This weekend, October’s creeping frost will melt away at the heat of Colorado State University’s annual Homecoming bonfire.
The fire will burn 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, on the Lory Student Center West Lawn. A respite from the chaos of Homecoming week and the biting cold, the Homecoming bonfire is a historic tradition at the university. First appearing in a 1910 issue of The Collegian, the bonfire celebrates the yearly return of alumni and parents to campus during Homecoming.
Gordon A. “Hap” Hazard, a Fort Collins historian, wrote an unpublished essay on the origin of Homecoming at CSU for the CSU archives. Hazard’s work credits the earliest mention of the bonfire tradition in a Collegian article from May 28, 1910, when it refers to “the peace pipe ceremonies and the bonfire” as part of the programming for commencement week.
As stated in an article written by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Public History Project, Pipe of Peace ceremonies were held at colleges in the early 1900s. At some colleges, students dressed up in costumes and smoked pipes, and at others, a pipe was ceremonially lit. Very limited information is available about CSU’s peace pipe ceremonies.
“Our campus has a very roll-up-your-sleeves, authentic, down-to-earth, like, get-it-done kind of attitude, and you combine that with the research and the education that’s happening at CSU, and you can see through these alums that really anything is possible.” -Amy Jo Miller, Alumni Association marketing and communications director
Bonfires were not limited to just spring commencement celebrations. Hazard’s work cites an Oct. 26, 1910, edition of The Collegian that mentions a bonfire at a football rally.
Ali Raza, assistant director for involvement at CSU, spoke on the importance of community during Homecoming. The bonfire provides a place for people to gather and a reason to visit campus. He noted the energy alumni bring to campus, especially when they gather to celebrate tradition.
“A lot of folks view Friday Night Lights as part of their favorite part about Homecoming because it’s a huge community event as well,” Raza said. “I just feel like there’s an energy and a buzz on campus that really doesn’t exist any other time during the school year.”
Homecoming as a tradition at CSU rose from a need to centralize alumni-focused gatherings. Typically, events for alumni were hosted at the spring commencement ceremony and around the holidays, but early articles in The Collegian criticized this schedule.
At the time, CSU had very few alums, and without a central time for them to reunite, the alumni class felt sparse. Thus, an event called commencement celebration — later Homecoming — was born. An editorial comment in The Collegian reads: “Come and let your eyes rest upon that banner of orange and green which still waves for you and is ever for you, though you may wander far into the four corners of the Earth.”
Even today, catering to different generations of alumni proves a rewarding challenge.
“We have folks who come back and identify as Aggies, and we have folks who come back and identify as Rams, and that common green thread … runs through everybody,” said Amy Jo Miller, Alumni Association marketing and communications director. “There’s something shared between people regardless of where they go or where they end up. There’s always that shared story that they have.”
A Collegian article from Oct. 15, 1954, by Floyd Shoemaker places the first CSU Homecoming in 1881. Hazard pointed out that Homecoming is not a tradition exclusive to CSU. Around this time period, other colleges, such as Harvard University and Yale University, established Homecomings of their own, often coupling them with football games and parades. The term “Homecoming” itself was not used at CSU until much later. A Collegian article from Nov. 17, 1921 hailed Nov. 19, 1921, as the first annual Homecoming Weekend, complete with a pep rally and a parade.
Following that celebration, Homecoming traditions at CSU underwent great changes. Hazard’s notes detail traditions like selling yellow mums, wearing green and gold leis and throwing rotten eggs, traditions mostly spearheaded by the efforts of fraternities and sororities. World War II proved a great challenge for the holiday. Hazard said that with restrictions on civilian travel in 1942, the school canceled the event. Homecoming activities and football games did not resume until 1945.
Post World War II, the parade and bonfire were closely intertwined traditions, often complementing each other. The tradition now continues as Friday Night Lights. Despite the changes these traditions underwent, the importance of community and connection is echoed today. Even folks who aren’t particularly excited about Homecoming events find community on campus.
“I’m not generally one who participates in Homecoming,” said Liana Anderson, a student at CSU. “But I do enjoy hanging out with friends.”
Besides upholding tradition at CSU, Homecoming events are designed to build community and connection among Rams.
“Folks really have an opportunity to be with their friends, family and loved ones and just really feel that Ram pride,” Raza said. “That’s awesome to see the bonfire, to see the music, to see the students and alumni dancing, hanging out and having a good time.”
Miller echoed a similar sentiment, finding inspiration and hope in the achievements of CSU alumni.
“Our campus has a very roll-up-your-sleeves, authentic, down-to-earth, like, get-it-done kind of attitude, and you combine that with the research and the education that’s happening at CSU, and you can see through these alums that really anything is possible,” Miller said.
Reach Ella Dorpinghaus at life@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.
