short film about classic MU uniforms to play at Sundance

[MUSF]

Back on topic...

Congrats to Pudi. I am thrilled that he is experiencing some success.

[The Love House]

Man, for a thread on cool uniforms, this sure brought back some bad memories. I graduated in '89 and remember the Bud House fire like it was yesterday. I was drinking buddies and bar-mates with all the Bud House guys and went to many parties there, including the one that night. In fact, I left just an hour or two before the fire. I got the story first-hand from the guys who tried to carry that burning couch out the front door, only to have it get stuck in the doorway and block the exit. If you've ever been in those old mansions, they were like tinderboxes with 100+ year old wood floors and trim everywhere.  It went up like a torch.  I'll never forget waking up the next morning and hearing the details about what happened. It was just tragic. Once they realized they couldn't get the burning couch through the doorway, they ran around to all the bedrooms and tried to get everyone out.  But the door to the room where the young man died on the 3rd floor was locked from the inside.  No one responded when they pounded on the door so they assumed he had gotten out. But when they were all outside and realized he wasn't accounted for, they started screaming his name. Apparently the screaming must have awakened him, but as soon as he opened the door he was instantly engulfed in flames by the rush of oxygen to the fire in the hallway. That was when I first learned what the word "flashover" meant. I remember it to this day.
I was even at O'Donohue's pub the night they arrested "Kevin".  A few of the Bud House guys were there and thought they recognized him, so they had the bartender (I think it was Marty) call out "Hey Kevin". When the guy turned to see what was going on they jumped him and basically beat the crap out of him right there before calling the cops. I came into the bar right afterward and they were all shouting "we got Kevin".  Soon all the students on the streets were celebrating and hugging each other.  Like the article says, though, he was a mentally disturbed homeless guy and the police were never able to conclusively link him to the events. A couple of the guys I talked to who jumped him at the bar later said they weren't sure if he was the right guy or not. The real tragedy is that even though the Bud House was home to some of the rowdiest rugby players on campus, the young man who died – "KY" as everybody called him - was one of the nicest, down-to-earth kids you'd ever want to meet. I think this event, together with the whole Dahmer story, is what led Marquette to begin buying up all the surrounding areas of campus and tear down places like the Avalanche and OD's that were a magnet for drunks, homeless people, and the generally undesirable.  They even tore down my beloved Love House on the corner of 16th and Wells and replaced it with a BlockBuster of all things. Regardless, the events in the Bud House hung like a dark cloud over our entire Senior class for the rest of the semester and prompted permanent change to the face of the campus and the surrounding area. Nearly 25 years later we're still talking about it.

[GGGG]

Thank you so much for sharing.  I bet those guys who couldn't get the couch out the door still have nightmares about that.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Wow. I've been hearing Marquette stories for going on eleven years and I've never heard about this.

[Knight Commission]

So it goes back to the question I've always had did some drunk MU Rugby player accidentally/intentionally set the couch on fire (keep in mind a party was going on) and then blame it on some psychotic he/she previously met at OD's/Lanche?  

What specifically caused MPD to drop the charges on "Kevin"?

Someone knows.

BTW I lived in the Love House too (accross the hall from Joe Nethen), the year before that pit caught fire.

[Henry Sugar]

Thank you so much for sharing.  I bet those guys who couldn't get the couch out the door still have nightmares about that.

+1

I've never heard this story.

[The Love House]

...did some drunk MU Rugby player accidentally/intentionally set the couch on fire (keep in mind a party was going on) and then blame it on some psychotic..."  

What specifically caused MPD to drop the charges on "Kevin"?

Someone knows.

BTW I lived in the Love House too (accross the hall from Joe Nethen), the year before that pit caught fire.

FELLOW LOVE HOUSER!!! AWESOME!!! BTW, my buddy Tripp and I were the ones responsible for painting the giant "LOVE" on the side of the building, which gave rise to its name. It's an interesting story too, which I'll post tomorrow if I have time (it's 5:30 here). As far as your theory about whether the Bud House guys accidently set the couch on fire, I'd definitely say no. We talked about the incident many times back then and at all our subsequent reunions. If that was the case, somebody over the years would have leaked something. Plus, the fire happened at 3:30 a.m. after the party was over, the beer was gone, and almost all the guys in the house had gone to bed. The Bud House guy who came downstairs and discovered the burning couch was just going to get the empty keg off the porch if I remember correctly. It was a huge party house and the front door was pretty much left wide open for people to come in and out, so it's very easy to believe that the guy they kicked out earlier that night could have slipped back in as they were disappearing to bed upstairs. As far as why they didn't charge "Kevin" – the guy they arrested at ODs - he simply wasn't the guy. He turned out to be schizophrenic and would have admitted to blowing up the Hindenburg if you accused him of it.  Yes, he did turn and acknowledge the bartender at ODs when he yelled "Hey Kevin", but in reality if anyone shouted that 10 feet away from me, I'd turn to look too just out of instinct. The homeless guy who really started the fire probably slipped off into the shadows as soon as he heard what happened. After all, there were wanted signs all over campus.


Here's a classic old photo of Wells street and the "Love House", circa 1989...click to enlarge

[keefe]

the young man who died – "KY" as everybody called him

KY??

YGBFSM

[NavinRJohnson]

KY??

YGBFSM

Not sure what that mean, but KY as in the state. I knew him from a couple doors on my floor Freshman year. I'll second that he was a nice kid.

The whole thing was definitely a something. I never really did buy into the whole Kevin thing either.

[ChicosBailBonds]

+1

I've never heard this story.

+1 also.  Was a student at the time, remember the fire but we lived pretty far away from it so the details were not known to me, or forgotten.

[Lighthouse 84]

Man, for a thread on cool uniforms, this sure brought back some bad memories. I graduated in '89 and remember the Bud House fire like it was yesterday. I was drinking buddies and bar-mates with all the Bud House guys and went to many parties there, including the one that night. In fact, I left just an hour or two before the fire. I got the story first-hand from the guys who tried to carry that burning couch out the front door, only to have it get stuck in the doorway and block the exit. If you've ever been in those old mansions, they were like tinderboxes with 100+ year old wood floors and trim everywhere.  It went up like a torch.  I'll never forget waking up the next morning and hearing the details about what happened. It was just tragic. Once they realized they couldn't get the burning couch through the doorway, they ran around to all the bedrooms and tried to get everyone out.  But the door to the room where the young man died on the 3rd floor was locked from the inside.  No one responded when they pounded on the door so they assumed he had gotten out. But when they were all outside and realized he wasn't accounted for, they started screaming his name. Apparently the screaming must have awakened him, but as soon as he opened the door he was instantly engulfed in flames by the rush of oxygen to the fire in the hallway. That was when I first learned what the word "flashover" meant. I remember it to this day.
I was even at O'Donohue's pub the night they arrested "Kevin".  A few of the Bud House guys were there and thought they recognized him, so they had the bartender (I think it was Marty) call out "Hey Kevin". When the guy turned to see what was going on they jumped him and basically beat the crap out of him right there before calling the cops. I came into the bar right afterward and they were all shouting "we got Kevin".  Soon all the students on the streets were celebrating and hugging each other.  Like the article says, though, he was a mentally disturbed homeless guy and the police were never able to conclusively link him to the events. A couple of the guys I talked to who jumped him at the bar later said they weren't sure if he was the right guy or not. The real tragedy is that even though the Bud House was home to some of the rowdiest rugby players on campus, the young man who died – "KY" as everybody called him - was one of the nicest, down-to-earth kids you'd ever want to meet. I think this event, together with the whole Dahmer story, is what led Marquette to begin buying up all the surrounding areas of campus and tear down places like the Avalanche and OD's that were a magnet for drunks, homeless people, and the generally undesirable.  They even tore down my beloved Love House on the corner of 16th and Wells and replaced it with a BlockBuster of all things. Regardless, the events in the Bud House hung like a dark cloud over our entire Senior class for the rest of the semester and prompted permanent change to the face of the campus and the surrounding area. Nearly 25 years later we're still talking about it.

That's what happened to the Lighthouse on 15th, just north of Wells.  Torn down.  Did the Bud House name originate in 83-84 because Teddy Ruzicka was there or was it the Bud House before him?

[GGGG]

FELLOW LOVE HOUSER!!! AWESOME!!! BTW, my buddy Tripp and I were the ones responsible for painting the giant "LOVE" on the side of the building, which gave rise to its name. It's an interesting story too, which I'll post tomorrow if I have time (it's 5:30 here). As far as your theory about whether the Bud House guys accidently set the couch on fire, I'd definitely say no. We talked about the incident many times back then and at all our subsequent reunions. If that was the case, somebody over the years would have leaked something. Plus, the fire happened at 3:30 a.m. after the party was over, the beer was gone, and almost all the guys in the house had gone to bed. The Bud House guy who came downstairs and discovered the burning couch was just going to get the empty keg off the porch if I remember correctly. It was a huge party house and the front door was pretty much left wide open for people to come in and out, so it's very easy to believe that the guy they kicked out earlier that night could have slipped back in as they were disappearing to bed upstairs. As far as why they didn't charge "Kevin" – the guy they arrested at ODs - he simply wasn't the guy. He turned out to be schizophrenic and would have admitted to blowing up the Hindenburg if you accused him of it.  Yes, he did turn and acknowledge the bartender at ODs when he yelled "Hey Kevin", but in reality if anyone shouted that 10 feet away from me, I'd turn to look too just out of instinct. The homeless guy who really started the fire probably slipped off into the shadows as soon as he heard what happened. After all, there were wanted signs all over campus.


Here's a classic old photo of Wells street and the "Love House", circa 1989...click to enlarge

My memory is creaking back to life.

In the summer of 1990, there was a dumpster fire behind a house on Kilbourn...just east of the Reeves Apartments on 14th St.  Witnesses say that they saw a homeless guy in the area just before it burned, and for a bit the police thought the cases may have been linked, but nothing came of it.

[Eldon]

No you don't. I just saved you two hours... you're welcome.

Just watched GBII. Suffice it to say, i will never doubt you again.

[keefe]

KY as in the state.

So what, he thought "KY" was better than "Bluegrass" or "Long Rifle?"

[LloydMooresLegs]

  That's what happened to the Lighthouse on 15th, just north of Wells.  Torn down.  Did the Bud House name originate in 83-84 because Teddy Ruzicka was there or was it the Bud House before him?

One of Teddy's many MU cousins was a roommate of mine, and he credited to Teddy. 

The big fire in my day was the one Farley got kicked out for at the White House (south side of Kilbourne between 16th and 17th).  Lots of smoke damage and scary escape from the third floor for a couple of the ladies living there, but no major injuries.

[keefe]

The big fire in my day was the one Farley got kicked out for at the White House

The one Obama lives in?