Dammit the dog

Of all the legends and traditions that surround Tennessee Tech, the most inconsistent is that of Dammit the dog. One version has Gov. Gordon Browning naming the dog during a campus visit in the'50s. When the dog blocked his path, he supposedly yelled, "Dammit, get out of here." To excuse the profanity, he added, "That's the dog's name, isn't it?" Other versions cast President Derryberry in that role.

It wasn't Dammit's life that made him a legend, nor his death. It wasn't even his funeral in 1954, although that was spectacular for a dog: There was a casket and student procession. No, it's the grave itself that gives this legend legs: Dammit is buried in front of a fire hydrant on the quad, directly in front of Derryberry Hall.

And even today, flowers occasionally appear there. We don't know who leaves them, and we don't know why. As a tribute? To be funny? To be kind? Maybe it's meant as a salute to Tennessee Tech traditions.