Friday, March 5, 2010
Caitlin O’Neil has a remedy whenever she needs a break from school. She has discovered that often the best solution to pass time on campus is a date with a bench.
But O’Neil, a sophomore from Topeka, doesn’t choose just any campus surface to people-watch, listen to music, or visit with friends — she goes to the benches of Wescoe Beach, the popular leisure destination on campus.
Of course, the “beach” itself lacks real sand, but that doesn’t stop the large strip of cement on the north side of Wescoe Hall from fostering a relaxing environment.
Though Wescoe Hall was not officially complete until 1974, its central location along Jayhawk Blvd. put it close to several important campus locations including Strong and Budig Halls.
Before the area was called the beach, Sally DeMoss, a 1971 graduate, remembered people from every background being active in the area.
“It was such an exciting time at the University, with the hippie movement and anti-war protests, not to mention the Union burning,” DeMoss said.
Once the beach was constructed, people took over the location, some achieving celebrity status by being regulars.
One of the most well-known visitors was the Tan Man, as students affectionately dubbed him, who would talk to students on the east side of the building. Former Wescoe employee Marsha Bell remembers the obsession the University had with him and said everyone knew him.
“He would sit on the beach and talk to everybody, wearing just his shorts and his athletic shoes,” Bell said. “He never wore a shirt, regardless if it was winter or the dead of summer.”
Recent students have interacted with White Owl, who has frequented the beach with his trademark long, white beard and flamboyant enthusiasm.
O’Neil said she was late to class one day because of White Owl’s antics.
“He went up to a guy who was playing guitar and asked him if he could borrow it,” O’Neil said. “He started putting on a little show, singing, dancing, and I decided that I had to stay and watch.”
While some enjoy spending time at the beach watching the local celebrities it creates, others find solace in the contrasting environments between hallways and outside settings.
“The special thing about Wescoe was that it was a dark and weird building inside, but the beach was bright and airy,” Shelly Kuhn, a 1982 graduate, said. “It was so laid-back outside, with the happy students and the beautiful tulips, which was completely different from when you had class on the inside.”
Decades later, the beach continues to make an impression on students. For O’Neil, it’s very simple.
“I like to watch everyone else suffer through school while I sit by the flowers,” she said.
— Edited by Megan Heacock
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