Rosemont Students Keep Homecoming Floats Top Secret

The only thing Ellen Pevey has heard about the competition is that it involves a cave. She's racked her brain, but she can't picture it. Still, she's pretty sure the junior class float in will be better.

Hidden away in a down the street from is the junior class float: the futuristic-themed product of about 20 students working for nearly a month.

Pevey, a junior, said she's hoping her class will be able to earn bragging rights by beating the seniors, who last year won top honors in the homecoming float, rally and decoration competition.

"The seniors are our main rivals," she said. "We want to see who ends up with more unity with the class."

Parent Gerry Goodie, who has helped with five years of floats, said he's never seen a group of students work together so well.

Admiring the detailed features of the junior float that require an electrical generator, Goodie recalled the first homecoming years, when vehicles weren't allowed to drive on Rosemont's track and the floats were much smaller.

"It's getting really elaborate," he said.

Rosemont High School's homecoming parade begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the corner of South Port Drive and Kiefer Boulevard, and continues east to the high school. Elementary schools and youth sports teams will also march in the parade.