What the heck is a wykon? (Spell check wants me to change it to “Wakens.”)
Well, would you believe it’s totally made up? Yup, in 1968, 3 faculty members came up with a supposedly “mythological creature,” with 3 legs, naming it the Wykon.
Said creature came about through the merger of two high schools – Iron River & Stambaugh – to form West Iron County. The old schools were Immortalized in the original drawing – Stambaugh in the tail & Iron River in the body. Can you see it? Nope, neither can I.
Recently, the mascot got a physical, on-field presence. In 2023, Westy was created to “help bring the mascot to life for students.” Personally, I must admit to simply feeling confused.
Where’s his 3rd leg? Where’s his tail?
Iron County? It’s in the UP, right in the middle of the Michigan-Wisconsin border. The county was organized in 1885, and named after the Iron River (which was, in turn, named after the area’s iron deposits). It currently has 11,600 people. It looks very cold.
The town of Iron River was established in 1885 as well, and currently claims 3,000 inhabitants. Wikipedia lists 5 “notable people,” none of whom I’ve heard of.
The high school has 400 students. It claims 2 “notable alumni” (also listed under the town):
- Nick Baumgartner, a snowboarder who participated in 4 Olympics, winning a gold in 2022
- Jan Quarless, football coach at Eastern Michigan and Southern Illinois, with a lifetime record of 15-36
As for WIRHS, they offer 7 sports, with the major exception of baseball. Couldn’t find much on the history of Wykon athletics, unfortunately.
No comments:
Post a Comment