![]() ![]() When Dale Odegaard from the Corn Palace Gift Shop placed the statue downtown, he encouraged other people in town to display the mascot, and the Miedemas took him up on the offer, buying a statue from a man who builds them, said Pam Miedema, a co-owner of the business. Miedema Recycling also has a Cornelius statute at its business at 1805 S. MHS also has a Cornelius costume, and his face appears on district signs, shirts and countless other places. There are two Cornelia costumes, one at the Mitchell Area Chamber of Commerce and one at the Corn Palace Gift Shop. Unlike her husband, who is affixed in place, Cornelia can move anywhere her two legs take her. He also has a "wife," a costumed figure known as Cornelia who appears from time to time. There's a statue located across the street from the Corn Palace, and thousands of people have posed for photos with him. He has been a popular figure, and there are several versions of Cornelius in town. Newspaper accounts of the school teams refer to them as Mitchell, or the Mitchell boys or Mitchell girls, until the 1930s, when the term "Kernels" came into common usage.Ĭornelius followed about 30 years later. "As far as I know, they've always been called the Kernels," he said. The yearbook is now called The Maize, and changing that name in the late 1990s was not without controversy, either, according to Superintendent Joe Graves and Swenson.Īllen, a lifelong Mitchell resident, said he doesn't think the school ever used a different nickname. The teams were the Kernels according to the 1933 MHS yearbook, which was then known as The Warbler. There are reports that MHS teams didn't always play under the nickname "Kernels," but extensive research doesn't clear it up. In 1969, the Mitchell school board officially changed the school colors to black and gold. "Purple and white - fight, fight, fight!" "They didn't like that black and gold," Swenson said. Some graduates who are still fond of the original colors wanted to throw him over the balcony, he said with a laugh. Swenson said he attended a Mitchell High School reunion in San Diego a few years ago and donned black and gold MHS clothing. Swenson, a 1953 MHS graduate, can still cry out "Purple and white, fight, fight, fight." He said a lot of people of his generation were upset by the color change, and some still aren't thrilled by it. "And it just kind of evolved over the years." "In fact, they called us the Black Knights at that time," Allen said. Coach Brooks claimed he had trouble obtaining enough purple fabric for the uniforms, mandating the switch, Allen said. He said the success of that state champion team captured people's interest, and many of them liked the new colors. Allen, a 1956 MHS graduate, taught at the school from 1961 to 1998 and was later an assistant professor of communication at Dakota Wesleyan University. Roger Allen, 74, of Mitchell, said the boys' hoops team wore black uniforms with gold trim during the 1963-64 season. It's an apparent reference to Northwestern University, which has purple as its landmark color. Mitchell's school colors had always been purple and white, with the shade known as Northwestern Purple used for uniforms and other school-related designs. That was a significant year, and not just because of the title. The Kernels won the State A boys' basketball title. "It was not a good plan for attracting boys."īut Cornelius' debut season was one for the record books. "Meanwhile, the cheerleaders were there in their cute little costumes," Baron said, chuckling at the memory. There was a downside to that, she recalled with a laugh, because when she would go to dances after the games, she was wringing wet with sweat and her hair was plastered to her head. In addition to the paper version, Baron said she wore a Cornelius costume, complete with green tights, to games and jumped around in an effort to help fire up the team and the fans. He was stored away in school staffer Bob Brooks' office, and she's not sure what became of him. ![]() Rylance said by the time of a state tournament, the papier mache creation was in rather rough condition. ![]() The mascot appeared at games, where he was propped up next to the cheerleaders. He appeared in a January 1964 edition of the school newspaper, The Crocus, where it was revealed his full name was Cornelius Kernel. The original Cornelius was a papier mache doll, about 2 feet tall. ![]()
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