From Nothing . . . They Heaved
. . . Hauled. . .
And Hoisted.
Battalion
Number 21: Volume 54
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1954
Price 5 Cents
World’sLargestBonfireBurnsTonight
A&M Will Try To Break Jinx
12 Play Last Game UT Builds Spirit
By JERRY WIZIG
Battalion Sports Editor
A&M’s Thin Thirty, short on ability but long - on heart,
tries Thursday to crack the oldest jinx in the Southwest con
ference.
For the 16th time in 30 years, the Aggies try to beat
the University of Texas in Austin’s Memorial stadium on
Thanksgiving Day. Nearest the Cadets have come to a vic
tory in the state capital since*
the stadium was built in 1924
was a 14-14 tie in 1948.
That ’48 team of Harry
Stiteler’s took the field with
nine straight defeats. This year’s
Aggies go into the game with a
1-8 record, but their 41-9 loss to
Texas Tech in the season opener
» was the only game in which the
Cadets looked bad.
A&M’s other seven losses have
* been by a total of 45 points. Three
of the five SWC defeats were by
a total of 11 points.
Twelve Cadet seniors play their
last college game Thursday and
five are listed as probable start
ers by Head Coach Paul Bryant.
For Big Game
Kachtik At Halfback
A&M’s probable starters are
Bennie Sinclair and Gene Stallings
at ends; Larry Winkler and Dee
Powell at tackles; Ray Barrett and
Dennis Goehring at guards; Herb
Wolf at center; Elwood Kettler at
quarterback; Don Kachtik and Joe
JSchero at halfbacks; Jack Pardee
at fullback.
Sinclair, Winkler, Barrett, Kach
tik and Schero are seniors. Others
are ends Billy McGowan and Paul
Kennon, guards Norb Ohlendorf,
Sid Theriot and Maiwin Tate, half
back Charlie Hall and fullback
Richard Vick.
Light Drill Today
The Cadet starters have a light
35 minute workout set for today
and will leave for Austin by bus
at 7 p.m. Wednesday.-
Yesterday the first stringers
worked for 40 minutes in a no
contact offense and defense drill.
Then they practiced extra points,
kicking and field goals. Saturday
morning the Aggies went through
a light drill in sweat clothes.
Bryant said of the Longhorn
g'ame, “It’s our 10th tough game
of the year; it’s just on a Thursday
instead of Saturday.”
Kettler, the Aggies’ much-im
proved man-under, lost his total
offense leadership over the week
end to Baylor’s Billy Hooper. Ket
tler has gained 852 yards rushing
and passing to 886 for Hooper.
Kachtik is A&M’s leading run
ner with 332 yards in 75 tries. Sin
clair has caught 18 passes for 233
yards, Schero 7 for 78.
A crowd of about 55,000 is ex
pected.
Construction
On Agenda
For Meeting
Next to talking about the
football game, receiving bids
for campus construction will
be the main order of business
when the A&M System board
of director's meets Wednesday in
Austin.
The meeting will be at 2 p.m.
in the Di’iskell hotel.
Job bids to be received include
remodeling Sbisa hall, remodeling
the Exchange store, air condition
ing the library, and construction at
the farm serwice center.
Contracts may be let on some of
these projects.
The board will also consider i’ec-
ommendations for increasing the
electrical power supply on the cam
pus.
The board will pass on the dis
tribution of Exchange store profits
for the last fiscal year. The pro
posed distribution is Memorial Stu
dent Center, $20,000; intramural
athletics, $1,000; and band, $2,900.
Also on the agenda are the usual
appointments and promotions, and
acceptance of gifts and grants.
The board meets in Austin every
time A&M plays Texas there.
The annual Turkey Day game
between A&M and the University
of Texas is a big thing for the
Texas students, too. They have
parades and bonfires and parties
just like the Aggies.
Or almost like the Aggies.
The University will have its big
pep rally and bonfire-buming Wed
nesday night at 7 at a park near
the campus.
Miss Shirley Strum, editor of the
Daily Texan, did not know how
big their bonfh'e is, but she said
there is n contest between all the
campus groups to see who can col
lect the most wood for the bonfire.
A contest is also sponsored for
the best ‘Beat A&M’ sign put up
by campus groups.
The Longhorns will have their
Orange and White automobile pa
rade Wednesday afternoon. The
decorated cars will go from the uni
versity through the down-town
area. A prize is given for best
car decorations.
During the half-time of the
game, the Longhorn band and a
200-voice chorus from two Austin
high schools will put on a program
in memory of the Texas war dead.
The chorus will sing the “Battle
Hymn of the Republic” while the
band forms a cross on the field.
The band will also honor Ed Olle
of the University athletic staff,
who had been with the school 25
years.
Texas has a few traditions too.
One of them will be observed if
they beat A&M Thui'sday—the tow
er will be orange from the bottom
up, instead of just the top part be
ing orange as it is when they win
other games.
The students there are also try
ing to usurp an A&M ti’adition.
According to Miss Strum, there is
now a petition circulating on the
campus to allow the students to
have an extra day’s holiday if Tex
as beats A&M.
The petition now has about 1,000
student names on it, but it has not
been presented to the administra
tion, she said.
More than 11,000 student tickets
for the game have been sold at the
univei’sity, but this is not a sell
out for them.
Miss Strum also said that no acts
of vandalism on their campus have
been reported.
Will We Get
A Holiday
If We Win?
One of A&M’s “traditions”
is that the students get a day’s
extension of the Thanksgiving
holidays if A&M beats Texas
in the annual Thanksgiving
day football g,ame.
Needless to £ay, this tradi
tion has not been used too
much in the last few years—
the last time was in 1951, when
A&M beat Texas, and M. T.
Harrington, then president,
announced that the next Mon
day would be a holiday.
President David H. Morgan
was asked yesterday if the
tradition would hold this year,
and all he said was “Let’s win
the game first.”
“I shall be prepared to make
a statement when we win the
game,” he said.
The catch is that the presi
dent can’t declare a holiday
without the approval of the
Executive committee. Legally
that is. ,
But the light in the presi
dent’s eyes seemed to indicate
that the tradition would be
good again, “when we win the
game.”
Biggest One Yet
Says ‘Pinky’ Downs
By BILL FULLERTON
Battalion News Editor
Blisters and aching muscles will be forgotten tonight
when the torch is set to what P. L. (Pinky) Downs calls “the
largest bonfire in the world.”
A&M’s annual University of Texas bonfire will be lit
at 7:30 tonight, said Howard Childers, head yell leader and
bonfire chief. The burning will be earlier than last year, to
allow students to study for tomorrow’s classes, he said.
“Everybody who worked on the bonfire did a wonder
ful job,” he added, “but, there are still logs to be put on and
we will work until 7:30 tonight to finish, if we have to.”
D. P. JRed) Dowling, head of log stacking, said that the
bonfire as of noon yesterday was larger than last year’s.
Guards will continue their*-
watch fight up to the time
Amendments Studied
By Civilian Council
Local Seal Drive
Now In Progress
The 1954 Brazos county tuber
culosis Christmas seal sale started
yesterday and will run through
Dec. 25.
Joe H. Sorrels, president of the
board of directors of the associa
tion, is also a member of the board
of directors of the Texas Tuber
culosis association. Miss Malcolm
Mclnnis is this year’s chairman
for Brazos county.
Letters containing the seals will
be handed out to students and are
to be returaed by mail. Each let
ter will contain two sheets of seals
at $1 per sheet although any
amount is appreciated by the as
sociation.
Address of the Brazos County
Tuberculosis association is Ma
sonic Building, Bryan.
Squadron 15 Wins
Best Sign Prize
Squadron 15 was awarded first
place for the best sign around the
drill field this year.
Second and third place awards
went to C field ai'tillery and squad
ron 17.
Cash awai’ds of $10, $5 and $1
for the first three places were do
nated by Eugene Rush, local insur
ance man.
The winners of the dormitoi’y
signs for the Texas game were C
field artillery, A ordnance and A
signal corps; first second and third,
respectively.
Two amendments to the Civilian
Student Council’s letter of intent
were discussed at the group’s
meeting last night.
One amendment would limit un
excused absences of council mem
bers to two each semester. Any
councilman violating this rule
would be removed both from his
position on the council as a dorm
itory representative and also as a
floor representative in the dormi
tory. The amendment was refer
red to a committee.
Another amendment proposed
would include a civilian member
of the Battalion staff on the coun-
MSC Will Hold
Auction Tonight
The Memorial Student Center
will hold an auction from 7:30 to
8 tonight of all articles left
rooms.
Articles wull be sold to the high
est bidder, but may be claimed be
fore the auction in room 2A.
Ags To Win
Says Batt Staff
Sports Editor Jerry Wizig
tossed up the coin and former
sports editor Bob Boriskie called
it right, so the Aggies will down
the Longhorns Thursday for the
first time in Austin’s Memorial
stadium.
Wizig, whose percentage of ac
curacy on his weekly predictions
is between 20 and 60, predicted a
score of 20-17.
(Sports Shorts, with predic
tions on Saturday’s games, will
appear in the Thursday paper.)
cil as a voting representative. This
amendment was also referred to
a committee.
The council also voted in favor
of asking the colonel of the corps
to appoint one man from his staff
to sit with the council as an ex-
officio member.
In other action, the group voted
against discussing any further the
civilian discipline at college func
tions. The council’s action was in
accordance with the report of a
committee appointed earlier to
study the matter.
Lolan Pullen, Aggieland co-edi
tor, told the council that he would
‘like to include more civilian ac
tivities in the yearbook.” A civil
ian section is being considered, he
said.
John Cozad reported that a large
majority of civilian students polled
indicated they would be in favor
of having a dance for civilian stu
dents. A committee was asked to
study the matter further.
Weather Today
Forecast for today is clear with
an expected cold front.
Yesterday’s high was 62, low
35. The temperature at 11 this
morning was 59.
that the senior yell leaders,
Bob Carpenter, Frank Davis
and Childers, apply the torch
es to the ciude oil and kerosene
soaked logs.
The armor units will apply the
oil and kerosene. This job is un
der the direction of Ted Richey.
The oiling will start about 5 p.m.
today.
Speakers for the bonfire cere
monies are Downs, senior football
players, and the yell leaders. The
speaking stand will be the bed of
a truck parked in the southeast
corner of the drill field.
10,000 Expected
“I expect at least 10,000 persons
will be watching,” said Childers.
Cutting site for this year’s bon
fire was donated by Dr. W. E.
Street, head of the engineering
drawing department. Trucks were
borrowed and students pitched in
to cut and haul logs. The 73-feet
tall center pole was donated by
Dr. Spencer Buchanan of the civil
engineering department.
Although “hundreds” of stu
dents suffered cuts and bruises,
only one boy was hui't bad enough
to be hospitalized, reported hos
pital authorities.
The weather for the work on the
bonfire has been excellent with
just enough coolness to keep stu
dents from getting too hot. Cut
ting was finished this past week
end and the logs hauled to the
bonfire area.
Two Units Punished
Two units, the band and squad
ron 12, were punished for steal
ing commercial signs to put up
around the drill field. They had
to pay for and replace the signs
and .were not allowed to put an
other sign up on the field this
year.
Fire trucks from the city will be
standing by in case the fire should
get out of hand. It will be allow
ed to burn and then will be cleared
aw'ay by the Building and College
Utilities department, said Child-
Corps Parade
Set Thursday
For Austin
The A&M corps of cadets
will parade for the city of
Austin Thursday.
The biennial Austin corps
trip parade will begin at 10
a.m., and move out down Congi'ess
street to the state capitol.
Units will begin foiming for the
parade at 9 a.m. on East 2nd
Street, from Congress to Red Riv
er.
Uniform will be Class A winter,
with blouse, green cap, and white
gloves. Sabers and boots will be
worn.
The reviewing stand for the
graded parade will be in front of
the Austin hotel.
Order of march for the parade
will be corps staff, band, first
regiment, second regiment, first
wing, second wing.
The 240-man A&M band will also
perform during the 2 p.m. game’s
half time with a longer than usual
show.
The band will use the serpentine
entrance used at the SMU game,
moving up the field and bi-eaking
into two units, with the units then
crossing .each other.
They will also spell out ‘Long
horns’ and ‘Texas Aggies.’ The
band will form the ‘T’ and do a
minstrel turn off the field from
the ‘T’ to end-the performance.
Other Aggie activity in Austin
for the corps trip will include the
Austin A&M Mothers club dance
in the City coliseum Wednesday
night, and many private parties.
A&M To Be On TV
Humble Oil Company’s “Texas
in Review’” television program will
feature A&M tonight. The show
will have films taken at the Fall
Military Day corps review Nov. 6.
Fifteen stations will carry the pro
gram.