Advertisement
One time, he was wearing suspenders.
Another, if I recall correctly, he was wearing a bow tie.
Oh, and he had this huge goatee.
I don’t even know if you could call it that. If he hasn’t cut it off by now, it’s going to block his jump shot.
The senior is an original.
On the basketball court, the Winona Senior High School guard can score when needed. He has a great jumper. He can rebound, pass and play defense.
He does all the little things not a lot of players do.
Off the court, Warneke does a lot of little things nobody does.
“It’s hard to describe Paul, because he is a lot of things,” WSHS senior Jim McGuire said. “He’s into old-school things.”
Into. Obsessed with. What’s the difference?
Next year, Warneke plans to head to Maine to attend The Landing School — a boatbuilding school.
Boatbuilding is his passion, though he is in the process of making, building, sewing — whatever — chainmail.
“I think he’s doing it just to say he made it,” Peter Degallier said.
Yes, Warneke is making medieval armor.
“He’s made moccasins, now chainmail,” McGuire said. “He’s built every piece of furniture in his room. He’s into Irish history and Norwegian boats.”
Warneke appears to be a very handy man — as handy as chainmail can be.
“I’m really interested in the old style of building boats,” Warneke said. “What I’d like to do is the Viking-style boats. That would be fun.”
With aspirations so big, Warneke had to start somewhere. Last summer, he and his dad, Owen, built a canoe together.
“It took all summer,” Owen Warneke said. “We took it to the Boundary Waters after that and it did great.”
The two were not worried about the canoe not floating.
“We took it out in the backwaters of the Mississippi,” Owen Warneke said.
Added Paul: “When we first stepped in, I just thought, ‘Ah, it’s going to work.’”
It’s not just working with wood or working on the hardwood that Warneke loves. It’s more; he just loves working.
“He’s one of the hardest working players,” WSHS boys basketball coach Rocky Peterson said. “He does anything you ask him to do.”
Perhaps he does it for the fans — his fans.
You see, Warneke has his own fan club. It’s a small fan club — two guys: McGuire and Degallier.
They’re not hard to find. They’re the two guys in the crowd holding ‘Paul Warneke For President’ signs.
OK, they don’t say that, but I’m not writing what the signs say. Not until they come up with something better.
“We have t-shirts now, too, I guess,” added Degallier.
The two seniors go to support their loyal and crazy friend — the basketball player, a person who isn’t afraid to be an original (seriously, chainmail?), a leader and a great example to his teammates and friends.
Rick Solem can be reached at (507) 453-3528 or at rick.solem@lee.net
