July 3, 2012

• Day 15

  Day 01- A picture of yourself with fifteen facts.
  Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been close with the longest.
  Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
  Day 04 - A picture of a habit you wish you didn't have..........
  Day 05 - A picture of your favourite memory.
  Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
  Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.
  Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.
  Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
  Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.
  Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.
  Day 12 - A picture of something you love.
  Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.
  Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
  Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.
  Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.
  Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.
  Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.
  Day 19 - A picture of you when you were little.
  Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
  Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.
  Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.
  Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.
  Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.
  Day 25 - A picture of your day.
  Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you.
  Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.
  Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.
  Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.
  Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

  Place Flowers on Pat's Grave Just North of Baker
  

  

  The story of the Austin College mascot (the Kangaroo) is actually a long and curious one. It reaches back to the 1850s, when Austin College upperclassmen held mock trials—called Kangaroo Kourt—in which freshmen were “tried” by upperclassmen.

  Although the courts were abolished in 1915, our students’ love of kangaroos persisted. So it was that the Class of 1923 bought a live kangaroo from a zoo in California. Named after Trustee Pat E. Hooks, “Pat” the kangaroo came to campus in 1922 to live under the steps of Luckett Hall (this dorm was burned down due to a black mold). The three-year-old kangaroo stood five feet tall. 

  

  This was a huge boost to student morale. The kangaroo and their 12-piece band gave Austin College students “the conviction that the Kangaroos could compete athletically with any school in the Southwest.” Pat was taken on a leash to home football games, pre-game bonfires, biennial games with archrival Trinity (seriously, fuck the Tigers), and to games with SMU in Dallas.

  All went well until Pat accompanied the team to training camp at Woodlake, where he died. Pat was buried just north of the present location of Baker Hall at a funeral service held by students one morning after chapel.

   

  A second mascot was purchased from a circus in 1924. After “Pat II” met a similar fate, the student body decided a kangaroo was too delicate a creature to survive in Texas. Pat II was not replaced until the fall of 1950, when Austin College students bought a six-month-old female Australian wallaby named Katy.

   

  Katy was small—about three feet high and seventy-five pounds at maturity—and lived in a pen built especially for her next to the gymnasium. Fitted with a harness, Katy and her handlers dashed up and down the football field during halftime. She even appeared at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the Austin College-Mexico City University game. Katy died in the summer of 1960. 

  The Austin College mascot has been played by a human ever since.

  

  • 2:45 am
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