2008 Woodie Awards
UTM resurrecting 'eternal flame'
Light that was supposed to be forever was extinguished, but returns thanks to employees
Jay Baker
Issue date: 9/4/07 Section: Campus News
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"Eternal flames are supposed to be eternal," said Larry Holder, who works for UT Martin's Information Technology Services. "You expect it to be there 'til the cows come home. It's a promise to the future."
That flame reappeared this summer in the library, sort of.
The original eternal flame was powered by propane gas and sat atop a brick-and-mortar pedestal outside the library. It was part of a presentation in 1986 by the UT National Alumni Association to the three University of Tennessee campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Martin.
Knoxville's version of the eternal flame is held by the iconic "Torchbearer" statue, which became an official university symbol in the 1930s. Holder said a similar presentation was made at UT Chattanooga in conjunction with the alumni event.
It was installed with much fanfare. The ceremonies even featured an Olympic-style, torch-bearing run across the state to light the flame. UTM's Phil Davis, a chemistry professor, was a torchbearer in the run.
After burning outside the library and serving as a popular meeting place for students for 14 years, the flame was dismantled in 2000 by former Chancellor Phil Conn.
Conn decided that the eternal flame should forfeit its eternal status and be disassembled.
Holder and others said that there was talk that Conn wanted to build a bell tower where the eternal flame stood.
Soon after the eternal flame was extinguished, so was Conn's career at UTM. Conn in 2000 was reassigned to vice president for special projects at UT in Knoxville after a firestorm of protests from students and faculty.
For the next seven years the flame went largely forgotten. The only piece not stowed away in boxes was the torch used to light the flame, which was kept in the office of Charley Deal, assistant chancellor for alumni development.
"If this had been taken down and relocated that would be one thing, but to the best of my knowledge if I had not done something about it, parts of it would have just been forgotten about," Holder said. "I took it upon myself to resurrect it."
Resurrecting the flame was not easy, but Holder wasn't alone in his wish to reignite the flame.
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