Hammerfest
Date(s) of occurrence: 1908 (Officially named Hammerfest in 1911) -
Previous/other names:
Origins: In 1911, Professor Miller of the Department of Forestry suggested that the annual dinner of the Forestry Club be called Hammerfest, a name that was thereafter embraced by Forestry students. The event originally took place annually in the spring, but was moved to the fall in 1948.
History: The "time-honored institution" known as Hammerfest began as an annual dinner hosted until 1912 in the office of Mrs. McLeod.
In the mid-1940s the event was held at Mr. Woodbridge's camp, known as "The Queen of the Forest," to which students and faculty of the Department of Forestry, as well as some guest Foresters, venture in the early evening for an out-of-doors dinner served by the Freshmen. Musical entertainment during the dinner consisted of a small orchestra, while the meal was followed by a speech and several rounds of jokes before breaking up around 9:00 PM.
Notes: There is evidence that suggests Hammerfest gradually became an increasingly rowdier affair, evolving from an annual dinner to more of a party.
Source(s):
- The Brunswickan: Forestry Issue, vol. 62, no. 15, 9 October 1942, p. 3.
- Forestry Brunswickan, vol. 71, no. 5, 7 November 1951, p. 1.
- Bryant, David G. (ed). The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of New Brunswick 1908-1958. Fredericton: The U.N.B. Forestry Association, 1958, p. 77.
- Up the Hill, 1949, p. 154.
© UNB Archives & Special Collections, 2014