Boxer statue etchings by Phi Beta Tau

Title

Boxer statue etchings by Phi Beta Tau

Description

A close-up photograph of a detail from the original "Boxer" statue, taken on February 25, 2024. This image shows what appears to be the partially broken remnants of a whisker or flame attached to the statue's head. Etched names and initials of students who formerly possessed the statue are visible, including: K. Leek (Kenneth Leek, OD 1959); G. Miller; G. Deshler (Eugene Deshler, Class of 1956); R. Tiedgen (William C. Tiedgen, Jr., Class of 1958); H. Butzloff (Hank Butzloff); and D. Anderson (Duke G. Anderson, OD 1959). Most or all of these men were members of the Phi Beta Tau fraternity in the late 1950s; they apparently etched their names on the statue after their fraternity won possession of it around that time.

Boxer is a bronze statue in the form of a qilin, which was the inspiration for Pacific University's mascot. There was a tradition of students stealing, hiding and fighting over the original Boxer statue from the early 1900s through the 1960s. This image is one of a series of photographs that documented the physical appearance of the statue when it was returned to the university in 2024, after being hidden for the previous 55 years.

Identifier

PUA_MS95_545

Date

2024

Date Created

Feb. 25, 2024

Creator

Timm, Blake

Subject

Pacific University

Mascots

Spatial Coverage

Forest Grove, Oregon

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Source

Pacific University Archives