For those Illini football and Marching Illini fans who love digging into Illinois’ athletic and music legacy, our recent acquisition of the Robert E. Cowan Papers might be of interest to you.  In 1952, the University of Illinois Marching Illini performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The band’s trip, sponsored by General Motors, was by train and the route took the band first from Chicago to Denver, then through Salt Lake City and Elko, Nevada, before reaching Oakland and the ferry to San Francisco.  Along the way, they ate in Fred Harvey Service dining cars, which provided special souvenir menus.  These colorful menus and 1952 Rose Bowl memorabilia were collected by Robert E. Cowan, who was a cornetist in the band.  All of these historical documents are now preserved and available to researchers and the general public in the Center’s Musical Americana Collection.  For further information about this collection and the Center’s work contact Scott Schwartz at 217-333-4577 or schwrtzs@illinois.edu.