Lion of the Year

Countdown to Watermelon Day brings some hot inside scoop that you'll only read here before it hits the papers (awesome, we are like the Drudge Report of Stanhope now). Any how, one of our readers sent along this great announcement.

The Stanhope Lions have selected retired bus driver and longtime Lion member Dale Hanson to be the "Lion of the Year" and as such, he was recently presented a plague by Lion President Dean Larson. Lion Hanson will be the "Grand Marshal" for the 2007 Watermelon Day Parade.

A very special Stanhope State shout out to Dale. He was this Watermelon Warrior's bus driver from kindergarten to 2nd grade. Great tribute. Be sure to wave and tell Dale congrats at the parade this year.

Special hat tip to Wayne Romp for passing along this info. Which give us a good excuse for a quick Campus Notice.

CAMPUS NOTICE: Do you have any stories, good scoops, questions, comments or insults for us at Stanhope State University? Shoot us an email at stanhopestate@yahoo.com. We're always looking for good stuf to post about.

First Watermelon Day

For today’s countdown to Watermelon Day, get ready for cute overload. Everyone has their favorite memories of Watermelon Day. For some folks this year will be their first. Last year we had an account from some first timers. You can check out that story by clicking here. They had so much fun they are coming back again this year.

Speaking of first timers meet little Miss Ainsley Young. She’s going to her first of many Watermelon Days. Do you have a favorite memory of Watermelon Day? Will this be your first one? Talk about it in the comment section.

Here are pictures of little Miss Ainsley when she found out she’s going to Watermelon Day this year.

"Dad, you mean I get to go to Watermelon Day this year?"

"Awesome, it’s going to be the coolest!"

River Journey Part 2

Adam Brooks kayaking the entire Missouri River [photo from www.myriverquest.com]

Today’s countdown to Watermelon Day post brings an update on one of our favorite links on our site. Looks like it’s our readers favorite too as it is our most clicked link on this site. The ever paddling Adam Brooks is at it again. Last year he kayaked the entire Mississippi River. This year he’s doing the Missouri River. He just passed Omaha and should be getting close to Kansas City soon. Check out his site for the latest updates on his new journey. God speed Adam. Good luck and be safe.

What Exactly is Stanhope State?

The Official Seal of Stanhope State University.

Alright, the countdown continues... We have been getting a few emails asking what exactly is Stanhope State University. And what the heck is a Watermelon Warrior?

First, let’s tackle the Stanhope State thing…

The idea of Stanhope State University is a product of an old high school art assignment. It’s basically a spoof of the famous University of Okoboji t-shirts and sweatshirts created by the 3 Sons Shop up in Milford, IA.

From its origins of a sketch book drawing, Stanhope State University has evolved, mostly with only a few people knowing exactly what it is. We can report that Stanhope State is a very dominant team on NCAA Football for Playstation 2, a storied history of 9 national championships and 7 Heisman Trophy winners.

Later a Board of Governors was formed of 5 guys who hail from southern Hamilton County (all with some sort of Stanhope family ties) that live in the Des Moines Metro Area who meet a couple times a month… to discuss important issues of the day… um, basically a bunch of old friends stopping at a watering hole to catch the game of the week. But we can report important issues were discussed and fun had by all.

Then this nearly world famous central Iowa blog was created (snicker) as a “just for fun and hobby blog” to find cool articles about stuff going on back home. This blog has evolved into this online shrine to small towns.

So that’s the basic run down on what this crazy fictional university. But we are extremely excited to organize the first Stanhope State University All County Softball Tournament. Our hope is to have fun, start new traditions and get more people to check out the most awesome small town festival ever… Stanhope Watermelon Day.

The Original Version of the Watermelon Warrior Mascot

What is a Watermelon Warrior?

The Watermelon Warrior is the official mascot of Stanhope State University. According to legend, the Warrior is the great protector of those ice cold slices of watermelon served in the afternoon on Watermelon Day. Although never photographed, historians have attempted to produce a sketch of this mysterious fellow.

The Warrior has a shaved Mohawk and cut off sleeves, because it gets pretty warm at Watermelon Day. When protecting the stash of slices the Warrior usually only needs fists for protection, but he carries a lead pipe just in case things get out of hand. He always has his cleats on to be ready for a good game on the diamond, because Stanhope kids are known to be pretty darn good athletes.

So that’s a brief description of that exactly a Watermelon Warrior is. If you happen to catch a picture of the Warrior at the 50th Watermelon Day, please forward it on to share… though like we have said, the Watermelon Warrior has never been photographed.

The Current/Modern Version of the Watermelon Warrior Mascot.

Happy hunting and check back tomorrow as the countdown to the 50th Watermelon Day continues!

Let the Countdown Begin!

Watermelon Day is right around the corner. So here at Stanhope State, we are going to do a daily countdown with updates on the Stanhope State All County Tournament presented by Young's Storage Center and other random notes.

First, the tournament is coming along great! We are finallizing the schedule and waiting to hear on a couple more teams. And rivalries are already starting! We can repeort that the Stanhope and Jewell teams are putting together some old school heavy weights to bring the trophy to their city hall. Which brings us to explain the tournament and idea.

At last year's Watermelon Day, Troy Johnson had an idea of bringing a softball tournament. Then we all starting thinking. Since it is the 50th Watermelon Day and it's Hamilton County's 150th birthday, we thought, "Why not an all county tournament?" Way back in the day every town had a baseball team. Take a glimpse at some old copies of the Record News some time. These reports about those those teams read like a 10:00pm Sportcenter.

Off of that idea, we decided to get a team from all parts of the county and compete for a traveling trophy, of which Young's Storage Center agreed to buy the trophy. You win the the tournament, you keep the trophy in your city hall and bring it back next year to defend it.

The entry fee is $50 and every team is guarenteed to play 2 games. We still have a couple slots left, so if you would like to enter in the tournament and defend your town's honor, let us know by calling Troy Johnson at 515-826-3253 or email troyjohn@netins.net.

More details, stories and random stuff are on the way. Stay tuned to the countdown.