Iowa Great Lakes, and the halls of knowledge are the pathways of life. The University of Okoboji is a mythical, yet vibrant, college of fun and spirit and goodwill. About 30 years ago Herman Richter and his brother Emil – who co-own and operate The Three Sons clothing store in Milford – joked about the fun and comradery they enjoyed while playing sports with a group of friends in their allegorical “Camp Okoboji.” That whimsical assembly eventually assumed the name of the University of Okoboji (U of O), and a celebrated college of fun was born. The U of O crest soon appeared on T-shirts, sweatshirts, pennants, bumper stickers and elsewhere, and the promotional tide of the upstart college was in full swing. Richter, perhaps the most famous of U of O alum, is its biggest booster and official spokesman. “The U of O is the best known, non-existent university in the country,” he said. “It’s an attitude. Believing in the U of O has become a bit like believing in Santa Claus.” The U of O campus calendar has grown immensely over the years, and is filled with an incredible schedule of extracurricular events. Perhaps the best known of the U of O festivities is the annual Winter Games, and the 22nd edition unfolded in late January on the ice in front of the Arnolds Park Amusement Park. Included in the rest of the scheduling extravaganza are the Okoboji Walleye Classic over Memorial Day weekend and the annual U of O homecoming weekend in July featuring road races, a triathlon and an environmental clean-up drive. Other U of O sponsored athletic events during the year include the World Tennis Classic, a youth tennis classic, a basketball classic, two campus bike rides and soccer, softball and rugby tournaments. The U of O has ensconced a solid reputation in the community by allocating its activity receipts to numerous local projects, including the purchase of $35,000 worth of equipment for the Lakes Area Extrication Unit. In 1988, longtime community leaders brainstormed to establish a foundation that would support projects to improve the quality of life in the Iowa Great Lakes Region. The U of O lent its prestigious name to the crusade, and the University of Okoboji Foundation has grown to accomplish an astonishing list of achievements. Some of the benefactors of major gifts from the foundation include the Lakes Art Center, Maritime Museum, Dickinson County Trails Association, Lakeside Lab and the famous “Save the Park” campaign of 1999 that saved the amusement park from condominium development. With an endowment of over $3 million, contributed by more than 100 members and many friends, the foundation has been able to make a tremendous impact on the lakes area and the U of O campus. The foundation is in a position to continue its legacy and further the legend of the fictitious college of fun, the U of O.

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