History Timelines and Stories

Del Mar has been through changes over the years, but what has stuck around always is student clubs. Since Del Mar’s opening in 1935, activities and clubs slowly grew from only a few small department groups into the busy student organizations around now. In the earlier years, most clubs were connected through academic programs. These departmental registered student organizations (RSOs) gave students a way to go over real world skills, compete in events and represent their club. As Del Mar expanded, the Student Life office created a formal system for registering and supporting clubs, helping them with events and fundraisers. …

Originally published in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times Aug. 15, 2019. Reprinted with permission Some stories just get better the more you dig. This one — the story of literary giant Ernest Hemingway’s visit to Corpus Christi — is a doozy.  In March 1959, the Pulitzer- and Nobel-prize winning author arrived from San Valley, Idaho for a brief overnight before heading to Key West and eventually Cuba. He stayed at the Sand and Sea Hotel on Shoreline Boulevard. Hemingway, shockingly, agreed to be interviewed by a reporter (he hated interviews). The reporter was an 18-year-old Del Mar College student on the…

Despite not being involved in team competitive play today, Del Mar College has a long and rich history of success from 1939 through the ‘70s when the Vikings conquered the Gulf Coast, South Texas, and Pioneer conferences.  The “Cagers” were the first Del Mar competitive sports team with their inaugural basketball season in 1939 and joined the Gulf Coast Conference in 1941. They changed their name to the “Vikings” in 1945 to match their mascot, who was created the same year the Cagers began playing.  After this name change, the Vikings began to have more winning seasons throughout the ‘50s,…