Aggie Muster
By the time Overland’s design to build the Bonfire Memorial was chosen, Bob Shemwell and his team had eighteen months to create a budget, hammer out the portals, create an underground support system, and immortalize twelve kids.
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3 comments
Friday, November 13th, 2009, 2:04 pm
Madison says:
There is something special about the Aggie Spirit out there and this artice reminded me of all the many reasons why I love Texas A&M. Bonfire is something which will never be forgotten. Gig ’em!
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009, 12:24 am
Tom Osborn ’68 says:
Thank you Texas Monthly for a wonderful story about a school we think so grand. For it’s a spirit that can never be told, Bonfire is the Spirit of Aggieland. Fall, 1964, was my first encounter as a Fish. It was full of sweat, blood and tears for many Fish; but it burned into our being the fierce pride, passion, and performance which characterize an Aggie’s contribution to any endeavor. Bonfire symbolizes "The Spirit."
Saturday, October 24th, 2009, 1:11 pm
Andrea Duffie ’08 says:
I was there for that first un-offical dedication at 2:42am in November 2004. I was a freshman living on campus at the time, but I was also a third-generation Aggie with family members who spent many hours working on the Bonfire during their own student days.
There was a fog that night, and as the students slipped out of their dorms into the darkness, the whole atmosphere seemed almost surreal. The silence was absolute. The only sound that could be heard was the crunching of gravel as thousands of students made their way to the Memorial. The fog was so thick that it dimmed the lights from nearby Texas Ave, so the Memorial itself seemed to exist in complete isolation. Even the structure’s orange lights caught the moisture in the air, creating a glow that was eerily similar to the haze around a burning flame.
I will never forget that night, as it was my first experience of truly being a part of the Aggie Family. I had grown up with the traditions: I knew the stories, I knew about Bonfire and had heard how it fell...but now I, too, was an Aggie. And while I wasn’t a student in ’99 nor did I directly experience the tragedy that occurred, on that night, the loss of those 12 members of the Aggie Family became my loss too.
I stepped through one of the portals into the interior of the Memorial, as did several thousand of my fellow classmates, both past and present. And as we all began quietly singing "Amazing Grace," I experienced many emotions. But more than anything, I experienced an overwhelming sense of being part of something far larger than myself, and I felt tremendous grief at our loss, as well as pride and honor in our unity in the face of such a loss.
That night has remained one of the most memorable experiences of not only my time at Texas A&M, but of my entire life. Thank you, TM, for these two incredibly moving articles.
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