Vote for the Best Mascot in KS
You must enter the correct code and click the Vote button in less than 30 seconds after the code appears for your vote to count. Otherwise, you will need to refresh your page and vote again.
In 1934, Fern Barger won the contest to select Fowler's mascot with the Goldbug. The idea was taken from the 1843 short story by Edgar Allen Poe entitled "Goldbug". The story is about a man who gets bit by a goldbug and becomes obsessed with finding a treasure of gold. The belief in Fowler is that the students reading this short story in English class liked it enough to choose it as the mascot. The bug mascot is holding up a V for victory with one hand - and appears to be a big fan of the victory. Who wouldn't be?
The nickname changed roughly 30 years ago to honor what then was called Hesston Corporation, an important company to the town which built, among other products, the swather. A swather in this part of Kansas is used primarily to chop alfalfa into rows and put it up to dry, preparing it to be baled. The Hesston Corporation was known as a critical supporter of the school.
The 1931 basketball team was known for being not only good, but entertaining to watch because they were smaller than most of their opponents. Some residents gave them the nickname of the banty roosters. The cheerleaders and pep club thought the school needed a mascot and decided Roosters was the perfect fit.
In 1925, Pratt's FB/BB coach changed the basketball uniforms from red and white to yellow because he thought too many schools were red and white. Two years later, he changed the football uniforms to green. Pratt's football field during that era had an issue with water collecting on one end and becoming a swimming pool for dozens of jolly frogs. The combination of the green jerseys and frogfest coined the name Greenbacks. The official school colors became green and white in 1939 and in the 1950s, the frog logo was created.
A muleskinner was known as the head of the wagon train, driving mule teams and covered wagons across the Great Plains. Many of those trails cut through the heart of Kansas, near Salina.