The University of Minnesota Crookston hosted over 100 alumni and friends for the annual Northwest School of Agriculture All-Class Reunion on June 26. The day was filled with laughter and nostalgia, with classes from the 1950s and 1960s gathering at their old high school campus.
Alumni enjoyed a luncheon and program honoring their ‘Top Aggie’ award recipient, Nyla (Finney) Driscoll Carson, Class of 1951, the annual alumni business meeting, class meetings with their yearbooks, an all-alumni group photo, refreshments, and a happy hour social. Highlighted classes included 1951, 1956, 1961, and 1966, who celebrated their 75th, 70th, 65th, and 60th graduate years, respectively.
Nyla Finney graduated from the Northwest School of Agriculture (NWSA) in 1951 after a tremendous four years filled with friendship, favorite classes, activities, and involvements. She enjoyed being a cheerleader all four years, becoming a member of the National Honor Society, and playing and practicing piano, choir, clarinet, and voice.
Nyla went on to college at Concordia, where she was also a cheerleader, and took up teaching. After only two years, she began teaching at Clara Barton school in Fargo, N.D., while still in classes. After graduating and teaching full-time, she moved to teach in multiple states, including Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Michigan.
Nyla also followed her first husband, Dennis Driscoll, Class of 1949, whom she met at the NWSA, through multiple states and countries while he was in the military. Together, they raised five children.
Following some time living in the Philippines, they returned to the U.S. and landed in Las Vegas, where Nyla decided to become a real estate broker. She and a partner started their own company, and Nyla became heavily involved in her community.
Her involvement helped start a new church, which now has 3,000+ members, and she also planned larger-than-life events like military golf tournaments and celebrity fundraisers. Nyla has worked with Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, and Paul Anka, just to name a few, to raise money for special causes and organizations.
When asked about favorite performers she has seen live, Nyla says Carol Burnett and Ann-Margret stood out.
Nowadays, Nyla is a member of two large military groups, performs with her church, and has traveled all over the world doing so, making quilts, playing card games, attending exclusive Vegas concerts and shows, and preparing meals and doing “motherly” tasks for people in her community.
