Washington is hardly synonymous with potatoes, as neighboring Idaho usually steals the attention when it comes to that brown, ground-grown goody. But in a small town in the southwestern corner of the state, they're all about the spuds.
Photo courtesy of Ridgefield School District
The athletes from
Ridgefield (Wash.) are Spudders, and they're proud of it. Furthermore, don't assume that the Spudders name is out of place: Washington is the No. 2 potato producing state in the union, according to potatopro.com.
While calling potatoes "Spuds" is certainly commonplace in today's world, the origin of the name is slightly difficult to track. The word itself can be tracked back to the 1400s and is somewhat tied to the small holes in the ground that potatoes are planted in.
Ridgefield can claim that it is the only group of Spudders in the nation, and it's just one of three spud-themed mascots: Ojai Valley (Calif.) and Moorhead (Minn.) are the Spuds.
And it's not just the high school that got into the fun name game. Union Ridge Elementary School in Ridgefield calls its students the Tater Tots.
Ridgefield had about 4,763 residents according to the 2010 census, and is a growing community. Its history and its reason for growth, however, will last forever in its high school's mascot name. That Spudders name probably makes the town more famous than the two other claims to fame: U-Haul started in Ridgefield in 1945 and former MLB slugger Richie Sexson is from the town.
