Tonight the College will enter its second century of Homecoming celebrations as the Class of 2000 joins upperclassmen and alumni for Dartmouth Night.
One hundred and one years ago, the ceremony was inaugurated by College President William Jewett Tucker, who hoped the event would "promote class spirit and would initiate freshmen into the community."
The purpose of Dartmouth Night was "to perpetuate the Dartmouth spirit, and to capitalize the history of the College. 'Let us set a watch lest the old traditions fail,' " Tucker stated in September, 1895.
In the early years, the solemn ceremonies were held in the chapel in Dartmouth Hall and later in Webster Hall, with speeches lasting up to nine hours. The event was later moved outside and held on the Green.
Dartmouth Night initially consisted of reading telegrams by almuni from around the world, speeches by the College president and guests, singing by the College Glee Club, parades led by the marching band, fireworks and the traditional bonfire.
At the second Dartmouth Night, "Men of Dartmouth," written by Richard Hovey of the Class of 1885, became the official College song.
Pranks and Problems
The bonfire tradition has a history of pranks, strange occurences and even violence.
In 1904, Winston Churchill and Lord Dartmouth were special guests at the College. They witnessed the birth of a Dartmouth tradition as pajama-clad students ran around the bonfire.
In the 1950s, when the wood supply was plentiful, a bonfire was built for every football game.
The president of the Central Railroad Company, a Dartmouth alumnus, donated railroad ties. Busloads of students journeyed to Portland, Maine, to gather the wood every year.
The World Wars led to scaled down ceremonies as focus shifted to concern for the troops abroad. Hurricane Hazel also forced the bonfire to be cancelled in 1954.
In 1963, the bonfire was cancelled by order of the Hanover Fire Department due to the worst dry spell in over 100 years.
Another famous bonfire incident occured in 1968 when three members of the Dartmouth Outing Club replaced the kerosene that was to be used to light the fire with water. This delayed the lighting of the bonfire for 20 minutes.
The fire was lit temporarily when the torch was thrown, but was extinguished when someone threw more "kerosene" on it. The D.O.C. pranksters eventually gave in and told the freshmen where the kerosene was.
The late sixties saw a five-year gap of Dartmouth Night during the Vietnam War due to a lack of interest.
Another incident involved a farmer from Etna who donated his barn to fill the bonfire in 1971. When students went to retrieve the wood, they found enough inside the barn and decided to leave the structure standing.
Two days later, a farmer, claiming students raided his barn, appeared at the College, accompanied by the Hanover Police. The students had apparently gone to the wrong barn. Since the farmer only wanted his cow stanchions, students retrieved them from the pile.
Bonfires Past
In the 1970s, there was also controversy concerning Dartmouth's mascot. When the Big Green replaced the Indian symbol, a large church steeple donated to the College was placed on top of the bonfire. An angry associate dean who thought the students were placing a teepee on the bonfire, stormed out of Parkhurst, demanding an explanation.
In 1980, the bonfire was prematurely lit and burned for two days. The freshmen class rebuilt the structure after a generous donor provided more wood.
In 1988, 10,000 spectators gathered on the Green to see the blazing bonfire. The fire burned 10 feet high but did not collapse. Students woke up the morning after Dartmouth Night to see the charred wood of the bonfire still standing. The wood used to build it held too much moisture for it to burn properly, and bulldozers had to tear the structure down.
In addition to pranks and unusual circumstances, violence has often surrounded the bonfire and Homecoming events.
In 1982, a dynamite scare forced the Class of 1987 to disassemble the bonfire piece by piece. Fortunately, no explosives were found, and the structure was rebuilt.
Students protesting the College's restrictive alcohol policy threw eggs and shaving cream on the fire in 1991.
In 1992, violence erupted among students and College and Hanover Police officers. Approximately 600 students, many of whom were heavily intoxicated, engaged in violent destructive behavior after upperclassmen threatened to storm the bonfire.
Students wielded baseball bats and hockey sticks during the incident. As a result of the violence, construction of the bonfire was halted for one day.
In 1993, students were no longer allowed to guard the bonfire. Construction ended at dusk and the site was roped off and illuminated.
Another recent restriction limited the number of tiers that can be in the bonfire. The last 100-tier bonfire was built in 1979.
Violent and unruly incidents during Homecoming have not been limited to the bonfire.
During the Freshman Sweep in 1993, members of the Class of 1997 jumped on the tops of cars and uprooted stop signs.
Despite the troubled past of many Homecoming traditions, Homecoming and the Dartmouth Night ceremonies have run smoothly during the past two years.
