Day One Hundred and Twenty: Towering Above the Mist

Apparently the more time I spend it Topeka, the more I become aware of the "cool" things that actually exist here. While I think it is actually more likely that my eyes are being opened to picture possibilities rather than the town growing in awesomeness, I'll let the Topeka Townies think otherwise. This sign identifying to everyone who enters downtown Topeka that we are in Jayhawk territory has intrigued me since I started working here. Lately, because Eastern Kansas has seen so much rain, the mornings have been dark and the sign is illuminated when I roll into Topeka around 8:30. I attempted to put the sign on "film" one time before, but I was too far away and the picture just didn't work. Today, however, I made sure to get a little closer and focus in on the sign. The result is what you see here.

I wasn't able to find any history of the sign through a quick google search, but while that remains a mystery, the sign alludes to another element of Kansas history: the evolution of the Jayhawk. The Jayhawk most often seen today looks like this:

The Jayhawk memorialized in the Jayhawk Tower sign is actually the 1923 version of the bird, seen here.

Since there aren't any birds that look quite like the Jayhawk, you probably surmised that the bird is fictional. Its origin is rooted in the historic struggles of Kansas settlers, and the term was probably coined in about 1848. The name combines two birds: the blue jay- a noisy, quarrelsome thing known to rob other nests, and the sparrrow hawk-- a stealthy hunter.

Durring the Civil War, the Jayhawk's ruffian image gave way to patriotic symbol. The Kansas Governor at that time raised a regiment called the Independent Mounted Kansas Jayhawks. By the war's end, Jayhawks were synoymous with the impassioned people who made Kansas a Free State. In 1886, the bird appeared in a cheer- the famous Rock Chalk Chant*** (and arguably the best cheer that has ever been created).

The University of Kansas incorporates the evolution of their mascot in a lot of the items they produce for purchase. Nearly every Kansan knows the old versions of the bird as well the new one. Many of you who know me know I love tradition (family traditions, the tradition of the Catholic church) and I think this tradition is one of the best of the college tradtions in the country. I am ever so proud to be a Jayhawk. Here is how the Jayhawk has evolved over the years.

The Jayhawk does and will continue to tower above the mist in Topeka, and in the hearts of Americans everywhere. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

***All historical information and pictures are available on the KU website. If you want to more about the evolution of the bird from one generation to the next, click here.