PEP RALLY

After a couple of weeks of getting acclimated to the school, the announcements during home room began to include social items.  One of the first I can remember is the announcement for the Friday night pep rally and bon fire.  Wow! All of that in one night!  The big game against St. Rita was on Saturday.  Mendel was run by the Augustinian Order of priests, and so was St. Rita.  A lot of the brothers and priests were betting on the outcome of the game.  Most of the priests that taught at Mendel had been re-assigned from Rita.

I never head of a pep rally before so I asked Mom if I could go out after supper to the rally and come home late.  Surprisingly, she said yes.  Perhaps my brother Bill had paved the way by going to activities like that at Leo.  He turned out okay, so why not let Jun do the same?

After an early supper, I took the streetcar back to school.  I was an old pro at this now.  The rally began on the field behind the school where a giant pile of wood was stacked into a teepee shape.  The pile was at least twelve feet high.

A sophomore came out with a Mendel sweater, white pants, white shoes, and a big megaphone.  He led us in a series of cheers.  I should say, he taught us the cheers.  He told us he would lead us in the same cheers during the game tomorrow.  After the cheering, Coach Mills gave us his talk. He was followed by Father Seary, the Principal. He could have been a stand up comedian he was so funny.  All of them spoke positively, and left us wanting to go to the game.  I always felt pumped after a pep rally.

Finally, when the rally part was over, the bonfire was lit and we watched the wood burn down to the ground.  The next day we lost our game to St. Rita.

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