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1027 Willamette St. • 345-0354
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University imprinted with past
■ Leaders and innovators, as well as Webfoots and midnight
marauders, have left their marks on campus
By Clayton Cone
for the Emerald
The gray dampness, the ubiqui
tous tree green and some hearty
pioneer lore tap out a tattoo
unique to a University that shapes
all who pass through. As the days
get progressively shorter and wet
ter, and opportunities for excite
ment seem more limited, you may
wonder what student life was like
in other eras.
Generations ago, “before the
backseats of automobiles became
popular, Pioneer Cemetery was a
place to which couples used to
steal away and make romance,”
said former University archivist K.
Keith Richard. “It became a kind
of a lovers’ area.”
This was in sharp contrast with
the students’ more formal activi
ties, such as orations, recitations,
dramatic presentations and music.
These events where put on by the
men’s and women’s literary soci
eties as far back as December
1877, the second year the Univer
sity was open.
By the turn of the century,
teams for the major sports, includ
ing football, men’s basketball,
baseball and track, and women’s
basketball, gained representation
on the campus. Hence, another
tradition, which reached its hey
day in the 1910s and 1920s, had
students building towering bon
fires around which fans would
gather to support the sports teams
at pep rallies.
One wood pile stacked up to a
height of four stories and burned
for three nights and two days in
1915, according to an exhibit at
the Len Casanova Athletic Center.
University sports fans called
themselves “Webfoots” as long
ago as the 1890s. Local pioneer
lore had it that the wetness of the
weather here caused webs to grow
between their toes.
{ { Before the backseats of
automobiles became pop
ular, Pioneer Cemetery
was a place to which cou
ples used to steal away
and make romance.
K. Keith Richard
former University ,
archivist
Later, a duck named Puddles
toured with the football team as its
informal mascot in the 1920s and
1930s. In 1943, Donald Duck ap
peared in the University yearbook,
and four years later Walt Disney
himself agreed to allow Donald
Duck to “represent Oregon at ath
letic events.” Donald has done so
ever since.
It was not, however, until 1978
that the “Webfoots” lost its stand
ing as the official school name.
And a Swoosh
was born
Most people know that Nike got
its start here at the University in
the 1960s when track and field
coach Bill Bowerman collaborated
with current Nike President and
CEO Phil Knight, one of his former
runners. Prior to his venture with
Knight, Bowerman had spent years
working out the design and con
struction of lightweight track
shoes. But Bowerman had needed
technical help that he got from a
shoemaker on 13th Avenue, ac
cording to Richard.
“Otherwise, [Bowerman] didn’t
know how to make a shoe,” he
said, relating a story: told by Bow
erman himself. “That shoe man
showed him how to put it all to
gether and he helped him sew
things together.”
Other individuals with creative
flair and cutting-edge leadership
have also passed through the Uni
versity.
Nobel laureates William Parry
Murphy, who developed a remedy
for anemia in 1936, and Walter H.
Brattain, who helped invent the
transistor in 1956, both graduated
from the University.
A number of active politicians
have also graduated from the Uni
versity, including U.S. Senator
from "Delaware William Roth in
1944, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden in
1974 and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio
in 1977.
Inconspicuous campus
landmark
Naturally, the dampness of the
Willamette Valley benefits trees,
and the University has an exten
sive assortment of them, nearly
4,000 individual specimens from
500 species and varieties.
Tu rn to History, page 16A
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ACADEMIC LEARNING SERVICES
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
stop by 68 PLC or call 346-3226.
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/ ~ als/
Tutors for foreign languages, science and math classes
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Individual consultation about your academic situation
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Two TRIO Programs: McNair and Student Support Services
Requests for accommodations related to disability should be made to Kim Lilley (346-3226) one week prior to event.