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No such haze surrounds artistic additions to the sculpture of Francis Asbury near Mead Hall. While the rider always remained respectfully unscathed, a ritual of highlighting certain attributes of the horse evolved. "I heard that back in the depression days
Drew green paint was applied annually to the horse's genitals" Howard Slaatte ('56) wrote in. They were never caught, but he heard that "one of them later became a type of administrator." One late 1940's Halloween Pat Adams recalled "a crew transformed two appendages on Francis Asbury's horse into miniature jack-o-lanterns."Returning WWII veterans ensured that "Asbury's horse continued to suffer the indignity of having some of its body parts painted" according to empathic witness Geraldine Abbott ('50). By 1960 the entrenched rite provided "The Waverly Raiders one of their first magical moments on campus. John Greco ('65) and fellow Raiders embarked on deflating the highly pretentious Freshman Tea" held for first-year students and their parents. After examining the statute of limitations on pranks, Greco confessed, "To liven up what we thought of as boring,we painted the horse's private parts international orange." The artists then hung around to enjoy reactions.
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