Each year Owatonna High School prepares for one of its biggest traditions of the year. Homecoming week has already filled the halls with school spirit, and everyone looks forward to Friday, September 19. For most students, homecoming means the pepfest, the parade, the football game, and of course the dance. But homecoming is also about something deeper: it is about people coming back. Every year, college students and recent graduates return to Owatonna to be a part of the celebration and to remember what it was like to be in high school.
Mr. Kory Kath said “It’s about inviting people that are alumni, people from the community back to school to celebrate it in its traditions, to celebrate the work that happens there, to celebrate at football games, basketball games, volleyball games, things like that. And so it was the idea of a community gathering around events.”
The week has been busy with dress-up days, decorating, and energy building toward the football game. Seniors are especially feeling the weight of it being their last homecoming as high school students. At the same time, many are excited to see familiar faces who graduated last year. The tradition of coming home for homecoming makes it more than just a school event. It becomes a community event, tying together the past, present, and future of OHS.
Mr. Ryan Guenther Said “ My favorite part of my homecoming week is being in Mrs. Shives Ford Mustang in the parade, extremely fun and then going to the football game cheering everyone on and being a part of this homecoming week”.
The homecoming football game is always the main event, where students, staff, alumni, and families fill the stands. The crowd is usually louder than at any other game of the season, with chants, cheers, and music from the marching band. Alumni sit with their friends, and some even wear their old Husky gear to show that their school spirit is still alive. It is common to see groups of college freshmen talking to their former teachers or laughing with their younger siblings on the bleachers.
Emma Myer, graduate of 2023 stated, “During my four years at OHS, my favorite homecoming activities were always attending the pep rally during school on Monday, and of course the parade in downtown Owatonna! I always enjoyed seeing the community come together to support our sports teams, and also just showing just how important Owatonna pride is!”
The dance also plays a big role in the celebration. While alumni cannot attend, many return during the week to see the decorated gym or to relive the excitement of planning spirit week. For current students, the dance is a chance to make memories of their own. For alumni, walking through the school during homecoming week brings back flashes of the same excitement they once felt.
Homecoming is a reminder that Owatonna High School is more than just a place to take classes. It is a community that people carry with them even after they graduate. The tradition of coming back shows that once you are a Husky, you are always a Husky.
