Lost Tradition Revived
The Old Central bell is ringing again – 113 years after its first installation.

"I think the Oklahoma A&M students would really be happy," says Linda Smith, director of the Oklahoma Museum of Higher Education formerly housed in Old Central.

"I think they'd be really proud that OSU students are bringing back the bell tradition and the heritage of Old Central."

A tradition that lay dormant for decades has returned in full force, thanks to efforts by the OSU Athletic Department, alumni and one dedicated OSU student.

"I really believe the students are embracing it," says Eric Martin, 2007 economics graduate. "It's part of the tradition of OSU, and they want to bring it back."

Martin first entered Old Central in 2006 and received a tour from Smith, who told him of the bell tradition.

"When I was a freshman here, we always use to hear about how they'd ring the bell," Martin says. "I started talking to Linda about it, and I told her I could get people to come ring it again. And that's how it got started."

The tradition really began in 1894 when the College Building at Oklahoma A&M College first opened, Smith says.

Students would ring the bell after every football victory – home and away – to let farmers and ranchers around Stillwater know the team had won.

Hundreds of students lined up to ring the bell after OAMC defeated the University of Oklahoma 7-0 in Stillwater in the 1930s. As the story goes, the students rang the bell for several days – much to the annoyance of the Sooners.

"The OU students got mad, so they climbed the outside of Old Central and stole the clapper on the inside of the bell," Smith says.

When the A&M community found out the victory clapper was missing, they were furious. Two Aggie students found and rescued the clapper from a University of Oklahoma fraternity house, returning it to Stillwater.

For the next 14 years, the clapper would be passed back and forth between the schools – annually going to the winner of the bedlam football game.

It wasn't until the Cowboys defeated the Sooners 17-16 in 1965 that the clapper would return to Stillwater permanently.

The bell has remained silent, however, until the recent efforts to renew the tradition of ringing the bell after athletic victories.

It wasn't until Martin toured Old Central and learned the bell still existed that the tradition was revived.

"We rang the bell last year after the football wins, but no one seemed to take notice," Smith says. "I told Eric we could do it for basketball, too, and if the students wanted to, I'd be here to let them in."

What followed was an enthusiastic rush of students to climb the narrow stairs in Old Central into the dusty attic to pull the rope and ring the century-old bell.

More than 100 students showed up to ring the bell after the 66-61 victory over the University of Oklahoma on Jan. 22.

Smith says she knows the students of Oklahoma A&M would be proud of their successors' enthusiasm for renewing the tradition.

"I think they'd be so proud," Smith says. "They were so proud of Oklahoma A&M, their building and their bell."

Echoes of the Past
There's one more wrinkle in the bell's remarkable history. Renovations to Old Central began over the summer that will conclude in 2008 with the relocation of the OSU Honors College into the building. Because of safety concerns, the entire building will be closed until the $7 million renovation is complete.

Mike Buchert, a long range facilities planner at OSU, says during that time, the bell will more than likely be put on a platform and stored in the Student Union.

"Structurally, we can't install the bell in the Student Union tower, so we're working on placing the bell on a movable platform that can be rolled in and out of the Student Union," Buchert says.

On game days, Buchert says the bell will be brought outside for students and fans to ring after every OSU victory.

After the renovation, a sound system to amplify the current bell may be installed, he says.

Until then, alumni, students and fans are encouraged to continue the Old Central Bell tradition – wherever the bell may be.