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There are varying accounts of how Centralia High School was given their nickname, the Orphans. Most notably, a Chicago sportswriter said "they looked like a bunch of orphans but they sure could play basketball". During the great depression, Centralia High School and community was hit hard. The team was forced to wear uniforms that were reduced to rags. In the 1970's Centralia introduced girls athletics to the school and it was only fitting to name them the Orphan Annies.
The goose is quite popular - and common - in the Kenmare area and it was immortalized by the school giving a nod to its honkin' abilities. Kenmare has a honker suit, which is worn by a student at the games, and that in turn sparks opponents to come dressed in hunting gear.
No one knows for sure when Mitchell High School became the Kernels, but in 1969 the school changed its colors to black and gold. The high school mascot is the Kernels because Mitchell is the home to the world's only Corn Palace. Mitchell is known as a strong agricultural area. You won't find Cornelius the mascot patrolling the sidelines anymore because rumor has it, at one time the mascot was hit in the head at a homecoming game by an errant pass, causing the papier-mache to break into pieces.
In 1936, 15 Dubois basketball players gathered to discuss what mascot the school should use. During that same time, the popular comic strip "Popeye" had a character known as Jeep. After a long discussion, the players unanimously decided on the Jeeps mascot. The battle cry for the Dubois fans became "Jeep-Jeep-Jeep" which were the only words the comic strip haracter would say. A few years ago the athletic director added "Fighting" to the mascot name to make it more intimidating.
While sitting around a campfire with friends, a logger named Eugene Shepard told a made-up story about seeing a vicious monster with fangs that came out from the north woods of Wisconsin and fed on dogs. The hodag is described as having the head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur and tail of an alligator.
In the fall of 1969, the Roland Community School District and the Story City Community School District reorganized and became the Roland-Story Community School District. Prior to the reorganization, the Roland sports teams were known as the Rockets/Rockettes and the Story City sports teams were known as the Vikings/Viqueens. The district didn't want to use either of the previous nicknames, but wanted to start anew. Both Roland and Story City have a very strong Norwegian heritage, and the schools wanted to use that heritage in naming the new sports team. Somehow, the name Norsemen was suggested. The Norsemen were the "work-horses" of Norway and it seemed a great name.
In 1963, Shenandoah High School was built. There was no debate as to what to name the school and mascot. In 1925, the USS Shenandoah, a Zeppelin airship, embarked on a promotional flight to the Midwest. The airship was caught up in thunderstorms over Ohio when it was torn apart due to the turbulence causing it to crash in Caldwell, Ohio. The pieces landed in various parts of the county.
Depending on who you ask, the meaning of Nimrod may differ. Watersmeet, Mich., is located in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan, where hunting is a sport and a way of life. A nimrod is a king hunter so odds are, that is the true meaning of this one: a hunter, not an idiot.
Winona isn't home to a rare breed of hawks. Rather Winhawks is a nice play on words that transforms the stereotypical "Hawks" mascot into a winning proposition. Blackhawks. Seahawks. Plain-old Hawks. They have nothing on the Winhawks. Winona's mascot, Herky, is a cartoon bird with bulky arms.