West Iron County Public Schools

Lee LeBlanc was born in Powers, Michigan in 1913. Lee graduated from Iron River High School in 1931 and continued his education in art in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York City. He then was employed in Hollywood as an animator for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and did matte work for such epic movies at Ben Hur, North by Northwest, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Lee retired in 1962 to then begin a famous career in wildlife art, mostly from his studio in his home in Iron River. He won the Federal Duck Stamp competition in 1973 and subsequently, wildlife preserves in Arkansas and Manitoba, Canada were named in his honor. The Lee LeBlanc Memorial Art Gallery at the Iron County Museum in Caspian commemorates this native son of Iron River and his wonderful career.

Willard Anderson was a life-long resident of Stambaugh, graduating from Stambaugh High School where he was captain of the basketball team and a standout football player. He then attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison where he was a letter-winning football player and obtained his teaching degree. In the fall of 1931, he began a 40-year teaching career at Stambaugh and West Iron County. He was named head football coach at Stambaugh in 1938 and went on to a 97-40-8 coaching record and won the first Barber Trophy in 1949, awarded to the best football team in the Upper Peninsula. Over 35 of his former players were coaches themselves, including fellow Wall of Fame inductee Chuck Greenlund. Willard retired from coaching in 1961 and was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.

Lewis Reimann graduated from Iron River High School in 1908. Upon graduation, Lewis attended the University of Michigan and was a second-team All American football lineman and also Big Ten wrestling champion while at the U of M.

After graduation, Lewis became a national leader in early efforts for at-risk youth by founding the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp near Port Huron and also Camp Charlevoix, serving as that camp’s director for more than twenty years.

Lewis was a noted authority on Upper Peninsula history, authoring several books in that regard. He later was a candidate for mayor of Ann Arbor and for the Michigan Senate. Lewis was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Brandon Giovanelli was born in Iron River in 1937 and grew up in the Virgil Location, graduating from Iron River High School. He then graduated from Northern Michigan University where he earned a Master’s Degree, studying under famed artist Fletcher Martin whom Brandon credited with developing his talents.

Brandon then taught in the local schools, finishing his career at West Iron County High School in 1992. During his career at West Iron County, he was asked along with Coach Don McDonald and guidance counselor Floyd Carlson to devise the newly consolidated school mascot. They created the “Wykon” name and Brandon designed and drew the Wykon, a mythical beast whose mascot flag hangs in the West Iron gymnasium to this day.

“The first coach in Michigan history to bring both a high school football team and basketball team to the State Finals”

Charles Greenlund graduated from Stambaugh High School in 1955. He served his country in the U.S. Marines and then attended and graduated from Northern Michgan University in 1965. He began a teaching career in 1967 at West Iron County, teaching and coaching for over 24 years. His model of hard work, determination, and teamwork served his teaching and coaching career. In January 1988, Charles was injured at an explosion in the West Iron County locker room and spent six months in the burn unit in Milwaukee and more time at home in recovery. He restarted his coaching career, filling in wherever necessary for the young athletes of West Iron County. He continued to emphasize his strict but firm, perfectly-timed soft approach; a gifted teacher, coach, and man.

Chuck was married to the former Judy Meneguzzo and father to Mark, Lauri, and Mike.

Both sides of Toby’s family settled in the Iron River area in the late 1800’s. Toby was born March 3, 1970 and attended the West Iron County schools, graduating in 1988. During high school, Toby was a decorated athlete, earning 11 varsity letters and was an Upper Peninsula State champion in tennis for three years, all U.P. in basketball and football, and was an all-conference honoree in baseball, batting .585 in his senior season.

Toby then attended the University of Michigan, majoring in Social Science and Psychology. Toby continued his baseball career at the U of M where he earned four varsity letters at first base and shortstop. Upon graduating in 1993, he taught school in Alpena, Michigan for one year. He then moved on to Plymouth, Michigan, beginning a career in the tech sector where he spent the rest of his career. He was involved in a number of software startups and founded his own company, LLamasoft, which grew to 750 global employees and was then sold in 2019 for $1.5 B.

Toby remains in tech companies, joining West Iron graduate and friend Don Manfredi in business. Toby and his wife Kathy and two children Ava and George have created a multi-million-dollar philanthropic fund, supporting causes in mental health, child grief support, and educational equity. Toby has donated over $1.5 million to the West Iron County Schools, supporting scholarships, technology, athletic facilities, elementary children footwear, the robotics team, and Locker Lunches.

Harry Monson was born in 1915 in Escanaba, Michigan. He graduated from Michigan State College and then earned his Master’s Degree at the University of Michigan. He taught in the Reed City (MI) Schools from 1937 to 1941 and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy in May of 1941, participating in the North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, and Normandy invasions and then the Okinawa invasion in the Pacific during World War II. He was discharged honorably in 1945 as a Lieutenant Second Grade.

Harry began his teaching career again in 1945 at Iron River High School and coached football and basketball, track and baseball. His football teams were undefeated in 1950,1952 and 1953, when he was named U.P. Coach of the Year each year. He served as a high school football referee from 1955-1974. He served as principal of the Iron River and then West Iron County High School from 1954-1977. He served on the high school committee to establish the football playoff system in Michigan. He also helped in the efforts to build a new high school building in Stambaugh. Harry Monson passed away in 2002.