Putnam City West High School - Patriot Profile Yearbook (Oklahoma City, OK)

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Tradition reborn SOIHGOHG cared Fifteen years ago marked the beginning. There was no histo- ry. no familiar faces. nothing. Everything was new. The paint on the walls, the desks, the bleachers, the spirit. Because someone thought you were worth it they gave the school its colors, cheers and traditions. The students werent ranked first or last, they had no ranking. They were caught in the middle and something was missing. They needed something to pull them together, to give them a sense of pride. a feeling of unity. A year later. the basketball coach, Coach Dick Close, began the unifying tradition. lt was not a mascot or a yell, but a spirit. One that could not be physically seen, but felt. The one spirit that gave West its sense of pride was Osgood il. Bumpkin, O.-l. West was on top. and Oal. was here. Whether it was because of him. or for him. no one knew. Then the students stopped needing the spirit and they began ridiculing the pride. O.-l. was lost. The school unity became class division. O.-lfs spirit had been the driving force: then two years ago something happened. O.,l. left. Some say that they thought they had risen above needing O.-I. Others said that they thought they were capable of surviving alone. They started winning and thought they no longer needed the support of a spirit. They lost their understanding of O..l.'s purpose. they lost touch with what O..l. really meant. l feel like OJ. was just worn out. said Vice-Principal -lerry Rickerts. lt was almost inevitable that the paint. would fade, but whoev- er thought that the pride would fade also? liast summer. Student Council and class officers met with Principal Clary Webb to talk of reviving spirit. Fifteen Student fi'ouncil and class officers went to basic lead- ership workshops in Tahlequah and Edmond where they got. fired up and learned motivational techniques. They returned and talked about where the school spirit had gone and how they could get it back. Talk of O.,l. was all around. After school. away from the hustle and hustle of classes. students carried on hits and pieces of conversation about O.-l., his spirit and how to get his spirit back. The quest began for the return of O.J. Q . we qgg I. ,L ,, , ,N 'f x -gr U- L Ogg. Igk 4 A .f as - ,F ' isa' ' ' s ri! f, 2 Q' .. 'ff' f' 7' t eff- 'Ili ir- T 'N Eat em up, spit em out , is chanted at the Putnam City game as the Pa- triots reign victoriously over the Pi- rates 27-13.-Photo by Tracey Deathe.

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You're someone special CONTEANTS Because you are someone special, someone cared enough to begin a new year and we cared enough to re- cord it with endsheets and an opening, 1-5. All through the year, you found life outside of school while you participated in student life, 6-45. There were enough clubs to suit every- one, 46-65, and of course, enough classes for everyone to choose from in academ- ics, 66-95. The school was made up of many different faces and personalities but you were all one, even though you were indivi- duals, 97-137. You had one thing in common, you came from the same com- munity, 138-145. All through the year, there were different teams playing dif- ferent games but all working for the same goals in sports, 148-191. Because parents and friends cared they had a chance to wish you love and luck in the Patriot Sa- lutes, 192-193. You're all in this together, index, 194-199, and because you're someone special, this one's for you, closing, 200, and back endsheets. This all happened . . . 55,3