Letters

A Most Memorable Summer

During the summer of 1972, I was completing my freshman year by attending summer school. While I was reluctant to stay on campus, it turned out to be one of the most memorable summers of my life, thanks in part to the Grove.

Mornings were spent in class. But after lunch, it was down to the pool, books in hand, for an afternoon of swimming and sunbathing. There were usually 20 or 30 people at the Wofford Cain outdoor pool, including some of the College Station locals. There was plenty of space for setting up a small encampment on the grass until the sun began to set.

After dinner, depending on the night of the week, it was time for movies at the Grove. I remember little about the quality of the screen or the projection system; I’m sure it was primitive by almost any standard. But we saw everything just fine, and the outdoor setting was special even for those times.

I don’t remember many of the titles, but they were usually older feature films like “Spencer’s Mountain” or “National Velvet.” One evening, there was a special screening of “We’ve Never Been Licked.” There was lots of audience participation, as we laughed at the scenes of the Corps and the hokey patriotic sentimentality. The Vietnam War was raging, and it all seemed more than a little anachronistic.

I am happy to know the Grove is remembered and that there are plans for a kind of resurrection of sorts. Texas A&M was a very different place in the summer of 1972, and it will never be that intimate again. But our memories of the Grove make us smile even as the campus continues to grow and change. Perhaps the Grove at The Gardens will mean just as much to present and future generations of Aggies.

Shenanigans at the Grove

I went to many movies and theater-type events at the Grove during the 1940s and 1950s. It was always hot and humid! Mr. Puddy, who ran the Guion Hall movie theater, now Rudder Tower, was not a fan of the Grove because it cut into the movie theater business. He eventually resigned himself to that and managed the movies at the Grove.

A gentleman, now passed away, would sometimes spread a little fulminate of mercury on the stage during the day. During the movie at night, when the humidity got high enough and the temperature cooled down, the moisture caused the fulminate to go off with a very bright light and a small explosion. He never got caught! Lots of tricks went on during those days that would not be tolerated today!

Perfect Timing

During the summer of 1979, I saw the movie “Psycho” with friends at the Grove. When Janet Leigh was being stabbed in the shower, I was screaming (as were many others!), but the train came through at that exact moment, and its whistle was blowing so loudly that all of our screams blended with the train. It was a fun memory that my friends and I will never forget!

What’s That Smell?

In the 1970s, I was staying in Dunn Hall for summer school. We would walk to the Grove to watch movies at night. Often a train would come by at key moments in the movie, and it wasn't unusual for the wonderful aroma from the old swine center to drift our way when the breeze was just right. I have very fond memories of those movies at the Grove!