Bonfire, spaghetti dinners get communities ready for rivalry
DOVER (October 24, 2024) – Dover High School seniors are continuing a decades-old tradition today as they build the bonfire for the community pep rally Thursday.
Math teacher Brian Miller has been leading the construction for about 20 years.
“I teach them calculus and pre-calculus and those are probably things they won’t remember their whole life, but they will remember the day they came out and built the bonfire,” he said.
Miller says businesses in the community are quick to donate wooden pallets.
“Most years it’s anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000. I think the bonfire manual says we’re supposed to have around 1,500. A lot of businesses want to get rid of their pallets this time of year, so we usually end up with more than what’s in the manual,” he said.
Rylan Pettay is one of the seniors helping behind the scenes who watched the bonfire every year as a kid.
“I remember being astonished by when the people would light it,” he said. “I thought it was really cool.”
Lyv McGraw is another participating senior.
“I built the torches,” she said. “It was pretty easy. Just take a wooden stake and wrap a T-shirt around it, and secure it with wire.”
Dover’s community pep rally starts at 7 after a spaghetti dinner at the high school from 4 to 6 p.m.
New Philadelphia meanwhile is getting ready for that community’s annual spaghetti dinner. Ryan Range is in his second year as principal at New Philadelphia, his alma mater. The 2000 grad and NPHS Athletic Hall of Famer hasn’t forgotten the battles with Dover at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium.
“I’m still as competitive as I was back in high school, and thoughts of the rivalry and the competition haven’t changed much. Of course, I have a ton of respect for Coach Ifft and Mrs. Grafe and the administration over there, but, I tell you, deep down, that fire still burns inside me for the rivalry,” Range said.
The New Philadelphia spaghetti dinner is from 4:30 to 6:30 at the high school, followed by the community pep rally at 7.
