Page 28 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2022 - Online Magazine

Arriving in In the six decades
Lubbock since, the Carol of
during the Lights has grown
third week beyond Hinn or,
of December, indeed, any of the
Hinn initially people who worked
donated the to establish it. It has
materials continued to expand
and paid for and change, although
the labor to perhaps not as quickly
decorate the as during those first
three campus few years. Today, it
structures of features a 38-foot-
the Science tall Christmas tree,
Quadrangle: a 20-foot wreath,
Chemistry, 3,000 luminaries
Science surrounding
and the original Library (today, the Mathematics & Memorial Circle, and 25,000 lights. Each year, it brings
Statistics building). When it was done, Hinn was in more than 20,000 Texas Tech students and local
so pleased that he paid to have the Administration residents.
building done also. The 5,000 lights used exhausted
the whole available supply of lights and sockets in And the 2022 Carol of Lights is perhaps the biggest
Lubbock and Dallas. and brightest yet.
But by the time it was done, it was only a few days As the official kick-off of Texas Tech’s Centennial
before Christmas; nearly all the students had gone Celebration, the 64th annual event reimagines the
home for the holidays and missed the display. traditional program with live entertainment; new
However, the community didn’t. The event attracted staging, lighting and sound; and even a fireworks
so much attention that, the following year, a group display. It’s sure to highlight not only the growth of
of Lubbock businesses chipped in to expand the the Carol of Lights but also the growth of Texas Tech
ceremony. With these additional resources, the 1960 itself—from a small, regional school that hosted a
celebration grew to seven buildings—including East small Carol Sing to the internationally recognized
and West Engineering and Textile Engineering—and University it is today.
11,000 lights. The Residence Halls Association added In the midst of the excitement, in that momentary
caroling and dubbed the event the Christmas Sing. hush just before the lights come on, take a moment

In 1961, the event grew to 16,000 lights and was to remember how far Texas Tech has come, and how
officially renamed the Carol of Lights. That year, a bright the future is.
young Bill Dean was the Student Body President.
University President Robert Cabiness Goodwin
asked Dean to join him in flipping the switch at the
ceremony.
“It wasn’t anything like we have today,” recalled
Dean, who retired last year following a 54-year career
with Texas Tech, including 40 years with the Texas
Tech Alumni Association. “There was just a group of
students assembled. I think they probably sang some
Christmas carols, and then, when it got dark, we
turned on the lights.”

28 Lubbock Senior Link