Into the Fray: One family has epitomized Homecoming week at Mizzou

Ann Fray: Class of 1961

Fray did not intend to start a family tradition when she enrolled at MU in the fall of 1957. She was from Smithton, a small town a little over an hour away from Columbia. During her freshman year, she joined Marching Mizzou. That was the final year in which women were not allowed to march on the field with the men, instead having to play from the stands. Ann was only a member of Marching Mizzou for one year.

“The uniform consisted of skirts for the women and pants for the men, with the standard jacket for everyone,” Ann said. “We didn’t practice marching at all, we sat that out and the men took care of that back then. That’s the thing that stands out the most. We went on (a) concert tour around the state.”

Fray majored in home economics, living in what was then known as the Campbell-Harrison House, co-education student housing located on Wilson Avenue in East Campus. The building still stands, occupied by students to this day.

“It was an attempt to get rural people who had little experience with urban (places) a place to live,” Ann Fray said.

She was a senior when the Mizzou football team finished 10-1. The Tigers’ sole loss was to Kansas, which later forfeited, meaning the season has gone into the record books a perfect 11-0. That team recently was recognized as the national champion in the U.S. Senate.

The showdown against Kansas was the Tigers’ annual Homecoming game. Mizzou claims to be the inventor of Homecoming, with the first one on record back in 1911 with the first football game taking place on Nov. 25 that year against Kansas. But plenty changed in the 46 years before Ann got to campus and plenty has changed in the 65 years since she left.

“Being a textiles-clothing major, my attention was drawn to the different way that people used to dress to go the game,” Ann said. “The guys, especially older guys, used to wear suits, a rough tweed kind of a thing. … the women would wear good wool suits and things like that. One of the uniforms, especially sorority women at the time was a mouton coat. It was a short fur coat made of the hide of a lamb.”

Mizzou unfurled the 1960 national championship banner at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 19. Fray had been part of a large crowd of students who drove out to the Columbia Regional Airport to welcome the team back to town after a 24-14 win over No. 4 Navy in the Orange Bowl that year.

“I just barely remember it, but I do remember doing that,” Ann said. “Fewer students would have had cars to get there, so it would’ve been doubling up.”

She met her first husband, Allen, while at the university. He graduated from MU with a bachelor’s in agriculture in 1956 and later a doctorate of veterinary medicine (DVM) in 1961. He died at the age of 34 when his station wagon was struck by a train on July 20, 1969.

The couple had four kids together: Roger, Leslee, Scott and Laura.

Scott Fray: Class of 1989, 1991

Scott Fray followed in his father’s footsteps, earning the same two degrees. Scott graduated with his DVM from MU in 1991. It was during this time that he reconnected with his now-wife, Kelly, after the two dated in high school.

One thing he loved about Mizzou was the football games. He remarked that, now the weather has dropped into the 70s during the day, it finally starts to feel like football weather.

“I had season tickets all the way through undergrad because students got good deals. I don't think they get quite as good of them now. That was through the pretty bad years of Mizzou football,” Scott said. “I was in the dorms. We'd get together before the games and pregame, of course, and then walk through the games.

But through veterinary school, he was dead broke and couldn’t afford tickets. But he still found a way to the games, working the soda booth for the vet school to watch the game for free. Scott remembers handing out big plastic collectible cups filled to the brim with Coke or 7-Up.

Scott is still quite close to MU, having attended his 35th vet school reunion earlier this month. Both of his children graduated from the university, continuing the legacy past his generation.

“I went there eight years, so I have a lot of memories of studying and meeting friends,” Scott said. “And then I'm supposed to say that's when (my wife and I) got back together.”

“This is true,” His wife, Kelly Scott added.

She graduated in the Class of ’89 with a bachelor’s degree in human environmental science.

Lawrence Spalding: Class of 1956

Ann got remarried to Lawrence Spalding. He graduated from Mizzou in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in English.

As a Tiger, he worked at the Italian Village, right across from The Shack. When too many customers flowed into The Shack during weekends, Lawrence walked [across the street] and helped keep things moving. The building was closed in 1984, later burning down during a fire on Halloween night 1998. That area is now a part of campus, with the former location of The Shack now a circular parking lot in front of the Reynolds Alumni Center.

The pair had one kid together in Christy Rehagen. Much like Scott, Christy and the rest of her siblings felt a draw to Mizzou from a young age.

“We were always fans, always attended things at Mizzou, even though we lived an hour 15 minutes away,” Christy said. “My parents were divorced, but for a while my dad had season tickets, and then for a while my mom did. So it always seems like that I was there.”

She remembers attending Mizzou football games growing up, specifically the 1983 game against Nebraska. The Cornhuskers demolished the Tigers 34-13 behind the play of Heisman winner Mike Rozier.

“I also remember us being so bad that one some of the students had a sheet and painted (coach) Warren Powers’ phone number on it,” Christy said. “My parents thought it was funny, but I didn't get it.”

Rehagen originally enrolled at MU, but dropped out and graduated from Columbia College in 1997 with a bachelor’s in fashion and apparel design.

While not a graduate, Christy’s Mizzou pride runs deeper than most. She used to attend Tiger football games while a student at Columbia College. Tickets were easy to come by, as Mizzou finished 8-14 in her final two years at CC.

“We would go to some of the games (because) nobody was there,” Christy said. “I can remember always wanting to get a tan so we would lay out on the bleachers because you could literally lay down (with all the empty seats). ”

Her husband, Kyle Rehagen, was also a Columbia College graduate. But he was an employee of Mizzou for 20-plus years, flying the university hospital's trauma helicopter. He retired less than a year ago.

The duo has spent the last 20 years tailgating before Mizzou football games, keeping them in touch with friends and Mizzou alumni every Saturday the Tigers play at Memorial Stadium.

“We always look forward to seeing those people that we did not get to see very often,” Christy said. “We sort of all gravitate to the same thing. We started kind of getting season tickets.”

These tailgates have become an integral part in the family’s history and legacy. Christy remembers going with Lawrence to Mizzou’s showdown with Nebraska in 2003.

In a stunning upset, the Tigers defeated the Cornhuskers 41-24. This was the first time they had beaten Big Red after losing 24 times in a row.

“It was raining and it was nasty and it was getting chilly,” Christy said. “He was in terrible health.”

“You know I’m going to die soon,” he told her.

“You say that all the time,” she responded.

“Well I’m getting closer every day,” Lawrence joked.

“I’m so glad I got to see that before I died,” Lawrence told his daughter.

Lawrence Spalding died on June 15, 2014.

Nick Fray: Class of 2015

While Ann’s kids have scattered across the Midwest to places like Iowa and Michigan, something keeps bringing them back to Columbia. She has had five grandchildren graduate from MU, with a sixth currently in school. Scott’s oldest son, Nick was the first Tiger of the third generation.

While he never felt pressured to go to Mizzou, nowhere else felt like the right place for him. While he briefly thought about attending Missouri S&T, that proved to be nothing more than a passing thought.

“I think I toured Mizzou shortly after that and I was like, “Oh there’s no way I’m going down there (to Rolla). This is way better,’” Nick said.

He went to school with his younger sister, Anna. She graduated from MU with both a bachelor’s in health science in 2017 then a master’s in speech-language pathology in 2017.

While Nick had the opportunity to become a third-generation veterinary student at Mizzou, he instead decided to earn his degree in mechanical engineering. He is currently working as a software engineer in Denver.

Nick was always a fan of Mizzou sports, specifically the men’s basketball team. He eventually joined the cheer team during his final two years of college.

“It was so cool just to be on the floor for all the men’s basketball games and all the football games,” Nick said. … “It’s (a) very close-knit kind of community that I got for free. Just being a part of that group was really special.”

Cheerleaders are crucial to the Mizzou football games, working long before the game starts and showing off their skillsets during the game.

Nick said, “We’d get up early, sometimes we were hungover. They’re always really in the morning, which could be a little bit stressful getting there. … There’s an amount of nervousness, just because you’re out there on the field, you could run out there with that big flag and trip.”

One thing that stood out to him was the crowd. During his final football season as a student, Mizzou made several stadium renovations, including a new upper deck on the west side to increase capacity to 71,168. Nick was a student for both SEC East titles, including the division-clinching win against Johnny Manziel’s Texas A&M team in 2013. The students rushed onto the field following the victory, tearing down the goalposts in celebration.

“I was down there on the field, and we’re waiting to see if the crowd’s going to rush the field,” Nick said. “I'm always kind of hoping they're going to, just so I can see it, and then carry out the goalposts, which is a ton of fun.”

Nick returned to Mizzou for Homecoming for several years after graduating, revisiting friends and family while reliving an old college weekend. But as the years have gone on and given he doesn’t live in Missouri, this sort of a trip has become much harder.

“The strong thing I felt about (Homecoming) was I get to be kind of a college kid for a weekend,” Nick said. “I’m nervous to go back. Honestly my ex is really into (Homecoming), and I might run into her.”

Maggie Rehagen: Class of 2029

The only grandchild left in the fray is Maggie Rehagen, Christy’s youngest daughter. She is a sophomore pursuing a double major in health and sports science, heading down the physical therapy track.

While just a sophomore, Maggie has memories at Mizzou dating back to preschool. She remembers tailgates with her family and friends. So even if this is only her second year as a student, Memorial Stadium has always felt like home.

“I don’t think I can remember a time that we weren’t going to a Mizzou game,” Maggie said. “We had season tickets when I was little, we were tailgating like no other.”

Maggie is in the College of Health Science Scholars program, Pre Physical Therapy Organization and is a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. This time of the year is extremely busy for those in Greek life as they participate and prepare for Homecoming in a plethora of ways including house decorations and the parade. She was interviewed for this story while waiting to have her blood drawn during Mizzou’s annual drive.

“It was a little overwhelming last year, I won’t lie,” Maggie said. “This year it’s super fun to show all the new people how Mizzou does things. It’s really fun to be able to showcase what we have done and how hard we work.”

While Maggie is the final third generation Tiger in the Fray lineage, it’s unlikely she will be the last Tiger. What started as a smart decision from a hopeful young woman in the 1950s has shaped the lives and values of her descendants. On Homecoming weekend, it serves as a reminder to the pride the Fray family has in MU and, in turn, in themselves.

“You kind of take it for granted. When you begin to talk (to your kids) about college. Well, that's where we tell them where we went,” Ann said. “They seem to just kind of gravitate toward (Mizzou). There may be a spirit or something. I'll call it that. … People sense a connection.”

Christy, Kyle and Maggie Rehagen along with a plethora of past, present and future Tigers are ready to honor their university heritage ahead of the football team’s showdown with Florida at Memorial Stadium.