Stinger’s Up!!: The Life and Times of Herky the Hornet

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to relay the history and some curated happenings that have occurred to Sacramento State’s mascot, Herky the Hornet, throughout their mascot lifetime.   Facts and stories from various archival sources will be shared regarding Herky and their connection to the Sac State student body, campus, and the “Way of the Hornet” culture that has continued since the beginnings of Herky in their mascot role.   To be discussed are the following topics:

  • The history of Herky and their beginnings
  • Herky’s evolution over time (roles, appearances, images)
  • Curated stories that have involved/impacted Herky in various ways
  • And the possibility of future supporting mascot(s)

The importance of this chapter shows how Herky the Hornet became a model and focal point for increasing school spirit, culture, and identity for a newly formed college campus and has continued as the same, albeit slightly more muscular, hornet mascot for the Sac State campus as it continues to grow and change for the present day.

Resources to be consulted for the writing of this chapter include: The State Hornet (Sac State’s student newspaper), The Statesman (Sac State’s yearbook), university campus (UARC) records, university photographs, artifacts, and other potential information sources.  Multiple images/photographs are planned to be submitted for inclusion in the chapter pending the decision of allowable spacing.  These images would/could include drawing depictions and photographs (b/w and color) of Herky throughout the years.  Length of chapter will be dependent on the guidelines provided by the book editors when that has been established.

Author(s) Bio

Lynn Sanborn is currently the University Archivist Librarian at Sacramento State.  She has worked in the archives since 2010, becoming the University Archivist in 2023.   She has a MS in Biological Sciences from Sacramento State and an MLIS from San Jose State University.

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