THE BATTALION Page 7
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1980
Artillery piece may re-enter Texas A&M history
Found in a ravine, 1902 cannon only lacking wheels to be ready for combat again
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By MARCY BOYCE
Battalion Staff
About six years ago, while cutting
wood for bonfire. Corps of Cadets
freshmen discovered a 1902 cannon
believed to be a part of Texas A&M
University history.
Because of the efforts of Parsons’
Mounted Cavalry and John Gunter,
a former cadet from the class of ’78,
all but the wheels of the cannon have
been restored to top-notch condi
tion. The project cost about $2,000.
Gunter, who spent some of his
summer working on the cannon in
Muleshoe, traveled to Maryland and
Ohio scrounging up parts for the can
non and harnesses and saddles for
the six-horse-drawn cart that carries
it, said Pete Normand, a former
cadet from the class of ’71.
Until Gunter began working, in
stead of being used in parades,
march-ins and at football games like
he had hoped, the 1902 field artillery
piece gathered dust in an old ware
house near campus for the past sev
eral years.
Normand is a self-proclaimed “his
tory nut” who has been researching
the recovered cannon. And it was his
letter to Corps Commander Ken
Cross two weeks ago that rekindled
an interest to make the cannon func
tional.
“The only thing holding us back is
the wheels,” said Tom Wilson,
Corps personnel officer.
Wilson is in charge of a door-
knocking campaign this week to col
lect donations for new wheels esti
mated to cost $3,000.
The wheels have a metal hub that
will have to be machined specifically
to fit the cannon’s metal axle, Nor
mand said, explaining the high esti
mate.
“Our goal is to get it ready to go for
the t.u. march-in and the parade in
downtown Austin,” Wilson said.
Normand said a search for some
one who could make the 54-inch can
non wheels ended with a gunsmith in
Oklahoma City who makes the
coaches for a beer brewer’s commer
cials.
Wilson said the gunsmith eagerly
accepted the job. A former student of
Oklahoma University that still fos
ters a rivalry with the University of
Texas, the gunsmith promised to try
to have the cannon ready for the
Aggie-Longhorn game Nov. 29.
Coincidentally, Wilson said, the
model year of the cannon was also
the first year Texas A&M beat UT.
There has been some talk about nam
ing the cannon “The Spirit of ’02,”
but Wilson said he would rather stu
dents have a voice in naming it.
“This is the perfect chance for
everyone in the student body to real
ly pull together on a project. This is a
University-wide project, hopefully
not just the Corps,” he said.
However, before the cannon can
be shipped, Wilson said he and his
committee must raise at least a
$1,000 deposit.
“The student body should be able
to raise at least the $1,000 so we can
go ahead and ship it, and then hope
fully the alums can help us pay the
remainder,” Wilson said. He noted
former students have already put
several thousand dollars and a lot of
time into the cannon’s restoration.
Tales surrounding the cannon and
how it got into a ravine by Easter-
wood Airport are numerous. One
tale claims it was among a dozen or so
cannons distributed to Texas A&M
College before World War I as part
of an intensive ROTC program.
Other rumors contend it was one
of the pieces of artillery used in the
filming of “We’ve Never Been Lick
ed,” a movie about Texas A&M Col
lege in the 1940s.
“They (the Corps) might have had
as few as three cannons, so you can
bet this cannon was one of the
three,” he said. “And if it wasn’t, it’s
identical to the ones used (in the
film),” he said.
“No one really knows the truth,
though.”
Parsons’ Mounted Cavalry, with the help of
former students, have almost finished rebuild
ing this 1902 cannon. The gun needs new
Staff photo by Pat O’Malley
wheels and metal strips around the wheels to
be ready to roll. Since its discovery six years
ago, the gun has collected dust until now.
ak
Extensions of
streets proposed
part-time bailiffs that were hired by
district judges, Tom McDonald and
Bradley Smith.
On the agenda under other busi
ness, tax assessor Buddy Winn
announced that only 500 voter reg
istrations without a permanent
address remained. Without a perma
nent address, Texas A&M students
may not vote in Brazos County be
cause their voting precinct will not
be known.
Last week, there were 1,500
Aggies who had given their post
office box or their parents’ address
instead of their residence in Bryan or
College Station.
•; Many students have gone to the
jAlso at a later date, the commis* fax office to correctly fill out the voter
Sioners will have to amend their registrations and the tax office has
budget for the payment of two new contacted the rest.
ommittee ! B y STARR MOORE
travel in™ Battalion Reporter
lay at 7 p.i| The city planners of Bryan and
College Station presented an arterial
lard Stevireet plan to the Brazos County
spentMCommissioners Court Monday
and easififfioming.
The long-range plan will allow ma-
ill includi jor streets like Southwest Parkway
and Welch Street to be extended out
to the rural areas.
j Commissioner Bill Cooley said
this is a needed plan because the
county has to have arrangements for
future expansion.
The commissioners court will
Iprove the arterial plan within 30
lys.
Testimony
continues in
assault trial
The trial of 35-year-old Connie
Vaught, who is charged with aggra
vated assault, continues today.
Vaught gave her fifth child up for
adoption and was told she could not
have the name of the adoptive pa
rents.
When it was refused, the state
claims, she fired three rounds into
the welfare office before locking her
self in one of the rooms.
Vaught entered a plea of inno
cence by reason of insanity before an
11-woman, one-man jury.
17liifBORNE’
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