Any of you old-timers remember the '68 bonfire? It was lit on Wednesday evening before T'giving. Located on the north bank of Town Lake @ Lamar. It was great! Several acres of wood piled up, with a 2-story house perched at the top. Before the bonfire, there was a pep rally on the steps to the South Mall, with Royal, Worster and others giving short talks. I went home to South Texas for Thanksgiving. When I returned Sunday evening, fire was still smoldering and you could feel the heat from hundreds of yards away. That was the only one i attended. Have there been others?
I went to one in 1977. I htink it was out somewhere off Lamar. I had a friend on the baseball team who was a member of the Texas Cowboys, who were in charge of beer sales at the bonfire. Needless to say, all I had to do was sidle up to the beer table, and my friend would slip me a cold one. I did that a lot. I really don't remember much else about that bonfire except that it was very hot.
there were a few in the early '70s at the triangle where Guad & N Lamar intersect. the admin stopped it so that city folk could plant little veggie gardens there. soon had more than one pot plant amongst the squash and okra.
and one year it in late 70's it was out on Riverside in a field at the intersection with (I think) Montopolis or Vargas.
I went to one sometime in mid to later 70's, maybe 1977 at the intersection of I35N and 290east in the area near where the Marriot is now. I remember taking my oldest son who about 3 or 4 years old. It seems like the fraternities had stuff set up and was alot of fun. The bonfire was fairly large and there was an outhouse at the top. I remember explaining to the little guy what an outhouse was and him being concerned that someone was in the outhouse.
Late 50's, early 60's my mother would take me to what she called "The Aggie Beatin' Bonfire." I can't clearly remember where they were. I think one was where Capitol Plaza is now, and one was about where the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue is. Also, the fraternity houses put up signs and various types of "clever" "Aggie Beatin'" decorations. Many she had to explain to me. Others she refused to explain to me since as they would have warped my fragile young mind.
I remember the one off of Riverside - would have been in 77 or 78. We had just seen "Halloween". I'll never forget the sign: eATMe Good times
One of the business school fraternities came up with a two bedroom frame house that was to be demolished anyway. The house was moved from N Austin to the Town Lake site in the late 60s for the bonfire. The PC people at the time did have a few editorials that week about how the house should have been given to the homeless or some balderdash. (The home had already been condemned).
I remember the bonfire on the north side of Town Lake between Lamar and what is now Austin High. Huge fire. As mentioned above it covered acres and burned for days.
I went to a UT/A$M bonfire on the south shore of what is now Lady Bird Lake in 1962. The scrap wood & timber pile was about 30'-40' feet in diameter & maybe 20' high. There's a couple of pictures of it on page 100 in my 1963 Cactus.. Cactus Pryor was standing on a flatbed trailer telling corny aggie jokes, and introduced DKR. The LHB was there too.
I went to a UT/A$M bonfire on the south shore of what is now Lady Bird Lake in 1962. The scrap wood & timber pile was about 30'-40' feet in diameter & maybe 20' high. There's a couple of pictures of it on page 100 in my 1963 Cactus.. Cactus Pryor was standing on a flatbed trailer telling corny aggie jokes, and introduced DKR. The LHB was there too. ------------------------------------------------------ I think I was at this one.
The only Texas bonfire I went to included a house, so I guess I was at the '68 bonfire. I just thought it was a Longhorn tradition to include a house in a bon fire. I had come from Kansas, so I just kinda expected everything to do with Texas and UT to be bigger and/or grander and/or more outlandish. Turned out I was right in my expectations. Daytonhorn, UT Class of January 1969
So this is what Alzheimer's is going to be like. I was THERE in LHB but don't remember any house. Good thing we've played Grandioso, Eyes and Taps enough I don't have to think about it anymore. In fact the more we have to drink, the better we think we're playing. Sometimes it's true. Y'all decide. Beat the HELL outta aNm! m/
