Pail and Shovel Party | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Pail and Shovel Party

Pail and Shovel Party | Wisconsin Historical Society
Dictionary of Wisconsin History.

 

An absurdist contingent of UW-Madison students who won control of student government in the spring of 1978 with the campaign slogan, "Are you nuts enough?" and conducted a series of classic pranks. On the first day of classes, September 4, 1979, Madison students awoke to find that more than 1,000 pink flamingos covered the University's Bascom Hill. Led by Leon Varjian and James Mallon, the Pail and Shovel party was also responsible for the often-photographed Statue of Liberty replica constructed on the ice of Lake Mendota.

"Bascom Hill Pink Flamingo" at Wisconsin Historical Society's Museum Object of the Week, September 01, 2005

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