Have you ever wondered where the school’s famous spirit stick came from? Who made it? Why this mysterious stick was created in the first place?
“It showed up out of nowhere,” StuCo teacher Ms. Shafer said.
At every football game you will catch a sight of this huge stick of wood with the school’s colors painted on it at the front of the student section. It grabs everyone’s attention when slammed on the bleachers every Friday night.
The second the stick hits the bleacher floor everyone knows it’s time to get loud and support our team. Junior StuCo member, Andrea Finklang said “It makes the student section more vibrant, loud, and spirited.”
When you think about the creation of the spirit stick some might say it’s just a stick that gets banged loudly during games but, what if it’s not? What if it’s something deeper than just a wooden stick?
“It provides a bond between the students,” Ms. Shafer said. The spirit stick is a symbol of enjoyment within the student body. Every game there is a huge smile on everyone’s faces and loud cheers being chanted when that stick makes noise.
What does this spirit-filled stick actually mean to us?
“It represents the whole student body and all that we stand for,” Grace Richardson, President of StuCo said.
“It means everything,’’ junior Jack Gnandt, the holder of the spirit stick this year said. He continues by saying, “All the spirit in the school goes to that. It brings everyone together.”
StuCo member Jack Ryan, said: “It gives uniqueness to Liberty. That’s our thing. That’s our spirit stick.”
We know that the spirit stick gives enjoyment to the student section but how does it affect the players on the field?
“It gets you going a bit. It doesn’t seem real at first,” Noah Kuehner, StuCo Vice President, said.
Where did this spirited stick come from?
In 2013 the opening at Liberty High School, we were a new, not so unique and spirited school.
Yes, we had the qualities of a High School like sports teams and clubs but there was something missing. Mr. LaBrot, the woods class teacher and Mr. Wheeler, an inspiration to students, had an idea. When their creation to build a spirit stick for the school came to mind they got planning this project.
“Every school should have some kind of symbol,” Wheeler said.
“We didn’t have one. So we took two blade machines and bolted them together.” Labrot said. LaBrot had a junior at the time, Michael Capranica and some assistance from other students to help build this spirit-filled stick we have today.
When Michael was told about the brilliant idea he got straight to work with building. When putting it together it took 8 pieces of around a foot and a half long of maple wood. This made the process easier.
This project took many weeks and a lot of shaping to perfect the masterpiece but after hard work and dedication it was finally completed. But there were a few final touches to be added. Michael had the grand idea of taking a torch to the stick and giving a burned effect as well as engraving his name into his accomplishment. Sadly his engraved name was worn off over the years and is no longer there.
Our school today still expresses enjoyment and spirit towards and hopes this tradition continues for other students to experience in the future.
