BARTLESVILLE, Okla. –The lobby of 66 FCU is one of more than a dozen local businesses where the buffalo roam, so to speak—life-sized acrylic statutes purchased to benefit Mary Martha Outreach, which feeds and clothes the poor.
A local artist is painting the credit union’s buffalo, using a stencil to cover its silver behind with 200 buffalo nickels. The head is painted a bright blue. The buffalo's hind quarters will be ‘branded’ with the credit union's blue logo.
The design was chosen because the buffalo nickel symbolizes the Great Plains images -- the American Indian on one side and the buffalo on the other.
The credit union is taking suggestions till Nov. 30 for a name for its new mascot. One will be chosen before the buffalo roams to his permanent home.
As many as 15 of the faux-animals will be sold for $5,000 to local businesses in the project, thought up by the local Girl Scouts troop.
One beast has been designed with wings, flying goggles and an eye patch; another has a United States flag with a bust of the Statue of Liberty over it; and a third is a reproduction of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" with the Bartlesville skyline stretched out over it.
