The other Jayhawks – in Pennsylvania

¢ The story of how a high school in Pennsylvania got to have the Jayhawk as its mascot is included in an article in today’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review._While the Jayhawk from Kansas University may be the most prominent nationwide, the blue-and-red feathered version from Jeannette has achieved more than considerable notoriety in Western Pennsylvania, most often because of the exploits of its athletic teams, including the newly crowned WPIAL Class AA football champions.__Although Jeannette High School librarian Robert Klauss found no record of a school mascot or nickname in yearbooks earlier than 1936, he discovered that the team was referred to as the Jayhawks in football and basketball related stories, with the first reference, he said, in the 1936 yearbook, then again in the 1937 edition. Prior to 1936, teams were known as the “Red and Blue.” Jeannette’s first graded schools began operating in September 1889.__Jeannette dentist Mike Getto said his Uncle Mike, who earned All-American honors as a lineman at Pitt in 1927 prior to coaching football, yes football, for the Brooklyn Dodgers, became an assistant coach at Kansas from 1929-1939 and 1947-1950.__”At that time, Kansas had the only Jayhawk,” Getto said, “but Uncle Mike brought the idea back to Jeannette, and we adopted the nickname and concept. Uncle Mike thought the Jayhawk was a unique symbol and, besides, it made sense to have both words begin with the letter J.”_¢ Lawrence’s Chestnut Charlie’s, a Christmas tree farm among other things, joins a Wall Street Journal story on the debate over real or fake Christmas trees._ Organic tree farms are also cropping up around the country, capturing the interest of more eco-conscious consumers. One is Chestnut Charlie’s in Lawrence, Kan., where owner Charles NovoGradac says he sells about 100 to 150 trees a year. He says most customers are local people who just want a fresh tree, but some “specifically want organic.”_¢ You might have read today’s story in the Journal-World about Lawrence-based Protection One Inc. purchasing Integrated Alarm Services, headquartered in New York. Here’s the Albany Times-Union’s story on the acquisition._The combined company will be named Protection One Inc., and be led by Protection One’s current president and CEO, Richard Ginsburg. The firm is located in Lawrence, Kansas.__The financially troubled alarm monitoring company last month reported a $69.3 million loss for the third quarter after writing down $65 million worth of goodwill. IASG revenue was down 6 percent to $23.1 million, and employment was trimmed to 730 as of Sept. 30 from 837 at the end of 2005.__While IASG maintains its corporate headquarters in Albany, most of its employees are based elsewhere._