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'Round the Girdled Bonfire They Go
In September, they ventured into the New Hampshire woods and developed fast friendships with their fellow “trippees” on Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) Trips. In October, first-year students gear up to participate in another Dartmouth tradition—the Dartmouth Night dash around the Homecoming bonfire.
On that evening (this year it's October 19), first-years are rounded up at their respective residence halls by upperclassmen in what's known as the freshmen sweep. They rush to the Green, cheered on by their fellow students and the throngs of alumni, parents, and friends who have returned to Dartmouth for Homecoming. Depending on their fortitude, they then either jog a few circles around the glowing bonfire or, this year, run 111 laps, signifying their membership in the Class of 2011.
Dartmouth Night was inaugurated by President William Jewett Tucker in September of 1895 to celebrate the accomplishments of alumni, “promote class spirit and…initiate freshmen into the community.” As College archivist Peter Carini noted in a recent talk on Dartmouth traditions during Parent and Family Orientation, Dartmouth Night has evolved over the years to include a bonfire, a homecoming celebration, and, the next day, a football game.
Dartmouth's first bonfire, however, was reported by The Dartmouth student newspaper seven years before the first Dartmouth Night, on May 4, 1888. After a 3-2 baseball victory over Manchester, students celebrated by building a massive fire on campus. “It disturbed the slumbers of a peaceful town, destroyed some property, made the boys feel that they were men, and, in fact, did no one any good,” The Dartmouth asserted.
The tradition of freshmen running around the bonfire began in 1904 when the Sixth Earl of Dartmouth visited the College to lay the cornerstone for the new Dartmouth Hall, which had been destroyed by fire that February. Students built an enormous bonfire to celebrate the earl's visit. Wanting to make the occasion even more memorable, the students dressed in their pajamas and marched around the Green. It's unclear when pajamas were abandoned for more practical garb, but most first-years now wear green T-shirts imprinted with their class year for their sprint around the fire. Others have worn gorilla costumes, and one intrepid student two years ago cut a hole in a canoe and wore it, secured by suspenders around his waist.
Until more recent times, gathering wood for the bonfire was a challenge. As The Dartmouth reported on May 11, 1918, “Those too zealous in their efforts laid violent hands upon sundry front door steps and backdoor steps, and likewise fences, not to mention numerous hen houses carried 'en masse' to the scene of the celebration.” In 1971, a local farmer permitted students to use his barn for firewood but gave them incorrect directions. The eager students accidentally tore down the barn of another farmer, who had to be reimbursed by the College.
Today's bonfire bears no resemblance to its predecessors pictured on this page. The old ladders and wooden barrels have been replaced by 6x6 timbers of rough cut pine, and the design of the bonfire has also been altered to ensure safety. The base is shaped into a six-pointed star 33 layers tall, followed by a hexagon 22 layers tall, and topped by a 10-layer square. The 65-tier structure is then filled with old pallets for easier burning. Keeping with tradition, the bonfire is still built by first-year students but construction is now overseen by the College.
When Dartmouth Night concludes, students may be a little weary. But they will always carry the ebullience they felt running around a bonfire in New Hampshire as they shared the joy of the Dartmouth experience with their friends and classmates.