The Houghton community continues to grieve the passing of ‘Big’ Al Rehn, Houghton’s previous dining hall manager beginning in 1982. During his time at Houghton, Al had a large impact on the Houghton community earning him the President’s Advisory Council on Excellence Award in 1993, and also, had a yearbook dedicated to him by the class he advised.
Big Al worked for Pioneer Caterers for roughly 18 years before leaving to work alongside his son at Columbia Bible College. During his time at Houghton, Big Al was described as someone that everyone looked up to and enjoyed. Ask everyone who knew him and they say the same thing: thumbs up and ok. His signature gesture, along with his always-cheerful personality will forever fill the minds of those he impacted.
Ed Taylor, Sodexo student supervisor, described Big Al, saying, “He’s just a jolly old guy that everyone loved. Everyone thought of him as a long lost dad.” Trying to hold back laughter, Taylor spoke of how Big Al always had a “dumb joke” to tell and how fun he was to work with.
While speaking about Big Al, Robert Danner, former Vice President of Student Life, 1981-2001, said, “When a group of college students begin to give you a nickname and play jokes on you, you know that you’ve been accepted. Other people know you’ve been accepted.” As Danner reminisced on his time as Vice President, he told stories of Big Al’s always-impressive Halloween costumes and midnight breakfast appearances as Santa.
Danner went on to discuss how he could hear, from his office, the sounds of Big Al’s chainsaw as he worked at one of his infamous ice sculptures. “He had an electric chainsaw, a block of ice, and an idea. He would carve on it until he liked it and put it back in the freezer until he needed it,” said Danner. Big Al’s sculptures would appear at various Houghton dining hall events.
Greg Bish, director of student programs, was a student during the time Big Al worked at Houghton. Bish described Al as a past pillar of the Houghton community and someone that shouldn’t be forgotten.
“He was an iconic Houghton person during the time that he worked here,” said Bish, further stating that sharing Big Al’s story is a way of “honoring someone from the past that was a person that previous students enjoyed. It’s important for current students to know about Houghton’s story and it’s important to remember those moments from the past.”
Though Houghton students today didn’t have the chance to meet Big Al, his legacy is still visible throughout campus. “The pizza operation had some very humble beginnings,” began Houghton’s class of 1968, Warren Smith, who helped to start Big Al’s snack shop. Smith had started selling soda out of his dorm room and when the college shut him down Big Al offered him the opportunity to sell pizza and wings through the college. Together they renovated the area and started what we still know as Big Al’s today. “While observing the large, jolly looking pizza chef that was imprinted on the pizza boxes, I decided that it should be named after Al, Big Al’s. That is how Big Al’s began,” said Warren.
“I think when alumni come back and they go to Big Al’s they come back and remember the person Big Al,” said Bish.