Only in Puyallup

Growing up as an army brat, I lived all over the world ranging from the jungles of Panama, to small towns in the South, to the beaches of Hawaii, but there’s something that happens in Puyallup that I’ve never seen anywhere else. It’s one of my favorite things about living here, something that I waited for sixteen years to participate in first hand, something that I get to do one more time. My daughter’s graduating from Emerald Ridge High School and I get to paint the windows of our cars with celebratory messages!

Every time I see the family van or the graduate’s car windows decked out in their high school’s colors, I can’t help but beam even if it’s from a rival school. The messages are short and sweet. They’re always very obviously done by hand. Sometimes they proclaim the students’ plans for the future with a college listed. Sometimes they’re just a colorful burst of glee. It’s one of the few times when parents can brag without it being obnoxious because it’s not really bragging, it’s more of an invitation to join in the celebration of one of life’s major milestones. For the student, it’s a chance to strut their academic stuff and to bask in their family’s unabashed expression of pride painted crookedly for all the world to see.

My second favorite Puyallup tradition also has to do with school. When I graduated from college, I’d attended a grand total of fourteen different schools. In all those school districts, I’d never experienced anything like Puyallup’s ninth grade dance. What a great tradition! Ninth graders from all of the district’s junior high schools dressed up in formal wear, arriving in limos or vintage cars at the Puyallup fairgrounds. I know many parents who show up and watch the kids arrive. It’s Puyallup’s red carpet, Academy Awards style event!

Even though ninth grade figures into their high school GPAs, ninth graders don’t enter a high school building until tenth grade. Ninth grade dance symbolizes a farewell to junior high school as they step into high school. It’s low-key enough not to overshadow senior prom. It’s a chance for the freshman to get together with classmates they might not have seen since elementary school, and since they aren’t officially in their high schools yet, they aren’t rivals yet either. To top off the perfect evening, the next day they get to wear their formal attire to school, giving the eighth graders and sevies something to look forward to. My compliments to the Puyallup school district for this tradition. Long live the ninth grade dance!

My husband and I are very pleased that our children grew up in Puyallup and have gotten to experience the traditions unique to our area. Now, excuse me, I need to go and paint the windows on our vehicles before it rains!

Laura Keolanui Stark is the proud mom of Sarah ERHS 2009 Grad, WSU Bound, Woo Hoo! Laura can be reached at lkstark@yahoo.com. (Originally published in The Herald, www.puyallupherald.com on 6/3/09.)