“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. ” ~ Unknown
In front of the main building sits a cannon nicknamed Federalista, as I learned this evening. I hardly notice it, actually. It’s sort of dwarfed by the building and the open field it overlooks. The same field where the ROTC do their drills; where the Student Activities Board held Holi: Festival of Color. There’s an inscription on the stone pedestal that’s nearly illegible save for a word or two, just enough for me to find an old picture and description that reads, “Cannon, captured by the United States forces from Spain during the Spanish – American War, the city of Lexington, Kentucky gave the cannon to the university in 1903, historically the cannon has been the object of numerous pranks.” I did some more digging. A fair amount of old cannons were brought to the U.S. from Cuba after the war in 1898. They were distributed throughout the country as spoils of war. It’s not clear why, or even how exactly, Lexington ended up with this circa 1795 Spanish cannon. As for the pranks, it’s a college campus. Everything is subject to prankdom. If the cannon was pointed at the main building and filled with manure, as suggested by one story… that’s pretty funny stuff. You’ve got to give college kids credit for originality if nothing else. Federalista – outstanding in her field (and cemented shut just in case any more original ideas pop up).
Shirley Terry
Interesting…..