MONAHANS, Texas — A once-dormant tradition made a blazing return to Monahans on Wednesday.
Monahans High School had gone 17 years since its last big bonfire, but ahead of it's homecoming game, the school and community decided to bring it back.
Most, if not all of the current students at the high school, have either never been a part of the bonfire tradition or weren't old enough to remember what it was like.
Even so, Nana Hernandez, a current senior at the high school, said it feels like history is coming back for those who never got to experience it.
"For me, it just kind of feels like I’m getting part of the history back going into my senior year," Hernandez said. "I’ve never got to experience it before, so having it come back my senior year, it really is special to me. It feels good."
One member of the Loboes community has worked especially hard in trying to revive the tradition. Krista Powell, mother to a current senior football player, has been working on this since her son's freshman year.
"My vision started three years ago, so it took three years to get this here," Powell said. "It took a good few weeks of gathering and rallying the troops to get this set up, and it took a good couple of days to build a bonfire, and lots of sweat and hard labor, but it’s definitely love."
Powell and other members of the Loboes community came forward pushing the idea. Monahans principal, Daniel Sharp, agreed that bringing the tradition back would be a good thing.
"I thought it was important to push forward and to get the tradition back here in Monahans," Sharp said. "Monahans is very tradition-rich and they love their traditions, and this is something that has really brought the community together."
Many members of the senior class took part in the getting everything ready for the bonfire. As they leave their mark on the community, they hope that this tradition continues well into the future.
"To be a part of it is honestly an honor because I mean we’re being able to experience this," Ameris Anderson, senior at Monahans High School, said. "We got it started up again, and hopefully we can keep it going. It’s just like I said, it’s an honor."