MCCALL, Idaho — Legend has it a monster resides in Payette Lake and that monster's name is Sharlie. Every year students at McCall Donnelly High School march Sharlie down the avenue during the Mardi Gras parade.
The leadership class at the high school organizes this effort and it takes ten students to bring out Sharlie for the McCall Winter Carnival. Last year Bogdan Monahan was the tail and he tells us it's hard to see when walking under her.
"Unless you are the head of the dragon or monster or whatever you want to classify Sharlie as, you just watch the person ahead of you and try to follow their steps," said Monahan. "The goal is to get that whole snake zig-zag across the road and make it look cool."
The legend of Sharlie dates back to 1920 and supposedly there have been several sightings over the years, although there have never been any official sightings, the residents in McCall believe Sharlie is real.
"She’s a benevolent monster though, she doesn’t hurt anybody," said Monahan. "It's great to bring her alive, it's a good time.
Sharlie is the official mascot of McCall and you can find sightings all over town represented in ice sculptures, there's a Sharlie at the playground and she's just part of the culture in McCall.
"People name restaurant specials off of it and I think it is just cool for kids too," said Kyrie Bean, another student who will bring Sharlie alive for the parade. "It's just this magical thing living in the lake."
Kyrie Bean will be a part of the Sharlie float for the first time and she looks forward to this experience.
"Yeah, I’m super excited," said Bean. "I was working last year so I wasn’t able to do it, but this year I’m taking off work. Heck yes, I want to be a part of this."
Both Kyrie and Bogdan are in the leadership class at McCall Donnelly High School. Bogdan is a member of the student council at the high school and they see this as an opportunity to represent the community at the McCall Winter Carnival.
"It’s a good time and being a part of the school makes you part of the community," said Monahan. "You want to do something tangible and give back in a way that people can actually see and it’s good for people to know their high schoolers are involved in the parade."
We will have a team of our neighborhood reporters up in Valley County for the McCall Winter Carnival so make sure to come say hello. If you can't make it up we'll have you covered with a live coverage of the Mardi Gras Parade on channel 6.2. The parade starts at noon on Saturday.
