Former baton twirlers perform at Homecoming

 HARLAN — A group of former Harlan Community High School baton twirlers dusted off their batons to perform during the Homecoming parade and pregame show last Friday.
 Vicki Strissel’s daughter, Emeri, is the HCHS Marching Band’s lone baton twirler this year, and Emeri has hosted baton camps for the past few years in hope to draw more interest in the activity. “It’s been a great thing for her,” Strissel said.
 Strissel came up with the idea to have a reunion of sorts for the former twirlers. She reached out to Judy Nelson, who taught baton for several years in Harlan, as well as coached baton for the Harlan Community School District for 22 years. “I thought it sounded fun, but there wasn’t a lot of time for it to come together,” Nelson said.
 The two contacted as many former twirlers as they could, and last Friday a group of twirlers and coaches from graduating years of 1955 - 2023 showed up to perform, including Judy Nelson, Shirley Nollen, Roseanne Larson, Cathy Murray, Vicki Petsche, Andrea Nielsen, Jana Daberkow Rieker, Nicki Petersen Ranney, Kaitlin Murray, Hope Miller, Jessie Saunders, Dori Pethoud, Jayden Gessert, and Emily Hansen. Emeri designed shirts for the group to wear during their performances.
 Strissel said there wasn’t a set routine. “We made it easy, and just told them to do what they could remember.”
 Nelson admitted it had been almost 25 years since she had twirled a baton. She said it was similar to riding a bike. “You are a little wobbly at first, but then it starts to come back.”
 “It takes a lot more skill than most people realize.
 She enjoyed seeing some of her former students. “Some of them have contacted me over the years. I taught a lot of kids, it’s always fun to see them again.”
 “It’s probably one of the things I enjoyed most in my life,” she said of her years teaching.
 Both said the group received a lot of positive feedback.
 “It was so neat to watch their family and friends’ reaction,” Strissel said. “To see them doing something they enjoyed doing when they were younger was great.”
 “It was a surprise to many, but everyone seemed to enjoy it,” Nelson said. ”
 Strissel said she would like to see the group reunite every year, and to add more former twirlers.