MANSFIELD — Brutus Buckeye has come a long way since his creation on a sorority house lawn in 1965.

His first outfit was a modest one, made of chicken wire, papier mâché and sticks a local hardware store.

The inaugural uniform didn’t last long, but the treasured mascot wasn’t going anywhere. 

The story of Brutus Buckeye was largely unknown until three years ago, when his co-creators Ray Bourhis and Mansfield native Sally Lanyon wrote “The Autobiography of Brutus Buckeye, As Told to His Parents, Sally Lanyon and Ray Bourhis.” 

During her trip back to Mansfield this weekend for her 55th high school reunion, Lanyon stopped by the Ohio State University-Mansfield campus to see the recently installed Brutus statue, donated by board of trustees member Dr. James A Goudy II and painted by OSU alumni Ryan Failor. 

She will also be at Main Street Books for a book signing from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

A Special Homecoming

Lanyon has lived in Tucson, Arizona since 1980, but she still tears up when she comes back to Mansfield.

“Driving up Main Street, seeing the square and all of that again, it’s been really cool,” she said. “I just love this area, the trees and the rolling hills … To come in the fall when the leaves are turning red — that’s like being in hog heaven for sure.”

Lanyon describes her growing up years as perfect.

“No one locked their doors, milk was delivered to your house,” she reminisced. “We would play hide and seek until dark.”

The Birth of Brutus

Lanyon never anticipated her brainchild becoming a statewide icon.

“There were no expectations that this was going to go anywhere,” she said.

Today, Brutus makes appearances at more than 500 sporting and nonsporting events every year. He is portrayed by multiple students, all of whom receive scholarships.

It wasn’t until the university’s 50th anniversary celebration of Brutus Buckeye in 2015 that Lanyon realized the impact she’d had. She and Bourhis were guests of honor at a luncheon with former “Brutuses” — students who had donned uniform throughout the years.

“I can’t tell you how many those, mostly guys — only three of them were women — came up to me and said “Thank you so much for creating Brutus, you’ve changed my life,” she said. 

“My heart just went ‘wow.’”

Their stories are the inspiration for Lanyon’s latest project, The Brutus Blog. The blog launched Oct. 1.

“I feel like a mom with a scrapbook, except it’s a virtual scrapbook,” she said. “There are way more stories to write.”