The Origins of the Rivalry that Began Cowhide

By: Cynthia Adame – Luna

Every October, the crisp air carries something sharper than the scent of Autumn. It carries the weight of 1954. 

When the Redwood Rangers in royal blue and Mount Whitney Pioneers in maroon clash, taking the field this Friday night, they won’t just be playing any normal game; they’ll be winning for seventy-one years of pride and a leather-branded brown hide.

To understand why thousands of people will pack the stadium this week, you have to look back to when Visalia had only one high school: Union High School.

The city wasn’t as big as it is today; the population was estimated at 13,850. As the number of students continued to grow, more space was needed, and thus was born Mount Whitney. 

A separation and a new campus across the street. This new high school inherited Union’s original mascot (pioneers), the original school colors (maroon and white), the school’s traditions, and nearly all of the seniors.

Cathy Jaurrieta ‘28, a third-year ASB student, said: “And that’s actually why the buildings are- we see a lot of red and maroon. And on Cowhide, we try to cover that all up with, like, blue”. 

Each year, the Saturday before Cowhide Week, ASB repaints the old checker pathway in our colors, white and blue!

Redwood checkered floor.

The students left at the old school were rebranded as Redwood High School, left without their upperclassmen and pride.

Drayton Hall ‘27, a fourth-year football player, said that, “Everyone keeps telling us how important it is, and we all feel the pressure, and when we step onto the field, we don’t feel the pressure at all. We just go out there and just do our thing and play.”

When the whistle blows on Friday, the teams will fight for four quarters to take the hide home for the year. But win or lose — for this reason the community becomes stronger by giving them seventy-one years to stand on opposite sides of the field.

Dr. Gridiron, Principal of Redwood, said, “And so I think the most important part of it is it brings people together, and it allows people to experience the tradition of Redwood. It’s kind of like 2 worlds, right? Collide in respect to people who were here 50 years ago.” 

When both high schools meet Mineral King on the 30th of October, the winning school will earn the right to brand their winning year directly into their side of the hide.

Hall has lots of hope for the outcome of this upcoming game to go in Redwood’s favor. Hall said, “Of course we will [win]!”

Cynthia Adame-Luna
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Cynthia Adame - Luna '30 is a first writer in journalism, for her first year she is in the Arts and Entertainment section. She hopes to write stories of the many artistic creates and events at Redwood.

 

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