Willie WestPac
Latest Adventure: Hangin' Out in Victoria, British Columbia
Willie @ UVic Campus
Willie poses as a student
Willie and the Wild Rabbit (see "Rabbits target of university campaign")
Willie @ Saltspring Island
Willie and the Surf Sister
Willie @ the District of Tofino
Willie @ Cathedral Trail
Willie @ Nanoose Bay
Willie @ the Oak Bay Tea Party Parade
History
by Kathy Carlson, Wyoming State Law LibraryWillie WestPac was originally created in 1996 by then Editor Harriet Zook of Pacific McGeorge School of Law as the masthead for the WestPac Newsletter. At that time Beanie Babies were all the rage and Harriet’s mother dressed several Beanie Baby buffalos to look like the masthead. Those Beanie Baby Willies have provided the model for all subsequent Willies.
The large Willie WestPac was donated by Mary Jenny of the University of Wyoming when she was chair of the Publicity Committee. She made his first Hawaiian shirt and in the beginning he had a lei wrapped around his horns. He was originally created to be placed on the WestPac table in the activities area at the 1997 AALL annual meeting in Baltimore.
Large Willie attended several AALL annual meetings before it was determined that he was just too difficult to transport back and forth given his size. A decision was made that one of the smaller Beanie Baby models would attend the AALL annual meetings and the larger version would travel from host city to host city for the WestPac annual chapter meetings.
Large Willie has been all over WestPac territory. Several host cities sent correspondence about Willie’s activities while in residence. This correspondence indicates that Willie has done quite a bit of sightseeing in his travels. He has done such things as attend the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage and spend time on the beach in Hawaii. Willie also had some wardrobe additions along the way—in Alaska he was given a pair of sweatpants because of the temperature and in Oregon it was felt he didn’t quite fit in with his Hawaiian shirt so he was provided a tie-dyed shirt. However, he has always reverted to his traditional Hawaiian shirt at transfer time.
Willie was also the star of the Lisa Jackson production Willie Does WestPac that was filmed for the talent show at the 2006 AALL centennial meeting in St. Louis. Willie was mailed from one WestPac venue to another for photographic sessions. This production was quite a sensation.
After Willie Does WestPac was completed, he was given a complete refurbishment by Harriet Zook and her mother so he looks like new. He should be able to continue to serve as WestPac’s mascot for many more years to come.