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FVL Foxhead logo in a white circle with a maroon line

Lasting
Impressions


We only get four years of high school. That’s roughly 5,760 hours spent within the campus walls, wedged snugly between childhood and adulthood. In that time, many teens work diligently, do whatever it takes to leave their mark—to be remembered for their time spent in school. State championship games, knock-out performances in the musical, new policies drafted by the Student Council, and gifts left by graduating classes are all ways that students attempt to leave these lasting impressions. Of the many who attend a school over the years, only a handful end up immortalized in the trophy cases. Rarer still is the student who is able to leave as indelible a mark on their school as Jerold Huth.


Upon graduating from FVL in 1964, Huth would have no idea how much of an impact he would come to have on the future of his school.

“I have pride in the work I’ve done,” Huth reflects, “but the one project that I find the most inexplicably gratifying, was designing the fox mascot/logo for Fox Valley Lutheran High School.”

Upon graduation, Huth followed his passion for art and design, which led to acceptance into the Layton School of Art and Design in Milwaukee. He earned a full scholarship, having had six pieces in an annual honor show during a year at UW-Menasha Extension. His work continued in the industry in Arizona, working in two-dimensional print graphics and, as an apprentice for architect Paolo Soleri in 1968-1969, working in three dimensions.


A job with Wisconsin Litho Products Company prompted a return to Wisconsin in 1973. His company just so happened to be a supplier to his alma mater’s printing department, and at that time, Huth learned of FVL’s interest in a new mascot and logo design. When he offered to “whip something up,” he never expected he’d see it still emblazoned all over the school more than 50 years later.

Fibonacci spiral with the FVL foxhead and a photo of Mr. Umnus at the chalkboard

“To execute the mascot/logo design, I recalled an assignment given to my geometry class by Mr. Umnus. We were to draw an image with no straight lines. The fox mascot drawing was completely laid out with a drawing compass—no computer-aided design back then. All center points for the various arcs were established mathematically, based on the Golden Ratio and Fibonacci progressions. These figures are all over in nature, and perhaps lend to the timeless quality of the Fox image as it might with any enduring design. God’s creation is impeccably beautiful and any artist is hard pressed to match it.”


Though so many high schoolers try earnestly in the short time that they attend to leave their marks on their schools, the longest lasting are not the impressions left by the students on the school, but those left by the school on the students. Every former high schooler holds on to those memories of a particular lesson, a favorite teacher and/or coach, or a particular value that left a lasting impression. For Huth, it was the quality and depth of education at FVL. “I’m most grateful for the common bond of teachers and students rooted in a uniform faith solidified with attention and goals. Without a doubt, there was mutual caring and respect among all associated with the school.”


The 2024-25 school year marks the 72nd year of Christian education at Fox Valley Lutheran and Huth’s fox head logo still stands as one of the main faces for the school. It is just one more example of the talent that lies beyond the doors of FVL and its alumni base of over 8,500. 


—Matthew Foxen

FVL Communications Director

Jerold Huth standing by the FVL foxhead on the wall in a conference room

Jerold Huth recently stopped by campus and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take his photo by the foxhead, as displayed in one of our conference rooms.

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