最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� The way the alumni tell it, the annual homecoming football game between Sumner and Vashon high schools has no rival.

Thousands of alumni 鈥� Vashon Wolverines clad in blue, and many more Sumner Bulldogs clad in maroon 鈥� flocked to Saturday鈥檚 homecoming at Sumner, where the schools鈥� joint homecoming has been held each year for at least the past few years.

鈥淧eople come far and wide from all over the country and, in fact, from all over the world for homecoming,鈥� said Lou Thimes Jr., a 1977 Sumner graduate and 最新杏吧原创 radio personality. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not so much about the rivalry. ... It鈥檚 a gathering of the ages.鈥�

Just about every alumni group Saturday had somebody smoking barbecued chicken and ribs and tables with trays of food set up buffet-style, holding all the necessary tailgate fare including beans, hot dogs and buns, spaghetti casserole, mac and cheese and fried chicken. All around, people were hugging old friends, sharing a meal, cheering the football teams from the bleachers or just lounging in lawn chairs in the shade.

鈥淚鈥檓 old now, but I will keep coming forever until I can鈥檛 come anymore,鈥� said Arlene Bragg Mathis, Sumner class of 1973.

The homecoming game between the city鈥檚 two oldest African-American high schools is a precious alumni tradition that dates back 90 years. It is a pinnacle of pride for the two schools, which are surviving relics of what were once thriving institutions for African-Americans. It is an example of a good thing that happens in north 最新杏吧原创鈥� Ville neighborhood, which is heavily stigmatized and often thought of only in terms of crime, said Alderman Sam Moore of the 4th Ward, which includes Sumner.

Both schools now are in neighborhoods with more than a few vacant buildings. Both have lost thousands of students since their heyday. Both have been targeted by the district for academic failure.

Still, that hasn鈥檛 dampened the pride of many alumni who return each year for one of the oldest rivalry traditions around 最新杏吧原创.

鈥淲e鈥檙e here to preserve them and make sure that they stay in the neighborhood,鈥� Moore, who is also a 1968 Sumner alumnus, said of the two high schools. 鈥淚n this neighborhood, I have five shut-down schools. We don鈥檛 intend to let Sumner or Vashon shut down.鈥�

A HISTORIC RIVALRY

Sumner and Vashon first became rivals because, when Vashon opened in 1927, they were the only two black high schools in the city of 最新杏吧原创, and black school sports teams weren鈥檛 allowed to play white teams.

Sumner, which opened half a century earlier in 1875, was the first high school black students could attend west of the Mississippi River. Its football team used to play college teams and travel as far as Memphis and Nashville, Tenn., just to have other black teams to play.

Starting in 1927, Vashon and Sumner held an annual football game, but it wasn鈥檛 always called homecoming 鈥� for years it was the 鈥淭urkey Day game,鈥� held on Thanksgiving. Vashon holds bragging rights for having won the first-ever rivalry match. The game drew crowds thousands strong, and on the tradition鈥檚 anniversary in 1928, the Post-Dispatch called it 鈥渢he most important football event of the season.鈥�

At homecoming, alumni come not just to tailgate and reunite with friends they haven鈥檛 seen for years. They come to keep a tradition and a school from dying. When they think of their alma maters, they remind themselves that many of their classmates went on to change the country.

For Sumner, that includes rock 鈥檔鈥� roll icon Chuck Berry, famed singer Tina Turner, comedian and activist Dick Gregory and tennis hall-of-famer Arthur Ashe. For Vashon: Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and world champion boxer Henry Armstrong.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important. It鈥檚 a good feeling,鈥� Claudette Carson, 1986 graduate and president of the Vashon Alumni Association, said of homecoming. 鈥淚t also reminds me of the good times.鈥�

鈥楢 BIG HUGE DREAM鈥�

Vashon and Sumner alumni look at their alma maters now and see very different schools.

At Sumner鈥檚 pep rally Thursday to announce its homecoming court, Sumner students didn鈥檛 fill half the wooden seats on the ground floor of the school auditorium. Football captain Keith Clay announced his fellow teammates one by one, including those who attend another district high school, Northwest Law Academy.

The two schools combined football teams this year because they had trouble keeping coaches. There was no Sumner homecoming parade this year, because there is no band or band teacher.

鈥淎 lot of the things we had no longer exist,鈥� said Valerie Gordon, Sumner class of 1973.

On top of families鈥� leaving the city over several decades, the district opened magnet and choice schools to help retain students and compete with charter schools. Those schools attracted some students who might otherwise have gone to Sumner and Vashon, which are two of the district鈥檚 three remaining neighborhood high schools. The third is Roosevelt.

Last school year, Sumner had 320 students, down from a recent high of 1,252 in 2005. Vashon had 510, down from 1,524 in 2005. Today, even with segregation declared unconstitutional, the schools are essentially as segregated as they were when they opened 鈥� all but one student at Sumner last school year was black, and all but four at Vashon were.

Superintendent Kelvin Adams had plans to close Sumner in 2009, until alumni rose up to protest. On Saturday, alumni were collecting donations and selling maroon 鈥淪traight Outta Sumner鈥� T-shirts to raise money for many things they say Sumner needs, such as books, a band and scholarships for students.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very important to me, because 最新杏吧原创 has had a history of dispelling African-American culture,鈥� 1963 Sumner graduate Jacqueline Vanderford said about homecoming. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we try to keep Sumner open. It鈥檚 the first African-American high school west of the Mississippi.鈥�

At homecoming, alumni can indulge in nostalgia and reinforce their pride, despite the troubles that stalk their schools.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a certain kind of mental denial,鈥� Thimes said of homecoming. 鈥淲e kind of come back expecting things to resume where we left off, but the reality is that鈥檚 not the case, and that just walking the hallways now of Sumner doesn鈥檛 feel the same way that it probably felt for a great many people over the decades. The homecoming for the alumni and older folks is kind of a big, huge dream, or wish.鈥�