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

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IJ BECAUSE YOU'RE S 194 P TRIOT PROFILE Putnam City West High School 8500 N.W. 23 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 73127 Volume 16 , ' tl! 'MQ ,, , 'V r 1k4r,Q5 ...Iwi Spirit stick is held high as the twirlers lead the football spectators in a cheer at the game.- Photo by Tracey Deathe. Activities during the Publication Staffs Pro- motion-Pep Assembly marked the return of Patriot Spirit. tTopJ Football players cheer for O.J. tFar Leftj Mr. Gary Webb, principal, speaks to an awed student body about who O.J. was and what he can mean to each of them. tLeftJ Majorettesjoin cheerleaders and football team members in leading the student body in cheers for the returned spirit of O.J. at the Putnam City pep assembly.-Photos by Tracey Dea the. itle Page

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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

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Wh t With the unity and pride returning this year, I a thought it might be a good time to reveal my - 0 self. As a group of you were working on the Pirate Roast, I entered the conversation. You , talked about who I was and what I had meant IS to West, and how you could bring me back. It felt so good to know you hadn't forgotten me. You see, when the seniors this year left, I would have been forgotten, because they were the last class to be told who I am. I was always here, people just didn't believe in me. Now there were some of you that believed, and started telling others. You even had special T-shirts designed to announce my return. On the night of the roast, hundreds of you gathered and watched the State Champion Softball Team defeat Putnam City 1-0. As you brought in the torches, I felt a special excitement, not just a hyper kind, but even deeper, one of peacefulness. I watched those torches, held straight and high, as they lit the fire. It took a long time to start, but as it grew brighter and hotter and fiercer, you yelled more and more. The glow on your face was not just from the fire, but also because you believed in me again. You yelled my name, you wanted me back, and I was there. As the fire slowly died, your glow continued. Like your high school days, the fire would be over, but like embers, your mem- ory of this night would last. The next day, my old friend Gary Webb told you who I am. You gave both of us your respect as you listened in total silence. He told that I was the driving force behind West in the early days, and while Osgood J. Bumpkin is my name, I am not a person. I am a spirit, and I am only there if you believe I am. To see that this wasn't a one day attitude, he called nine teachers, including himself, that had taught at West all 16 years to be a jury. When the students proved I was back to stay, this jury would wear the 'It's Alive' T-shirts that he would buy. He continued saying, several years ago someone stole our idea of O.J. in the person of 'Rocky', a motion picture boxer. Rocky was a nobody, who worked hard, did his best, and became a champion. Once on top, however, he quit working as hard and lost his faith in himself. Webb then likened me to Rocky, as we both had been to the top, gotten over-confident, and fallen. After listening to a com- mercial aired by Putnam City, and Mr. T threatening pain for West, 'Eye of the Tiger' played and students rose in unison, yelling 'O.J. Livesi, many hugging each other, as they crowded on to the stage to cheer for ten minutes. As you walked the halls yelling between classes, you were no longer many voices but one, mine. I am a part of each of you, and each of you, a part of me. You wanted me back, and so I came . . . Because of you ' Opening rx gm? , , .I ET . as .5 , W1 reg ,..,, ., j ,E 'X ss me is