Elizabeth D. Brown
English 455
08 June 2009
DENNY CHIMES AND THE WALK OF FAME
I started taking classes at the University of Alabama in the fall of 2007. During my first week of classes here, I quickly learned that the Ferguson Center (The Ferg) and the Quad are two of the most popular places on campus. Located on the Quad is one of the university's most famous landmarks, Denny Chimes. The Denny Chimes is a 115 feet tall campanile equipped with a 25-bell carillon and is located on the south side of the Quad. The tower was named in honor of former university president George H. Denny, who served from 1912 to 1936 and again in 1941.
Even though I walked across the Quad a million times to get to class, I never visited the Denny Chimes until now. I started my field observation at 10am Thursday June 5, 2009. I walked through the back of Gorgas Library and emerged through the front doors which face the back of Denny Chimes. As I started down the steps of the library towards Denny, I paid close attention to my surroundings. There are not many students on the campus of UA during the summer term, but of the few that are here majority of them tend to be in one area. The Quad is one of those places everybody likes to be.
Once I got to the bottom of the steps, I paused to observe the area from where I was standing. There were at least ten people on the Quad at that time. The people on the left area of the Quad close to Farrell Hall where not in any hurry to be anywhere. One couple was playing frisbee with a large brown dog. There was a guy with a small dog that looked like a yorkie about ten feet away from that couple. The guy stood close to a tree and watched as his dog did his business. Once the yorkie was done, they walked off towards Smith Hall. Then there were two girls in the middle of that area sitting on a blanket and talking. The people in the area to the right were walking through the Quad along the sidewalks and on the grass to get to class. I assumed they were coming from class or going to class because some people were carrying books and others were wearing book bags or both. Towards the middle of the Quad was a couple sitting on a bench close to the library. I could tell they knew each other very well because they were touching and kissing as if they were the only two people on the Quad.
I stood there for about five minutes, then I started walking towards Denny Chimes. The path towards Denny was grass. As I walked across the grass, I saw two squirrels that appeared to be playing tag. The first squirrel was chasing the second squirrel in a circle and then the second squirrel would start chasing the first squirrel in the opposite direction. From where I was standing, the game appeared to be innocent but as I got closer to them it started looking violent. It looked as if they were trying to bite each others tail off. I walked closer in the squirrels direction. I got within two feet of them and they darted in the opposite direction and scurried up the nearest tree.
I got to Denny Chimes and the first thing I noticed was the concrete squares with the names of the past football captains on them. Along with the name of the captain was a hand and footprint. This area is called the walk of fame. Every year since 1947, right before the A-Day game starts a ceremony to honor that year's football captain is held at the back of Denny Chimes. This tradition is just one of the many things that makes Denny Chimes special. I stepped onto the concrete squares and I saw that some of the imprints on a few of the squares were starting to fade. On most squares I could see the names of the captains clear enough to read, but some of the squares the hand and footprints were fading. All that remained on the square for the year of 1990 was the captains name and seven holes that represent where the imprints of his cleats were.
I walked up the steps of Denny Chimes. Located on the concrete bottom part was a window. It looked an air conditioner was sitting in the window. If it is an air conditioner, I figured it was there to warm or cool whoever goes in there to operate the machines or do cleaning. I looked up and saw that at the top of the concrete part right before the brick part of Denny Chimes starts, are two birds that looked like eagles. This was something that I had never noticed before. In the past, I have seen Denny Chimes from a distance but never close enough to see the eagles. Most pictures of Denny Chimes are from a distance making it impossible to see the birds. I saw them for the first time today. There is one bird on all four corners of the concrete part. I assume that the birds are the bald eagle that represents the national symbol of the United States.
I continued to look up pass the birds where the brick area of Denny Chimes begins. Along the brick area are three windows. Where the brick area ends, another concrete area begins at the very top of Denny Chimes. In that part of the tower is where the bells are. According to Mellown, “The carillon features 25 cast bronze bells, with the largest having a circumference of about 11feet and a height of 3feet. The chimes ring every 15 minutes, chiming on the hour in addition to chiming other songs or the alma mater as part of university celebrations or holidays. Inside the base is an automatic player that plays roll music in addition to a keyboard console that is used on special occasions”(84).
I walked to the front of Denny and saw a black door. I tried to open it but of course it was locked. I walked down the front steps and looked at the walk of fame for a few seconds. Then, I decided to go around the to the back to continue my observation. I took a seat on the steps and watched as students continued to cross the quad to and from class. As I sat there, I noticed some of the student would look my way as if they were wondering why I was just sitting there on the steps. I guess it's not normal for people to hang around Denny Chimes unless they're touring the campus or attending the ceremony before the A-Day game.
Coincidently, about fifteen minutes later a campus tour group showed up. The tour guide was a female student from the university. She was telling the group the reason the tower was built and the significance of the walk of fame. A young girl from the group was taking pictures. I decided to pose just in case I was in the view of her lens. Some of the tourist found this amusing. I asked the girl if she planned on attending the university in the fall. She said that she had not decided yet, but the University of Alabama is one of her top three choices. She asked me a little about myself and my experiences at the university. I told her about my experiences and how it was a good university. Then she asked me about football season. She had done some research on the university and heard stories about how crazy some of the Alabama fans are and how much they love football. I told her it's all true. She had admitted to not being much of a sports person, but I could tell that she was interested in the Alabama football traditions.
I waved good bye to the group and continued with my observations. For the first time, I noticed that the quad was completely empty with the exception of a few squirrels. I looked at my phone for the time. It was 10:59 am. I thought to myself, in one minute Denny Chimes' bells will be ringing. Just as this thought occurred, the chimes began ringing. I turned and spotted a crowd of young men walking towards Reese Phifer. It was about thirty of them and they all had on solid color t-shirts but their shirts were different colors. Some had on bright orange shirts, some red and others purple. I knew the shirts meant something but I just didn't know what. The boys disappeared into Reese Phifer.
I was getting pretty restless so I stood up. I saw one of the Crimson Tide buses was coming towards Bib Graves. It stopped at the bus stop in front of the building and one student got off the bus. As that student got off, three students got on. The bus started to pull off but stopped. An over weight guy wearing a black t-shirt and khaki shorts that were too tight was trying to catch the bus. He stumbled on the bus and it took off. As it passed by, I noticed a poster of Denny Chimes on the back of the bus. I never paid much attention to it before, but there are a lot of Denny Chimes souvenirs. I remember how I use to look at the souvenirs at the Supe Store and thinking to myself, who would pay this much money for a piece of plastic. Die hard Alabama fans that's who. There were small figures of the presidents mansion, Denny Chimes, and tiny elephants all over priced.
When the bus drove off, the quad was once again empty. I was about to bring my observations to a close, when I heard something from behind me. I turned and saw a girl coming towards Denny Chimes along the sidewalk to the right. She seemed like she might be I nice person, so I decided to ask her a question. I smiled and asked her if it was okay if her asked her a few questions, she said yes. I asked her for her name. She said her name was Leona Mufner. Then I asked her for her status and major. She said, “I'm a sophomore majoring in dance and minoring in computer science”. Then I asked her, “do you know the significance of Denny Chimes, and what does Denny Chimes mean you”? Leona paused for a brief moment to think, then she said, “ I think the building was built in memory for the first president of UA. But I know they have the walk of fame ceremony over hear every year before the A-Day game starts. And a memory I have thats sociated with Denny Chimes is one of me when I was a freshman. I can remember this like it was yesterday. It was my first semester here. I was like still unfamiliar with the campus but I felt a little embarrassed having to walk around campus with a map I front of me so I through the map away. I thought since I looked over the map last night I would be okay. Well it wasn't cause for some reason I could not for the life of me figure out how to get to Reese Phifer from Ten Hoor. I'm the type of person that doesn't ask for help unless I absolutely have to. After to wandered around for about five minutes I was just about to give in and ask for directions when I heard Denny Chimes. I was so realized cause I knew Denny Chimes was close to Reese Phipher. If I could just spot Denny Chimes I would be okay, but I also knew I had to hurry because I didn't want to be late for class the first day there. I would have been so embarrassed if I had to walk in and the whole class was already seated. So I followed the sound of Denny Chimes back to the sidewalk in front of Bibb Graves and was good from there. I found Reese Phifer and made it to class on time. I was extremely realized and happy”.
I thanked her for sharing her experience with me and she walked off. I looked at the time and it was a quarter till 2pm. I had no idea I had been outside that long. I decide I would make on more quick observation and then leave. I turned around and saw an old man ,probably in his late fifties, looking at the most recent squares of the hall of fame. He had a coffee cup in his hand and he looked as if he was lost in thought. I decided to speak to get his attention. Startled,he looked up and spoke back.
I introduced myself and explained to him that I was doing research on Denny Chimes for a paper in my English class. I asked him if he had any memories or past experiences at Denny Chimes that he wanted to share. He agreed to share his experience with me but he did not want his name published. He said his experience was one he would never forget. The old man, “it was the year 1959. I was a junior in college and I was majoring in business. I really wanted to major in art. I was an excellent artist. There wasn't anything that I couldn't draw. But since my dad was paying for m education, I had to do what he wanted me to do. I said I should major in something useful. Back then I was a young boy willing to do anything to please my dad. So I took up business. And it was my junior year that I met m wife. I was standing in front of Denny Chimes waiting on a pal of mine and thats when I saw her for the first time. Oh she was beautiful. She was without a doubt the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen. I had to say something or do something to get her to notice me. She was about walk by me and I almost missed my opportunity when she glanced down at the walk of fame. There was my chance. I told her I knew all there was to know about the walk of fame and if she had any questions I was the guy she should talk to. It was lucky for me she was from out of state so everything I said was new to her. We stood here in front of Denny Chimes talking and laughing for about an hour. I took my chances and asked her out on a date and we've been together ever since. I proposed to her right here on these steps where first met”.
I thanked him for sharing and decided to call it a day. I looked at the time. It was 2pm. I took one last look at Denny Chimes then walked off with the musical chimes ringing in my ear.
WORKS CITED
Mellown, Robert Oliver. The University of Alabama: A Guide To The Campus. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1988.
Luckerson, Victor. “Denny Chimes Revealed” Crimson White 14 Nov 2008: 2.
