By Joshua Mills
mills@newsroom.byu.edu
BYU has a long history of traditions but many are not in existence anymore.
One of these extinct traditions is the Homecoming Queens.
The BYU's Homecoming Queen contest is no longer celebrated because of negative associations with beauty contests.
The long-held tradition of BYU Homecoming Queens was abolished in 1988 by student leadership, said Ron Jones of Student Leadership Services.
'There were some students here at BYU that didn't want to discriminate one gender over another,' Jones said.
The decision was said to be a result of a statement by President Spencer W. Kimball in the 1961-62 MIA Dance Handbook.
'The flattery resulting (from queen contests) is frequently destructive to the queen. If I had 100 daughters, I would resist any one's ever becoming a queen, the object of a beauty parade or contest,' President Kimball said.
Burning mattresses to light the Y is another tradition no longer practiced at BYU.
'Years ago, we'd take mattresses up to the Y and dump hundreds of gallons of kerosene on them,' said BYU graduate Ken Bluemlein from Vincennes, Ind.
Then a few students would light the mattresses while Y students watched in the city below, he said.
Watching the Y burn was a favorite event for many.
'You'd watch the Y 'till it burned out. It was the most exciting thing,' said BYU graduate Wanda McCombs from Centerville, S.D.
McCombs said the Homecoming Queen's initials were lit next to the Y, revealing the queen's identity.
Whitewashing the Y is another activity no longer performed.
A 1966 Banyan picture showed students lined up along the trail in a bucket-brigade style, passing buckets of whitewash to be dumped on the Y.
Law students wearing shorts, suit-coats and holding briefcases in the Homecoming Parade, is another past celebration.
'Now that was fun,' McCombs said.
The group of law students in shorts was named 'The Briefcase Brigade.'
The current Homecoming Spectacular used to be a very small but beloved event, said Charlene Winters, director of Alumni Relations. The event was formerly called the Fieldhouse Frolics.
BYU graduate Charlotte Bluemlein of Vincennes, Ind. fondly remember the event.
'We loved the Fieldhouse Frolics,' Mrs. Bluemlein said. 'It was fun.'
Turtle races were a favorite event with dorm dwellers.
'We had turtles passed down in the dorms,' Mr. Bluemlein said.
'My favorite was Fubar - the turtle that Taylor Hall in Helaman Halls had back in the 70s.'