1108 History of Reveille.Pdf

‘Traditions are not born on the form of sudden revelation but rather as a gradually accelerating, expanding philosophical acceptance by all. And this tradition started in the most minute origin, and became nationwide, and it is a joy to me that it has happened.’ –George Comnas ’35 The First Lady of Aggieland By Krista Smith ’09 t was Aug. 30, the first home game for the Aggies. The eyes of the more than 80,000 in Iattendance turned to the end zone. Sitting there was a panting dog, bedecked in maroon and white finery. “Look! It’s her!” “There she is! The new one! Isn’t she gorgeous?” And when her image flashed on the giant video screen a few seconds later, an all-out roar of ap- plause and whoops erupted. After Reveille VII’s retirement was announced in February, it took a lengthy process to find the new mascot. But Reveille VIII was finally home. She has been formally installed as First Lady of Aggieland and continues a fabled legacy rich with tradition. AGGIENETWORK.COM NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2008 | TEXAS AGGIE 63 S HIVE Your Dollars At Work RC The Association of Former Students is proud to support the tradition of Y AND A Reveille, providing assistance with transportation and lodging when BRAR I Reveille and her handler travel L L to out-of-town football games. A I R O M the faults of the others: the year and timing does not match up, the dog’s HING ME S physical description is wrong, the loca- CU OF tion of the discovery is not document- Y S E ed, the chronological events are out of Reveille I marked the start of many rt order. Comnas does write, however, traditions, including that a cadet has to give O COU that some of the cadets who claimed to up his bed if Reveille wants to rest on it. T have found Reveille were actually pres- PHO ent when she was discovered, but did Rev I: An Accidental Beginning he and his friends arrived. That’s when not pick her up or care for her. To sup- he’s arguably one of the most rec- Comnas, flanked by 25 to 30 cadets, no- port his story, Comnas even had three ognizable dogs in the country, but ticed a whimpering puppy lying along- fellow B Troop Cavalry cadets vouch Sthe origins of how Reveille came to side the road, “apparently hit by a slow for his tale in sworn affidavits. call Texas A&M home are murky. More moving train and knocked into the ditch.” George Comnas may swear by his sto- than 30 people lay claim to bringing the Comnas picked up the puppy—which he ry, but so do the others. Lisa Kalmus ’93, mutt to campus in the 1930s, but some described as a fox terrier and mongrel curator of the Sanders Corps of Cadets tales are more believable than others. mix—and brought her to his dorm room Center, notes that although the plotlines There’s Warren Collins ’35, who said in Leggett Hall, raiding Sbisa Dining Hall of the various stories may be inconsis- he picked up a puppy after hitting it with for meat and bread to feed her. tent, they all have a happy ending. his Model T. There’s Bob Norwood ’35, A&M enforced a strict no-pets policy, “In all of the stories, [Reveille] was who said he and a roommate found the so the puppy lived in a box under Com- incapacitated in some way and brought dog in a ditch by Walton Hall. Then there are the members of the class of 1934 who swear they picked up the dog on a march She began making trips out of town with her cadets to the Brazos River, as well as Asa Gibbs and quickly became a regular part of campus life, ’37, who said he and a friend found the especially since she loved to march with the Fightin’ dog in a ditch near Northgate. And then there’s Eddie Chew, an assistant ground- Texas Aggie Band, much to the delight of football fans. skeeper for the athletic department, who swore that the pup in question was born nas’ bed as his dorm neighbor, veterinary back to campus,” Kalmus said. “And on his property south of campus. student Robert Anderson ’35, monitored then she just became theirs. The cadets But there’s one Reveille origin tale her health. In about four or five days, took on mutual care for her, and every- that carries more clout than the others. Comnas wrote, the puppy rebounded. one played a part in her life and was George Comnas ’35 said in his 1980 cam- Comnas said he named the spirited connected to her.” pus Muster speech that he was respon- dog Reveille since he was forced to put Reveille I, a black and white dog, sible for finding and caring for Reveille I. her into hiding before the bugler blew roamed campus as she pleased and snuck In a series of letters written to Univer- Reveille and Assembly each morning. into buildings, restaurants and dorm sity officials after the speech, Comnas The name was one that stuck, as “on her rooms. She began making trips out of discusses specifics on when, where and first day of convalescence, she rushed town with her cadets and quickly be- how Reveille I was found. out into the street when we fell out for came a regular part of campus life, espe- Comnas, then a sophomore, and some reveille and calisthenics,” prompting the cially since she loved to march with the friends were hitchhiking from Navasota cadets to say, “Here comes our Reveille.” Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band, much to the to Bryan during a midterm break in Jan- Comnas is also the only finder of delight of football fans. With World War uary 1932; they arrived at a highway gate Reveille on record to pick apart each II taking many Aggies overseas a few on the south side of campus, across from of the other origin stories. In another years later, the student body rallied to a railroad station. Comnas said cadets letter to the University, Comnas argues purchase Reveille’s first official ranking were disembarking from the station as why his version is the truth by stating as a general for $100 in the K-9 unit of 64 TEXAS AGGIE | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2008 AGGIENETWORK.COM 1932-44 the WAGS division of Dogs for Defense, and love of the student body. Ranger I, an action that was open to dog owners in Ranger II and Ranger III, the pet English Reveille I the United States to sponsor the war ef- bulldogs of former A&M President James fort. Reveille I cemented her legacy after Earl Rudder ’32, were also popular cam- her role in the 1943 Aggie film We’ve pus figures, but were also never named Never Been Licked and was accepted as a official mascots. A Dalmatian named Spot tradition by A&M administrators. came along after Freckles departed, but 1952-66 But shortly after the film was released, the accident-prone dog was remembered Reveille I died in the A&M Veterinary for falling off the top of Kyle Field (only Hospital, presumably of old age. Her one deck at the time) and breaking two Reveille II casket, lined in maroon velvet, was paws. Shortly after recovering from these purchased by H.S. Dan Boone ’46 for injuries, The Battalion reported in Octo- $15. With hundreds of people present, ber 1950, Spot died after being hit by a car. Reveille I, the campus queen, was laid The student body finally had enough to rest with full military honors on the of the inconsistency. A&M needed a 1966-75 north end of Kyle Field. And with that, legitimate mascot, so in April 1951, the a tradition that had grown to become a Corps of Cadets voted to find an official Reveille III staple of the Aggie Spirit for more than a mascot who would be christened with decade simply faded away. the name Reveille. The student senate approved a motion to begin fundrais- The Others ing to procure a German shepherd, but ith Reveille I gone and World was not able to raise sufficient funds to War II ending, any effort to purchase the dog. That’s when Arthur 1975-84 Wfind a new mascot was de- Weinert, Class of 1900, and his wife layed. In June 1946, more than two years stepped in to help. The Weinerts pre- Reveille IV after Reveille I’s death, Rusty, a 4-month sented Grady Smallwood ’52, president old black mongrel puppy, was presented of the senate, with a Shetland shepherd to the college by a student veteran. And puppy in 1952. Reveille II had finally so began an eight-year parade of different found her way to Aggieland. dogs as mascots, some endorsed by the student body, others simply adopted and Rev II: A Dying Tradition Reborn 1984-93 loved by a single Corps unit. Rusty, who eveille II was adopted by the from all accounts was no fan of people cadets, and her original caretaker Reveille V and loud noise, lasted until November Rwas the Aggie Band. However, 1946, when Freckles, a cocker spaniel today Reveille’s needs are tended to by owned by Hal “Moon” Mullins ’48, appeared at a football game. Because of the positive reaction 1993-2001 ville ’55 of the mascot-deprived crowd to R E TT Freckles’ boundless energy, The E N Battalion immediately launched a Reveille VI AM campaign to have the student body S OF Y vote for Freckles as mascot—a vote S E that ended overwhelmingly in rt Freckles’ favor.

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