McKenzie residents share thoughts on man behind the mascot
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McKENZIE, Tenn. — Southern icon or football super fan? WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News asked McKenzie residents who the man behind the mascot is. After dozens of comments on social media, we asked McKenzie residents to meet us at noon in the business district and share with us who Colonel Reb is to them and what he means. No one took us up on our offer, but they did post several messages on Facebook. David Ivy responded with “Colonel Reb is a symbol of history of the rebel soldiers not a symbol of racial hate.” A leader, a horseman, a tradition. These are only a few words used to describe the McKenzie Rebel Man mascot, known as the Colonel. There’s not a simple answer to the inspiration behind the Colonel. It really depends on who you ask. “He’s just a man,” Tammy Irby said. “Everybody’s got a mascot, and it just so happens ours was the rebel,” Crissy Fuller said. Some said the McKenzie Colonel is inspired by the same character once representing the well known University of Mississippi. The school has since changed their “rebel” mascot from the Colonel to the black bear. Danika Edmonson wrote, “I say the rebel man goes!” The mascot may have been inspired by “Blind Jim” Ivy, known to be an avid Ole Miss sports fan, according to the Colonel Reb Foundation. The New York times describes Colonel Reb as a “cane-toting southern plantation owner.” McKenzie special school district director Lynn Watkins says in McKenzie, the Colonel is a wise old man who’s good at taming horses. Residents told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News one of the school’s biggest rivals is a Mustang. “They’ve already taken the rebel flag out of his hand years ago,” Justin Barney Barnhart wrote on Facebook. “I know this from my parents year book now why and what do you people think that little guy stands for.” The Confederate flag was once used as part of McKenzie’s school traditions but has since been replaced with an emblem with the letter “M” instead. We spoke with officials in Obion County who use a similar mascot and logo who said the mascot is a leadership model not tied to any specific military figure or era in time. They describe him as “a southern gentleman.”
