| From
the April 4, 2005, edition of “Northwest This Week.”
by Dana Ternus
Plaques and memorials adorn
many of the buildings on the Northwest campus. Most bear the names
of former presidents, respected faculty members and generous alumni
who have donated time and treasure to the University.
One monument, however, is unique. Standing unobtrusively on the
other side of the street from the Administration Building’s
east entrance is a small marble gravestone – the final resting
place of Mike, the College Dog.
Mike, a Cairn terrier, came to Maryville sometime in the early
1910s. Almost immediately the stray animal left his wandering
ways behind and adopted the budding campus as his home.
After following Mr. Boase, the president’s secretary, to
work each morning, Mike usually spent the rest of the day somewhere
on the normal school grounds. Soon, it was reported, he became
an “integral and indispensable part” of college life.
Those who knew Mike recalled that he set a good example for students
by regularly attending classes, especially on the coldest winter
days, when he could often be found sitting near the front of the
room – and sometimes even under the instructor’s desk.
In the evenings, Mike visited the residences of students and faculty.
The homes of Professor Colbert, dean of the faculty, and Mr. Rickenbrode,
the bursar, were especially favored haunts for eating and sleeping.
It is said Mike exhibited a great deal of school spirit and attended
every home ballgame wearing a small green and white blanket made
for him by Mrs. Colbert, who emblazoned it on each side with a
collegiate “M” for Maryville. For a time Mike was
even an unofficial member of the school’s cheerleading squad.
A dog of many tricks, Mike’s most popular stunt was lowering
his front quarters in a formal canine bow. Apparently this was
a strenuous activity, and Mike often followed it with a long drink
from the team’s water pail.
Such was the life of Mike until May 15, 1917, when tragedy struck.
Mike had joined an agriculture class on field trip during which
students sprayed trees with lead arsenate that had been poured
into pails. For Mike, pails meant water, not poison, and he took
a drink of the toxic arsenate before anyone could stop him.
The College Dog fell gravely ill and soon died despite the best
efforts of grief-stricken students and a local veterinarian to
save him.
Shortly after Mike’s demise, a small donation box appeared
in the Administration Building with a sign that read, “For
the Love of Mike.” Soon there were enough donations to purchase
the small grave marker that still stands today. The epitaph reads:
MIKE
To the Memory of our Dog
Died May 15, 1917
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