High school daze
Full House
By Gwendolynne Larson
Originally published 02:17 p.m., October 9, 2007
Updated 02:17 p.m., October 9, 2007
Children were a dim hope on the horizon when Greg and I bought our house north of Emporia. Still, we discussed school districts because our house sets on the boundary between Emporia and North Lyon County.
On the south side of the road, homes are in Emporia. On the north side, we’re in North Lyon County.
I recall being amazed when Greg questioned whether we wanted to be in a rural district. After all, he’d graduated from Beloit, and I’d earned a diploma from Lyndon. We were both products of small schools and were none the worse for wear.
I can see both the good and bad of smaller schools.
I recall our drama instructor at Lyndon trying to schedule play rehearsals around schedules for girls and boys basketball, cheerleading and pom-pon practice. She commented that in a small school, the same two dozen students are involved in everything.
And she’s right. At smaller schools, there’s plenty of room for all students to participate if they want. In sports, they may not make the varsity, but, if they show up for practice and work hard, coaches will get them on the field at some point. And clubs can always use members in all capacities.
On the down side, at smaller schools, it feels as if everybody knows what everybody is doing, a fact Greg and I got used to often in our respective high school careers. After all, his mom was the high school librarian and my dad was the high school principal. I still joke that nobody told me where the parties were, thinking I’d tell my dad. Funny thing was, he probably could have told me!
As a parent today, I’m enjoying being back in the atmosphere of a small high school as Alex settles into his freshman year at Northern Heights. Football games — both varsity and junior varsity — are a social happening for us parents as we share notes at halftime. This is especially important for parents of freshmen.
“Did you know about class dues?” one of us will ask.
“No. (Insert name here) never talks about school,” another parent will answer.
I’m recalling my high school career in other ways, too. I had to chuckle at the first home football game when the band played the national anthem on the field. Interspersed among the band members in band uniforms were a couple of football players in full pads.
I remember our band having a football player on trumpet my freshman year. He’d leave the huddle and play the national anthem with us. Before the game, we’d all wear band uniforms. When we played at halftime, we’d be a mix of band, cheerleading, football and pom-pon uniforms.
During my senior year, that changed — for one game at least. We had a new band director who insisted that everyone wear a band uniform at football games. This meant football players couldn’t play with us. And it meant pom-pon girls changed uniforms on the sidelines.
Each of us had someone assigned on the sideline to take our instrument and hand us our uniforms. Skirts went up over band pants, which we then shimmied out of. Band tops came off to reveal ivory turtlenecks underneath. Then our orange-and-black vests went on top.
Our bandmates offered to play the can-can while we changed. They never got the chance. That night, the school board president told the superintendent who told the high school principal who informed the band director — that will never happen again.
I’m always enjoying the traditions involved in school programs. But I have to admit to mixed feeling about one at Northern Heights.
After every football score made by Heights, the cheerleaders and dance team do a routine on the sidelines to the Kansas State University fight song, played by the band. The routine ends with the dancers and crowd shouting “Go Cats.” I had to laugh the first time I saw the cheerleaders at the road game do their routine while humming the fight song because we had no band. The next time, the crowd joined in with the humming.
Personally, I think we should get kazoos for the crowd.
And I wish the band would learn the KU fight song. After all, not all Heights grads who pick a university with Kansas in its name pick that purple school in Manhattan. Some do choose to attend the one on the east side of the state.
When I was in high school decades ago, our band learned both songs and the pom-pon squad had a routine for each. At halftime of basketball games, we performed two routines — one of the college fight songs accompanied by the band and one to a popular song on cassette. (Yes, this was before CDs. And I remember vinyl records, too.)
I’ll continue to support the Northern Heights Wildcats and hum the K-State fight song out of respect, but it would be nice to see my alma mater represented at Heights. And after Saturday’s 30-24 win by KU, I’ll wish my K-State friends a heartfelt Rock Chalk.