WE REMEMBER
A tradition that began as a way to celebrate A&M’s victory over the University of Texas in 1907, Aggie Bonfire is now remembered every November 18 at 2:42 a.m. in honor of the 12 Aggies who were killed during the collapse in 1999.
The Bonfire was a long-standing tradition that typically occurred around Thanksgiving each year in which thousands of Aggies gathered to watch it burn. On November 18, 1999 at 2:42 a.m., the stack collapsed, killing 12 and injuring 27. In memory of those who died, a memorial was built five years later in the same spot the Bonfire last burned on campus, and each year at 2:42 a.m. on November 18, thousands of students gather for the somber Bonfire Remembrance Ceremony to remember the lives that were lost.
The design and planning of the Bonfire Memorial began immediately after the collapse, and construction, performed by Overland Partners, was
completed five years later. The memorial consists of three main parts: The Tradition Plaza, the History Walk and the Spirit Ring.
The entrance of the memorial, known as the Tradition Plaza, includes the Spirit Wall, which is intended to separate the memorial from the rest of the world, and the Last Corps Trip Wall, which displays the poem that was typically read before Bonfire was lit each year. The History Walk leads to the memorial and symbolizes 90 years of Bonfire with 89 granite stones arranged in a north-south line, beginning with 1909. Finally, the Spirit Ring surrounds the memorial site as a representation of the Aggie Spirit that unites students. Twelve portals are oriented around the ring in the direction of the hometowns of the students
they symbolize. The 27 students who were injured are represented by 27 stones that connect the portals to complete the circle.
Although after the 1999 collapse the Bonfire
tradition is no longer officially affiliated with the
university, the tradition continues off campus in Student Bonfire, a student-run organization wholly separate from Texas A&M. Each year, students in the organization spend months before Burn Night cutting logs and building the Stack, which is burned before the Thanksgiving football game.
From 2002 to 2005, student volunteers in Student Bonfire funded the project, but starting in 2006, the organization received more financial support from what they call “Friends of the Fire,” which help cover costs of site leases, tractors, trucks, ropes, cables, logging chain and other equipment.
Following the 1999 collapse, several modifications were made to the stack design to ensure safety of participants, which included all logs touching the ground, a wedding cake design where each tier is smaller than the last, an unspliced center pole and four poles called “Windle Sticks” that are used as framework for the stack.
Each year at 2:24 a.m. on November 18, students gather around the Bonfire Memorial to remember the 12 students who died when the stack collapsed in 1999.
Miranda Denise Adams ‘02
Christopher D. Breen ‘96
Michael Stephen Ebanks ‘03
Jeremy Richard Frampton ‘99
Jamie Lynn Hand ‘03
Timothy Doran Kerlee, Jr ‘03
Lucas John Kimmel ‘03
Bryan A. McClain ‘02
Chad A. Powell ‘03
Jerry Don Self ‘01
Nathan Scott West ‘02