Unusual Nicknames: Rochester High School (Indiana) Zebras

When you think of smalltown mascots, your mind probably jumps to Bulldogs, Eagles or Panthers. Yet for the Rochester (Indiana) High School “Zebras,” their nickname is not so black-and-white. While it may seem unusual for a rural community in northern Indiana to rally behind a hoofed herbivore, the choice isanything but random.

RHS’s namesake, “Zebbie the Zebra,” nods to the city’s vibrant history with the Indiana Circus Corporation, housing the winter quarters for “The Cole Bros. Circus” from 1934 to 2000.

One cold night in mid-February of 1940, “one of the most disastrous fires here in the 20th century,” tore through the Cole Bros. grounds, according to local records. Trapped inside the blaze were lions, tigers, leopards, llamas, monkeys and two unlucky zebras. Several animals broke loose from their cages and stampeded down the city streets, leading Rochester citizens to band together with the circus hands in a safari-esque, roundup rescue mission.

Zebras may not have roamed the town since that day, but their stripes will always be stitched into Rochester’s story each time the RHS students take the field repping the black, white and gold school colors.

Olivia Jennings is coordinator of marketing and social media at the NFHS and an alumna of Rochester High School.