Kammerzells donate ‘The Warrior’ to cap Toledo’s first hoop title win

Two Colfax grads who have made Toledo their retirement home since 2005 capped the local team’s first championship hoop season by donating a Frederick Remington bronze sculpture, “The Warrior,” to mark the occasion for the coming years.

Keith and Judy Babb Kammerzell are both members of the 1958 class of Colfax High School. They moved to Toledo after he retired from 33 years in the insurance business in Seattle.

The Kammerzells live next door to the athletic director for Toledo, and supporting the local teams has become a retirement activity. Kammerzell now volunteers to video sports events for the Indians’ teams.

Kammerzell played football and basketball on the Bulldog teams during his high school years and was a member of the 1958 team which placed third in the state tournament that year. He went on to play football for Humboldt State in Arcata, Calif.

Toledo won its first A championship this year after earning 26 entries to the state show over the years. The first championship win was a big event for the town.

“Sports was really the number-one thing in Colfax when I went to school there, and it’s the number-one thing here, “ Keith Kammerzell explained.

After the Toledo team accomplished its championship goal, the Kammerzells decided to donate their Remington bronze, “The Warrior,” to the school. The school is now making plans to place the bronze in a shadow box with the first-place hoop trophy.

Kammerzell noted Remington was one of the well-known artists who portrayed the American West in several mediums. During his career, he created 22 bronze statues depicting Old West.

Kammerzell noted the bronze sculpture was one of their prize possessions, but they decided to donate it to the school to commemorate the breakthrough championship win and to inspire future Toledo athletes to pursue their sports goals.

“Besides, we don’t live that far from the school, and I can always go over there and look at it when it want to,” Kammerzell said.

Toledo’s team name, the Indians, relates to the Cowlitz Tribe which is very much a part of athletics at Toledo High School. The Cowlitz tribe has its annual pow-wow at the high school.