For nearly eighty years, the twin oaks of Toomer’s Corner stood as a loving testament to our city’s roots and our state’s natural beauty.
Following 1972, it became the rallying point for all Auburn football fans. Orange and blue clad fans would run to the corner, toilet paper in hand, and pitch our rolls along the highest branches of these monolithic trees to celebrate a win. Across the many ups and downs of our football players over the decades, this timeless tradition helped bridge generational gaps and strengthen bonds for all of us Auburn fans. Old or young, nerd or novice, we all glowed with joy when Sunday came, and, for that brief moment, it always felt like snow had fallen across all of downtown. Yet there were some who saw this tradition as an insult. In 2010, following a streak of victories by Auburn, largely attributed to quarterback Cam Newton, it came Alabama’s turn to face them for the SEC Iron Bowl. After a close game, Auburn snatched a nail-biting victory in the fourth quarter, merely winning by a single point. For Auburn fans, this was the game of a lifetime. For Alabama fans, it was a devastating loss. One fan, took the loss too far and poisoned the beloved trees.
Per tradition, Auburn students and fan would use toilet paper to “roll” the trees after an athletic victory.
A few months after the big win in 2010, “The Paul Finebaum Show” received a caller going by the alias of “Al”, later found to be Harvey Updyke, who admitted to poisoning the two Toomer’s trees the weekend of the Iron Bowl. During the phone-in, he listed his reasons for the revenge. Besides Auburn’s big win in the Iron Bowl, he claimed this was retaliation for an alleged Tuscaloosa toilet paper rolling in ’83, following the passing of Alabama Coach Bear Bryant, as well as putting a “Scam Newton” jersey on Bryant’s statue that same year. When asked about the morality of his actions, Updyke was quoted as saying, “You think I care?”
Herbicide Spike 80DF later was found in the soil of the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner. Attempts to save the trees were unsuccessful. Following an investigation and trial, Harvey was punished with an $800,000 fine, as well as a six-month jail sentence. The consequences of his actions are still felt more than a decade later. I still remember being a child in the early 2000’s and being encouraged by my parents to toss a few toilet paper rolls to celebrate Auburn wins. Today, walking down Magnolia Ave reminds me of a time that brought our city to pause and a time where both Alabama and Auburn fans came together to mourn a sacred tradition.
Though new trees have since been planted, vandalized, razed, and planted again, we ultimately lost a priceless piece of Alabama history. After a lengthy hiatus, 2023 finally saw the return of rolling the new trees to celebrate Auburn victories. New memories and history will be made on Magnolia Avenue at Toomer’s Corner.
Additional resources
- Auburn University Athletics. (n.d.). Rolling Toomer’s Corner. [online] Available at: https://auburntigers.com/sports/2019/3/28/rolling-toomers.aspx#:~:text=The%20intersection%2C%20which%20marks%20the
- Curtright, A. (n.d.). When were Toomer’s Corner trees replaced? Revisiting history of famous Auburn oaks. [online] Montgomery Advertiser. Available at: https://eu.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/football/2023/11/21/toomers-corner-oak-trees-history-auburn-football-poisoned-burned-tigers-alabama-harvey-updyke/71648363007/#:~:text=Harvey%20Updyke%20poisons%20trees%20after
- ESPN. (2010). Auburn 28-27 Alabama (Nov 26, 2010) Final Score. [online] Available at: https://www.espn.com/college-football/game/_/gameId/303300333/auburn-alabama
- Mendoza, J. (n.d.). Rollin’: Auburn says oak trees at Toomer’s Corner can be rolled. [online] USA TODAY. Available at: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2023/08/08/auburn-oak-trees-toomers-corner-roll-2023/70552785007/
- YouTube. (2011). Toomer’s Corner Tree Poisoned Call. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm8AqL9FV-o
About the author
Michael Humpries was born in Germany into an Army family that moved every couple of years, but Auburn, Alabama, is the closest thing Humpries ever had to a home. Humphries’ hope is to become a history teacher, to not only teach students how the world we live in came to be, but also to help strategize how they can make it better.
