For anyone who has ever stepped into Trout Arena on a Friday night, the sound of the Orphanage—the student section at Centralia High School—rings as loud as the final buzzer. For English teacher and alumna Rachel Cavaletto-Lockwood, and for senior Audra Davis, it’s more than cheering. It is identity, it is tradition, and it is joy.

Rachel remembers being in sixth and seventh grade, sitting off to the side and watching the high schoolers roar in unison. “That’s kind of where I fell in love with the school spirit,” she said. By the time she was a freshman, she was waiting in line to earn her place in the stands, climbing through the ranks until her senior year. That same spirit pulled her back to Centralia as a teacher after college. She teaches English, including a new sports literature class she created, and serves as sponsor of the CHS Spirit Club.

The Spirit Club is a relatively new addition, born out of the quiet years following COVID-19. “Everybody was just kind of blah,” Rachel said. “There wasn’t any unity.” Determined to bring it back, she asked permission to run games at assemblies and began organizing students around themes, signs, and pep activities. “It still gives me chills thinking about it,” she said. “Seeing the kids after years of masks and being apart come together again.”

Audra Davis was among those students. Her parents have had season tickets for as long as she can remember, and she grew up in the gym. Now a senior, she not only participates in the Orphanage but helps lead it through Spirit Club. “I make signs, come up with ideas for pep assemblies, design shirts, figure out themes,” she said. “I think people even see me as the head person, but it’s not official.”

Together with other committed classmates, Audra has helped shape big nights like “Lee Bennett Night,” when students wore shirts with the legendary basketball coach’s face on Mount Rushmore under the words In Bennett We Trust. They blew up photos of him mid-game and even staged mock ESPN interviews. “It’s just indescribable,” Rachel said. “The energy, the creativity—those are core memories.”

The Orphanage, though, isn’t just about noise. It’s a carefully nurtured culture of unity that ties students together and reaches into the wider community. This year, Spirit Club is spearheading the installation of pole toppers—signs honoring every varsity athlete in every sport—throughout town. “We have the best school spirit and morale in southern Illinois, anywhere,” Rachel said. “Why don’t we have this?” With over 150 athletes to recognize in just the fall season, the project has required donations from local businesses, families, and the Booster Club. The signs, Rachel says, will be a visible reminder of what dedication means—and how much the town values its kids.

For Audra, that visibility matters. “We’ve been talking about this since my sophomore year,” she said. “It’s just really awesome to finally see it happen.” She is proud to know that what began as conversations among classmates is becoming part of the city’s landscape.

What sets Centralia apart, both women agree, is that school spirit isn’t confined to students. Teachers and staff fill the stands. Families return year after year. Traditions—songs, cheers, themes—are carried forward across generations. Audra says she’ll never forget the Mount Vernon games, where adrenaline and rivalry combine to create an electric atmosphere. She plans to attend SIU Carbondale next fall, studying psychology before pursuing occupational therapy, but she knows the memories of the Orphanage will stay with her for life.

Rachel puts it this way: “High school is when you’re figuring out who you are and where you’re going. And you want a community around you while you do that. Maybe it’s the band, maybe it’s basketball, maybe it’s Spirit Club—but we all fall under this umbrella of CHS.”

And then, almost on cue, Rachel and Audra looked at each other and broke into song. Word for word, in unison, their voices carried the anthem of Centralia High School, a tune they’ve known for years and one they say still gives them goosebumps:

Hail to the Cardinal, hail to the White
Give a cheer for Centralia, boost with all your might
Banners before us rising to the sky
We’re gonna march right on to victory for the spirit of Centralia High

Ja Hee Ja Ha Sis Boom Bah, Centralia, Centralia, Rah Rah Rah!

It was an unscripted moment, but a perfect one. At Centralia, those lyrics are more than words—they’re a promise kept, from one generation of the Orphanage to the next.