THE CASE OF THE MISSING PEP JUG: A True Story!

Over the course of the past year, I have not have not had a lot to write here that would be considered very positive about my history with my alma mater, Evansville, Indiana's Central High School. However, since the whole matter concerning the Evansville Vanderburgh School System and Central giving me public credit and acknowledgement for my drawing of the bear mascot has finally been amicably resolved, I am more in a mood to share more pleasant stories about my experience with Central.

Interestingly, like that bear tale, this story also begins with the late David Koehler, former long-time and respected CHS faculty member. Mr. Koehler was one of the biggest boosters of Central, himself having been a past student in addition to his many years as a teacher there. In fact, he was so passionate about the school that when a graduating student from the class of 1985 took the school's beloved "Pep Jug" as some sort of parting prank, Mr. Koehler was the fellow determined to find the culprit and return the jug to its rightful home.

THE PEP JUG appears in this photo taken from the CHS Yearbook for 1977. I added the color enhancements to emphasis the jug.

Now, I'll be honest and note here that to this day I am not quite sure what the overall purpose of the Pep Jug was supposed to be. Near as I could ever fathom, it was simply used at pep rallies as a symbol of school pride. And, frankly, it seemed that most of my fellow students were not quite sure what a "Pep Jug" was. However, the whole situation fascinated me, and I decided to create a series of comic strips in my position as cartoonist for the school's newspaper "The Centralian" that would playfully satirize the mystery.

So, for your amusement I present here the harrowing serial of "The Case of The Missing Pep Jug" (NOW IN COLOR!), which ran in "The Centralian" way back in October of 1986:

NOTE: The caricatures of faculty members include (From left to right): Mr. David Koehler, Mr. Jim Wootton, and Principal Joan Finch. The gag here being that even the principal is not aware of what a "Pep Jug" is.

 The rumor as to had taken the jug had made the rounds at the school, and so I decided to "cleverly" add some clues in that final strip. As noted above, the Pep Jug was recovered, and I assume it's likely still placed somewhere within Central High to this day. As likely is that most people there still ask, "What's a Pep Jug?"


-- Matt

HEY! The Facebook page I created to help get the word out about my Central bear art credit is now being used to showcase different items of interest relating to the history of Evansville's Central High School. If you have any interest in the matter, check it out, "like" and follow the page:

History of The Central Bear: Credit Where Credit Is Due

Thanks!!