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Home My WebLink About1966 Bonfire Bonanza BookletCwIZK QRr nwmrSITYON Soc Ia AEnco H Y D R AU LIC A L U M INU M CRANES PRODUCTS ALBRITTOfI Ef1GIf1EERIf1G CORPORATIOII PO BOX 3309 BRYAfITEXAS 77801 713 8220121 THE AGGIE BONFIRE FLAMING SYMBOL OF AGGIE SPIRIT FLAMIAtGRFAT OLFAGGIE DESI1 HELL QT By TOMMY DeFRANK He was given a radio and told to guard the ravine below the Presidentshome He crawled around the area making his patrols and then camouflaged himself and waited for trouble that never came Iknow he was out there re called astacking area boss be cause he called in every halfhour But he hid himself so well I couldntfind him when I went out to relieve him It takes an element of danger like the carloads of Teasips who attempted to unload bound fra ternity pledges in the Bonfire area Or like the Aggies whose lunch was interrupted by a threefoot copperhead One pinned the rep tile to the side of a bank while The Aggie Bonfiresymbolic of the love Aggies have for their school and the burning desire to beat the livin hell outs TU The Aggie Bonfirecross be tween acounty fair Army field maneuver and a major disaster area right after the disaster The Aggie Bonfiremassive flaming testimonial to frayed nerves aching muscles lost sleep roundtheclock operations fan tastic coordination and sheer raw guts What does it take to build the largest Bonfire in the world It takes personalitieslike the graduate student a giant of an exMarine who volunteered for service Sunday night i Qoi I f a 1111 r 4 vw and a Little Goldbrickin TooITakesaHeapOWork out realizing the unbelievable work that has gone into it Few spectators appreciate the five days of cutting loading stacking and guarding that pre cede the blaze But to the Aggies wha have endured cold meals blisters push up sessions 16hour or longer days 1 amguard details and the likethe prefire work is pain fully but proudly alive The Bonfire of today has come a long way since the first one a 12foot trashpile built in 1909 Unlike other college bonfires it has grown from its original proportions to heights usually averaging 80 feet So too have the headaches and preparations necessary to build it But the end result has always remained the sameahuge com pilation of logs that eternally re mains a source of pride for all those who have ever worked on one J 11VlS RAMADA INN 9AABE8 SHOP MENS HAIR STYLING CONTOUR RAZOR CUT eMasterColg DESIGNED FOR AND OFFERED ONLY TO COLLEGE MEN For fu I I information ca I I 8468228 FIDELITY UNION LIFE INS CO TEASIPS UNSUCCESSFUL Mischievous Longhorns have attempted to burn the Bonfire pematurely several times but even the cleverest of schemes have failed The wildest attempt at sabo tage came the year TU students dropped a fire bomb from alow flying airplane Unfortunately for the students the b o m b missed and alert Ags caught the planes serial number as it buzz ed overhead The wouldbe sabo teurs were turned in and prompt ly expelled Another bomb missed its mark in 1956 when two Teasips at I tempted to explode the Bonfire with a detonator device installed in their car The explosives were buried many feet from the stack and the ensuing explosion des troyed nothing more than a few weeds and the not too ingenious Sips pride AM students have outsmart ed their pals from Austin several times by prelighting the Teasip homecoming bonfire Texas us ually wins the football games but devoted Aggies manageF to dominate the pregame hocus pocus IVESKETCUED AN IDEA FoR A MODIFICATIOAI Otl NEXT YfARs BONFIRE ITLL TAKE THREE MORE DAYS To BUILDBUTITLLBEMcxlMOREIMP2SSIVF An Ax Will Do But a Power Saw is Even Better t W Y v t re9 m i A Strenuous Trek Through the Woods i 1 s 1 1 t Axes to be Sharpened And Trucks to be Loaded e a i e t SOIFIFiE HAS RFVzTAGC P Dating back to 1909 Aggie Bonfires have traditionally been AMsway of welcoming return ing exes and crowning the Spir it of Aggieland The standard theme of all AM Bonfires has been Beat the hell out of TU As Aggieland has grown so have its Bonfires The height of AMs flaming symbol has more than tripled since the 25 foot log Bonfire of 1942 Prior to that date Bonfires had been construct ed of old boxes and scrap lumber Industrious Aggies added a center pole in 1945 and the fol lowing year two poles were spliced together for a much tall er fire The fall of 1949 gave AM the claim to the worlds largest bonfire as the center pole stretched to a then seeming ly impossible 85 feet A need for a greater area forced the Bonfire to be moved from the center of the drill field in 1955 to its present location near Navasota parking lot Over the years all Bonfires have guaranteed at least three things blood sweat and blisters Hospital officials find tran quilizers almost necessary as great masses of unfortunate Bon fire builders come trickling into their offices each year reporting severe lacerations from axes splinters in the most embarrass ing places plus numerous cases of poison ivy Due to a great many injuries suffered from the 1955 Bonfire the 1956 Bonfire workers wore signs on the backs of their jack ets reading Safety First Tragedy struck the Bonfire in 1955 when James E Sarran an AM sophomore died by push ing two buddies to safety as he was crushed between a car and truck The car went out of con trol and crashed into the stu dents guard past In 1963 the Bonfire was cancel ed in honor of the slain President John F Kennedy TaE 5TAC81N IREA B 4b 7 4 r a C1i a4b UNIVERSITY BOOK STORE OPPOSITE THE NORTH GATE RMD IHNS COLLEGE STATION TEXAS Banquet Fac i I ities for 8 ho 800 r et ffi R del aatilfy a e F ENJOY QUALITY FOOD AND THE TRADITIONAL FRIENDLY AGGIE ATMOSPHERE AT COACH NORTONS COMPLETE VIEW OF THE BONFIRE ACTIVITIES JUST ACROSS THE HIGHWAY NEAR THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO TEXAS A8M JOIN US BEFORE DURING OR AFTER THE BONFIRE OR ANYTIME t T98 LEST CORPS TAtF It was Judgement Day in Aggieland And tenseness f i I I ed the air All knew there was a trip at hand But not a soul knew where Why sir thats the Cadet Corps Thats known both far and wide For backing up their fighting team Whether they won or lost or tied Assembled on the drill field Well then said St Peter Was the worldrenowned Twelfth Man Its very plain to me The entire fighting Aggie team That within the realms of Heaven And the famous Aggie band They should spend eternity And out in front with Royal Guard The reviewing party stood St Peter and his angel staff Were choosing bad from good And have the Texas Aggie band At once begin to play For their fates too we must decide Upon this crucial day First he surveyed the Aggie team And in terms of an angel swore By Jove I do believe Ive seen This gallant group before And the drum major so hearing Slowly raised his hand And said Boys lets play the Spirit For the last time in Aggieland Ive seen them play since way back when And the band poured forth the anthem And theyve always had the grit In notes both bright and clearIveseenemloseandIveseenemwinAndtenthousandAggievoices But Ive never seen em quit Sang the song they hold so dear No need for us to tarry here And when the band had finishedDecidingupontheirfatesStPeterwipedhiseyesTisasplainasthehaloonmyheadAndsaidItsnotsohardtosee That theyve opened Heavens gates Theyre meant for Paradise And when the Twelfth Man heard this They let out a mighty yellThatechoedcleartoHeaven And shook the gates of Hell And what group is this upon the side St Peter asked his aide That swelled as if to burst with prideWhenweourjudgementmade And the colonel of the Cadet Corps said As he stiffly took his stand Its just another Corps Trip boys Wellmarch in behind the band t oslar TOWNSHIRE SHOPPING CENTER BRYAN TEXAS r eta 1 4t t IateVAfir d s 9 mxOn t j37 e 1 Ijulipp r a y 4 an fi X e m fie ew iVv eiiM r THE THINKING MAN S STORE The Exchange Store Serving Texas Aggies Since 1907 Our Highy Skiedand nteigent PersonneareEageryWoiting to Serve You A WORD FROM ALPHA DELTA SIGMA Gosh folks VTe had a bushel of fun puttin this here Bonfire Bonanza together for you Were plumb proud of all our high falutin advertisers who knew a good thing when they saw it and placed ads in these pages And were really pleased that you good Aggies Tsips and homefolk saw fit to turn loose of fifty cents for our little publication If theresanything left after payin off our country cousins at A M Press the money will be spent to further the role of advertising instruction at Aggieland and for worthwhile activities for members of ADS national advertising fraternity for men Kelly Parker President Bonfire Bonanza was compiled in the southwest corner of the advertis ing lab Journalism Department Basement of Nagle Hall Hieroglyphics Jim Raatz Photography Herky Killingsworth and a slew of others Stories Plagiarized from The Battalion Be tuckin a few coins away to buy next years Bonfire Bonanza University NATIONAL BANK A HOME OWNED E1LIAGGIE BANH SERVING THE COLLEGE STATION AREA On the Side of Texas AM at the North Gate 1 P 9 R K CLEANERS CLEANING PRESSING ALTERATIOlS SOUTH SIDE 8465021 HIGHLANDER CENTER WASHATERIA Self Service Dry Cleaning Redmond Terrace r c r0 000good Aggies To Shop At LOUPOT STRADING POST 1 p o YOU LLGET A LOU LOUOF A DEAL EVERY TIME AT LOUPOT Se a oo