Being the BeaverLetters to the Editor

So few pages, so many great Benny and Bernice stories. Inspired by the topic of our Spring 2026 cover feature, readers shared memories of runaway mascots, laundromat mishaps, ski-race triumphs, duct-taped tails and even an unforgettable Oprah encounter. We’ve also been delighted to hear that our cheeky Benny centerfold now adorns offices, playrooms and labs everywhere. Send us photos of yours!

The wonderful “Stories from the Suit,” by Kip Carlson, brought back many memories. My friend the late Ken Austin was the first, of course. I wanted to share another story about “The Beaver.” My father, Doug Chambers, ’41, was the first student to don a beaver costume. The year was 1938, when, as a sophomore, the future ASOSU student body president paid a local seamstress $12.50 to create a costume complete with a 4-foot stiff tail for a skit performed at Portland’s Multnomah Stadium, during halftime at the Washington State vs. Oregon State football game.

The original Benny, Ken Austin, with Benny (Erica Heuer) in 2013. Photo by Jeffrey Basinger

The skit was elaborately planned. Doug, who had summered in Southeast Oregon as a cowboy, and four of his Kappa Sig fraternity brothers were the “actors.” The script called for the group to be seated at a card table playing cards at midfield. At the signal, the table was to be overturned and the other actors — suited up as other school mascots — were to scatter, with Doug giving chase. He was to lasso them and return them to a “pen.” 

My dad lassoed the Cougar followed by the Bear and the Huskie, but Idaho’s Vandal was elusive. Dad said: “My friend had been tailgating a little aggressively and kept running away — even going up into the bleachers — all while hiding his face under his Vandal cape.” The skit ended with my dad exhausted and only three actors in the pen. Unsuccessful skit but a great story.

Our family has five generations of Beavers: 1916, 1941, 1970, 2000, and now my granddaughter is in her first year at Oregon State.

 —Craig Chambers, ’70

My father, Doug Chambers, ’41, was the first student to don a beaver costume.

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I received the Oregon Stater in the mail today and was thrilled with the cover of the various Bennys and Bernice, of course, as well as the article. I was Benny in the 1985-86 school year and was Benny/Bernice in the 1987-88 school year. Football was a little weary, but A.C. Green, José Ortiz and Gary Payton made basketball so exciting. I traveled to the NCAA tournament as well as the Pac-10 games on the West Coast. It was an absolute blast.

Keeping it secret was a challenge, but that was easy to overcome after a while. The side stories will crack you up. Back in the day, I had to take the costumes to the laundromat. The first time around, we put too much soap in the washer and flooded the place. (Made for very clean costumes.) The owner went berserk until we told him what we were washing. (Top secret, of course.) He said he would keep mum as long as we got his assistance to wash the uniforms in the future.

We went to Colorado for a Mascot Ski Race put on by the University of Colorado, Boulder. There were about 35 mascots, two of us being female. (The other was the Lobo from New Mexico.) It took a bit to be included with the others, but when I got second in the ski race, I got “confirmed” as a real mascot by the others.  [Editor’s note: Watch video footage.]

The second time I went, we had both the Benny and Bernice costumes, and the tail was about 20 pounds of steel. When I tried to get off the chairlift, my tail got stuck. I went around the “roundabout” hanging by my tail. It was rather humorous. We got to the top of the mountain on future runs using a snowmobile.

 Like you said, the stories can go on and on. I’m still a true believer: My license plate is BNYBVR. My favorite color is orange. Thanks for a great article.

—Beth (Giers) Johnston, ’88

In 1938, a Benny predecessor made a special appearance at a football game. Photo courtesy of OSU Special Collections and Archives

My all-time favorite thing I did as Benny was the football game for Benny’s birthday when I rode into the stadium with Ken Austin. I just remember standing in the middle of Reser Stadium with the whole stadium singing “Happy Birthday” to Benny. I felt so honored to be a part of something so amazing. I got to do a number of events with Ken, and he was always so kind. It was funny because I would stick to the rule and I wouldn’t speak, not even to him, and a friend of mine told me he told that story years later. I actually never got to meet him out of costume, and I regret that because I would have loved to hear some of his stories.

—Erica (Bloch) Heuer, ’14

I read your article on Benny Beaver with fervor, as I am a Benny Beaver alumnus. I was associated with Alpha Phi Omega, an all-male service fraternity associated with the Boy Scouts of America. As a junior, I noted that the cloth suit worn by Benny was absolutely horrible, with the crotch at the knees and poorly fitted. I came up with the idea to finance a replacement suit, so we approached the home economics club for someone to sew the suit. Up stepped Ann Hall, who sewed it together in the summer of ’65.

The costume had a fiberglass head mounted on football shoulder pads, and the suit was a lightweight cotton to be cooler. I gave it to the Rally Committee, but about a week later, I was asked if I would wear the costume, as the man the chair originally picked was talking too much. (Remember the non-identity clause?) I did, and after the first game I realized the suit was still too warm. I recruited a friend, and we shared duties. This gave Benny much more attention, enough so that the athletics department paid for my friend to go to the basketball regionals in Los Angeles.

Remember Ann Hall?  She is now Ann Werner, and we have been married for 60 years this August, all because of a beaver.

—Alan Werner, ’66

Alan Werner peeks out from an early Benny costume in the mid-1960s. Photo courtesy of OSU Special Collections and Archives

Prior to the start of the Civil War game, Benny and I — already in Bernice costume — headed out across the playing field from the locker room/dressing room to get to our fans who were tailgating in the parking lot. The Oregon band was practicing on the field, and we did as mascots do — we started to dance — while the whole band circled us! It started out as friendly and fun, and it was great “fellowship” with our rivals. Then my tail snapped and fell off — a big, heavy metal tail. I fell to the ground laughing hysterically, and the band stopped playing and dispersed. Bahaha! I think they were unsure what to do with me. So Benny and I ventured out to the parking lot — me cradling my tail like a baby in my arms — and we found then-head men’s basketball coach Jimmy Anderson’s motor home. His wife was able to reattach my tail — ironically enough, using duct tape — and I was back in business.

—Holly Deemer, ’96

Graduation of 2017 was a long day. Everyone kept saying, “Oprah was here!” My handlers at the time were great, and I had a little bit of time to kill. So we all kind of said, “Hey, let’s go try and meet Oprah!”

She was up in the premium seating. There were a couple of cops for security around her. I motioned to a cop to take a picture, and from what I recall he shook his head no. I just walked closer, and she finally noticed Benny and said, “All right, let’s take a picture!” I went over to her section and gave her a hug, and a ton of people were taking their phones out to take pictures.

She was very happy to do so, and then we said our goodbyes. As I’m walking out, she and her entourage were like, “Wait, Benny! We want to take another picture!” and it was my impression that this time it was on Oprah’s personal phone. I came back, and we took another photo that she ended up posting on her Instagram account. Very cool story and so unique.

—Evan Thomson, ’19

Oprah’s first trip to Oregon included a well-documented hug from Benny (Evan Thomson).

I recently received the Oregon Stater Spring 2026 issue. The information about Benny and Bernice Beaver is fun-filled entertainment! I am also inspired by the creative collaboration between editor, writer and photographer! Thank you for the “Best of the Best” all these years!

—Cordelia Blake, ’63

Welcome Reminders

I was delighted to see my father’s name mentioned in the Spring 2026 Oregon Stater article “Poet Laureate of the Locker Room.” 

My dad, Eugene “Gene” Winters, ’50, was given credit for giving William Robertson his nickname of “Ropes.” Dad also served in the 10th Mountain Division, 87th Mountain Infantry, at the same time as Mr. Robertson.  This was likely where the two men became acquainted.

You might be interested to know that my dad was a proud OSU graduate who went on to serve Oregonians through the OSU Extension Service as a wheat, crop and soil specialist.

He retired in 1980 after more than 20 years as an extension agent, taking assignments in Clatsop, Douglas, Jackson, Morrow and Wheeler counties as well as two stints in Amman, Jordan.

The article reminded me of listening to my dad share memories and stories about his life. Such reminders are precious since he’s no longer here with us. Thank you.

—Stephanie Winters Engle, ’84

Fresh-Cut Covers

We loved seeing these gorgeous paper flowers, made from Oregon Stater covers by Sarah Cunningham, Ph.D. ’12, OSU senior instructor of anthropology and leader of the Food in Culture and Social Justice program. The bouquets served as centerpieces at a spring Empty Bowls benefit at McNary Dining Center in support of OSU’s Basic Needs Center. If you’ve reused the magazine in a creative way, please send pictures!

Submit your letters to the Stater. We edit for clarity, brevity and factual accuracy. Please limit letters to 225 words or less.