It’s homecoming week for our local high school. Although readily apparent with all the hand-painted downtown storefront windows, we’re even more aware this year, thanks to all the toilet paper festooning the front of the house courtesy of the junior varsity cheerleading team in honor of our son’s senior season.

I’m personally a sucker for all the hoopla, especially anything involving the marching band, which was my primary contribution to school spirit back in the 20th century. Some of the traditions have changed – the football stadium didn’t have lights back then, so we sandwiched two football games between the parade and the dance – but back in my youth we’d already moved away from older rituals, like the bonfire, and that didn’t seem to keep the majority from donning their best orange apparel and belting out which words they could recall from the old fight song.

Perhaps a sociologist could go into great detail about the way nostalgia plays differently between a college homecoming and a high school celebration, but for me, it’s probably as simple as I send my kids to my old schools, and the college is at least four hours away by car, so we haven’t been back since the oldest kid was in second grade.

That said, I’ve been blessed over the course of my lengthy journalism career to observe and document these seasonal celebrations in many communities. A personal favorite was watching Washington Square come alive in downtown Ottawa as students from the town’s two schools posed for pre-dance photographs on the steps of the Reddick Mansion or near the fountain and statues commemorating the first Lincoln-Douglas debate.

Less enjoyable was the clerical responsibility of making sure we had timely publication, with correct identification, of every homecoming court in the readership area. It was never the kids’ fault, with their beaming faces leaping off the computer screen during page design, but a reminder of how many adults have to execute their responsibilities to make sure children have memorable experiences.

But also, each time we placed one of those photos on a digital page, it underscored the community newspapers’ role as creating the first draft of history. We might never have seen our clippings held by magnets to grandma’s refrigerator, but knowing that often was the final destination of a product that required many hands to assemble, produce and deliver was heartening, even on deadline.

Hopefully, you’re celebrating a homecoming this fall as well. Reflecting on these binding ties helps frame a perspective on school board elections, property taxes, proficiency standards, calls for consolidation and all manner of other local government issues. Those things are all deeply important, but it’s helpful to contextualize them in focus on providing for future generations.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.