Fire and Skoal (also known as F&S or FnS) is a senior society at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. It is the college's oldest co-ed senior society.[1]

Fire and Skoal
FnS
Founded1975
Dartmouth College
TypeSenior society
ScopeLocal
Chapters1
Headquarters29 South Park Street
Hanover, New Hampshire
United States

History edit

Fire and Skoal was founded by five students at Dartmouth College in 1975.[2] Its founders were Jim Bildner, Tom Denison, Scott Lochidge, Tom Quinn, and Tom Thomson.[3] They wanted to established a coeducational senior society based on Elihu Club at Yale University.[3] Fire and Skoal received college recognition and was Dartmouth's first coeducational senior society.[2][3][4]

Fire and Skoal is a non-secret or public society.[2][5][3] Its purpose was to establish an environment to discuss economic, political, and social issues, as well as providing a way for future leadees to be involved in those issues.[2] The name, Fire and Skoal, came from the "Hanover Winter Song" and refers to the spirit of camaraderie and friendship.[3]

Weekly, Fire and Skoal's members meet to discuss and debate campus and world issues.[3] The society invites professors and guest speakers to their meetings.[3] Some of its events are open to the public.[6] It also hosts social events.[3]

 
Fire and Skoal House, 2007

House edit

The society moved to a house at 29 South Park Street in the fall of 1978.[2][3] The house built between 1893 and 1896.[7] It was the residence of C. H. Richardson and Edwin Case in 1896.[7] W. H. Moore was its owner by 1931, followed by Dartmouth College in 1978.[7][3][8]

Membership edit

Fire and Skoal membership is co-ed and non-secret.[2][5] It has around thirty active members who are seniors.[2][3] Active members select the next year's members during their junior year in a college-wide selection process known as tapping.[5][3] Every winter and spring, juniors are tapped for the senior societies through a process semi-coordinated through the college.[1][5] Members carry identifying canes or walking sticks at commencement.[5][9]

Notable members edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Dartmouth's First Senior Society". Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Dartmouth College. Fire and Skoal". Dartmouth Libraries Archives & Manuscripts. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jacob, Jessica (April 11, 1996). "Fire and Skoal mull over new ideas and burning issues". The Dartmouth. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  4. ^ "New Secret". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. November 1979. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  5. ^ a b c d e Bauman, Gretchen (February 9, 2024). "Tapping, Tunnels and the Tomb: The Development of Dartmouth's Senior Societies". The Dartmouth. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  6. ^ "Politically Correct". Rutland Daily Herald. 1991-04-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  7. ^ a b c Meacham, Scott (2001). "Scott Meacham, "Notes toward a Catalog of the Buildings and Landscapes of Dartmouth College,"" (PDF). Dartmouth College.
  8. ^ "Halls, Tombs and Houses: Student Society Architecture at Dartmouth. Appendix". Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  9. ^ Platt, Bill (2013-06-06). "What's the Story With Those Walking Sticks?". Dartmouth College. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  10. ^ "Tara Holm's Homepage". Cornell University. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

See also edit