1 minute read
Hack! Hack! Chop! Chop!
Our legend begins in 1908, when Puget Sound students discovered a hatchet buried in the rubble of an old barn. This hatchet quickly became an unofficial mascot for Loggers, and for the next 100 years, stealing the hatchet from another class and engraving it with the burglar’s graduation year became a storied tradition.
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That is, until our beloved hatchet actually was stolen. Every so often, the hatchet would reappear around campus and at Homecomings. After a 12-year absence, the hatchet was rediscovered and returned in 1998. A secure museum-quality case was built, and a piece of Puget Sound’s history was at home in Wheelock Center.
A few years later, the hatchet was lifted from its cradle in Wheelock, disappearing once again. Despite the community’s best efforts, the hatchet’s location remained a mystery. One fateful night, while climbing inside the steeple of Kilworth Chapel, two students stumbled upon a mysterious object. They had discovered the missing hatchet, but now in two parts: handle and head.
The two students kept their find a secret, storing the relic in their rooms. Years passed and the two students forgot all about the hatchet. It was eventually rediscovered while unpacking moving boxes after graduation. The two returned the relic to the university just in time for the hatchet’s 100-year anniversary. Their identity remains guarded, but one clue was left behind. According to tradition, the pair inscribed their graduation year “’06” in gold on the handle.
The hatchet now rests back in its cradle behind glass in Wheelock Student Center.
Or does it?
As with any good tale, the truth is shrouded in mystery. It has been rumored among more recent alums that the hatchet in Wheelock is not the real one. Has the hatchet disappeared again? Will we ever know the true tale of the hatchet?
RON THOMAS, President Emeritus of University of Puget Sound (2003–2016)
