Energetic. Strong. Intelligent. Lively. Sometimes fiesty. Tappahannock-area Scotty breeder Cathy Bate lovingly describes the breed as possessing all of the
above characteristics.
The little dog is a fitting symbol for the St. Margaret’s athletes it represents–so much so, that after seeing students in homemade Scotty costumes at fall field hockey games, the Student Government Association decided to purchase a life-size mascot suit.
“Increasing school spirit was one of our goals for this year,” said School President Annie Arnest ’05. “We thought a mascot would encourage more girls to come to sports events, cheer for our teams and show SMS pride.”
The SGA raised money with a silent auction during Fall Family Weekend. Faculty and staff donated prizes with teen appeal, including homemade cookies, pizza dinners, movie trips and laundry service. Generous donations from the Board of Governors and EVB Bank ensured that the student leaders met their goal.
The gigantic head, furry jumpsuit, and matching “paws” arrived on campus in time for the final basketball game of the winter sports season. When Scotty strutted into the gym wearing her bright red collar and plaid beret, the crowd went wild."
“They say every dog has her day, and boy, they were right,” Scotty told mascot sponsors ViAnn Farmer and Louise Velletri. “It sure was fun to see the bleachers full of girls and parents.”
Mrs. Farmer and Ms. Velletri ensure that Scotty sees where she’s going (her real eyes are in her mouth) and doesn’t get too hot in the heavy black polyester costume (it came with a cooling vest). Following the tradition established for college mascots, they also keep Scotty’s identity a closely guarded secret. |
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Scotty’s past is equally mysterious. Former Athletic Director Frances “Gillie” Gilchrist doesn’t recall St. Margaret’s teams being associated with a mascot during her long tenure.
“We were just called St. Margaret’s,” she said, noting that the popularity of team symbols is a fairly recent phenonmenon, as is the rise of women’s sports.
The Scotty probably was introduced during Paul Barthelemy’s tenure as head in the mid-1980’s, said Shannon Spears, the school’s most senior faculty member.
“That was about the same time we took the thistle as a school logo,” she said, “and put more emphasis on the role of St. Margaret as Queen of Scotland.”
Research reveals that the first yearbook reference to “the Scotties” was made in 1987. Unfortunately, there
wasn’t any explanation. Do you have the story behind the Scotty? Was there an earlier mascot? A new gener-
ation of students would love to know. Share your memories with Director of Marketing Jenni Brockman
at (804) 443-3357 x3080 or jbrockma@sms.org, and we’ll print as many as we can in a future issue.
Photo of Cathy Bate’s Scotty puppy (above) by Juliana Bush, who also contributed to the story.
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