Perry the Plowerpus, Maple Creemee Cruiser, William Scrape-speare and 160 other Vermont snowplow trucks are gearing up for the winter, equipped with the pun-heavy nicknames they received a year ago from children around the state.
However, 87 forlorn snowplows still lack names of their own, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation is turning to the kids again to remedy that.
In a tweet last Thursday, the agency invited every Vermont school that missed out on last year’s identity fest to offer a name for one of the 87 plows that remain anonymous.
The agency said any schools — public, private, homeschool or nursery school — “that have not yet participated are invited to name a plow truck.” One limitation: Each school may propose only one name.
The trucks that received their names a year ago get to keep them, and the schools that named them don’t get another bite at the plow.
Last year, 163 plows were named. Each school was assigned a snowplow in a maintenance garage close to it and given a blank slate to choose a name.
The kids and their imaginations were certainly up to the task. Some favorites from last year:
Bakersfield Elementary and Middle School, Jennifer Snowpez.
Bishop John A. Marshall School in Morristown, Snowbegone Kenobi.
Braintree Elementary School, Captain Snowmerica.
And, of course, Bridge School in Middlebury, Plowy McPlowFace.
There were also Carl, Kirby, Dorito and Scoop.
Head Start Spring Center in Bennington came up with Snowasaurus, Jamaica Village School went with Vermont Bob, and Mid Vermont Christian School in Hartford chose Darth Blader.
“Really, the only guideline was appropriate names only,” Amy Tatko, a spokesperson for the Agency of Transportation, said last November.
The rules are similar this year: The Agency of Transportation will compile the names supplied by schools, and assign each one to a plow in a maintenance garage near the school that submitted the name.
Schools can participate by clicking here and filling in the key information, including the school’s name and the name proposed for the truck. The entry deadline is Nov. 9.
While last year’s contest participants gave snow puns a workout, this year’s plows are loaded with Sand and Salt and just waiting to Scrape Slush into High Banks. Ready, set, go!