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

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5 5 l of It iii! MN 4' 'iv--' HS fe ' K- wtf? S1 I X ,E Y if r .Q 9, an, f x if 3 2 Neff is rr Y T SY? lla 'Zig il l at we as so + o I K P J P . -Sl '11, Q 5 'lifm , i K - - Samba is led by Mr. Bob Early, band director, as football players and seniors join in at the Norman Homecoming assembly, October 14.- Photo by Tracey Deaths. Dressed as a Pirate at the Pirate Roast on September 29, Greg Branch, senior, is held up by hooded Patriots, ready to be thrown into the fire.-Photo by Angela Emerson. Band and Flag Corps jump at Mr. Bob Early's cue at the Midwest City pep assembly Sep- tember 1.-Photo by Tracey Deaths. Opening . 5

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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

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The Verd1ct 1 111 Mm Qtr.. f .3 l '35, Excited students crowd onto field after getting their revenge on P.C. by winning 28-13. - Photo by Tracey Deathe. Jury members, all teachers since the school opened, Mr. Mike Little, Mr. Bobby Loper, Mr. Wayne Morgan, Mr. Jimmie Cornelius, Mrs. Barbara Matlock, Mrs. Audrey Rice, Mrs. Beverly Mills, and Mr. Gary Webb, show their vote that O.J. is back. -Photo by Angela Emerson. 0 Opening