Remembering “Kay” - A Brewster Boy’s Bear Cub Mascot

September 2018, Brewster, NY — With the number of disruptive backyard bears making headlines these days, we remember “Kay,” a Brewster boy’s bear cub mascot during World War I.

Lieutenant Joseph M. Adrian, Brewster summer resident of Sunny Gables, Allview Avenue, was one of many Putnam County residents who served in the Great War 100 years ago. During his training at Camp Upton, Long Island, NY, it is reported in the archives of the Evening Sun and The Brewster Standard that a friend from Wyoming sent Adrian a bear cub as a mascot for Company K of the 307th Infantry Regiment, 77th Division. He became affectionately known as “Kay” and the company’s nickname became “Bearcats.” 

Kay became a sensation during a time when it was an unofficial practice to make animals, domesticated or wild, into mascots. Kay was featured in the book Camp Upton Described and Photographed by Roger Batchelder and images of him and members of Company K, along with many other WWI mascots, can be found in the National Archives. It is unknown if Kay was released into the wild or sent to a local zoo, like the real life World War I story of the bear that inspired A.A. Milne’s character Winnie-the-Pooh.

Lieutenant Adrian, a lawyer, stockbroker and real estate businessman, served in France during the war and was severely wounded on September 8, 1918 in the Oise-Aisne Offensive. He was carried from the field ambulance into the hospital by German prisoners of war. During the weeks following his injury, the remainder of his company made up some of the members of the fateful yet famed “Lost Battalion” in the Argonne Forest. Upon his return from the war, Adrian returned to New York and his summer home in Brewster and remained active with the Society of the 307th Infantry.

Adrian’s story of service, along with many others, will be portrayed in the upcoming original drama “The Letters: Voices from The Great War” by Brewster High School in partnership with The Southeast Museum. The play is based on actual letters and diaries written by local servicemen and women who were part of the Great War. Performances are scheduled November 8-10, 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice. For more information and tickets visit www.brewsterschools.org or call 845-279-5051, ext. 1329.

 

Kay Image 1 Natl Archives -  “Kay” with soldiers at Camp Upton. National Archives 165-WW-472-070

Kay Image 2  Batchelder - “Kay the Mascot” - From Camp Upton Described and Photographed by Roger Batchelder, Small, Maynard & Co., Inc., 1918