So, here's a little history behind the Yankee Tank name. It all goes back to a saying, originating from the settlements of two free-staters back in the day, Ezekiel Colman and John Wakefield. From the Kansas Historical Society:
“Ezekiel Colman, an outspoken free-state supporter, bought a claim to land adjoining the Judge Wakefield property. He became an early nurseryman and a founder of the Dougl
as Count Horticultural Society in 1867. When Colman and Wakefield disputed their adjoining boundaries, each planted a row of hedge creating a barrier between their farms that was still visible in 1993. Colman was an early producer of berries, apples, and black walnuts. In 1871 and 1873, he won silver medals for his display of apples at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society competition in Boston"..."the small stream that ran through his farm originated from the spring on Wakefield’s property. To store water for his livestock, Colman dug a pond fed by the stream. When it rained and the stream ran full, neighbors would say, “The Yankee’s tank is running over.” Supplemented by soil conservation ponds and terraces, Yankee Tank still serves as water storage for livestock”
These days, the Yankee Tank creek runs from Lake Alvamar to the Wakarusa river along K-10. The name is an homage to our Lawrence roots, and an acknowledgement of serving the local community first and foremost. As for our logo, that's also a bit of a fun piece of history. It's not a robot, or a space alien, or some Bioshock automaton, as a lot of people think. The original design was for “submarine armor” by H.L. Bowdoin. Yes, submarine armor. Basically the guy wanted to build big metal suits (and, later on, an underwater tank) to find and hoist treasure up from shipwrecks on the ocean floor. While the logo doesn’t have anything to do with our name, we thought it was a cool example of the human inclination toward ingenuity and the creative spirit. We have never found any pictures or examples of the diving suit pictured in Mr. Bowdoins patent. Though he did eventually build a working prototype seen in this 1931 video, which is admittedly terrifying. https://youtu.be/CgTr0myRsbs
Cheers!
