Starting My Research Journey
Got curious about local high school football after driving past Depew High and seeing their massive team banner last week. Figured, hey, why not dig into what makes their football program tick? Especially those traditions everyone always talks about.
First thing I did was sit down at my messy desk with cold coffee and fire up the laptop. Straight to the search engine, typed in “depew high school football traditions history”. Got a bunch of random stuff mostly – schedules for this year, a few game recaps, some basic school info. Nothing juicy about the deep-rooted traditions. Kinda frustrating.
Hitting the Archives and Talking to People
Decided to get off my butt and go old school. Went down to the local library on Wednesday morning, real quiet place. The librarian pointed me towards the community history section. Found these thick, dusty yearbooks from like the 70s and 80s. Flipping through those pages, man, the photos were gold! Saw tons of shots of:
- The Homecoming Bonfire: Massive pile of wood taller than the players! Yearbooks called it the “Night of Fire”. Looked epic.
- Team Walk: Found mentions of the team walking together from the school locker room all the way down the street to the stadium entrance before big games. Something about unity.
- Specific Senior Stuff: Kept seeing references to seniors having special roles during pep rallies and getting painted plaques, but details were fuzzy.
Okay, archives were cool but needed living voices. Called up Mrs. Henderson, my old neighbor whose grandson played for Depew maybe five years back. Had a nice, long chat over the phone while I scribbled notes. She lit up talking about it:
- “The Hatchet Handoff”: This one blew my mind! Apparently, the senior captain gives a literal small hatchet to a chosen underclassman during the final game. Supposedly symbolizes passing on responsibility and grit to the next leaders. Mrs. Henderson got emotional describing the ceremony. Said it gave her chills.
- Victory Bell Shenanigans: She laughed remembering how her grandson talked about ringing this giant, ancient victory bell they haul out after every home win. Sounds deafening but players love it. Said they ring it non-stop.
- Friday Rituals: She mentioned the team always wears their jerseys to class on game day Fridays, even the backups. Said the whole school buzzes with blue and gold.
Getting the Spirit Firsthand
Couldn’t just write about it without feeling it, right? Grabbed my camera last Friday night and headed to a home game at stadium. Paid my few bucks at the gate. Place was packed, loud! Smelled damp grass and popcorn.
Watched the players make that long, quiet walk from the school building down the pathway to the field entrance before kickoff. Total silence from the crowd watching them. Just focused. Powerful moment – you could feel the expectation, like they were warriors heading into battle together.
Stuck around after they won. Sure enough, players huddled around this big old bronze bell near the concession stand. Rung it like crazy! Clanging echoed everywhere, fans cheering. Pure joy. Saw guys hugging, yelling – you could see that win meant more than the score. It was about upholding something.
Also spotted an older guy near the fence wearing a letter jacket probably older than me. Chatted him up later – played in the late 80s. He pointed towards the field where the bonfire usually is and smiled, “Used to stand right there, freezing, heart pounding just like those kids now. Tradition. It’s the glue.” Spot on.
Wrapping It Up – What’s It All Mean?
Putting all these pieces together wasn’t easy. Dug through dusty books, bugged nice grandmas, stood in the cold at a game. But man, it was worth it to see the picture clearly.
Depew’s traditions aren’t just cheers or gimmicks. That hatchet thing? Heavy. Passing leadership right there, physical and real. Walking together silently before stepping into the chaos? Building focus and brotherhood. Ringing that bell loud after a hard-fought win? Pure shared release.
It clicked sitting there with my notes. These rituals – the bonfire, the jersey Fridays, the walk, the hatchet, that darn bell – they weave these players together year after year. Bonds them to the guys who wore the same colors decades before. It’s a chain. Makes them play for the name on the front way more than the one on the back. That’s team spirit. That’s history alive. Really cool to see how seriously they take it.