Small Town Pep Rally
This picture was taken in 1984 during a small town pep rally on a Mainstreet in America’s Heartland. This is the town where I attended high school, where I was a little prom queen on the prairie many moons ago. There were only 51 people in my graduating class!
I loved football games in high school and went to as many as my parents would let me attend. After half-time, members of the marching band hustled into the locker room to become football players again. It was such a hard and glorious time in my life. We lived in a pretty dilapidated parsonage that didn’t have central heat and air, which was honestly, the least of our problems. Nevertheless, the winters were unbelievably brutal — for me anyway. Having moved there from Central Texas, I had never experienced cold like that before. In the middle of the night, I’d drag myself and my bedspread into the living room and sleep on the floor next to an open-flame furnace. It’s a miracle I didn’t catch on fire — a few times. lol.
Excerpt: Another Memory
A poem by Vincent Suzadail, Jr.
Summer day and a few minutes to spare
Take a swing around where the old school once stood
Finding only a parking lot and a tear in my eye
Another memory destroyed by progress
Pep rally in the school yard
How she smiled in her innocence
My First Pep Rally
The first pep rally I attended was at my junior high in East Texas. I’m guessing it was in the fall of 1979, the year I started 7th grade. I loved it all! The cheerleaders, the football players, the speeches, the band. My very favorite feature, however, was when the majorettes descended the bleachers to perform a baton-twirling routine. They had special pep rally outfits that were different than the costumes they wore when they marched with the band at football games. Those costumes were typically satin and bedazzled with sequins and fringe. In 7th grade, their pep rally costumes were black shortalls with orange, puff-sleeve shirts. Each majorette had her name embroidered across the overall bib.
In 8th grade, their pep rally costumes were orange and white check pinafores and bloomers. When they marched with the band they wore majorette boots, but during pep assemblies, they wore white Keds and white anklet socks. I loved it when they descended down the stairs of the bleachers and onto the gym floor to perform their routines. They marched in military-style and performed to songs like the theme from Rocky. It was a great time to be 12 years old!
Look at those socks!
I know, right? So funny. So long! They kind of look like Minutemen. lol.
Gotta love those tube socks from the 70’s and early 80’s! And leg warmers on teen girls.
Tube socks were the best! I remember my brother’s would get impossibly stretched out at the top. The different colored stripes reminded me of our old croquet set. As a kid I thought they went hand in hand. LOL!