Features

Homecoming then vs. now

Makenna Chapman, Writer | 11/02/2021

Homecoming over the years has changed drastically; however, some factors remain the same.

This year, 2021, Homecoming events took place from Sunday, Oct. 3 to Saturday, Oct. 9, starting with the annual powderpuff game on Sunday. The week leading up to the main homecoming events had themed student dress-up days. On Friday, Oct. 8, the high school hosted a pep rally for high schoolers. Later that day, a parade led up to the homecoming football game. The homecoming dance was the following day, Saturday, Oct. 9.

However, homecoming was not always this way.

According to Kenneth Bohmann, the homecoming king in the year 54’, a spirit week didn’t exist. On Thursday, the homecoming parade took place in a similar format to now- sports and clubs got to decorate floats to ride around the school area. On Friday, the football game took place at what is now Village Park. The homecoming dance was on Saturday.

In recent years, the homecoming king and queen are elected at the same time by the whole school. The homecoming court consists of people who were also nominated to be king or queen but didn’t win.

In 1955, it was up to the football team to pick a homecoming king, who was usually a football player. “What they tried to do was pick someone who played well on the team. I did the punting. I was the halfback… I’m guessing because of all the things I did is the reason they voted for me- I played many positions,” Bohmann said when asked about why he was picked.

Additionally, to decide the homecoming queen, the homecoming king picked. The homecoming king also got to pick who was in the court.

This year, at the dance, they played mostly pop and rap music. There weren’t any dances, but rather just a bunch of sweaty kids jumping in a huge circle in the gym.

“Myself and the queen, and the people I had picked for the rest of the homecoming court had pictures taken together by a photographer at the dance,” Bohmann said.

Now, the court gets pictures taken, but there isn’t a videographer like Bohmann had mentioned later in the interview.

“Everyone at the time really loved to dance. There would be music for waltzes, swing, jive, jitterbug, and lots more,” Bohmann said.