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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, December 11, 1967
1905 statue waits for new location
KU's shoveling Pioneer, a campus landmark and tradition since 1905, is now in storage because of indecision over where the statue should be relocated.
The Pioneer, formerly located in front of Old Fraser, was removed in the Spring of 1965 to make room for construction of New Fraser Hall.
No decision on the relocation of Pioneer will be made, said Alton C. Thomas, University landscape architect, until site factors can be resolved.
Areas being considered
Thomas said several areas are being considered for the statue. Plans have been considered to incorporate the statue with a fountain at the west entrance, Thomas said. Thomas said he is afraid the size of Fraser would dwarf the Pioneer.
The southeast entrance to Fraser, the Danforth Chapel area and the vicinity of the new humanities building are also being considered as possible sites, Thomas said.
The Pioneer, which depicts a man planting corn the way the early pioneers did in the virgin prairie soil, was a gift to the University from Dr. Simeon Bell in 1905.
Dr. Bell, himself a pioneer, chose the gift so that "succeeding generations might understand the difficulties and handicaps early Kansans encountered."
Legend has it that the Pioneer would shovel a spade of fresh dirt whenever a virgin walked by.
Harry Shenkle, a former KU graduate from Shawnee Mission, Kansas, said in the early 1940's a fresh spade of dirt was found in front of the statue and a sign around the Pioneer's head read, "The Dean of Women Just Walked By."
In a 1960 Rock Chalk skit, the Pioneer statue, portrayed by a member of Alpha Tau Omega, started shoveling as Emily Taylor, dean of women, walked by.
The Pioneer, the first piece of statuary put on the campus, has had relatively little publicity over the years when compared to one of his more frequently admired colleagues, Uncle Jimmy Green.
The Pioneer was first placed in front of Marvin Hall. Later probably in the early 1930's, it was moved to Fraser Hall.
The statue, as long as it was in front of Marvin, suffered about the same indignities as the Law School statue. It was painted several times, usually at the same time as Uncle Jimmy Green.
When moved east of Fraser, it was treated with a little more respect. Part of the respect was probably prompted by a Men's Student Council ruling in 1937 that anyone caught painting or otherwise desecrating the statue would be fined $50 and prosecuted in the courts.
Residents circulate petition
Petitions calling for the "immediate removal" of Emery Goad as McCollum Hall men's president are being circulated in the coed hall.
The action is apparently a result of statements made last week by Goad, Junction City senior, concerning public display of affection in McCollum.
The petition alleges that Goad "has in the opinion of the undersigned not acted in the best interest of said hall by his deliberate submission of statements of questionable merit for local, regional and national publication."
It added that "the publicity resulting from this action had the effect of making the living group and its residents the object of public attention, dismay, concern and ridicule which was, and is, harmful to the hall, its residents, and the University."
Wayne Saubert, Tulsa, Okla., sophomore, and Gene Johannes, Newton junior, were identified as two of the residents responsible for printing and circulating the petitions.
They said they were trying to get the signatures of half the men in McCollum, or about 310 signatures.
Johannes said 10 residents were involved in the effort to impeach Goad. He added that "we are not seeking publicity."
The McCollum constitution requires signatures of at least half the male population to impeach a president and a vote of two-thirds of the men's senate members to remove him. The men's senate consists of the nine floor presidents.
Goad said his only comment concerning the petitions was "no comment."
University Press to publish book
The University Press of Kansas will publish the book, "Bernard Shaw and the Theater in the
Nineties: A Study of Shaw's Dramatic Criticism" by Harold Fromm on Dec. 15.
Menninger psychiatrists will speak
How community projects can help solve the problems of the rapidly changing community will be discussed today at 7:45 p.m. at the First Methodist Church, 10th and Vermont, by two Menning Foundation staff members.
The speakers, Dr. Louis A. Zercher and Alvin Green, will speak on "The Challenge of Planned Social Change."
Zercher is a research psychologist in the division of social science research at the Menninger Foundation and an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Texas.
Green is in the department of preventive psychiatry at the Menninger Foundation.
Tickets are $1.50 for non-students and $1.00 for students.
Senior SWEATSHIRT Sale
HATS
$1.50 to dues-paying Seniors $2.00 to all others
50c to dues-paying Seniors $1.00 to all others
On Sale at the Alumni Office 127 Strong Hall
Sale Starts Wednesday, Dec.13