The stories behind 5 of Wisconsin’s quirkiest high school mascots

By Christina Lorey

February 20, 2025

Anyone can be in Eagle. But only in Wisconsin will you find these high school nicknames.

🏰 Castle Guards, Washburn High School

The old Washburn High School, which sat along Lake Superior, looked like a castle, which is why administrators chose the nickname. Although the original building burned down in 1947, the area is still famous for its brownstone.

🪨 Granite Diggers, Mellen High School

Mellen, a town of just 700 about 30 minutes south of Lake Superior, is known for its black granite, which attracts lots of chipmunks. That’s why the school’s mascot is Chipper, a blue and white pickaxe-wielding chipmunk.

👹 Hodags, Rhinelander High School

No mascot list is complete without this Wisconsin legend–the Northwoods’ answer to the abominable snowman. Its origin dates back to 1893, when local prankster Eugene Shepherd tricked locals into thinking it was real. So what is it? The hodag is a green lizard-like creature covered in fur with big, white teeth and spikes on its tail.

MORE: Hodag History–The True Story Behind Rhinelander’s Mystical Menace

🛥️ Oredockers, Ashland High School

Ashland used to be known as the Purgolders (the school’s colors), but one local reporter thought that was boring and started calling the sports teams the Oredockers in his weekly columns. The name stuck, and in 1948, the school officially adopted the new mascot: a ship under a dock.

🌴 Resorters, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School

If you live near Lake Geneva, the constant flow of tourists might annoy you, but the local high school chose to lean into it, calling themselves the Resorters. While the mascot character is an elk, the unofficial spirit gear most students wear is vacation attire–the tackier, the better.

So, which Wisconsin high school mascot is most unique? A few years back, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ranked 7 of the state’s strangest.

Author

Christina Lorey

Christina Lorey is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist and former UpNorthNews newsletter editor. She previously worked as a producer, reporter, and TV anchor for stations in Madison and Moline. When she’s not writing or asking questions, Christina volunteers with Girls on the Run, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and several mental health organizations.

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CATEGORIES: LOCAL CULTURE

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