Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/1997/11/02/dartmouth_night_history.php
Sunday, November 2, 1997
This Friday is Dartmouth Night, an evening of tradition impressive even by Dartmouth College standards. It kicks off the traditional Homecoming weekend with an evening of speeches, a parade, and, of course, the famous bonfire.
The origins of the Dartmouth Night fire trace back over a hundred years. In 1888, students from all four classes built a bonfire of wood from the forests around the college to celebrate a baseball victory over Manchester. An editorial in The Dartmouth criticized the fire, saying 'It disturbed the slumbers of a peaceful town, destroyed some property, made the boys feel that they were being men, and in fact did no one any good.' Nevertheless, the idea remained popular and the bonfires continued informally, both before athletic events and in celebration of victories. These bonfires frequently included an outhouse as part of the fuel for the fire. Five years later, the college officially recognized the fires.
Seven years after the fires began, the ceremony of Dartmouth Night was introduced by President Jewett Tucker. On September 20, 1895, the first Dartmouth Night was held to celebrate the accomplishments of alumni of the College. The Dartmouth described it as an event where students were 'addressed by representative alumni who illustrate the success and ability of Dartmouth graduates.' However, less formal sources relate that the evening tended to be composed of stiffeningly dull, torturously long speeches. Fortunately, over time the speeches came to compose a smaller part of the ceremony and other events became more important. At Dartmouth Night in 1896, Richard Hovey's 'Men of Dartmouth' was elected as the best of all the songs of the College.
In 1904, the Earl of Dartmouth, descendent of the British noble for whom the College was named, came to visit the campus. His visit on Dartmouth Night was celebrated with a bonfire, but the students were not content with the traditional fire alone. In order to make a vivid impression on the visiting Earl and his companion, the young Winston Churchill, the students formed a parade. The Earl took up the lead and the students, dressed in their pajamas, marched around the Green.
In 1907, the orations were moved from their original home in the chapel of Dartmouth Hall to the newly-completed Webster Hall. The celebration continued to be a big event for alumni. Alumni groups from all the nation converged on Hanover for the festivities. For those who were unable to attend in person, radio links were established to let cubs all over the nation listen to the speeches and revelry, and it was popular for the clubs to send telegrams to Hanover for reading at the ceremonies.
Football first began to be associated with Dartmouth Night in the 1920's. Memorial Field was dedicated on Dartmouth Night in 1923. The raucous pre-football rallies, though, remained quite separate from the somber official activities. In 1936, the College first began the tradition of Homecoming games.
During World War II, the celebrations were scaled down markedly. In 1943, President Ernest Hopkins presided over only a small gathering in Thayer Hall. However, following World War II, Dartmouth Night enjoyed a resurgence of popularity.
In 1946, the formal College events and the unofficial rally were combined in a single grand event, and for the first time the festivities were intentionally scheduled on the weekend of Homecoming.
Since then, the weekend has undergone a number of changes, but its unique essence remains. In the late 1940's, the tradition continued until the class of 1989, with the following classes prohibited from carrying on the tradition. In 1954, numeral-forming was canceled due to an impending hurricane, and in 1963, and a drought raised concerns about a major fire, which led to the cancellation of the bonfire. In the 1950's, the current hexagonal construction of railroad ties was first used. The once strong tradition of the annual freshman v. sophomore tug of war has long since fallen by the wayside. Sorely missed are events such as when the screaming Class of 1970 dragged the rope through the Hopkins Center in celebration of their victory over the sophomores. From 1969 to 1972, campus political sentiment was such that there was no official celebration of Dartmouth Night.
The Dartmouth Night festivities in 1986 and 1987 were marred by untraditional, as well as unpopular, protests by militant feminists in groups self-titled, 'Womyn to Overthrow Dartmyth' and 'Wimmin's International Terrorist Conspiracy From Hell.'
These embittered women attacked the celebrations on the Green, throwing bloody tampons in 1986 and red-dyed eggs representing bloody ova in 1987. To justify this exceptionally distasteful expression of dissent, these organizations released a statement saying in part, 'The blood, the eggs here before you, are part of an unending cycle, as is the struggle against oppression ... A witch is a woman who has freed herself from the bonds of heterocentrism, and from the bonds of profit-seeking education.' Fortunately, such antics are in the past.
Unfortunately, the greatest threat to Dartmouth Night as we know it is not wacky, sanitary napkin wielding witches, but overanxious administrators. Nail biters in Parkhurst have been anxious abut the Freshman sweep after a few renegade students caused some property damage eight years ago.
However, Dartmouth Night and the ensuing games of Homecoming weekend still provide the ideal opportunities for all members of the College community to show the dedication to Dartmouth, 'lest the old traditions fail.'