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Not just any gown: Family makes graduation garment a tradition

JANESVILLE — If this gown could talk, it would tell the story of a local family that shares more than stories, recipes and a last name.

It would say they share the experience of taking notes during lectures, studying for exams and walking across the stage to accept their diploma.

And it would say that they share the sense of accomplishment that comes with graduation.

Marianne (Dries) McGuire, 34, graduated from UW-Whitewater on Saturday, wearing the plain black gown worn five times before by members of her family when they graduated from college.

It’s a tradition the close-knit family is proud to call their own.

“Usually after someone wears a gown (for graduation), it’s packed away in a box and never really looked at again,” Marianne said. “But for this gown to carry on a tradition is something pretty special.

“It’s not only something we’ve all worn to celebrate a significant accomplishment, but it also carries our family history.”

n Marianne’s father, Paul Dries, was first to wear the gown in 1971, when he graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.

Paul, 70, said the fact that his children have worn the same gown he wore years ago is special.

“It means quite a bit to me,” he said. “I’m proud of my children. I’m real happy they turned out to be the people they are.”

n Marianne’s sister, Nancy Marie Dries, was second to wear the gown, which sat in mothballs for more than 20 years. She wore it 1992, when she graduated from Beloit College with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.

“(The tradition) started with me, I guess,” she said. “I had seen (the gown) hanging around the house, and when I graduated, I thought, ‘Well, why not?’”

Nancy, 40, said it’s wonderful knowing her family shares more than simply the experience of graduation.

“It’s nice to have a family keepsake that has touched so many lives,” she said.

n Marianne was third to wear the gown—the first time she graduated from college.

She received a bachelor’s degree in special education from UW-Whitewater in 2000.

She landed at job at Marshall Middle School in Janesville, where she would be teaching cognitively disabled students. She wasn’t licensed for that, so she began taking classes to get the appropriate license.

“I thought if I needed to pick up a second license, I might as well be working toward my master’s degree,” she said.

n Marianne’s sister-in-law, Alenka (Kalabic) Dries, was fourth to wear the gown in 2003, when she graduated from Beloit College with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and modern languages and literatures.

Alenka, 30, is a native of Bosnia who came to the United States for college because she feared discrimination in post-war Yugoslavia.

She said she didn’t realize how special the family’s tradition was until she wore the gown.

“When I wore it, that’s when it clicked. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, we are all wearing it!’” she said. “It’s very special. At all the graduation parties, we show off the gown. It’s a big thing.”

n Marianne’s husband, William McGuire, was fifth to wear the gown in 2006, when he graduated from UW-Whitewater with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

William, 39, said it was an honor to wear the gown.

“Nobody in my family really had that honor (of graduating from college), so I was touched when they asked me to wear it,” he said.

Marianne on Saturday upped the ante: Not only was she the first person to wear the gown a second time, but she also was the first person to wear the gown to accept a master’s degree.

“It’s a major feeling of pride,” she said.

The family expects Marianne’s brother, Tony Dries, will wear the gown when he graduates with his bachelor’s degree someday.

And the tradition is likely to continue into a third generation.

The family is optimistic Marianne’s niece, Katarina, 4, will wear the gown when she graduates.

Of course, those who have worn it have joked that she will have to choose a school where the graduates wear plain black gowns.