Meet the ‘boom’ that sounds after CMU scores

It’s easy to tell when Central Michigan University’s football team scores during home football games across much of Mount Pleasant. There’s a familiar boom that almost reaches downtown.

The boom is courtesy of a piece of artillery called Genny’s Own that is crewed by CMU’s Reserve Officer Training Corps battalion – the Chippewa Battalion – and named after a woman who left a legacy of service taking care of the battalion’s cadets.

"Genny's Own is a part of CMU and the Mount Pleasant community, a symbol of pride for the football team and its' military heritage," said Lt. Col. Ryan Greening, chairman of the Department of Military Science & Leadership.

Genny’s Own was named for Genevieve Swindlehurst, ROTC’s long-time administrative technician who retired after a 42-year career at CMU in 1995.

To honor her service to the program, the battalion’s cannon was named Genny’s Own in 1996, the same year ROTC received the gun as a gift, according to documents supplied by CMU’s ROTC unit.

Swindlehurst was also later inducted into ROTC’s Hall of Fame, and Genny’s Own was also adopted by the Chippewa Battalion as its unofficial motto.

Genny’s Own is a 75mm pack howitzer, a piece of light artillery that is easily transported into difficult terrain. These kinds of guns saw extensive service in World War II.

The Cannon Club, a club within the battalion, crews Genny’s Own during home football games, where it fires each time CMU scores. It is also used during events like the United Way campaign kickoff, Homecoming, MainStage and during the Veterans Day celebration.

It most recently made an appearance on the Golf Channel during the 3rd Annual Folds of Honor Collegiate golf tournament.

Genny’s Own is so intertwined with CMU football that it was incorporated into the EA Sports College Football 25 video game, said Major Nicholas Andrychowski, executive officer of The Chippewa Battalion.

The tradition of firing a cannon after a CMU score didn’t start with Genny’s Own.

CMU’s first cannon was built – handcrafted – in 1952 out of a telephone and two spoked wheels by Reuel Cole and George Depuy, according to a 1974 Central Michigan Life article. Cole graduated from CMU in 1932 and owned a local store. Depuy taught industrial arts at CMU.

Ted Kjolhede, CMU’s athletics director from 1971 to 1984, recalled in a 1992 CM Life story that debris from a misfire once landed on top of a concession truck at the football field when it was behind Finch Fieldhouse. 

ROTC took over firing the cannon after the incident, starting the tradition that is behind the game-day "booms" audible over much of Mount Pleasant.