Photo courtesy of kpreps.com
In 1947, a man named Lyle Yost founded the Hesston Manufacturing Company. Little did he know that one of his company's products would end up becoming one of the nation's coolest high school mascots.
At
Hesston (Kan.), they are the Swathers. It's a tribute to one of the most popular farming machines around, and it's special to the small town that is located roughly in the center of the state. Although the company has been bought by other companies, they still manufacture farm equipment in the town.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a swather is "A
harvesting machine that cuts and windrows grain and seed crops; also : a mower attachment that windrows the swath."
The name itself is pretty good. But what makes the Hesston Swathers particularly noteworthy is the spectacular mascot logo that was developed. They could have just had an image of the machine, but they went the extra mile and added human features, like gnashing teeth and menacing eyes. It's definitely not a machine you would want to get in the way of.
Hesston gets the best of both worlds with their Swathers mascot. They get to pay homage to the company and product that put their community on the map, and they get recognized as one of the nation's best logos.
