A group of West Point parents joined for a celebration of 100th Night on Feb. 25th, 2012. The tradition of 100th Night dates back as far as 1871. It started as a collection of skits presented by the first class, or firsties, as they mark the countdown setting 100 days left until graduation. In 1903, the firsties presented the very first full-length musical comedy and every show since then has been a musical comedy.
Drinks and appetizers were served at the home of Charlie and Carrie Phelps. The firstie parents marked on the map where their cadets will be posted. From left to right: Carrie Phelps, Carla Hooper, Angie Lokotz, Diane Quinn, Karen Mezs, Tom Mezs, Larry Hooper, Mike Lorette, Nancy Lorette. Photo by Charlie Phelps.
The significance of West Point’s 100th night event was a key theme in the 1950 movie “The West Point Story” which stars James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Gordon McRae and Doris Day. Broadway director Elwin “Bix” Bixby (Cagney) is down on his luck and is reluctantly persuaded to go to West Point with a beautiful assistant (Mayo) to help the cadets put on their 100th night show. His real motive is to recruit the cadet star of the show (McRae) to leave West Point and the Army for a career on Broadway, working for Bixby’s boss (who is the cadet’s uncle). Bixby must live as a cadet, and experiences cadet life and learns to appreciate the value of West Point. Not surprisingly, there are many tidbits of USMA trivia embedded in the script, see how many you can spot.