Students with The Hatchet in 1950
Welcome to campus, new and returning loggers alike, and a warm “Hack hack, chop chop!” to all! For you newcomers, are you wondering where this phrase comes from? Well, it could have something to do with our school relic, The Hatchet, which you can find displayed in a glass case in the Wheelock Student Center.
What is The Hatchet, and where did it come from? If you haven’t had the chance to read its story posted beside it in its case, here is a brief history of The Hatchet from The (previous) President (RonThom):
“Story goes that students found The Hatchet in 1908 in an old barn they were helping to demolish to make room for a new campus building. It was not just any hatchet. It was an old roofer’s hatchet. Those students intuitively recognized the thing as a sacred Logger relic, symbolic of their school. A hatchet is a small ax, useful in trailblazing and log hewing to be sure. But this hatchet was a special kind, designed to meld the past and the future by shaping things as well as by joining them.”
A tradition of originality still drives us every day and guides our plans for the future: that sense of the living presence of our past, that determination to never rest upon what has already been done but to build something upon it—make it new, different, better.
Chop, chop, hack, hack, and make it better. To me, that’s Puget Sound.” – Autumn Arches 2008
So what is this “tradition of originality” he speaks of? Well, since becoming a beloved logger relic in 1908, The Hatchet has been subject to many years of thievery over the last century. It became a campus tradition, only to reappear again when all hope is lost. Read about the tale of the last Hatchet heist of 2000 here.
After its most recent disappearance, as it has always been, The Hatchet was returned once again, just in time for the 100th year anniversary of its discovery. This tale is a little more mysterious; see if you can put the pieces together. For the intriguing tale of The Hatchet Men of ’08, click here.
If these tales have inspired you to participate in the tradition, beware of the ASUPS replica of 2006. Getting your hands on the real Hatchet may be harder than you think!
Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg for this dear relic. There are many stories to be told, and many that have yet to occur. If you are interested in The Hatchet history, come by the Archives & Special Collections in Collins Memorial Library to learn more! We have photographs, newspaper articles, and hundreds of other historical materials full of tales and traditions; you’d be surprised what you might find.
If you can’t wait any longer, see what clues you can find in our digitized photo collection on A Sound Past!
The Archives & Special Collections is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 12:00-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.
By Monica Patterson