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Blue bird trinkets
Two Bluebird Trinkets
Two Bluebird Trinkets
Donor: Tom Jones, Class of 1963
Author: Savannah Kellner and Taryn Ripley, Class of 2029, and Bri Reis, Class of 2027
Story Contributor: Karen Orrender, Class of 1974, and Highlands High School Film and Broadcasting
Web Page Designer: Lilly Ahlfeld, class of 2028
The Highlands High School cheerleaders bubble with excitement as they wait to see the corsages for this week’s home football game. They fill with joy as they see sparkles and little bluebird charms decorating their corsages. The cheerleaders cannot wait to wear the corsages and show their school spirit on the sidelines.
The cheerleaders of Highlands High School during the 1974 school year continued the tradition of passing down the bluebird pin and corsage to younger girls who somewhat idolized them. Once each game finally came to an end, little girls would line the sidelines in hopes of receiving a corsage from the cheerleaders. These corsages were a tradition in the Highlands legacy, emphasizing their role at the school.
Alumna Karen Smith Orrender (class of 1974), a former Highlands cheerleader, has fond memories of giving and receiving these corsages decorated with delicate bluebird pins.
“It was the thing you looked forward to. You couldn’t wait till those Friday nights and the smiles on the people, the older cheerleaders' faces that you stood in front of, they couldn’t wait to give their corsages to you. And I couldn’t wait, as a varsity cheerleader, for somebody to come up to me and be able to give that to ‘em.”
Cheer practice in 1973, Karen Smith Orrender (top middle)
Each of the cheerleaders on the team looked forward to the corsages arriving from the local florist for the home football games. The corsages came decorated with little trinkets - just like the little bluebirds - which displayed school spirit.
“I think Fort Thomas Florist always did the corsages, and they went anywhere from a glass bluebird, which was my all-time favorite, and I still have that glass bluebird,...then the other things were like a blue 'H', pipe cleaner 'H' in the middle of it.”
Eventually, the cheerleading team started to compete in competitions, which caused the tradition of wearing corsages as a sign of school spirit to fade.
“I think my daughters also had them (corsages), and they cheered from 2000 to 2006, but once competitions started and they were doing lifts and all those builds, those were not allowed (to wear corsages) anymore.”
Jon Hensley and Beth McMahon (Class of 1974)
Even though the Highlands cheerleaders were no longer able to wear the traditional corsages, they still continue to display their school spirit proudly. Now, they show their school spirit by cheering loudly alongside the student section - also known as the OZONE. All Highlands High School students are welcome in the student section. It's the place where everyone can come together freely to show school spirit.
“It was just so neat to be a part of that… Students looked forward to it; you had the biggest cheering section all game. You guys have a fantastic cheering section now, especially among the fans. I was at a game the other night, and I was so impressed with how everybody was behind the cheerleaders and that whole student section was crazy, wild and yelling and screamin’. It was so much fun to see that tradition back again.”
All the people who have displayed school spirit during the football games - including the cheerleaders - have touched hearts and inspired younger generations of Highlands students.
“I can remember standing on the sidelines and asking for my very first corsage from Lela Randall (class of 1967)… I actually saw her like a year ago and told her that, and she got tears in her eyes…”
This tradition has left a mark on so many people's lives. It’s a legacy that will always live within the students involved. The tradition had a way of bringing people together and making lifelong friendships and memories.
“It meant the world to me, and you could tell it meant the world to them. And it's really one of the things that I couldn’t wait to be a cheerleader for, not just being a part of tradition and supporting the school; supporting the school and everything, I just think that was one of the highlights of my life, honestly.”
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