The late W.T. (Bill) Rabe, known for his clever PR stunts from his days as a Detroit-area publicist, created the Unicorn Hunters in 1971, shortly after he was hired as Lake Superior State University's Director of Public Relations. Bill, with the assistance of LSSU Professors of English Peter Thomas, John McCabe, John Stevens and others, came up with the Hunters as a way of garnering more publicity for LSSU, which had just established itself as an independent school after being a branch of what is now Michigan Technological University. The Unicorn Hunters made the news often for activities and events including: the annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness, burning a snowman on the first day of spring, World Sauntering Day, International Stone-Skipping Tournament held annually on Mackinac Island, Unicorn Questing Season and Teacher Thank You Week.
Business leaders might say Bill 'leveraged' (the word was banished in 2001) the Unicorn Hunters in a big way. The group's activities, especially 'word banishment,' attracted the attention of news media everywhere. Bill once had an ABC News crew on campus to film students in their quest for unicorns.
The Unicorn Hunters were behind the establishment of one of LSSU's first literary magazines, The Woods-Runner. The quarterly publication was mailed to thousands of readers around the world. Through the magazine, subscribers were able to keep up on the Hunters' activities, as well as sample writing from LSSU students and employees and others.
The Unicorn Hunters retired when Bill did in 1987, but the spirit of some of the group's activities lives on. 'Word Banishment' continues to draw hundreds of nominations each year from people throughout the world. The annual snowman burning on the first day of spring is one of the more popular events on the LSSU campus, if not the Eastern Upper Peninsula.
Peter Thomas, chief herald of the Unicorn Hunters and editor of The Woods-Runner, once said, "The pursuit of the unicorn is a lonely quest, but many more embark upon that journey than teachers or publishers may recognize." His words still ring true. While the Hunters do not physically exist on the LSSU campus anymore, it is apparent that many folks are still 'questing,' thanks to Bill and his colleagues.
In our next post we will give you the Official Unicorn Hunting Regulations. Hey! If your going to do it, do it correctly!
Business leaders might say Bill 'leveraged' (the word was banished in 2001) the Unicorn Hunters in a big way. The group's activities, especially 'word banishment,' attracted the attention of news media everywhere. Bill once had an ABC News crew on campus to film students in their quest for unicorns.
The Unicorn Hunters were behind the establishment of one of LSSU's first literary magazines, The Woods-Runner. The quarterly publication was mailed to thousands of readers around the world. Through the magazine, subscribers were able to keep up on the Hunters' activities, as well as sample writing from LSSU students and employees and others.
The Unicorn Hunters retired when Bill did in 1987, but the spirit of some of the group's activities lives on. 'Word Banishment' continues to draw hundreds of nominations each year from people throughout the world. The annual snowman burning on the first day of spring is one of the more popular events on the LSSU campus, if not the Eastern Upper Peninsula.
Peter Thomas, chief herald of the Unicorn Hunters and editor of The Woods-Runner, once said, "The pursuit of the unicorn is a lonely quest, but many more embark upon that journey than teachers or publishers may recognize." His words still ring true. While the Hunters do not physically exist on the LSSU campus anymore, it is apparent that many folks are still 'questing,' thanks to Bill and his colleagues.
In our next post we will give you the Official Unicorn Hunting Regulations. Hey! If your going to do it, do it correctly!
And your [sic] gonna do it, right?
ReplyDeleteOooops! That just makes me sic.....
ReplyDeleteEven in the days of yore your comment would be sincerely appreciated! Thanks for taking some of your time - you're absolutely right!
ReplyDelete