Hidden
UConn
Quiz
As you’d expect of an institution that got its start in 1881, UConn has its fair share of curiosities — quirky corners and obscure objects that have accumulated a wealth of stories over the years. Call it “Hidden UConn,” because most of these charming oddities are often overlooked during the daily bustle of a great university, even if some are right in front of our noses. Can you name the whats and wheres of these peculiar facets that make UConn Storrs unique?
By Tom Breen ’00 (CLAS) | Photos by Peter Morenus
Grave of Jonathan I
UConn had a number of mascots before the 1930s, but nothing stuck until the arrival in 1935 of a husky pup named in honor of Connecticut’s Revolutionary War–era governor Jonathan Trumbull. That founding hound didn’t have much time to enjoy his new home, sadly, as he was hit by a car shortly after arriving in Storrs. The 14th husky to bear the Jonathan mantle is currently serving UConn, but the first still has a place in the heart of campus: his grave, marked by a simple plaque near the corner of North Eagleville Road and Rte. 195.
Grave of Jonathan I
UConn had a number of mascots before the 1930s, but nothing stuck until the arrival in 1935 of a husky pup named in honor of Connecticut’s Revolutionary War–era governor Jonathan Trumbull. That founding hound didn’t have much time to enjoy his new home, sadly, as he was hit by a car shortly after arriving in Storrs. The 14th husky to bear the Jonathan mantle is currently serving UConn, but the first still has a place in the heart of campus: his grave, marked by a simple plaque near the corner of North Eagleville Road and Rte. 195.
Beehives
Students at Spring Valley Student Farm maintain these bee boxes for Dining Services, which uses the honey in a salad dressing at Chuck & Augie’s restaurant. If there’s extra, you’ll find it at C-store in the Student Union.
Beehives
Students at Spring Valley Student Farm maintain these bee boxes for Dining Services, which uses the honey in a salad dressing at Chuck & Augie’s restaurant. If there’s extra, you’ll find it at C-store in the Student Union.
Not Just Desserts Bakery
Gluten-free recipes may be all the rage, but UConn has been doing it since 2015 in this bakery in the Towers complex. Cookies, cakes, muffins, pies, brownies, you name it: there is something for every sweet tooth, for the gluten-sensitive or otherwise, being baked daily and delivered to eateries all over campus.
Not Just Desserts Bakery
Gluten-free recipes may be all the rage, but UConn has been doing it since 2015 in this bakery in the Towers complex. Cookies, cakes, muffins, pies, brownies, you name it: there is something for every sweet tooth, for the gluten-sensitive or otherwise, being baked daily and delivered to eateries all over campus.
Tiny Planetarium
On the shores of Swan Lake, this stargazing chamber was built in 1954 and is the oldest planetarium in the state. It seats just 25, but generations of UConn students remember it as a staple of astronomy and physics courses. Students and faculty members are interested in revamping this venerable facility for the modern era.
Tiny Planetarium
On the shores of Swan Lake, this stargazing chamber was built in 1954 and is the oldest planetarium in the state. It seats just 25, but generations of UConn students remember it as a staple of astronomy and physics courses. Students and faculty members are interested in revamping this venerable facility for the modern era.
Old Ski Lift
A rope tow behind the sheep barn east of Horsebarn Hill was used by skiers in the sixties and seventies.
Old Ski Lift
A rope tow behind the sheep barn east of Horsebarn Hill was used by skiers in the sixties and seventies.
Wall of Records
What would a college radio station be without its record library? Founded in 1922 and occupying various spaces on campus, WHUS is now housed in the Student Union, along with countless slabs of vinyl from every conceivable genre of music. The record room today is also used for live performances by musicians that are broadcast over the air and Internet. You may have heard about the resurgence in popularity of vinyl records, but at WHUS, they’ve never gone out of fashion.
Wall of Records
What would a college radio station be without its record library? Founded in 1922 and occupying various spaces on campus, WHUS is now housed in the Student Union, along with countless slabs of vinyl from every conceivable genre of music. The record room today is also used for live performances by musicians that are broadcast over the air and Internet. You may have heard about the resurgence in popularity of vinyl records, but at WHUS, they’ve never gone out of fashion.
Gardner Dow Plaque
What happens when a memorial plaque outlasts the field it was intended to name? Gardner Dow was a World War I veteran and UConn student who died on the football field during a game at the University of New Hampshire. His fellow students named the new athletic field for him, but as the university grew, the field shrank. Today it’s the site of Homer Babbidge Library, the School of Business, Oak Hall, and the ITE Building. For years, when the old Co-Op was located nearby, not even the plaque was visible. Today, it can be found on the rear wall of Hawley Armory.
Gardner Dow Plaque
What happens when a memorial plaque outlasts the field it was intended to name? Gardner Dow was a World War I veteran and UConn student who died on the football field during a game at the University of New Hampshire. His fellow students named the new athletic field for him, but as the university grew, the field shrank. Today it’s the site of Homer Babbidge Library, the School of Business, Oak Hall, and the ITE Building. For years, when the old Co-Op was located nearby, not even the plaque was visible. Today, it can be found on the rear wall of Hawley Armory.
Widmer’s Iron Lung
A 500-pound piece of medical history, the iron lung (technically a “negative pressure ventilator”) on display at the School of Nursing is a reminder of the time before Jonas Salk’s famous vaccine, when polio was one of the most feared diseases imaginable. Today it’s part of the Josephine A. Dolan Collection on the history of nursing.
Widmer’s Iron Lung
A 500-pound piece of medical history, the iron lung (technically a “negative pressure ventilator”) on display at the School of Nursing is a reminder of the time before Jonas Salk’s famous vaccine, when polio was one of the most feared diseases imaginable. Today it’s part of the Josephine A. Dolan Collection on the history of nursing.
Plaster Heads
This collection of plaster face casts used to create theatrical masks hangs on the walls in the Puppet Arts Complex. Some are from former and current students, others are the faces of actors from Connecticut Reportory Theatre shows. The number, at about 40 now, grows slowly over time.
Plaster Heads
This collection of plaster face casts used to create theatrical masks hangs on the walls in the Puppet Arts Complex. Some are from former and current students, others are the faces of actors from Connecticut Reportory Theatre shows. The number, at about 40 now, grows slowly over time.
Cogeneration Plant
When there’s a power outage on campus, the folks working here off Glenbrook Road know about before the first phone call is made to report it. Part of the upgrade in energy delivery services that began with the opening of the University’s own cogeneration plant in 2006, the monitor bank acts as a central nervous system for a campus that is in many ways like a small city, directing repair crews and other resources to the spots that need to get back online.
Cogeneration Plant
When there’s a power outage on campus, the folks working here off Glenbrook Road know about before the first phone call is made to report it. Part of the upgrade in energy delivery services that began with the opening of the University’s own cogeneration plant in 2006, the monitor bank acts as a central nervous system for a campus that is in many ways like a small city, directing repair crews and other resources to the spots that need to get back online.me.
Protest Memorabilia
Student protest is a UConn tradition: from demonstrations against militarism in the 1930s to civil rights in the 1960s to sweatshop labor in the 1990s. Among the Dodd Center archives are photos, posters, pins, flyers, even examples of graffiti that mark student protests. Examples include a photo of sociology professor Jack Roach being arrested during a 1968 protest; flyers urging students to protest a 1980 rally in eastern Connecticut by the Ku Klux Klan; and a copy of the UConn Free Press, a radical student publication that was revived in the 1990s and 2010s.
Protest Memorabilia
Student protest is a UConn tradition: from demonstrations against militarism in the 1930s to civil rights in the 1960s to sweatshop labor in the 1990s. Among the Dodd Center archives are photos, posters, pins, flyers, even examples of graffiti that mark student protests. Examples include a photo of sociology professor Jack Roach being arrested during a 1968 protest; flyers urging students to protest a 1980 rally in eastern Connecticut by the Ku Klux Klan; and a copy of the UConn Free Press, a radical student publication that was revived in the 1990s and 2010s.
Operations Center
Clogged toilet? Broken window? Air conditioning system sputtering out on the first hot day of the year? When this happens at home, you either make an appointment with a repair technician and get ready to write a check, or try and fix it yourself. But at the home-away-from-home that is UConn, all those problems and more can be solved by the magic words “Call Work Order.” UConn Facilities staffers at this center on Ledoyt Road log calls at all hours about everything that can conceivably go wrong at an institution the size of UConn, and work diligently until it’s fixed.
Operations Center
Clogged toilet? Broken window? Air conditioning system sputtering out on the first hot day of the year? When this happens at home, you either make an appointment with a repair technician and get ready to write a check, or try and fix it yourself. But at the home-away-from-home that is UConn, all those problems and more can be solved by the magic words “Call Work Order.” UConn Facilities staffers at this center on Ledoyt Road log calls at all hours about everything that can conceivably go wrong at an institution the size of UConn, and work diligently until it’s fixed.
Homecoming Weekend Posters Collection in Student Union
Since the first official Homecoming was celebrated in 1925, countless UConn alumni have returned to their alma mater every fall to rekindle old memories, reconnect with friends from days gone by, and see how much — or how little — has changed since they graduated. In the nearly 100 years since that first occasion, Homecoming has included everything from solemn memorials for students killed in World War I to raucous all-night dance parties. The tradition lives on today, investing the motto “Students Today, Huskies Forever” with deep and abiding meaning.
Homecoming Weekend Posters Collection in Student Union
Since the first official Homecoming was celebrated in 1925, countless UConn alumni have returned to their alma mater every fall to rekindle old memories, reconnect with friends from days gone by, and see how much — or how little — has changed since they graduated. In the nearly 100 years since that first occasion, Homecoming has included everything from solemn memorials for students killed in World War I to raucous all-night dance parties. The tradition lives on today, investing the motto “Students Today, Huskies Forever” with deep and abiding meaning.
Rare Books
With over 300 rare editions, the Fable Collection is one of several collections that comprise the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection in Archives and Special Collections in the Dodd Research Center. This 1734 edition of “Aesop’s Fables and Other Fables,” is from the collection of Richard H. Schimmelpfeng, UConn’s first Special Collections librarian and a generous donor.
Rare Books
With over 300 rare editions, the Fable Collection is one of several collections that comprise the Northeast Children’s Literature Collection in Archives and Special Collections in the Dodd Research Center. This 1734 edition of “Aesop’s Fables and Other Fables,” is from the collection of Richard H. Schimmelpfeng, UConn’s first Special Collections librarian and a generous donor.
Antlers
This single pair of deer antlers from the 1930s has been passed down from one animal science professor to the next since the 1930s and currently resides with Tracy Rittenhouse. There were so few deer in this area at that time that every student got a peek at the treasure.
Antlers
This single pair of deer antlers from the 1930s has been passed down from one animal science professor to the next since the 1930s and currently resides with Tracy Rittenhouse. There were so few deer in this area at that time that every student got a peek at the treasure.
Sugar House
At UConn, the venerable early spring New England tradition of making maple syrup goes on at the sugar house at the base of Horsebarn Hill, thanks to the hard work of the Forestry and Wildlife Club. Students collect sap from around 100 trees in the UConn Forest. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. When the sap is flowing, the club has tours, demos, and — happily — sales.
Sugar House
At UConn, the venerable early spring New England tradition of making maple syrup goes on at the sugar house at the base of Horsebarn Hill, thanks to the hard work of the Forestry and Wildlife Club. Students collect sap from around 100 trees in the UConn Forest. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. When the sap is flowing, the club has tours, demos, and — happily — sales.
Little Stone House
Plenty of rumors circulate about the purpose of the “stone hut” across from Swan Lake, but the truth is both more prosaic and quirkier. New Britain farmer A.P. Marsh donated his collection of stones from each Connecticut county and each of the (at the time) 48 states to the Connecticut Grange, which in turn decided to turn them into a tribute to agriculture on the UConn campus. Dedicated in 1937, identifying plates were added to each stone in the 1960s, with stones from Alaska and Hawaii.
Little Stone House
Plenty of rumors circulate about the purpose of the “stone hut” across from Swan Lake, but the truth is both more prosaic and quirkier. New Britain farmer A.P. Marsh donated his collection of stones from each Connecticut county and each of the (at the time) 48 states to the Connecticut Grange, which in turn decided to turn them into a tribute to agriculture on the UConn campus. Dedicated in 1937, identifying plates were added to each stone in the 1960s, with stones from Alaska and Hawaii.
Wall of Keys
When the Division of Public Safety staff needs to get into a locked building late at night, valuable time can’t be wasted finding and rousing building managers, so firefighters and police officers have a key for everything.
Wall of Keys
When the Division of Public Safety staff needs to get into a locked building late at night, valuable time can’t be wasted finding and rousing building managers, so firefighters and police officers have a key for everything.
Wool Blanket
We’re not trying to pull the wool over your eyes: There’s something special about these blankets. Each one — baby- to king-sized (scarves, too) — is made with wool from UConn’s own flock of sheep, along with other flocks around Connecticut. Offered for sale by the Department of Animal Science and the Connecticut Sheep Breeders Association, there’s a new pattern every year.
Wool Blanket
We’re not trying to pull the wool over your eyes: There’s something special about these blankets. Each one — baby- to king-sized (scarves, too) — is made with wool from UConn’s own flock of sheep, along with other flocks around Connecticut. Offered for sale by the Department of Animal Science and the Connecticut Sheep Breeders Association, there’s a new pattern every year.
UConn Test Kitchen
You won’t find TV cameras or Julia Collin Davison here, but UConn boasts its very own test kitchen located on the third floor of the Student Union. Dining Services staff is constantly coming up with new recipes to satisfy their customers, from vegan crab cakes to cheesy pull-apart garlic bread. Innovation here is constant and necessary: with more than 200,000 meals served up every week, UConn’s kitchens have a lot of mouths to feed.
UConn Test Kitchen
You won’t find TV cameras or Julia Collin Davison here, but UConn boasts its very own test kitchen located on the third floor of the Student Union. Dining Services staff is constantly coming up with new recipes to satisfy their customers, from vegan crab cakes to cheesy pull-apart garlic bread. Innovation here is constant and necessary: with more than 200,000 meals served up every week, UConn’s kitchens have a lot of mouths to feed.
Antique Apothecary Jars
These beauties and more are displayed in the Lois Ann Reynold’s Conference Room at the School of Pharmacy.
Antique Apothecary Jars
These beauties and more are displayed in the Lois Ann Reynold’s Conference Room at the School of Pharmacy.
“The Dynamic Genome”
“The succession has been from female mentors to mentees in genetics,” says biology professor Rachel O’Neill of this book signed by author and Nobel Prize–winner Barbara McClintock.
“The Dynamic Genome”
“The succession has been from female mentors to mentees in genetics,” says biology professor Rachel O’Neill of this book signed by author and Nobel Prize–winner Barbara McClintock.
Wolf Enclosure
These empty pens near Horsebarn Hill once were part of the wide-ranging research of Benson E. Ginsburg, legendary professor and pioneer in the field of behavior genetics. Ginsburg studied fruit flies, mice, dogs, wolves, humans, and “coy-dogs,” coyote-dog hybrids, in a program that was the only one of its kind at any university. These pens were part of the enclosure where Ginsburg conducted his research on wolves.
Wolf Enclosure
These empty pens near Horsebarn Hill once were part of the wide-ranging research of Benson E. Ginsburg, legendary professor and pioneer in the field of behavior genetics. Ginsburg studied fruit flies, mice, dogs, wolves, humans, and “coy-dogs,” coyote-dog hybrids, in a program that was the only one of its kind at any university. These pens were part of the enclosure where Ginsburg conducted his research on wolves.
Woodsman Club Training Area
This student club practices for events, such as two-person cross-cut sawing, bow sawing, axe throwing, vertical chopping, and log rolling in front of the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering.
Woodsman Club Training Area
This student club practices for events, such as two-person cross-cut sawing, bow sawing, axe throwing, vertical chopping, and log rolling in front of the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering.
Abbie Jean Quick Leisure Reading Collection
Although it may not seem that way to frazzled students cramming for exams, reading is supposed to be a pleasure. That principle is enshrined in the Abbie Jean Quick Leisure Reading Collection, located on Level B of the Homer Babbidge Library. Quick gave the university a bequest to start the collection in memory of her friend Elsie Gray Marsh, and today it contains best-selling fiction of all genres, along with graphic novels and non-fiction. Collections like this are a rarity at university libraries, making the chance to drop in and relax with a good book all the more tantalizing.
Woodsman Club Training Area
This student club practices for events, such as two-person cross-cut sawing, bow sawing, axe throwing, vertical chopping, and log rolling in front of the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering.
Physics Observatory
On weeknights during the spring and fall semesters, if the skies are clear, you can journey from Storrs to the stars, courtesy of the powerful telescope housed in the observatory atop the Physics Building. Dating back to the 1960s, the observatory hosts the UConn Astronomy Club along with viewing sessions for members of the public who want to know more about our place in the galaxy. Major astronomical events, like eclipses, are especially busy times at the observatory.
Physics Observatory
On weeknights during the spring and fall semesters, if the skies are clear, you can journey from Storrs to the stars, courtesy of the powerful telescope housed in the observatory atop the Physics Building. Dating back to the 1960s, the observatory hosts the UConn Astronomy Club along with viewing sessions for members of the public who want to know more about our place in the galaxy. Major astronomical events, like eclipses, are especially busy times at the observatory.
Ahh, Husky Hill (pic#5) as we called it back when we had a varsity ski team at UConn… I remember running down the hill during dry land training every fall afternoon before the snow flew… and then carrying one of my team mates back up the hill on my back.. we actually trained there periodically when it snowed…. doesn’t look to be an option these days based on the trees that took over…
How did you not mention the puppetry museum?
Well, technically that Museum is not on the UConn campus. It is part of the new Downtown Storrs.
Thoroughly enjoyed “the hidden UCONN quiz”
I enjoyed this article. I wish had known some of these things existed in ’64 – ’68 ! Delta Zeta here’s to thee !!
Thoroughly enjoyed “the hidden UCONN quiz”