Comments on: Bonfired Up

By: Frank Schiav

Frank Schiav — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:21:47 +0000

I’m okay with the Bonfire[s], but I would like it much more if it were fireworks free. They are a lot more like safety hazards to local homes & such and more likely to get out of control.

By: Queen XXIV

Queen XXIV — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:44:50 +0000

Liberty or Safety?

In the words of Ben Franklin:

“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
February 1775

What a shame what we may be losing…..

By: Editor B

Editor B — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:11:13 +0000

Very funny, Puddinhead. (Where’ve you been lately by the way?) But you miss the mark on this one. I think my neighbor Terry Tilson said it best:

“Every year a couple of people die during Mardi Gras. A kid getting run down by a truck or someone falling off the float… not adding the shootings which took place in the crowd for the past two year… SO it seems to me that Mardi Gras parades are more dangerous that any bonfires so far, so why don’t they just stop this tradition also when they are at it? Hey prevention and safety first…”

By: Beth

Beth — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:59:44 +0000

I hear you, RW, and since I posted earlier I’ve talked with a few people who remember it that way. But still, what we enjoy now, since the 90s essentially, is something very different than a small gathering of neighborhood families. If it’s going to continue, some of the new twists will probably have to be eliminated or reined in – fireworks among them.

By: RW

RW — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:29:40 +0000

The myth is that it only existed since the 1990s. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t notice back then, but I can assure you that from someone who grew up right across the street from the bonfire it is clear that there has not been a year missed in at least 45 years. Elders say 80-90. True it has grown in size, and as it has grew more attention was drawn to the tradition as more were invited and more attended.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:54:24 +0000

Hi,

I don’t know what accounts are saying this is a century-old tradition (I keep seeing that on posts supporting the bonfire tradition). I lived 1/2 block off Orleans for 15 years and not once was there a bonfire. This was in my teens, and a bonfire would have been exactly what I and my friends would have been drawn to. I’ve spoken with other friends who grew up in the neighborhood and no one remembers this before sometime in the early 1990s. If people had been staging a bonfire, shooting off massive fireworks and dancing naked in the neutral ground for 100 years, jeez, don’t you think we’d all have noticed by now?

That being said, I support continuing the bonfire – without the fireworks. It doesn’t have to be mythologized as some century-old tradition to be worth keeping. New traditions are good, too.

By: Arajay

Arajay — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:55:41 +0000

I am an Orleans Ave resident and have created my own flyer as a counter option to let the city know how we feel about this threat to our holiday.

preview it here:
http://www.arajay.com/myspace/bonfires.gif

download a printable version and post them in your neighborhood:
http://www.arajay.com/myspace/bonfires.pdf

By: Garvey

Garvey — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:23:20 +0000

Bravo, Puddinhead! Some of the best stuff I’ve ever read on here.

By: Gentilly Girl » No New Year’s Eve Bonfire in Mid-City?

Gentilly Girl » No New Year’s Eve Bonfire in Mid-City? — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:02:14 +0000

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By: New Years Eve Bonfire Threatened «

New Years Eve Bonfire Threatened « — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:51:29 +0000

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