Memories of homecomings past
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of articles marking the 50th Anniversary of Hartselle City Schools.
On Sept. 26 the Hartselle Tigers will celebrate Homecoming in a game against the Woodlawn Colonels. Hartselle has long valued its Homecoming traditions, and there are many who carry memories of Homecomings past.
As an elementary student at F.E. Burleson, I can remember the Homecoming parade and how Main Street would shut down to celebrate the Tigers and the big game. Our classes would walk the short distance from College Street to Main Street in order to sit along the sidewalk and watch the high school students drive by in their cars that were game-dayadorned in crepe paper and shoe polish. The excited high school students would cheer and wave and throw candy at our feet. We would wave back and collect as many Jolly Ranchers and pieces of Dubble Bubble as we could stuff in our pockets and hold in our hands.
I graduated in 1982, so my high school memories of the game and dance are of wool skirts, velveteen blazers, and mum corsages that required three or four pins for stabilization and sported red and white streamers that were three feet long.
Other HHS alums have their own memories of Homecomings past.
Austyn Randolph of the Class of 2020 believes his Homecoming memories are special and unique to Hartselle and that Homecoming actually kicks off when Coach Wright is on the HHS Auditorium stage introducing the Homecom-ing Court and making the event memorable for all.
Wendy Clemons Goss of the Class of 1996 says, “I loved participating in the Homecoming parade each year at HHS! Our freshman year we won the spirit stick at the first pep rally, and our senior year we won the spirit stick at our last pep rally.” Sonie Smelser Wilson of the Class of 1990 remembers Homecoming parades and cheerleading. “As a Varsity Cheerleader, it was fun to be able to ride on top of the fire truck for the Homecoming parade. As a junior, you could ride in the middle, but as a senior, you got to ride on the back.” John Mark Waynick of the Class of 1990 remembers class basketball being one of the Homecoming week events when he was in school. “Coach Bob Young was so difficult to guard in the class basketball game when the seniors got to play the faculty. He was good!” Jennifer Halbrooks Lee of the Class of 1998 recalls her time in the Homecoming parade and cheering on the back of a flatbed truck with her fellow Senior Girls as well as working together at another student’s home to design and construct a competitive classroom door decoration for game week.
Ashley Thompson Hodges of the Class of 2004 fondly recalls the fun in the Homecoming parade and the way the Homecoming court rode around the football field on the track before the big game kicked off.
What makes all of these memories special, though, has nothing to do with ribbons or confetti. The “special” is rooted in the relationships and the shared experiences. Most of life’s memorable events occur in the presence of others, and most result in a renewed appreciation for what lives and moves around us. I’m glad my shared experiences are with others who lived and moved in Hartselle.
Go Tigers!
