Sneaking a Cup of Joe
With the approach of what we used to refer to as “bonfire weather” coming up, I wanted to share a short story from my first semester as a Fish in the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. This particular incident probably occurred around Nov. 22 or 23, 1959.
M.D. "Danny" Williams Jr. '63 still has a stainless steel coffee pot from Duncan Dining Hall back in the day.
The band’s primary role in constructing the bonfire was working in the stacking area, where we lifted and moved the logs closer to the base of the stack after they were delivered from the cutting area. On this particular night, the weather was extremely cold and wet, and we had worn ponchos into Duncan Dining Hall for our evening meal. As we were finishing our dinner, a senior band member instructed me to sneak a full pot of hot coffee out to the bonfire area under my poncho.
When I got to the work area, the senior took the pot and added the “ingredients” required to complete its “conversion” to a pot of “Irish coffee,” which even a few of us Fish were allowed to share. When the pot was empty, it was handed back to me with instructions to return it to the dining hall the next morning. This presented me with another problem: how to return that banged-up stainless steel coffee pot to Duncan without being caught, especially since the weather had cleared by the next morning and we were no longer wearing ponchos. I decided to just stick it in my foot locker and wait until the next rainy day when a poncho would provide the needed cover.
Well, it seems that I forgot about that coffee pot! I still have it after almost 60 years, and the “D.H.” engraved around the top is still visible. It is one of my most treasured possessions, along with great memories of bonfire and “Old Army Days” in Aggieland.
M.D. “Danny” Williams Jr. ’63
Boerne, Texas