A Tradition Throughout the Years: The History of Homecoming

From parades and rallies to new traditions, Redwood High School’s Homecoming has evolved throughout the decades, but the celebration continues to bring students together.

By: Isabella Sutherland

For generations, Redwood students have gathered each fall to celebrate Homecoming, creating traditions that have changed with each new class. From rallies and parades to dress-up days and other activities, Homecoming has remained a yearly tradition at Redwood.

Homecoming at Redwood High School has been celebrated for many decades, and every year is different, like its traditions: the parade, rallies, luncheons, and especially dress-up days.

Nick Miller, Journalism advisor and AP literature teacher, has watched Redwood Homecoming evolve since 1988. He also was the activities director from 2000 to 2009 and then again from 2014 to 2016.

Miller said, “It has gotten way more diverse, and it has gotten way more inclusive, and that’s those are both really good things, and it’s more about the school and less about five senior girls. Some other things that have changed is it’s more vibey, like it’s more like just homecoming just feels like a good week, you know, instead of like this really competitive, like who’s the most popular person. Now it’s more like hey, how can our club get involved and have some fun?”

Homecoming used to be just the top 10 girls that participated in a series of events during the week of Homecoming to be voted on at the rally on the Friday of Homecoming week, and then one girl was announced at the end of the day.

He said, “It was way too focused on just a couple of kids, and so we totally changed the rally, made it more like let’s play some games and have some fun and like to promote the dress-up days… It was really a 1950s kind of popularity contest, and so during my first time as activities director, and we needed more people involved. So, we kind of broke it up and got more club involvement and made the week more about clubs instead of girls, and the parade’s evolved over time too.”

The parade used to go around Main Street, Conyer Street, and Giddings Street after school, but after the construction on Giddings, the parade hasn’t been done in 2 years.

The parade is a big part of what has changed about Homecoming, since it was a huge part of Homecoming.

As Stacy Galvan, theater director, also here at Redwood since 1988, said, “Now we have shifted back tonight because of traffic situations with the street being closed last year with the bridge and all of that. We didn’t have a choice because we have this one-way street on Mineral King. It just makes it impossible. So it’s shifted a lot over the years of different ways of doing things, floats being different. There were several years where, because it was just after school, we could use actual vehicles and trailers and make, like, floats, make it like a real parade. And then it shifted back to just golf carts and walking.”

People who have graduated in the previous years used to come back to the school and give a speech, and in further back years, the last Homecoming winner would come also.

She also said, “I remember some little old lady years ago coming and speaking of how special Redwood was, and so Homecoming — the title itself means coming home, and so that’s what homecoming’s about. We’ve just gotten away from it, and it’s turned into a party without the focus of what it’s about, and it goes through cycles like that. It’ll come back. Like I guarantee before I retire, it’ll get back to that kind of thing, or it won’t. It just shifts from year to year, honestly. No matter who the ASB advisor is in Oasis.”

Although Homecoming has a long history, students today continue to create their own traditions and carry out the old ones.

Hailey Aston, PE teacher and former ASB director, said, “It’s one of those traditions I think that we’ve done across the country for such a long time, and because it’s so fun and it focuses on seniors, I think that the seniors get to kind of look forward to it the first three years, and so I think that’s why it stays so exciting.”

Students have created their own little traditions through the tradition of Homecoming; there are so many other nominations, so many more people get to be included.

Aston said, ” I think it changed for the better. So many kids are nominated now that it’s a really great experience for kids to even just a nomination is fun to be involved. So, I love that each year more and more kids get to be nominated, and I think that’s one of the parts I like about it the best.”

Tags: 2026, homecoming, homecoming history, homecoming queen, homecoming rally, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, visalia ca