The Mystery of the Mountain Lion Mascot

Our school has been here since 2008 and is honored to be built around the mountain lion. According to the online website, Symbolismandmetaphor.com, “The mountain lion shows leadership and courage…” Our school shows this through our hard work and dedication to the community. 

But, has anyone ever wondered why we are the Mountain Lions?

Our school’s mascot is the Mountain Lion, but still many people have never questioned or wondered why. 

Sixth grade social studies teacher Julie Hatch said, “I do not know why we are the Mountain Lions, but it should be related to the area and there might have been Mountain Lions roaming around here a long time ago.” 

The only information about the Mountain Lion is on the plague located to the left of the sculpture. 

The sign said, “Heinz Warneke created the Nittany Lion and was hired by our Alumni to build the Mountain Lion.” 

It is similar to the Nittany Lion, which is a tribute to our long living high school. But, still, none of us have investigated this mystery.  

Eighth grade American cultures teacher Elizabeth Bronson said, “I think we are the Mountain Lions maybe because of the ones that might have lived around here back in the day. Or it could be from the Nittany Lions that live close to us. We may have adopted the name and modified it.” 

Altoona public library archivist Josh McConnell provided documents from the yearbook of the High School in 1935. There is a section called, “The Bronze Lion“ where it explains the steps and process of building the beautiful sculpture. 

Why do we even care about what our mascot is? I know all of you are wondering this question. This animal represents our huge school and what we stand for. 

According to “The Bronze Lion,”

“At first Altoona teams played as the Maroons and later as the Maroon and White. Then came a fateful night, Feb. 9, 1935, and, as the basketball team ran on the floor, they were introduced as the ‘Mountain Lions’ .”

The Mountain Lion shows our passion for who we want to be, and mostly how much school spirit we have for our teams. It shapes our lives to be a leader, tough and courageous throughout our lives because we are the Mountain Lions!