(L to R) Don, Dale and Dean Knox by Prairie Portraits (L to R) Arnie, Gigi (Sorenson) and Rich Owen by Owens (L to R) Jared, Broch and Aaron Hedegoard Togetherness on campus: Triplets choosing MSU then and now by Brenda McDonald History was made this fall at Montana State University when a set of triplets from Sidney won the prestigious Presidential Scholarship, the top academic scholarship for incoming freshmen. Aaron, Brock and Jared Hedegaard each won a renewable tuition waiver plus a $2,000 annual scholarship. This year Presidential Scholarships were given to 13 of Montana's top graduating high school seniors. But they aren't the first set of triplets to attend MSU. There have been at least two other sets. After 18 years of togetherness one would think triplets would be eager to move on, to be known as individuals, to forge separate identities. Not necessarily so. For the Knox triplets (Dean, '62 ElEd, Don, EX '53, and Dale, EX '53), and the Owen triplets (Arnie, '77 AgBus, Rich, '82 AgProd, and Gigi, EX '76, (Owen) Sorensen) college included each other. The choice to attend MSU together was an easy one for the Knox brothers, the oldest set of triplets to attend MSU. They wanted a free education. A family friend told their mother that he thought there was a Montana law that granted a free college education to children of multiple births. The Knox family, who lived on a ranch outside of Lewistown, inquired. Although Montana State College wasn't familiar with the law, it waived incidentals and the registration fee for the brothers. They enrolled as a threesome in the fall of 1953. When the Knox brothers arrived on campus they were already accustomed to the spotlight. "We were the first surviving triplets in our community when we were born in 1935," recalls Dean. "People would show up at our farm any time of the day or night to see the triplets." They came to MSC on a wave of publicity with a big spread in the Great Falls Tribune from October of 1953 headlined, "Triplet Boys Enroll in MSC." Plus, they dressed alike, continuing a habit from their earliest years together. "We were mistaken for one another quite a bit that first year," Dean said. The triplets stayed together just for that first year at MSC. After that, Dale and Dean dropped out to enlist in the Army. Don continued on for a time and later dropped out. Dean went back to MSC and received his degree in elementary education. Dean now lives in Portland, Ore,. and is a retired school teacher. Dale lives in Las Vegas where he works as a dealer in a casino. Don is a Christmas tree farmer and still lives outside of Lewistown. The road to MSU for the Owen triplets wasn't quite a straight one. Identical siblings Arnie and Rich said the decision to attend MSU was a practical one. Their grandfather had homesteaded the Geraldine farm in the early teens. "Rich and I knew we'd go back to the farm," said Arnie. "We wanted to take it over. Montana State was a good ag school." Sister Gigi (Marjorie) originally followed her older sisters to Eastern Montana College in Billings. But a fateful introduction to Arnie's roommate Neal Sorensen, '77 Premed, sealed the deal for a transfer to MSU. The Owen triplets were the first set to survive in Great Falls when they were born in 1954. Their unique triple twist was the addition of sister Gigi. Her initial contribution to the trio was as a foil. "We used to blame everything on her," Arnie and Rich both admitted. But that relationship evolved as they grew up. Gigi gave them the women's perspective on dealing with girls, and the boys would watch out for her. "My brothers would try to tell me who to date and what to wear," said Gigi. "It was nice to have their perspective and protection." Given that the Owen triplets were two boys and a girl, most people on campus didn't know they were triplets, with the exception of their membership in the "Flying Bobcats." Both boys were on that precision flying team, and sister Gigi would often attend meets. Arnie married fellow Bobcat Kendra (Eagle), '79 Spcm, a sorority sister of Gigi's. They live in Great Falls where he has a custom cabinet company. Rich was only able to attend winter quarters while he worked the family farm, so he took five extra years to graduate. He remains on the farm in Geraldine with his wife Chris. She attended MSU her first year of college. Gigi and Neal live in Billings where they are major MSU fans, right down to the message on their answering machine, "Leave your Bobcat message." The Hedegaard triplets originally planned to attend three different universities, but the combination of the quality of the engineering education at MSU and the MSU Presidential Scholarship allowed them to abandon those plans and stay in their home state. The current 12,000-student MSU campus gives the Hedegaard triplets plenty of room for anonymity if they choose. But for now, they choose to continue as they always have, as "the triplets." They have just one class together, honors chemistry. They've settled into college life with Aaron, a chemical engineering major, joining a clarinet trio, and Brock, a civil engineering major, playing the trumpet in the Jazz band. Jared, a computer science major, played intramural soccer and tennis over the fall. They opted to room together in the home-like Quads, that house MSU students in the honors program. "In the quads you get to know the people really well; it's not impersonal," said Aaron. "We wanted to stick together. We're kind of best friends."