Hillcrest High School Families Show ‘Panther Pride’ Via Signs
It’s that time of year, when signs of support are popping up in yards all over the neighborhood.
No, we’re not talking about the 2014 primary elections for the Legislature and Congress. We’re talking about the 2013 homecoming celebration for Hillcrest High School.
Hillcrest is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, so the festivities during the first weekend of October will be extra … well, festive. To stoke excitement, the school’s alumni association has been distributing “Panther Pride” yard signs donated by Ebby Halliday Realtors.
Any sign is a rarity in the Meadow Road yard of Mike and Kathy McCarron, but even they’re sporting one.
“Many times, we can be on either side of a political issue,” Kathy said of herself and her husband, “but we’re happy to support Hillcrest.”
The McCarrons’ son and two daughters are all graduates of Hillcrest. The youngest got her diploma in 2009.
“They all walked or ran to school,” said Kathy, a self-described “private school kid” who went to Hockaday. “I felt more a part of my neighborhood with my kids going there than I did growing up in this area as a child.”
You can also find a “Panther Pride” yard in the Stichter Avenue yard of Nancy Sims. The 1966 graduate said she hasn’t attended homecoming events since her student days, but she plans on being there for the 75th anniversary. Ten former homecoming queens are scheduled to appear, said Linda Tunnell, one of the event’s co-chairs.
“Panther Pride” signs can be picked up for free at Ebby Halliday’s “Little White House” on the corner of Northwest Highway and Preston Road, but be sure to call ahead. There were only 10 or so left on Tuesday afternoon, although more signs were supposed to be on the way.
The effort evokes memories of the “Choose Woodrow” signs supporting Woodrow Wilson High School that popped up a few years ago in yards around Lakewood, a neighborhood that, like Preston Hollow, has a reputation for being dragged down by its public schools. Kathy McCarron said such a reputation is undeserved.
“It really changed my heart, being involved in that community,” she said of Hillcrest.
Editor’s note: This story appears in the Aug. 30 edition of Preston Hollow People. But we figured Hillcrest alumni who live in the Park Cities would also be interested.
