From Melton John to Darth Blader: Students submit flurry of names for city snowplows

The children are our future. While the late, great Whitney Houston may have sung it, the City of Calgary activated it, and the results are in.

Calgary snowplows will now have names thanks to students across the city, as the winning entries in a naming contest were revealed Tuesday.

"We'd like to thank our students of all ages who helped us name our snowplows," Chris McGeachy of the city's roads department said in a release.

"We saw so many unique names, and while we couldn't use them all, we can tell that the kids in our city are creative and have many interests."

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"Couldn't use them all" is an understatement, after the city pulled 78 winners from almost 1,700 submissions from students in the public and Catholic systems, as well as home-schooled students.

"The most popular submissions were Plowy McPlowface, Mr. Plow and Frosty the Snowplow," the city said.

"We also had Indigenous names for Chinook and snow, and French and German names, too. We even had some Calgary-centric names like Marda Scoop and Calgary Plower."

Kids loved the contest, teacher says

A kindergarten teacher says her class had fun with the assignment.

"We started by discussing snowplows in general. Kindergarten learned what a snowplow is and how they do their work," Sharla Sawatzky of Killarney School told CBC News in an email.

"Many students recognized the snowplows right away. Students explored the colouring sheet that the city provided and then we started brainstorming."

She said the project really engaged her students.

"The kids thought it was wonderful and they had a lot of fun coming up with some names. Some of them were really clever. We really enjoyed the activity. It was something interactive and got students involved in the community."

Here are the winning entries. The numbers in brackets indicate how many entries there were for that name.

• Abominable Snow Plow. (5)
• Beluga. (13)
• Big Friendly Plow.
• Blizzard Blaster.
• Blizzard of Oz. (8)
• Blizzard Wizard. (5)
• Bob. (6)
• Bonhomme Déneige.
• Brinestone Plowboy.
• Calgary Plower.
• Calgary Snowflames.
• Chinook.
• Chippy.
• Darth Blader.
• Double Trouble Shovel.
• Eiffel Plower.
• Everest.
• Fast & Flurrious.
• Flake Superior.
• For Your Ice Only.
• Frostbite. (5)
• Frosty the Snow Plow. (20)
• Frozone. (17)
• Gordie Plow.
• Gritty Gritty Bang Bang.
• Ice Breaker. (5)
• KaPLOW!
• Kóónsskoyi (snow covered).
• La Charrue (plow/blade).
• L'échasse-neige (snow chaser).
• Let It Snow.
• Lizard Snow Grabber.
• Marda Scoop.
• Marshmallow.
• Melton John.
• Mittens.
• Monsieur Neige (Mr. Snow).
• Mr. Plow. (60)
• My Fair Bladey.
• Oh Snow You Didn't!
• Pickle.
• Plow Patrol.
• Plowabunga.
• Plower Power.
• Plowy McPlowface. (65)
• Plow-Zilla.
• Polar Patroller.
• Princess Sleighia.
• Road Zamboni.
• Rocky Mountain Snow Plow.
• Saltbertasaurus.
• RexSchneepflug (snow plow).
• si'kssopo (Chinook).
• Sir Snows-a-Lot.
• Sled Zepplin.
• Slushie.
• S'no Problem.
• Snow Angel.
• Snow Buster. (13)
• Snowcone. (6)
• Snow Destroyer. (6)
• Snow job too small.
• Snow Monster. (6)
• Snow Place Like Home.
• Snowbegone Kenobi. (5)
• Snowflake. (10)
• Snowy. (9)
• Snowy McSnow Face. (8)
• Sparkles.
• Sprinkles.
• Supertruck.
• Susie Snow Plow.
• Sweet Child o' Brine.
• The Penguin Plow.
• The Plowtypus.
• Winter Sprinter.
• Wow Plow.
• You're a Blizzard, Harry! (5)
• YYC Plowers.

But wait. It's not over.

"We encourage you to keep the winter fun going. When it is safe to do so, try taking a photo of the names you see out on the road and tagging the photos #yycplow in your social media posts. See how many you can spot," the city said.