Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1959)
Stormy history told of ’O' on Butte Bj SUE GOODNIGHT Emerald Staff Writer On May 11, 1908, the campus newspaper (then called the “Ore gon Weekly”) announced that: among other construction pro- 1 jects scheduled for the first: Junior Weekend, a huge cement “O” was to be built on Skinner's Butte, a small hill just north of Willamette St. The monogram was sponsored by the Eugene Commercial Club and on May 22 the block letter was built by the University men. A great event The establishment of the “O" on the Butte marked an event that would figure prominently in the future traditions of the school. The traditional painting of the letter was established on the fifth annual "University Day” when junior men gathered to apply the first coat of lemon yel low. The juniors continued to paint it until 1912 when the class of 1912 decided it was too messy of a job and handed the dubious ; honor to the freshman men. Each frosh class painted the “O” under junior supervision until 1922 when only frosh lettermen were elected. Three years later the let-I terman’s club, the "Order of the O,” took over the job of super- : vision. Although Oregon’s sister j school, Oregon State College, is the one that usually causes fric tion over the "O,” a visiting Cali- j fomia baseball team in 1910 were , the first to tamper with the land-. mark. They blocked out one side of the “O,” thus transforming it j into the California “C.” Not to be outdone by a California college, i the Beavers of OSC arrived un noticed in 1911 and covered Ore gon’s pride with several coats of very sticky tar. The following year brought a change in the method of painting with the in troduction of the “human paint brush.” a method still used today. In the second week of Novem ber, 1929, the town of Eugene was jolted by a violent 3 a.m. explo sion. The lower right-hand coiner of the “O”—one of the few large sized pieces remaining after the blast—came to rest on the floor of a building near the base of the Butte after entering through the roof. The men from OAC were naturally suspected although there was no proof. And, on Nov. 13, the Oregon State Memorial Union was found smeared with paint, perhaps, it was thought, in retaliation for the damage to the “O." A period of relative calm fol lowed save for a few applications of orange paint and tar. Then, in 1937, the peace was shattered in an OSC raid on Oregon that was later called the “Great War." Over 1,500 Beavers invaded the Oregon campus three days after winning the annual Webfoot Beaver game. Ducks poured from classrooms to defend their alma mater and hand-to-hand combat broke out. Oregon was successful in beating off the attack and,, with & few Beaver captives, gained one of their infrequent revenges—having the “O” paint ed with OSC bottoms! ueaver suvren The war years brought peace to the campus except for occ% sional OSC strikes. In November of 1943. Oregon struck back. The OSC mascot mysteriously disap peared and immediately Oregon was blamed. The Beavers came down to the U. of O. campus searching for their little beaver, but failed to locate him. It was during their search that the “O" was again changed to a brilliant orange. Several blastings of the bat tered “O” followed the “k i d - napped beaver" incident, but the end came on May 15, 1953 when the “O” was blown up fof the last time. It had been repaired the week before from a “C" (for cow college) and was in the form of an upside-down "U.” Naturally OSC wits suspected, but no proof was available. A proposal was made to re move the “O” permanently as a safety measure, but it was de cided to reconstruct the “O" from wood covered with metal. The new, armored “O" wa3 relocated some 50 feet from the site of the original. On Nov. 8, 1954, the “unblastable” letter wras partially jurned and on Dec. 5, 1955 OSC diehards unsuccessfully attempt ed to blow it up. Whole ‘O’ taken But pernaps the greatest (or worst) event, depending on what side of the fence you’re on, was the theft of the “O” by the Ag jies. The presence of the stolen "O" on the OSC campus was con MERRY CHRISTMAS TIME is running out! Do your Christmas shopping early . . . the easy way ... by mail Give the gift that goes on giving enjoyment throughout the year. Give a Magazine Subscription Low cost High value Fill in this form today and send it to DUTCHER SUBSCRIPTIONS 242V2 East 14th — Eugene LIFE 21 wks_1.91 1 yr_4.00 2 yr_7.00 TIME 27 wks_1.97 1 yr_3.87 2 yr_7.00 FORTUNE 7.50 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED 17 wks_1.50 1 yr_4.00 2 yr _7.50 Send to Name Address --- City, State Send no money now . Bill Name_ Address _ City, State _ you will be billed later firmed bv the dean of men. An anonymous call to the “Barom eter" said that the letter would be burned on the rook bonfire the next Friday or else be made into a revolving trophy, changing the colors from yellow to orange, de pending on who won the “Civil War" game. It turned out that the "O” was sawed in five pieces and stolen by nine OSC fratern ity pledges. In retaliation, four Oregon let kidnapped O S C ' s Homecoming queen and two princesses. The I girls were held as hostages and used in negotiations for the re turn of the traveled O. After re gaining the “O," the Ducks de I cided it should bo burned as it | was too contaminated by OSC's possession. I A new "O" of steel was built ! by Alpha Phi Omega, service — fraternity on campus, and is now located beneath the cross on Skinner's Butte. The new "O" is 26' by 30’ and weighs one ton. 1( is inclined bo that painters could 3lide more easily. Dedicated at 8:45 a m. on May 17, 1058, a paint job by the frosh followed. Until its first paint job, the "O" was covered by an orange colored prime cord. Thus, a new "O" took over the job of writ hing over P i gnne, as Its predecessors have done for over half a century. The latest episode? The “O." during the weekend of Nov. H and 7, was turned a bright orange. I CAMPUS COUPON GOOD FOR GOOD ONLY ' £00 GOOD ONLY November 21 ■ November 21 on the purchase of any Columbia or Vorve record in stock regularly $3.98 or more LIMIT ONE COUPON PER RECORD THOMPSON'S RECORD MART 82 West Broadway Next door to Wiltshiros DUAL FILTER DOES IT! 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