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Seven Hodag Boys of ’74
A Story of Service, Friendship, Memory, and Lifelong Brotherhood
In 1974, seven young Wisconsin men began a shared journey into military service. What started during those formative years grew into a friendship and brotherhood that has continued for more than five decades.
Listen to Seven Hodag Boys of ’74
The Story Behind the Swag
Why They Became the Hodag Boys
Ski, Norb, Augie, Mouse, Slick, Petie, and Poch were seven young men connected through a Wisconsin Army unit out of Rhinelander, with roots reaching from Rhinelander to Stratford and across Northern and North Central Wisconsin.
Rhinelander is known as the home of the Hodag, a legendary Northwoods creature that became a symbol of hometown pride, toughness, humor, and Wisconsin character. Calling them the Hodag Boys felt right. The name represented more than one town. It carried their Northwoods roots, small-town Wisconsin beginnings, and the spirit they brought with them into Army life.
From Fort Knox to Fort Carson
In 1974, the seven young men left home to begin their military journeys. They went first to Fort Knox, Kentucky, before following different paths for additional training.
Those separate Army roads eventually brought them back together at
Fort Carson, Colorado.
From approximately 1974 through 1977, their shared experiences helped form a connection that continued long after their time in uniform.
A Brotherhood Beyond the Army
What makes their story especially meaningful is what happened after the Army years. The seven continued to share friendship, reunions, humor, and the memories formed when they were young men beginning a new chapter of life.
They were not always in the same town or following the same path, but the connection remained. Old nicknames, familiar jokes, photographs, and stories helped turn distant years into something close again.
Over more than five decades, their friendship became about much more than military service. It became a lifelong brotherhood.
Why Mouse Stands in the Middle
There is a reason Mouse appears in the middle of the seven-name roll call:
Ski, Norb, Augie, Mouse, Slick, Petie, and Poch
The man now known as Bear had not gone by Mouse in roughly fifty years, but Mouse was the name connected to that Army chapter of his life. It was the name the other men remembered from those days and the name that carried those memories back into the song.
Mouse also became an important point of connection within the group. He hosted a number of their reunions, helped keep the friends informed, and knew how to reach the others as the years passed.
That does not mean the others failed to stay connected. It means that, as happens in many lifelong groups, one person became a steady point through whom memories, information, and reunions continued to move.
Mouse is central to the story not because the song is only about him, but because his connection helped the story of all seven be gathered, remembered, and turned into music.
“Before he was Bear, back then over there,
He was Mouse in the stories they still share.”
Why the Song Was Written
Two of the original seven have passed. After the loss of one of the brothers on May 29, 2026, a conversation with Mouse helped inspire the decision to preserve the group’s story through music.
The song was first shared privately with Mouse. Then, when the remaining five members reunited on July 21, 2026, it was played for the group as a whole.
Seven Hodag Boys of ’74 was written so the remaining members could hear the brotherhood of all seven carried forward in music. It was created not only to remember those who have passed, but to celebrate the friendship, laughter, service, reunions, nicknames, and lifelong connection shared by all seven.
The song began as a personal story, but it carries something universal. It speaks to old friends, passing time, familiar names, empty chairs, and the memories that return whenever someone asks, “Remember when?”
Ski • Norb • Augie • Mouse • Slick • Petie • Poch
Public details on this page intentionally use nicknames and group references out of respect for the seven men and their families.
From the Song
Ski, Norb, Augie, Mouse, Slick, Petie, and Poch
Seven Hodag boys, solid as a rock
From Fort Knox dirt to the Carson sky
They stood as brothers while the years rolled by
Seven Hodag boys, forever in the song
Fort Knox made ’em soldiers, Fort Carson made ’em strong
And every time those old names hit the air
There’s Mouse before Bear, still standing there
The Stone That Carried the Story
Years before the song was written, the seven friends placed a stone together at The Highground near Neillsville, Wisconsin.
The stone represents the shared story of Ski, Norb, Augie, Mouse, Slick, Petie, and Poch. It honors their military service, their friendship, and the decades of memories that followed.
Because it was something the seven had already created together, the stone became the natural and most meaningful choice for the official single cover.
Why This Story Matters to Still Swaggy
Still Swaggy music is built around real people, real nicknames, real places, and the stories that deserve to be remembered. Seven Hodag Boys of ’74 represents that mission at its heart. It preserves a Wisconsin story of service, friendship, memory, and lifelong connection.
Every Name Has a Story. Every Story Needs a Song.
Home > Songs > Seven Hodag Boys of ’74
Seven Hodag Boys of ’74 was created by Still Swaggy as a personal musical tribute inspired by a real Wisconsin friendship and military brotherhood. Public details intentionally use nicknames and privacy-conscious wording out of respect for the group and their families.