[ot-caption title=”Jack Rubenstein speaks to Mr. Walters to find out all that has changed during Homecoming week over the last 20 years. (via, Julia Engleheart, freshman)”]

Homecoming has been a tradition at Pine Crest for years, and many of our faculty alumni remember their own PC Homecoming vividly. The fundamentals are the same: homecoming week and then the big game. However, there are some things that have changed over the years.

Mr. Walters, Upper School Head and Pine Crest Alumnus, explains that the essentials of homecoming have remained mostly the same. “Homecoming was similar to how it is now bringing together the community and building spirit.” As this is his 20th homecoming at Pine Crest, he also recalls several differences. “We didn’t have as many activities as you guys have.  When I was here we had the green and white pep rally on Friday, and the game followed on Saturday. One cool thing we did as a class was create floats that would go around on wheels.  We would march these floats around the track at halftime. Another event that happened at halftime was the parade of the homecoming queen nominees in convertibles with their escorts.”

The parade was also very memorable to Mrs. Promnitz, Upper School Administrator who is another Pine Crest alumnus. In her 17th homecoming at Pine Crest, she reflects on her memories of the day. “The parade was fun! Each class had a banner, and we would spend weeks and weeks working before the display around the track.” Another interesting difference Mrs. Promnitz noticed was on the homecoming court. “There were no homecoming kings. We called them Panther Honeys back then, and it was just the women.”

Mr. Walters and Mrs. Promnitz both have very direct connections to the homecoming game, as Mr. Walters was a player on the football team, and Mrs. Promnitz was a cheerleader. When they were in high school, the game was on Saturday instead of Friday night because there were no lights on the field, but the spirit has remained just as strong. Mr. Walters was gleaming while he discussed the football team’s success, now with a seven game winning streak after their win last Friday night.

Even with all that has changed, Mr. Walters seems very proud of the evolution of PC Homecoming. “It has really gone in a more targeted direction to involve kids and get everyone excited about the upcoming events.” He also enjoys the newer activities including the hall decorations and the games inside Stacy Gym like tug of war and dizzy basketball. As an administrator, his role has changed dramatically; it is now his job to balance fun and school, a task for which the students are very grateful.  This year’s homecoming was particularly special for Mr. Walters because it is his 20^th year high school reunion. He shared his excitement of reminiscing with some old friends and seeing many familiar faces.  There are many differences between homecoming then and now, but regardless of the changes it will always be one of the best times of the year at Pine Crest.