is it a bear? is it a cat? no way! Feature by Tina (Napper) Tebbe ’08
wait, a bear – on campus?! In the early days of McKendree’s athletic teams, the mascot was actually and truly a bear. Long ago, a large cage sat about 20 feet to the northwest of Pearsons Hall, very close to where Voigt Hall is today. In that cage lived the real live mascot – a bear cub. Each year a student would be voted as the honorary “Keeper of the Bear,” a duty held in high esteem. The mascot, “Susie,” would often wander around campus with a long chain attached to her collar, pop in and out of classroom buildings, and even accompany Coach Glen Filley and the football, basketball and track teams on road trips. In fact, it was said that she often kept him warm on the ride home on cold nights in the period of Model T open-air transportation.
what even is a bearcat, anyway? In the early 1910s and 1920s, the Model T was quite popular – and among the pinnacle of that popularity was the Stutz Bearcat, a snazzy status symbol for the wealthy of that time. “It’s a bear” and “It’s a cat” were common expressions at the time, and the students ran with it to help form a new mascot, one that would indicate a superior quality. Inquisitive students decided to consult the dictionary to see what a bearcat really was. According to Webster, it’s technically a type of weasel, a cat-like creature with a small bear-like body, with “gleaming eyes and snarling countenance.” What better mascot to intimidate the competition while reinforcing a prestigious nature than one such as this?
a familiar face
The latest Bogey took the spotlight in 2021. With large eyes, golden ears and a joyful smile full of beautiful pearly whites, this fit Bogey now sports McKendree garb just like the University’s fans.
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