SPRINGHILL –There’s very little pride left for Springhill High’s mascot.
Student Cody Rector could see something needed to change if anyone was going to feel inspired by the Golden Eagle – dubbed the “chicken suit” by some - again.
“If I asked where the eagle suit was, no one knew what I was talking about,” Rector said. “Even a new teacher here only knows it as the chicken suit.”
Decades old, the well-worn suit is held together with safety pins. The musty mask, once described as a burglar’s ski mask with a beak taped to it, has long gone missing. Acknowledging what little pride was left in the suit had expired, Rector and fellow student Dylan “Biggie” Porter’s were inspired to take the next step: to bury the suit in a ceremonial fundraiser for a new mascot.
“We brought the idea to Mr. Choisnet and he thought it was a great idea,” Rector said.
“It caught him off guard,” Porter said.
With the school’s blessing to raise money for a new suit, Rector raised $100 on the first day towards the expected $5,000 bill a professionally-crafted suit will cost. Both Rector and Porter are networking online to find the best suit while outlining fundraisers that will be dedicated to the purchase.
“If we’re going to do something that will last, we’re going to do it right,” Rector said. “I think it will still be around 20 years from now.”
The students are vesting their time into a school concert in April, with daytime performances for students and evenings for everyone. A school dance will see the proceeds go towards the new mascot and donations are being accepted at the school.
Moving forward, there will still be the issue of giving the “chicken suit” its last hurrah.
“You can’t just throw it out. It’s been around too long,” Porter said.
“It has to be something community-oriented,” Rector said.
Rector and Porter are organizing a funeral for everyone to pay their final respects to the suit that rallied the crowds, danced on the sidelines and added a little tomfoolery to sometimes serious moments in Springhill High’s athletics.
While its evident the present mascot is dead, funeral arrangements have yet to be made.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to purchase the new mascot can contact the Springhill High School.
