This day in UW Oshkosh history – Jan. 3, 1978: Oshkosh graduate Ernest Friabel (’59) reveals himself to be the individual who alerted the fire department about the Oshkosh Normal School’s most destructive fire, ending a 62-year-old mystery. Friabel told Edward Noyes, an Oshkosh history professor and part-time school archivist, that in the early morning hours of March 22, 1916, he was biking to work at the Paine Lumber Co., when he spotted flames and called the Oshkosh Fire Department. Friabel regarded the moment as a great opportunity in his life. His efforts were in vain, as a temporary loss of water pressure might have inhibited the chances of saving the structure. In 1959, Friabel, age 69, was the oldest student in the nation to receive a bachelor’s degree. (Courtesy of UW Oshkosh Archives)