BY SARA WARD
Nearly two decades since Hulley Tower fell, it is rising once again — not just as a tribute to Stetson University’s history, but as a symbol of remembrance of the tragic loss of three students in a 1979 avalanche.
Scotty Fenlon, Dennis Long and Katharine “Katy” Resnik were in Innsbruck, Austria, on a study abroad expedition on the slopes of Seegrube Mountain when the wall of snow crashed, engulfing multiple students.
“I lived through this tragedy,” Susan Brockway, a Pi Beta Phi alumna, said. “I returned to Stetson. I finished my last semester, and life rapidly progressed.”
Current Stetson students, alumni, board members and community came together to commemorate the memorial project at the groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 24 to rebuild Hulley Tower — a massive undertaking that will cost $6.7 million.
Last summer, several alumni from that fateful trip returned to Innsbruck to honor their lost friends. Brockway and other survivors led the charge to reconstruct Hulley Tower.
“When I received a phone call nearly 44 years later, I knew it was a God moment. I wanted Katy, my Pi Phi sister, and Dennis and Scotty to be remembered at Stetson,” Brockway said.
The story of the 1979 avalanche has been a long-time-coming, significant chapter in Stetson’s history, one that inspired the “Remembering Innsbruck” short documentary and served as special inspiration for the Hulley Tower project itself.
“This will be a space for us to gather, to celebrate, and to remember — to gather in community,” Stetson Chaplain Todd Campbell said in the ceremony’s opening remarks.
A massive undertaking
The tower’s reconstruction is no small feat.
According to Scott Thacker, who oversees planning and construction at the university, the project is a collaborative effort involving Hunt & Brady Architects, R.J. Heisenbottle Architects, Zev Cohen and Associates, CORE Construction, The Williams Company and Stetson’s project manager, Ethan Burroughs.
A $500,000 historic preservation grant from the state of Florida has helped move the project forward.
The construction crew has already begun carefully removing historical elements from the existing site, which will be incorporated into the new tower.
They will carefully relocate Dr. Hulley and his wife, Eloise to Lankford Funeral Home, who also interred Eloise in 1959, Thacker said. Their remains will be reinterred after construction.
The foundation will include helical piers driven 40 feet into the ground — ensuring the structure stands the test of time, just as the memory of those lost will endure. When complete, it will be a near-exact replica of the original, clad in brick, stone and other elements that match Hulley’s vision. But its purpose extends far beyond aesthetics.
For many, the groundbreaking was deeply personal.
“This is probably my 300th draft of this moment. I don’t know how we got here,” Dr. Jill Jinks, an alumna who was on the Innsbruck trip, said. “We rarely get to be a part of something bigger than us, and in this case, much bigger than us.”
The bells
Now, the bells of Hulley Tower will ring once again — crafted at the Grassmayr Bell Foundry in Innsbruck, Austria. Three of these bells will memorialize Dennis, Katie and Scotty, while additional bells are being sponsored by members of the Stetson community.
Mildred Spalding, another Innsbruck survivor, emphasized how meaningful the memorial will be for those who knew the students.
“Today is about finally honoring Katy, Scotty and Dennis on the Stetson campus with a fitting memorial,” Spalding said. “They represented the very best of Stetson. They were leaders, scholars and athletes. They were also very fun to be with on our trip.”
Jeff Barber, co-chair of the steering committee, spoke on behalf of the families.
“This tower, the bells, and the music that they will create will honor them for many, many years to come. While Scotty, Katy and Dennis are gone, their family members remain, and they cherish their memories,” Barber said.
As the ceremony came to a close, Jinks offered a final reflection.
“You already know you love everyone in this place. I hope that will be part of Hulley Tower’s story, and that those bells last a thousand years,” Jinks said. “Love is infinite in all its dimensions. Hulley Tower is our place of love. And yes, everything you need is already inside you… so let’s go play in the dirt.”
With that, the community dug in, honoring the past and laying the foundation for a future that will once again ring out across Stetson. Once a beloved gathering place, Hulley Tower’s bells echoed through DeLand for generations. Soon, they will do so again, reconnecting Stetson with its long-missed tradition.
Hulley History
Hulley Tower was originally constructed in 1934 in honor of Lincoln Hulley, Stetson University’s second president. It stood as part of Hulley Mausoleum until the ’90s, when structural issues led to the hall’s demolition. The tower itself held on a little longer — until 2005, when hurricane damage from the previous year required it to be taken down for safety concerns. Since then, the space has remained home to Dr. Hulley and his wife, Eloise, who are interred on-site (along with their rumored ghost dog, for those who like a little mystery)
