If you hear explosions this week at Fort Lewis College, don’t worry, it’s just cannon fire.
On Wednesday, FLC is going to be training staff members to load and fire its newly refurbished cannon ahead of fall semester.
Spokesman Mitch Davis said the joyous, if cacophonous, occasion marks the triumphant resumption of an old FLC tradition.
“Historically, FLC had used a cannon to fire at athletic events since the 1970s,” he said. “But then, three or four years ago, we reached a point where we thought it was unsafe to fire the cannon.”
Into the breach stepped FLC Alumni Director David Kerns, who spearheaded a “Bringing Back the Boom” campaign to collect money for a new cannon barrel.
With help from 36 donors, who gave in increments as small as $10 and as large as $1,500, Kerns raised $7,500 to put mortal fear back in the hearts of FLC’s foes.
Kerns said all things considered, the price wasn’t “too bad”: Luckily, FLC didn’t need to replace the original cannon carriage.
“There were probably four or five coats of paint on it. But when we stripped it down, we found that it was made of this beautiful oak; just gorgeous – so there was no need for a new carriage,” he said.
He said that by purchasing the cannon barrel from Steen Cannons, a Kentucky-based cannon firm that “is the major supplier of ordnance for the National Park Service” and Civil War buffs, FLC’s alumni association also had managed to avoid the exorbitant shipping fees that can make eBay purchases much more expensive in the final analysis.
Kerns said he was extremely excited to attend Wednesday’s cannon training
“We’re still trying to take photos of it – this thing is gorgeous,” he said.
And loud.
Kerns said FLC’s new cannon barrel had impressed no less an expert than Marshall Steen – owner of Steen Cannons.
According to Steen Cannons’ website, Steen, who is a Justice of the Peace in Boyd County, is also “a third-generation mortician (Funeral Director/Embalmer) and has been in the service-related business all of his life.”
As such, he should know which cannons will leave FLC’s rivals scared to death.
Kerns said Steen told him “this barrel is one of the loudest – it’s not one of the largest – but it’s one of the loudest.”
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
