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Nov. 3, 1994 — Bonfire burns earlier than usual because we didn't
playtu on Thanksgiving day, because of NCAA sanctions barring A&M
from tv coverage.
Bonfire fell down on October 26. The stack shifted because of the rain-
soaked ground, and the Red Pots decided to rebuild it from scratch.
Student participation increased and Bonfire was rebuilt in seven days.
Images of the construction of Bonfire and its burning was available on
Internet throught the World Wide Web.
100 members of the Class of '64 attended Bonfire in memory of the '63
Bonfire that was canceled because of President Kennedy's assassination.
1992 — Bonfire moved from Duncan Field to polo fields, so they
would be farther from university buildings and neighborhoods.
A 9- by 12-foot "Jumbo-Tron" television screen, funded by Pepsi,
was placed on bonfire field to show yell practice, Bonfire and season
game highlights.
1991 — Replant occured for the first time. In an effort to contribute
back to the environment, students planted 365 trees at a mining site in
Carlos, about 30 miles outside College Station.
1990— A new statement added to the University's official bonfire
policy, stating that "Trees for the Bonfire will be cut only if a cut site is
available which was already scheduled for clearing. If no site is
available in a given year, no bonfire will be built."
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A yellow ribbon was tied around the
third stack in honor of soldiers
serving in Saudi Araabia
1981 — A&M student Wiley Keith
lopling died after he fell under the
wheels of a tractor while working on
Bonfire.
1969 — Bonfire reached 109 feet,
10 inches tall, and it is set a world
record as being the largest bonfire
ever in the United States. Now
bonfire is limited to 55 feet.
1963 — Bonfire was not finished
and was not burned because of the
assasination of President Kennedy.
1958 Bonfire collapsed for the first time because of rain. It was
rebuilt in two days and burned on schedule. A "student holiday" was
called, and classes were dismissed so students could rebuild it.
1955 — Bonfire, previously held on Simpson Drill field, was moved to
the field behind Duncan Dining Hall.
1954— Bonfire reached 73 feet.
1949 — Bonfire reached 65 feet.
1947 — A 50-foot centerpole
made of two logs strapped
together was raised to support
the stacks.
1946 — The first log centerpole
was used.
1946
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1936 — The first year Bonfire was regulated by the Corps
Commandant. This was the first year Bonfire was considered "legal." It
8y 1920 — Having Bonfire
before the University of Texas
game became a tradition.
1909 — The first Bonfire was
a pile of trash thrown
together for November and
December varsity games.
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Battalion file photo
Last year's stack collapsed due to shifting soil caused by heavy rains.
By Michael Landauer
The Battalion
A lthough he admits it may not be true,
Dr. Bill Kibler said his favorite Bon
fire story is about University of
Texas students flying in planes over Bon
fire in attempts to light it in the 1950s.
They never succeeded, and Kibler says they
never could because it takes hours of
preparation to get stack ready to bum.
“We’re not going to stand around while
they pump 300 gallons of fuel on the thing
in order to light it,” Kibler, a former Bon
fire adviser, said.
Bonfire will light up the Polo Fields
tonight, the 85th time Aggies have burned
a bonfire to show their “desire to beat the
hell outta t.u.”
After unusual Bonfires in the last two
years — stack fell last year, and redpots had
trouble lighting 1993’s bonfire — this year’s
bonfire has not had any major problems,
Kevin Jackson, Bonfire adviser, said.
“I think we’ve got some positive mo
mentum taking us into the night of the
event,” he said.
Part of this momentum comes from the
progression of Bonfire’s image as an event
that unites the campus.
“That transition is starting to be made
and it’s being made because our student
leadership is reaching out,” he said. “It’s go
ing to take a while to gain momentum, but
we have taken a decisive step forward.”
One way Bonfire has changed is in the
way the students are involved. Redpots,
who have traditionally been in charge of
building Bonfire, now have the responsibili
ty to head up committees that deal with all
aspects of the event.
“It’s a partnership with students,” he
said. “We want students to assume the
highest level of responsibility as they can.”
Jackson said the students have been
able to handled the added responsibility.
Carl Baggett, head stack, has done espe
cially well in creating a new leadership role
on campus, he said. As the person at the
top of the Bonfire hierarchy, Baggett has
put himself on a level with the student
body president, MSC president and other
campus leaders, he said.
“People might shoot me for saying this,
but I think you have to contemplate
adding head stack into that dimension,”
Jackson said.
Baggett said his job will pay off when he
sees old Aggies come back today to witness
Bonfire. But his mind will be focused on
the details.
Dress logs, the largest logs that have
been carved on by residence halls and
Corps companies, are the last logs to be
added to first stack. Redpots will build the
last two stacks this afternoon, cut off the
excess center pole and then add the out
house on the top.
Then, a trough will be dug by a bulldoz
er around stack and filled with water. A
truck will spray the stack with about 300
gallons of diesel-like fuel, and redpots will
attach targets to the bottom of stack. Tar
gets are bed sheets doused with gasoline
that are the first things redpots light with
their torches.
With all this on Baggett’s schedule today,
he said one thought will be going through
his mind as he watches Bonfire bum.
“I just feel real lucky,” he said.
Baggett said he is happy to be part of
Bonfire history — especially after being in
volved with last year’s Bonfire.
“I think 20 years from now, that will be
the Bonfire talked about,” he said.
The stack they will be talking about col
lapsed due to bad weather and shifty soil.
But after one night’s work, stack had been
completely dismantled and logs were neat
ly stacked awaiting a new center pole. The
stack was rebuilt with time to spare, but
Kibler said the legacy of the crisis was an
increased student interest in Bonfire.
“The reality was that you had hundreds,
maybe thousands, that went out and
helped when they might have never
worked on it otherwise,” he said.
Baggett said the enthusiasm carried
over into this year’s cut season.
“We had 3,200 at first cut, and that’s
about 1,000 more than usual cuts,” he said.
“That’s just unheard of.”
The increased participation has made
things run smoothly this year, Baggett
said. Apparently, this year’s bonfire will be
free from interference by unstable soil, wet
logs and even surprise air attack.
“We’re gonna bum it; it’s gonna light;
it’s gonna fall,” he said. “And we’re going to
beat t.u.”
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Bonfire was almost done as of 3:00 p.m. after Elephant Walk. Today, the extra logs will be cleared from the site, the last two stacks will be built
by redpots, and the outhouse will be added to the top of stack.
Redpots keep Bonfire on I Bonfire evolves to
track after unstable year more sober affair
7 By Michael Landauer
The Battalion
Bonfire may have started as a pile of trash,
but it has evolved into the largest Bonfire of its
kind in the world.
But bigger does not always mean better. As
Bonfire grew in the early years, farmers started
complaining of missing outhouses, and lumber
was borrowed from campus construction sites.
To end such practices, the Corps officially
took over Bonfire, and the tradition made
strides toward credibility.
Modem problems have been different. Dr.
Bill Kibler, a former adviser for Bonfire, said
that alcohol, hazing and safety are all issues
that Bonfire workers have had to face over the
years. He said Bonfire just 10 years ago was a
very different event from what it is today,
“It was certainly something 1 never would
have taken my children to,” Kibler said. “We
had a lot of adults who just stayed away be
cause they were disgusted by the behavior.”
As recently as 1990, a group called Aggies
Against Bonfire organized protest at Bonfire
the night it burned.
Amy Williams, coordinator of the Bonfire Al
cohol Awareness committee, said students
found ways to improve Bonfire to make people
less opposed to the tradition.
“I think eventually, if Bonfire had continued
to get more violent and more destructive, the
community would not have accepted it,” she
said. “However, the community has supported
us fully in raising alcohol awareness."
The committee does not promote abs tinence,
but rather urges students to wait until after
Bonfire to drink and to drink responsibly,
“What prompted this is that there was a sig
nificant number of MlPs (Minor in Possession)
Pis (Public Intoxication) and DWls (Driving
While Intoxicated) and the community was
starting to become a little bit intolerant of the
Bonfire tradition,” she said. “Our program was
the way we could tell the community, Hey look,
we can change Bonfire for the better and make it
something the community can all take part in.’”
University police have reported decreasing
numbers of alcohol-related incidents in t he past
three years, but Williams said the committee
has another way to measure success.
“The community is excited about the tradi
tion and want to bring their children,” she said.
“I think that’s our greatest accomplishment.”
Williams said some students believe that
drinking is part of the tradition but that those
people are missing the point of Bonfire.
“People like that need to consider the fresh
men and the community members who are en
joying Bonfire cor the first time and he sure not
to ruin Bonfire for others,” she said. “In that as
pect, I think it’s a matter of respect.”
Although it was the Corps commandant who
instigated change in Bonfire’s early years,
these changes are being brought forward by
students. In fact, the chairman of the Bonfire
Alcohol Awareness Committee is a redpot.
“Our committee is a student committee,”
Williams said. "If the students didn’t want it,
the committee wouldn’t be working.”
Because of all that it involves, Kibler said
that people from other schools wonder why the
University allows Bonfire, fie said they often
ask, “Why in the world would you take on such
a tiling?’
“The answer is that we don’t,” he said. “The
students do.”