Dear Barney, Willamette Magazine recently obtained these letters and photographs from Barney and Blitz, whose correspondence shows how the passing years changed the life of a beloved campus mascot.
BY ERIK SCHMIDT ‘05 ◗ DEC. 2, 2016 Hey, Barney, How’s it going? I figured it might be time to reconnect — it’s been awhile since I saw you on campus, and I’m always curious about what you’re up to. People ask me about you more and more now. They wonder what it was like for you as the mascot back then. My life at Willamette keeps getting busier and more interesting, but I’ll save that for a little later (remind me to talk about world records). For now, have a good holiday season! Best, Blitz
◗ JAN. 4, 2017 Dear Blitz: Sorry for my tardiness; retirement doesn’t provide as much free time as you’d think, especially this time of year. You asked about my days as a mascot, so here goes. Those were interesting times. When I arrived, World War II had ended seven years previously. Dear old Willamette had more curfews and rules than you’d imagine. But it was a special place. A formative place. A kind woman named Nancy Stuart ’47, who worked as the university’s publicity director, introduced me to WU in 1952. I took the reins from “Mr. Bearcat,” a mascot who came and went over the years. He was apparently satisfied with a modest following. Back then, mascots weren’t the wellmuscled heroes of today. Maybe you already know that the word “mascot” has a French derivation: “Mascotte” refers to a lucky charm. Originally, we campus charms didn’t require such prowess. My prowess was always around my midsection. Willamette’s perennial “lucky charm,” the noble bearcat, was introduced in 1915, when President Carl Doney declared that the university mascot should embody the tenacity of the bear and the cunning of the cat. I’ve always found it interesting that so many people in the beginning had never heard of an actual bearcat, which the biology majors among us know as a binturong. To some people, a bearcat is a mishmash of two animals with desirable qualities; to others, it is a feisty (if homely) denizen of Asian forests. With Willamette’s current foothold in the Pacific Rim, it seems to me that the binturong might have been a more prescient choice than anyone knew. But I digress. I’ve only been gone from the university for 20 years or so, but already my memories are fogging up. I’m eager for your story. What does a mascot do at WU these days? Sincerely, Barney 28
SPRING 2017