Howard College has a long history that stretches back to its founding in Marion, Alabama. By 1965, the school had grown significantly — adding a business school and earning university status. It was later renamed Samford University, honoring longtime trustee Frank Park Samford. The original name “Howard” had to go because Howard University already held it. Today, Samford University stands as a Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, ranking as the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It serves 5,729 students from 47 states and 30 countries.
These remarkable photos were discovered by Mark Susina and capture Howard College’s 1959 homecoming parade in Homewood, Alabama. Homecoming is a deeply rooted tradition across the United States and Canada. High schools, colleges, and even churches take part — welcoming back former students and members while celebrating the life of their institution. In 1959, Howard College was very much in its prime, and the parade reflected the school’s community spirit.
The streets of Homewood came alive that day with floats, banners, and crowds of students, alumni, and locals. Homecoming parades like this one were a major event on any college calendar — a chance for the whole community to show up and show pride.
Looking at these black-and-white snapshots, you get a clear sense of the era. The fashions, the vehicles, and the hand-crafted parade floats all point squarely to late 1950s America. Students and faculty put real effort into these events, and the 1959 parade was no exception.
Howard College’s sister school, Judson College, shared a long parallel history as a women’s college in Alabama. Judson College is now slated to close, making the preservation of historical records like these parade photos all the more important. They serve as a tangible record of student life during a pivotal decade for both institutions.
Each photo tells its own small story — a marching band lined up, a decorated float rolling down the block, spectators pressed along the curb. These are the details that rarely make it into official histories but define what college life actually felt like in 1959.
What makes this collection especially valuable is its candid quality. These are not staged promotional shots. They are real moments frozen in time — the kind of photographs that end up tucked into boxes for decades before someone like Mark Susina unearths them and shares them with the world.
Six years after this parade, Howard College became Samford University — a name and identity it carries to this day. But in 1959, it was still Howard College, and its students were marching through the streets of Homewood with every reason to celebrate.
