When entering a school one of the first things one notices is its mascot. Colors, banners, and posters resembling an animal, mythological creature, or character. School colors are almost always connected to or are the same colors as those of our mascots. We are used to mascots like gators and bees, devils or dragons, and even knights and kings. But how did we originally end up with a Prepper?

Prescott the Prepper appears as a middle-aged Caucasian male resembling the Bob’s Big Boy mascot. They both share swirled hair erupting from the scalp, a wide chubby smile, and a sharp glare emanating from their pupils. Whilst there has been no proven relationship between the two, my investigative instincts tell me that I cannot (and will not) chalk up their stark similarities to coincidence.

After a thorough investigation into the origins of Prescott the Prepper, I discovered that there is no written record of the origins of University School’s prepper mascot. Mr. Leto, the librarian, affirmed this: “… what you’ve heard of him is all the information there is…” However, this left me unsatisfied. I had to know: where did he come from? The most recent mention of Prescott was from another student written article from 2021. Where did he go?

Mascots, if characters, are often named after, or are an homage to, previous alumni and/or memorable people from the school. University School’s current mascot, Terry the Trout, is an homage to Mr. Harmon and his beloved trout. The fish tank near the front entrance is also in honor of his trout. Logically, this evidence leads us to believe that Prescott might also be inspired by a student. According to Miss Ulery, “…they picked it because Prescott was the peppiest name they could think of that started with a ‘P’….”

After all the dead ends and twists during the Prescott investigation, it would be reasonable to assume that I would give up my quest. Whilst Miss Ulery’s explanation is logical and consistent with previous findings, that still doesn’t explain his resemblance to a restaurant franchise’s mascot. It also doesn’t resolve his disappearance. The mystery of Prescott is still an open case, and I welcome any leads, information, or attempted explanations from concerned citizens. I will not rest until this mystery is solved!