|
|
|
PITTSBURG —
The Girard High School Class of 2012 is a closely knit group of seniors. That much was evident as members of the class gathered at the corner of Forrest and Ozark Streets in downtown Girard Thursday evening to participate in the annual tradition of spray painting their names in the Girard Homecoming Festival cake walk circles.“They’re all pretty good friends,” class sponsor Jeremiah Hudson said. “They’re very involved in activities, athletics, things like the Scholars’ Bowl. It’s a good group of leaders for our school.”
The painting of the square is an important right of passage for Girard seniors. It’s a fun event that occurs every year during Homecoming Week as the excitement of their impending graduation builds. The seniors gather the night before the homecoming rally to repaint the cake walk circles they’ll manage in shifts during Saturday’s homecoming festival, and leave their signature, at least for a year, in the heart of the town in which most of them grew up.
The group laughed and joked, reminiscing about past event — both joyous and tragic — and talked about the future.
“I think we’re really close,” senior Courtney Page said. “The last four years we haven’t really talked to each other that much, but it’s our last year. We’re doing things we haven’t done and talking to people we haven’t talked to.”
Page’s friend, Rylee Hamblin,
“We’re not going to see them for a long time,” Hamblin said. “It’s stressful. This is kind of like anger relief.”
For other members of the class, the gathering was a chance to honor friend and family member Jacob Gobl, who was riding his bike and was hit by a vehicle and killed in 2006, when the class was in sixth grade. Goble would have graduated with the group this year, and they painted his name along with the rest of the class.
“He’d do anything for everyone,” said friend Kyle McGeorge said. “If we were having a bad day, he’d make us laugh.”
Micheala Everitt, who was Gobl’s girlfriend when he was killed, agreed.
“He was my first best friend,” Everitt said. “We hung out together all the time. I really regret him not being here.”
Gobl’s cousin, Kyle Bauder, said his death was one of the most difficult events he’s had to endure.
The Girard High School Class of 2012 is a closely knit group of seniors. That much was evident as members of the class gathered at the corner of Forrest and Ozark Streets in downtown Girard Thursday evening to participate in the annual tradition of spray painting their names in the Girard Homecoming Festival cake walk circles.“They’re all pretty good friends,” class sponsor Jeremiah Hudson said. “They’re very involved in activities, athletics, things like the Scholars’ Bowl. It’s a good group of leaders for our school.”
The painting of the square is an important right of passage for Girard seniors. It’s a fun event that occurs every year during Homecoming Week as the excitement of their impending graduation builds. The seniors gather the night before the homecoming rally to repaint the cake walk circles they’ll manage in shifts during Saturday’s homecoming festival, and leave their signature, at least for a year, in the heart of the town in which most of them grew up.
The group laughed and joked, reminiscing about past event — both joyous and tragic — and talked about the future.
“I think we’re really close,” senior Courtney Page said. “The last four years we haven’t really talked to each other that much, but it’s our last year. We’re doing things we haven’t done and talking to people we haven’t talked to.”
Page’s friend, Rylee Hamblin,
“We’re not going to see them for a long time,” Hamblin said. “It’s stressful. This is kind of like anger relief.”
For other members of the class, the gathering was a chance to honor friend and family member Jacob Gobl, who was riding his bike and was hit by a vehicle and killed in 2006, when the class was in sixth grade. Goble would have graduated with the group this year, and they painted his name along with the rest of the class.
“He’d do anything for everyone,” said friend Kyle McGeorge said. “If we were having a bad day, he’d make us laugh.”
Micheala Everitt, who was Gobl’s girlfriend when he was killed, agreed.
“He was my first best friend,” Everitt said. “We hung out together all the time. I really regret him not being here.”
Gobl’s cousin, Kyle Bauder, said his death was one of the most difficult events he’s had to endure.
“He was an all around great guy,” Bauder said. “He knew how to make you laugh. It was about the hardest time for me when I lost him. He was that one person in every crowd. He always knew the right thing to say and was always willing to help anyone out.”
That’s where being a close-knit class helps the most.
“Most of us have been here since elementary school, but some haven’t,” Bauder said. “But we treat everyone like they’ve been here forever. We treat everyone well and don’t leave anyone out.”
Everitt nodded in affirmation.
“We’re a really well-integrated class,” she said.
