The Coca-Cola Room...is Gone

Cory Neumiller assists Susan Beehler in finding her items that she bought during the online auction on June 15, 2026.

On June 15, an iconic room within the Bismarck State College Armory was the site of an online auction. This room was LaMont’s Pit Stop, or better known as the Coca-Cola Room.

This nostalgic room featured 50s-style Coca-Cola merchandise, a checkered floor, and Coca-Cola themed booths and tables. During the school year it served as a concessions area for Mystics Athletics games in the Armory, as well as a study space for athletes catching up on homework. The space would open up to students in the Armory to collaborate on assignments. More often though, the space was closed.

The assortment of Coca-Cola themed items were auctioned off by Neumiller Auctioneers, an auction house based in Washburn N.D. BSC Alumnus Cory Neumiller helped buyers find their items on June 16 during the auction pick up day, drawing in a small crowd that filled the decorated room.

BSC Alumna Susan Beehler came over from Mandan to recieve her items. Beehler was interested in the 50s style decor, because it would add to her Airbnb in Mandan, which is a 50s style home called “The Bee Hive.” While she was an early visitor to the auction, more people gathered to purchase items. The next day the room was stripped bare, leaving a lonely checkered floor, a few Coca-Cola designed electrical outlets, and a plaque dedicated to Ken LaMont.

And that was where the room had started—with Ken LaMont. LaMont was a previous Associate Professor of Hospitality Restaurant Management at BSC, and his program took place in the Coca-Cola Room. The plaque for LaMont describes his support and generosity toward BSC students and the Mystics athletics department. The plaque still rests on the wall beside the concessions stand, a reminder of a past professor’s impact on his community. But LaMont was not the reason for the Coca-Cola memorabilia; rather, previous BSC Athletic Director Buster Gillis had signed a contract with Coca-Cola to decorate LaMont’s Pit Stop. After a year and a half of collecting Coca-Cola items, Gillis deemed the place ready to be open for concessions.

Now, the Coca-Cola room will become a classroom in the upcoming semester for exercise science students studying in the Armory. It is still the same room minus the colorful memorabilia.

While the Coca-Cola Room is gone, memories of the place will continue to live on through the students, faculty, and staff who once called BSC home.