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Boot Liquor: American Roots Music for Saddle-Weary Drunkards

One of Phi Kappa Theta's Cudgel Collection

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day was THE big day at the University of Missouri - Rolla, where I went in 1979.

All kinds of festival activities and traditions were centered around this day there. St. Patrick was the patron saint of engineers. All the fraternities and many other student organizations competed by carving and finishing very intricate cudgels to compete in a competition. Cudgels were essentially trees, that were cut off about about seven feet, and then carefully dug out of the ground, exposing their larger root cluster. They were cleaned, carved, and polished and painted.

The competition involved having one person have to carry it (even hollowed out, which was done by burning and scraping, these weighed two or three hundred pounds) on a course. They were also judged by their beauty and intricate carvings.

The roots would be carved into people, snakes, and chains, hammers, cogs, and all sorts of geeky things and symbols of St. Pats, the University, and our fraternities.

Very few of the traditions I participated in back then are still around today - too much liability. There was a huge vat (if I remember correctly it was about 10’ x 10’ x 5’ deep) called "Alice." Alice was essentially a vile slime pit, that had mud, excrement, goop, dead animals, oil, and every imaginable yucky or biohazardous substance added to it to ferment over a a period of time prior to the St. Pats coronation ceremonies. (Yeah, I know, this is insane! That's what the health authorities though, too. It was discontinued in 1996).

To become one of the "Knights of St. Pat" (which were mostly seniors), and who then presided over the festivities (which meant drinking and whooping a lot), a candidate had to be dunked in Alice, in a huge drunken ceremony. This meant first slathering themselves from head to toe in Vaseline, and plugging up all their orifices. (Very, very important detail!!!)

After this "honor", the new Knight was hosed off and brought a pitcher of beer to down. This all took place in front of the entire university, assembled in the football stadium. Yech! Ahahahaha! Oh, the good old days!

- Article on this year's 96th annual St. Pat's Festivities at UMR
- Knights of St. Pat presiding in comfort
- Some smaller shillelaghs (shee-LAY-lees)
- More giant cudgels

I had a lot of really great friends from my time at UMR, though I've lost touch with them a long time ago. I often wonder what they're up to these days. I hope they're hoisting a beer today!
- poster by JIMWICh on 3/17/2005 12:46:08PM