Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Memories of life on the Pop Warner gridiron in Hillsborough will take the spotlight this weekend, as former members and alumni of the Hillsborough Dukes gather to remember the last 50 years of youth football and cheerleading.
This weekend, the local Pop Warner organization will host a pair of events to commemorate the milestone with the former players, coaches and support staff that comprised the program since its inception in 1967.
“The amount of people that have been in the program and stayed in town is really amazing,” Dukes Corresponding Secretary Jennifer Glazewski said.
On Saturday, the Dukes will host a casual, adults only cocktail reunion party at The Landing in Hillsborough from 7-11 p.m. Though entry is restricted for people under 18 years old, Dukes officials said the event will be open to all alumni.
The following day, between the Dukes’ home opener games at Hillsborough High School, the organization will have a public ceremony for all past board members, presidents, commissioners and other volunteers. With 50 years of history to lean on, Glazewski said the organization is aiming to honor everyone who participated.
“The goal for us is to read off a list of names. Obviously, we can’t talk about every single person over the last 50 years,” she said. “We’re also inviting specific families or individuals that had a specific impact on the organization.”
Following the ceremony, the Dukes will host a special alumni/parent flag football game at noon, followed by a Dukes alumni cheer event.
Glazewski said in anticipation for the festivities, the organization began putting out feelers for any potential interest in a 50th anniversary event early last year by using word of mouth with current participants and coaches and their older counterparts.
As word got out of a celebration, Glazewski said the organization received a largely positive reaction from alumni of all ages.
“We figured that we needed to put something together that would attract the fun part of it and celebrate the past,” she said. “We have people coming from Florida who have since retired and they’re saying that the organization had an impact on their formative years.”
Even some of the first people to play in the organization as children will be in attendance, Glazewski said.
“We have one gentleman coming to the party who was the first kid to ever run back a kick off and he’s funny, because he said ‘I was the first person to do it, but we were awful – we didn’t in anything,’” she said. “They played in 1967 and they’re still thinking about it.”
And while many attendees will be older, officials said some attendees will be as recent as having played in the last decade.
“These kids are in college now or just out of college and starting their careers and they’re posting videos of old cheerleading routines and commenting on Facebook about it,” she said. “This has been very openly received [by everyone].”
As a former participant in nearby Somerville’s Pop Warner program, Glazewski said the experiences of the Hillsborough Dukes was similar to other organizations from around the country: kids finding a love for football and making some meaningful connections along the way.
“Pop Warner has always been so cheerleading supports the football team and you all travel together on Sundays. You almost become a family,” she said. “You just make friends all year long, it’s not just during football season and that’s what the feel is with the Dukes – it’s a 50-year-old family.”
