In the fall of 1975 the
school community was looking for a mascot for their teams and for general
spirit. Sr. M. Virginia Ann, principal,
called for a contest. One sophomore, Bev
Rosing, went all out in her search for a suitable candidate. When she looked at all her stuffed animals on
her bed she ended up writing an entry with the name of each animal. Among them was her panda and when she wrote
the name she underlined the last three letters—nda. History was in the making at that
moment. A few days later in the hall Bev
was congratulated by one of the Sisters, but she didn’t know if that meant her
suggestion had been accepted. When the
student body was assembled for the announcement, she was pretty sure her
“panda” entry was going to win and her hunch was correct. The whole NDA community was enthusiastic from
the start with this clever choice.
30 years passed and many
things changed. When the bookstore gave
way to a sports-wear shop, the two women who operated it, Cathy Stevens and her
helper Mary Jo Wickelhaus, thought a new name was called for. Several possible names surfaced between them,
so they put them to the students to choose.
The students’ choice is now part of Panda History—Bambootique. How appropriate!
