Ceramics – Crooksville (OH) High School

As if Crooksville wasn’t bad enough. At the same time, though, wouldn’t it have been cool if they had just gone with it, and named themselves something like the Outlaws?

This town of 2,400 is in the middle of nowhere, in southeastern Ohio. It dates back to 1874, and was named after founder Joseph Crooks. It looks like they have a very specific claim to fame:

It was, indeed, once the home of Hull Pottery, “one of the best known Ohio potteries [Wikipedia],” and hosts a yearly pottery festival to this day. Famous sons include some rhetoric teacher and a Medal of Honor winner.

They used to make these things!

The high school is located at 4075 Ceramic Way, a couple of miles south of town. It currently has about 340 students. 

An "exempted village" is some sort of Ohio thing

They’ve won a couple of state football championships, and have been playing for over 100 years. The past few years haven’t been too good to them though. They were winless in 2021 and 2022, and couldn’t play in their stadium in 2021 because of electrical issues. They do, though, have a rather cool helmet.

I have no idea what "DWWD" stands for

Now, can someone please tell me why they weren’t called the Potters? I mean, it’s good enough for Stoke City, formerly of the Premier League (though nobody in Crooksville may have heard of any of those).

Campers – Allegany High School (Cumberland MD)

Cut that wood!  Pitch that tent!  Camp!  Camp!  Camp!

Cumberland is an interesting little town of 19,000 in the far west part of Maryland. It occupies a prime location for Easterners getting through the Appalachians and heading toward the Midwest. As such, it has a long history of trails, roads, canals and railroads. It’s a little down on its luck these days, but I still found it fun and nice when I visited to ride the C&O Canal bike trail.

Allegany High School was the original high school in Cumberland, and dates back to 1887. Today, it has about 670 students.

Yup, that’s your basic high school alright

Famous alumni include the typical actors and athletes. One of these, though, is somebody I’ve actually heard of, actor William Macy. He has over 140 credits on IMdB.com, including Fargo and Boogie Nights. 

As if he wasn’t unattractive enough (from the movie Shameless)

Looks like they’ve got an excellent athletics program. I count over 40 state championships, from 1927 to 2010. The boys basketball team was a particular standout, winning 7 titles between 1927 and 1937.

The mascot? Here’s what Wikipedia has to say:

“The ‘Camper’ mascot is a source of much confusion. The most widely accepted theory is that Civil War General Lew Wallace and his men began calling the site ‘Campobello’ during their time here. The word Campobello is derived from Latin, meaning ‘camp of war.’"

I don’t know if I’m buying it. I also don’t know why their mascot is an Indian chief. Guess a guy sitting in a camp chair, swatting mosquitoes, fiddlin’ with the campfire, and drinking a Bud Light just wasn’t gonna cut it.

Sure enough, the girls teams are called the Lady Campers. To confuse things even more, though, the drill team are called the Arrowettes.

Buttons – Central Catholic High School (San Antonio, TX)

Now, I have no idea if there are Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, or Seventh Day Adventist Buttons out there …

Probably don’t need to say much about San Antonio. Hey, they have their own NBA team, right? Plus there’s that Alamo thingie.

As for Central Catholic, it seems rather a tony place. First, it dates all the way back to 1852, when it was founded by the Marianist Brothers. 

Second, the school actually has at least one famous alum. Henry Cisneros is a former mayor of San Antonio, as well as a secretary of HUD.

And reminds me a lot of Peter Sellers

The all-boys school has about 520 students. It’s located just north of downtown San Antone. 

Looks like the soccer team is particularly good. They’ve won several state titles and were once ranked #1 in the country. Of course, it’s Texas, so the football team gets all the love.

Now, as for that name … Well, this one is a little convoluted. Bear with me here.

Turns out the school wanted to make a play on the mascot of St Mary’s University (which the high school was once a part of), the Rattlers. It also turns out the little things that rattle in a rattlesnake’s tail are called buttons. Et voila?

Aaaaaahhhhhh!

Personally, I would’ve gone with something like Vipers, or Diamondbacks, or anything other than Buttons. Believe me, Buttons are not going to strike fear into anyone. 

Needless to say, there are no Lady Buttons. There is, however, the awesomely monikered Mighty Button Band.

Hey, what’re those girls doing there?

Bubblers – Boiling Springs (PA) High School

Hmm, more references to baths, I would imagine. Well, at least they’re not the Battling Bubblers (see January).

Sure enough, this town of 2,800 boasts the “7th largest natural artesian well springs in Pennsylvania”! In fact, the largest of these is called  … [drumroll] …The Bubble!

That’s it!

As for the boiling part, I quote Wikipedia:

“The impression of 'boiling' does not result from the temperature of the water, which stays at 55.5–55.8 °F (13.1–13.2 °C) year-round,[5] but rather from a unique hydrogeological feature. Two vertical diabase dikes, made up of highly impermeable igneous basalt parent rock, cut through the limestone bedrock in the area and form a subterranean "V", with Boiling Springs located at the interior tip of the V.”

It goes on for 300-more words, but I’ll spare ya.

Other features include a crossing of the Appalachian Trail, a stop on the Underground Railroad, and a Colonial-era iron furnace. “Famous” sons include a president of LSU, the current Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and a Texas politician from the 1800s.

It’s historic!

As for the high school, it’s located in downtown Boiling Springs and has 685 students. Right next to it is the wonderfully named Yellow Breeches Middle School (after a nearby creek). 

Really couldn’t find out much about the high school, or the athletic teams either. You can, however, order a shirt.