Without the aid of a reference book, Mary O’Brien ever-so-slightly repositioned herself on her armchair and related a piece of Syracuse University history she has retold countless times in the past. It’s one of her favorites, actually.

It’s the story of the university’s adoption of the infamous orange as its official school color, after experimenting with pea green and rose pink, followed by a dabble in azure blue and pink.

‘Everyone decided it was time to get a better color,’ said O’Brien, pausing briefly for the right word. ‘A jazzier color.’

The decision to even consider a change occurred after a track meet in 1889 – a meet SU won, but not without ‘rather cutting comments’ from the opposing team. Following a little research and feedback from alumni and students, the board of trustees adopted orange a year later, making SU the first university in the nation to use the color by itself.

Ask her about Otto the Orange, and for the next 15 minutes she’ll chatter away about Otto’s ancestors, from the Saltine Warrior to all those unofficial mascots at the Carrier Dome – like the Dome Ranger – before Otto’s birth in 1995.

‘Some people say, ‘Well, he’s a piece of fruit,’ but he’s a good piece of fruit,’ said O’Brien, before interrupting herself for a quick laugh. ‘I think it’s an inspired choice.’

Having worked as the assistant university archivist since 1981, O’Brien should know a thing or two about Syracuse – and she does. Just ask university archivist Edward Galvin, her boss and friend of 12 years. Galvin still turns to her with questions about the university’s history, admitting he learns something from her daily.

‘She is a treasure trove of information,’ said Galvin, from his office on the sixth floor of Bird Library. ‘A lot of it she can give you without looking it up. Trying to get that information out of her head and into a database we can use is one of our goals.’

O’Brien knows Syracuse because for one, she has lived here all her life. Along with an identical twin sister, Peggy, O’Brien attended Catholic school until eighth grade and then high school before enrolling at SU in the late ’60s. And she’s literally been here ever since.

While studying English and history as an undergraduate in 1973, a job opened up in the university’s library processing unit, located in the basement of the then-new Bird Library. Convinced to fill the opening by one of her friends, O’Brien dropped her books and began working, typing card catalog entries.

O’Brien held other positions at the university, including a stint as a cataloguer in media services, before moving up to Bird’s sixth floor in 1981 to become the assistant university archivist.

‘It’s just amazing,’ she said, ‘I’ve been here just that long. When you think of it, the years have just gone by. There’s that newness every day, I don’t get bored.’

And she said it! Bored. Working at Bird, one would assume fielding questions about the university and filing information for 26 years would grow rather boring, no?

Well, not quite. Her sister explained O’Brien often answers the same questions – like the university’s adoption of the color orange – but does so without complaint because of her avid love of history and will to do anything she can for clients.

‘She helps people understand the university,’ Peggy O’Brien said. ‘They may ask the same question, and sometimes you want to bang your head against the wall. You might know the answer, but it’s new to them. She finds answers for them.’

In her yard, outside of the home O’Brien shares with her sister, sits a sign bought by one of her two brothers that reads: ‘Spoiled rotten dogs live here.’

‘Guilty!’ O’Brien laughs.

Since turning 10, O’Brien has held a fascination for Irish wolfhounds, which eventually manifested itself into close to a dozen family members in the Mary and Peggy household. The sisters used to enter their wolfhounds into competitions; Peggy showed the dogs while O’Brien was ‘the star on the outside’ by holding extra dogs, switching leashes, putting numbers of arms and holding dogs back.

This ended in 2000 with Eibhleann, their wolfhound at the time, because she hated competitions, which the sisters noticed by her lack of enthusiasm when she was being shown.

Duibheasa, their current wolfhound, is unable to be shown because she had surgery. Once a dog has been altered – like with surgery – it can no longer compete.

‘To tell you the truth, we don’t miss it,’ Peggy O’Brien said. ‘We still go to shows and see our friends compete. But if the dog doesn’t like it, you don’t do it. You get wise and you say no.’

Aside from Irish wolfhounds, O’Brien also enjoys quilting, which has kept her busy since her early 20s. Upon hearing of a search for volunteers to help make a quilt that will be auctioned off as a fundraiser, O’Brien decided she and her sister should give it a try. Ever since that day, O’Brien has yet to stop.

‘Mary has made other quilts,’ Peggy O’Brien said, ‘quilts that tuck into a pillow – quillows. They’re good to give to kids, a pillow they can unwrap and use as a blanket at night.’

Even so, O’Brien’s strongest passion is with the university and her deep-rooted knowledge of it, from a history of the campus’ buildings to endless facts about its sports programs. And as Galvin points out, her complete dedication to SU has led to the dependence of many clients on her – and only her.

Oftentimes, Gavin said he receives calls from people who recently visited the archives and wish to speak to O’Brien. If he tells them she is unavailable, they simply tell Galvin they will call back later.

‘She reports to me,’ Galvin joked, ‘I know how to do these things, too! She’s a good spokesperson for the archives. Many people equate her with the archives program.’

At the end of the day, it seems O’Brien’s love for history, coupled with her devotion to the university, makes her job in the university archives a perfect fit.

‘From high school on, I’ve always been interested in history,’ she said. ‘And working here is like having my own little piece of history. It isn’t world history or state history, but it’s the history of SU. And that’s manageable.’

Published on March 28, 2007 at 12:00 pm