WUpedia
Welcome to Willamette University Archive’s history project!
Recent Posts
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Barney, Blitz, and the Bearcat
Written by Juliette Burns Blitz the Bearcat, the well-liked Willamette mascot with a confusing animal origin, has a mascot history going back over a century. The bearcat itself was named Willamette University’s mascot to represent the school in sports events in 1915.1 For those not in the know, the bearcat is a real animal, also…
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Thomas Milton Gatch
Written by Eleanor Smith, Class of 2026 Thomas Milton Gatch is one of the university’s most beloved presidents, serving two non-consecutive terms from 1860-1865 and 1870-1879. Gatch was born in Cincinnati on January 28, 1833. He went to college at Ohio Wesleyan University where he received his bachelor’s in 1855 and then his master’s. He…
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The Mill Stream
Written by Juliette Burns, class of 2026 The Mill Stream which runs through the Willamette campus is a core part of student life and leisure: whether dangling your feet in the water, watching the ducks, or seeing if you can figure out how that ‘W’ shape is supposed to work. This man-made flow begins with…