There are some stories in life that just grab us. Stories that stay with us, stories that we think about again and again. The story of the disappearance of the Lincoln Statue in front of the new Campus Center is one of those stories. At least it was to Brent Kent [W2009]. So here is that story, and the answer to the mysterious disappearance of Lincoln and his dog.
To truly understand what a neat tale this is requires a little history. Let’s head back to 1954 when the new Campus Center opened for business to mixed reviews. The Great Hall had everything – including modern facilities for independent dining. But it also had designer draperies, lush carpets, a television and a student lounge complete with a grand piano! It all felt mighty fancy and the students responded with a mixture of elation and disdain. This new finery was at odds with the view that the fellows within these walls were the “hell-roaring five hundred” and a sense that Wabash was a school for tough guys who might put their feet on the furniture.
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The old Scarlet Inn was a “make do” sort of place, a dog-eared coffee shop in South Hall. This Scarlet Inn featured old picnic tables that might just tear a hole in your good pants. In contrast, the Campus Center was a shiny new building with every luxury available to the students. The new coffee shop was decorated in the best “College Inn” style. Also in the basement students found a pool hall, student publications offices, and a bowling alley. What a change it was.
And yet we must say that the new Campus Center was a mixed success on its opening. Most seemed to like the basement just fine, but the upstairs with its finery prompted one student to call it the, “Taj Mahal.” Of all of the things that drove the students’ outrage, perhaps none was more maddening than the statue Abraham Lincoln, the Hoosier Youth.
The oversized plaster statue of Abe was too much. Calls immediately appeared in the Bachelor in the fall of 1954 for the statue to be removed.
For the next part of the story we go to Byron Trippet and this snippet from his memoirs, Wabash On My Mind.
"The swirling controversy about the new Center came to a peak and then subsided in an incident involving the plaster cast of the statue of young Abraham Lincoln in Indiana. Eric Gugler had acquired from the sculptor the original cast of a Lincoln statue done for the Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. Gugler persuaded Lee McCanliss to buy the cast and give it to Wabash to be erected on the east portico of the Center in front of the “Look Through.” Lee was delighted with the idea and suddenly, without much advanced warning, the enormous crate arrived on campus. Lincoln was established in the appointed place, and all hell promptly broke loose as far as student reaction was concerned. "This is a fraud! Lincoln had nothing to do with Wabash! A rich man's whim! Get this atrocious insult to Lincoln and Wabash off the Campus at once!" And so on and so on. By this time Frank, recovering slowly from a broken hip and distressed by some of the previous student criticism, was on the defensive. He was torn between sympathy with the student point of view and loyalty to Lee McCanliss. He left it to me to reason with the students. I did the best I could, pleading for time to resolve an embarrassing and delicate problem. But my best was not enough for student hot heads. The end came suddenly in the following way. About that time Herman Wells, president of Indiana University, telephoned me one day to explain that he was hosting a group of distinguished European educators which was visiting a number of American universities. It was a prestigious group including men like the Master of Balliol College, Oxford, the rector of the University of Lausanne, the prefect of the Sarbonne, etc. Dr. Wells had suggested to the group that before returning to Europe, it should take a look at the typical American liberal arts college. He had suggested a visit to Wabash. It was a very kind and gracious thing to do. I was delighted and we agreed on a date for the visit. I at once alerted the faculty to this rare opportunity for Wabash and gaveinstructions to the maintenance department to manicure the campus in readiness for our guests. The morning of the appointed visit I came on campus quite early to be sure everything was in good order. As I passed the new Campus Center I was frozen in sudden horror at what I saw. The Lincoln statue was of heroic proportions (perhaps twelve feet high). Young Abe is standing with an axe under his left arm and a book, presumable the Bible, in his left hand. His right hand rests gently on a massive dog, obviously male, which is sitting on its haunches resting gently against Lincoln's right leg. During the night before the morning of which I speak some students had painted the dog's genitals a brilliant scarlet -- just the genitals, nothing else. It had been expertly done. That spot of scarlet was visible as far away as Yandes Hall! It stood out like a red flare in a black night! As I say, I was horrified. The bus load of educators was due at ten. What to do? I called the superintendent of buildings and grounds. His men went to work at once with scrapers, chisels and sandpaper. In due time the scarlet was removed but even so this operation was only partially successful. The plaster cast of the statue with age had become a dusty gray color. This meant that the paint removal operation left the dog's genitals as white as newly fallen snow against a gray background. It was the best that could be done. A few days later the statue was dismantled and re-crated. Thereafter, the controversy about the Center faded into history."
And that seems to have been the last of the Hoosier Youth. What happened next? Some thought it was busted up and sent to the dump in pieces. Turns out, it was sent to Lincoln University. There it stands today in the Atrium of their Lincoln Museum. And thanks to Brent, we have the paperwork to prove that it is ours.
Brent heard this story as a student and it stuck with him. In the course of his travels he went to Lincoln Memorial University, saw their statue and wondered if it could be the one from Wabash. Two years later he returned and this time they had positive proof that the statue was from Wabash. Brent had found the answer to this 60 year old mystery! He sent the paperwork to the Archives where it will be filed for the record. Thanks to the passion of this young alumnus we now know the answer to the mystery. What a story!
All best,
Beth
Illustrations:
Top - Cartoon by Mitsuya Goto '55 in the December 1954 Edition of Suave magazine.
Upper Middle - The Scarlet Inn.
Lower middle - President Sparks looking out of his office across the mall. The statue is in place in front of Sparks Center.
Bottom - The scultor, Paul Manship, finishing the statue of Lincoln.