02/23/2026
On Sunday afternoon, February 22, the Grove Society sponsored a watch party for a new PBS Wisconsin documentary, Bucky!, on the life and times of the beloved UW mascot. The program featured an Evansville resident from the early 1900s, Lloyd “Babe” Spencer, who played an important role in the story.
The party took place at The Night Owl in Evansville. Representatives from PBS Wisconsin entertained questions from the audience after the showing. The highlight of the party was an appearance by Bucky Badger himself, who spent an hour posing for pictures, delighting the many children in attendance, and leading them around the place as if he were the Pied Piper. Bucky also assisted in awarding Evansville’s First Historian, Ruth Ann Montgomery, with a lifetime membership in the Grove Society.
A running theme of the documentary is the way in which Bucky Badger appeals to everyone who cares about Wisconsin: he makes people happy, makes us feel connected in our love for him and for our state. As the photographs make clear, Bucky did that for everyone who attended the watch party: we laughed, we delighted in his shenanigans, we felt fortunate to be able to share in his Bucky-ness for an afternoon. Everyone who watched the documentary felt pride and connection not only to Bucky himself but to the community he represents.
All of us at the Grove Society are grateful for the support of the Night Owl, PBS Wisconsin, Wisconsin Athletics Spirit Squad, and to Dottie Dykstra and Bill Lathrop, who chased after Bucky to get the wonderful pictures seen here. The documentary can be found on the PBS Wisconsin app, as well as on PBS’s YouTube channel, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8J9yyUgzGk. Check it out; it will make you happy!
