“On a cold November day in 1894, a group of high school boys proudly wearing the red and yellow colors of Saginaw West Side High School took the field against their opponents.
On the other side stood another group of boys, this one wearing the yellow and white colors of Saginaw East Side High School.
They were neighbors, they were rivals and they were makers of history.”
(“City Rivalry produces memories galore,” The Saginaw News, October 24, 1894.)
“The first-ever football competition between teams representing the Saginaw West Side high school and the Saginaw East Side high school took place in cold and uncomfortable weather on Saturday afternoon, November 10, 1894, beginning at 3 p.m.
The game was played at Union Park, a large, privately-owned one-mile-oval horse racing track, ball field, and fairgrounds located on the near west side of the City. The park stretched north and west from the present Stone Elementary School, west to the old railroad tracks by Durand Street and north to Weiss Street. Around 1905 was sold and developed as a residential housing subdivision.
Admission to the game was ten cents, and several hundred enthusiastic spectators witness the battle which both sides were determined to win.” (The Centennial Football Game Program, October 28, 1994.)
“Thus began one of the State’s greatest school football rivalries” (The Centennial Football Game Program, October 28, 1994.)
With the merger of Arthur Hill and Saginaw High School, the Saginaw Public School System has one high school, Saginaw United, and one football team.
Although we always think of traditions as never changing or bending, that is almost never the case. And we couldn’t help but note how much changed during the long life of the Saginaw High vs. Arthur Hill football game – beyond the rules of football and changes in school colors.
In 1894, the just merged cities of East Saginaw and Saginaw City each had a high school. The schools were simply known by the geographical portion of the community in which they were located – the East Side High School and West Side High School. The West Side High School became Arthur Hill in 1901, and the East Side High School officially became Saginaw High School in the 1920s.
The Letterman’s Trophy, which debuted at the 1948 game, incorporates the bronzed football from the 1909 game, the first time it was played on Thanksgiving Day; however, the day Thanksgiving was celebrated would still be in flux for a few more decades.
Although we could certainly write more, it is time to move on to the recipe and encourage you to visit the Castle Museum and explore the history of Saginaw’s High Schools.
The Recipe: Another Competition
With the consolidation of the two Saginaw public high schools into one school, there is no longer a Thanksgiving Day game. Without the stress of game-day competition, The Castle Test Kitchen staff was a little lazy and decided to dig into the CTK archives and highlight the history – and recipes – of the Domestic Science Departments of the two schools.
If you feel that you have time and energy, we propose preparing both Potage St. Germain and Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples. Serve them to your unsuspecting guests. They are both wonderful. And thanks to freezers, and 21st Century shipping, you may pretend they are both seasonal in Saginaw.
After dinner, make guests decide from which school the recipes came.
Arthur Hill High School Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples, from Florence Well’s Domestic Science Class