Northwest Missouri State University - Tower Yearbook (Maryville, MO)

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Dancers in the marathon show their acrobatic talents. Grand Junction provides part of the musical entertainment for the dancers. The audiance keeps the dancers going during the late hours. Rock around the clock Seventy-seven dancers raised approx- imately $6,050 to benefit muscular dystrophy in the Sixth Annual Muscular Dystrophy Dance Marathon, held in Lamkin Gymnasium, November 19 and 20, said Paul Bellman, co-chairman of the event. A lot of time and planning went into the event to make it a success, said Bellman. Jodi and I started planning some last spring, but we really started on the details in September. Bellman, along with Jodi Stroud, co- chaired the event. This was the second year that the Alpha Kappa Lamda frater- nity and their little sisters sponsored it. Everyone did a great job, said Bellman. We had a lot of cooperation from campus organizations as well as area businesses. The marathon began at 6 p.m. on Fri- day, with 34 couples registered and ended at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Only four people dropped out before it was over, said Bellman. The prize for the couple that collected the most money was a ski trip to Colorado with the Outdoor Program, he said. The second prize was a weekend for two at the Sheraton Royal in Kansas City. Two tickets to a King ' s basketball game were awarded to the third place couple. IPC, Panhellenic Council and IRC sponsored a Casino Night which raised about $67, he said. KDLX provided most of the music for the event, but two local bands. Tempest and Grand Junction, helped to liven things up. Tempest was excellent, said Bellman. Grand Junction played mostly country music and a lot of dancers didn ' t really know how to dance to it, said dancer Katie Klausen. Gina Hawk, one of the dancers, taught everyone basic country and western steps. Bellman said. That was pretty fun. Area restaurants furnished pizzas for the dancers and ARA provided breakfast for them. The food was great, said Klausen. Other activities that kept the dancers going throughout the night included a free- throw contest, country and western hour, a 50 ' s and punk contest, hoola- hoops, frisbees and other games, Bellman said. One game that got everyone closer was when we divided ourselved into teams, stuck toothpicks in our mouths and pass- ed Lifesavers to each other using only the toothpicks, he said. That game went really fast. That game was really wild, said Klausen. I almost kissed a guy I didn ' t even know. I really liked it this year, said Klausen. It didn ' t seem as long as last year. There was always a crowd there to watch and that really kept us going. Bellman said he had a lot of fun doing it, but was relieved when it was all over. I didn ' t really get that tired, said Klausen. My feet hurt, but I even went out and danced some more after it was over. -Teresa Kincaid

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i - 1 A Dog ' s memory lives after 66 years i. To the right of the drive as one ap- proaches the turn-about at the east en- trance of the Administration buildirigs is a tiny monument bearing this in- scription: MIKE To the Memory of our Dog Died May 15, 1917 The monument honors the little tramp dog that came to the campus one day, liked college life, endeared himself to students and faculty alike, and became an integral and indispen- sable part of the institution, accor- ding to contemporary reports. But the little grayish dog, whom somebody The Bearcat ' name debuts during 1916 Before 1916, the athletic teams of the Fifth District School had no real name. They were usually referred to by local newspapers as the Normals ; by newspapers in towns putting up- town or high school teams against them as the Pedagogues ; and fre- quently, in a somewhat derisive man- ner, as the Ham Fats. A name was needed, but nobody seemed to think of a good one. By 1915, Coach Walter Hanson had developed some pretty good fighters in his team. In that year the basketball team had played the Panthers from Drury College, Springfield, in Maryville, tying the vistors 14-14 at the end of the first half and losing to them in the second half, the final score being 33 for Drury, 28 for the Normals. On February 25 of that year Coach Han- son ' s team tied Drury for the state pen- nant by defeating Missouri Wesleyan at Cameron. The next day, however, they were beaten by William Jewell, thus giving the year ' s pennant to Drury. But the rugged Normals had made a reputation for themselves with the Drury coach and his team. On January 20, 1916, Coach Hanson and his team arrived in Springfield to meet the Panthers on their home court. When Dan Nee, The Drury coach, met Mr. Hanson, he said, Heilo, Walter, have you got your fighting bearcats all keyed up for the big game tonight? Mr. Hanson on his return to Maryville told the story: and the Normal School- now the State College-adopted the ap- pelation Bearcats, for i ts own. By the beginning of the football season that year, the pep squads were yelling, Eeeeeeeat ' em up Bearcats! Only once in the history of the Col- lege has the name been challenged. In 1926, when two coaches, H. Frank Lawrence and Paul R. Jones, tried to get the College colors changed, they tried also, in the petition, to induce the College to replace the name Bearcats with the name Wildcats, on the argument that there was no such animal as a bearcat and, therefore, the name was mean- ingless. It was not meaningless to students and alumni who had seen the fighting spirit of the Bearcats, and they told the coaches with no uncertainity that they would not change the name for wildcat or any other animal. Some of the students did some research and came up with the an- nouncement that there really is an animal known as the bearcat. His characteristics, they declared, is that he is hard to capture and harder to hold when captured-a fitting description of College sportsmen on the gridion or the basketball court. -Behind the Birches by Mattie Dykes christened Mike, Visted around at night, first at the home of one faculty member and then another, returning frequently to the homes where he like his bed and board. Mike was athletic minded, never missing a home game and proudly wearing his green and white blanket with its M on either side. Sometimes he went to classes, usually on cold, blustery days. His favorite seat was under the instructor ' s desk. He often made field trips, sometimes by himself, often with classes. On May 15, 1917, he joined the agriculture class that was spraying fruit trees with arsenate of lead. Mike got thirsty. Not being very good in chcniistry, he did not know the charcter of arsenate of lead and tied it to quench his thirst. Nothing that the students or the veterinary they called did could save the life of the college pet. A little box bearing the phrase For the Love of Mike appeared shortly in the Administration building; and with the money it collected the students erected the monument that marks the spot where they buried Mike. Since 1917, dogs have come and gone on the campus, but only Mike has had the distinction of being universally known as the College Dog. -Behind the Birches by Mattie Dykes Bobby Bearcat bears the name for NWMSU ' s varsity teams. He helps raise crowd spirits at all home games. 2b