Benny Beaver | |
---|---|
University | Oregon State University |
Conference | Pac-12 |
Description | Beaver: Aquatic mammal |
Origin of name | Territory's first major industry |
First seen | 1942 |
Related mascot(s) | Bernice Beaver |
Benny Beaver is the official mascot of Oregon State University and winner of the 2011 Capital One Mascot of the Year write-in campaign. The exact date of when the name was first used as the university's mascot is not known, but photographs in the school's yearbook document its use as early as the 1940s.
The beaver has always been a popular animal in Oregon, but even more so in Europe and the Eastern US. In fact, wealthy members of Western Civilization were dressing in fashionable beaver long before Oregon was discovered by European explorers. By the late 1700s, the beaver trade was already a major global industry.
Beaver fur top hats were popular attire for the North American and European upper class. At the turn of the 19th century, the newly explored American Northwest was found to be plentiful with beaver. As a territory, Oregon grew into a global supplier. When Oregon became a state, it coined itself "The Beaver State" due to the beaver's historic importance as an economic catalyst for the region and, similar to the California "Gold Rush", helping to attract thousands of early pioneers and homesteaders. The beaver now appears on the back of the state flag and is recognized as the official state animal.[1]