By Ereka Bailey
If you have ever been to a sporting event here at New Haven High School, you probably noticed the little old lady who always shows up carrying her tan-and-dark-green bleacher seat with her. You may know her, or you may not. Her name is Carolyn Scheer and many would consider her a number one fan of Shamrock sports.
Carolyn Scheer was born in Miami, Florida, but she grew up in Louisiana after her family moved there when she was two years old.
She said, “We finally moved up here to Missouri when I was about 12, in 1942. My father was a preacher up at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, so we moved up here for that.”
Carolyn has five children, twelve grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren with another one on the way.
Carolyn reflected on what she and her siblings liked to do for fun when they were kids: “Well we were poor, so we really just invented our own little games. We also played hide and seek a lot and a bit of croquet too.”
As for now, in her free time, she just enjoys spending time with her family.
Since Carolyn is always attending various sporting events, I inquired about her involvement with sports during her life.
“I started playing volleyball when we moved here to New Haven, so I was a freshman. I had no idea what it was about; it was the first time I had played. In those days, you had 8 players, you could hit the ball twice, and everybody served underhand. I mean, it wasn’t such a power game like it is now. We won the Conference Championship when I was a senior too, but it wasn’t Four Rivers then like it is now. It was just “conference,” but we were really proud when we won.”
Her favorite sport to play, however, was softball. When she was a senior, they only played two softball games, both in Chamois, and they lost twice. They all rode the whole way there in the back of a cattle truck.
Fun fact: Carolyn hit a grand-slam during a slow-pitch softball game in Washington, MO, when she was 52 years old.
When it comes to sports she likes to watch, she enjoys watching Cardinals baseball, or any sport really. She also likes to watch football.
Carolyn has been attending games at NHHS since the year after her high school graduation, and she has been avid supporter of sports for 60 years.
“Well I graduated in ‘47, so I guess I have to say 1948 is when I first started really watching games. I don’t even want to say it, but it was about 60 years ago. But back then, I didn’t really travel much for games as much as I do now. You just weren’t on the road as much back then.”
Carolyn has been to thousands of high school games: “I think it’s well over 3,000 basketball games, 700 to 800 baseball games, around 300 to 400 softball games, and many volleyball games too. I don’t even know how many of them I’ve been to.” She also calculated that she’s seen four basketball state championships, one baseball championship, and one volleyball championship, making a total of six state championships.
The question that people really ponder is how many games she hasn’t attended since she became an avid spectator. Carolyn says, “Not very many.”
Carolyn picked out a game that she can really remember as a spectacular game, and it was the 2007 baseball state championship game. She remembers this one in particular because she remembers Aaron Peirick being in the outfield and having an amazing catch, and she still can’t figure out to this day how he made that catch.
What about that chair that Carolyn always carries with her?
She stated, “I think I got the chair sometime around ‘68, let’s say, because my son David graduated in 1974 and I know that I had it when he was in grade school, so I want to say that I got it in 1968. I only had that chair reupholstered once.”
She also followed with, “I wouldn’t be going to them games without it. I have a bad back, well, a back that I need to watch, so I love that chair.” Carolyn has never considered getting a new chair.
“I just really enjoy sports and watching sports. I think that they are one of the reasons that I’ve been here for so long, and hopefully I have a few more years to come. I would love to see more games coming up with a few of my grandkids playing.”
Carolyn’s family is more than happy to see her arriving at all of these sporting events, whether they are playing or not.
One of her granddaughters, Erin Scheer stated, “She’s a really special person and has and always will be one of my biggest role models. I’m always happy and feel calmer about the game when I see her walk into the gym--with her chair of course! I love our big family, and without her, it definitely wouldn’t be the same!”
To conclude, Carolyn added, “I have many memories over the years. Some great wins, some disappointing losses, but many more highs than lows. Sometimes we get riled up over the officiating, but generally speaking, I think they do a good job (they can’t please everyone). The sports programs have changed over the years. The games are played faster, the players are bigger and more athletic than in the olden days. New Haven has had many high quality athletes, but more importantly, most of them have been excellent students. The attendance at the games over the years has been exceptional and the atmosphere in the gym is great. I have had many years of enjoying sports of all kinds, and it’s been quite a ride.”
Thank you, Carolyn, for supporting NHHS sports!
She said, “We finally moved up here to Missouri when I was about 12, in 1942. My father was a preacher up at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, so we moved up here for that.”
Carolyn has five children, twelve grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren with another one on the way.
Carolyn reflected on what she and her siblings liked to do for fun when they were kids: “Well we were poor, so we really just invented our own little games. We also played hide and seek a lot and a bit of croquet too.”
As for now, in her free time, she just enjoys spending time with her family.
Since Carolyn is always attending various sporting events, I inquired about her involvement with sports during her life.
“I started playing volleyball when we moved here to New Haven, so I was a freshman. I had no idea what it was about; it was the first time I had played. In those days, you had 8 players, you could hit the ball twice, and everybody served underhand. I mean, it wasn’t such a power game like it is now. We won the Conference Championship when I was a senior too, but it wasn’t Four Rivers then like it is now. It was just “conference,” but we were really proud when we won.”
Her favorite sport to play, however, was softball. When she was a senior, they only played two softball games, both in Chamois, and they lost twice. They all rode the whole way there in the back of a cattle truck.
Fun fact: Carolyn hit a grand-slam during a slow-pitch softball game in Washington, MO, when she was 52 years old.
When it comes to sports she likes to watch, she enjoys watching Cardinals baseball, or any sport really. She also likes to watch football.
Carolyn has been attending games at NHHS since the year after her high school graduation, and she has been avid supporter of sports for 60 years.
“Well I graduated in ‘47, so I guess I have to say 1948 is when I first started really watching games. I don’t even want to say it, but it was about 60 years ago. But back then, I didn’t really travel much for games as much as I do now. You just weren’t on the road as much back then.”
Carolyn has been to thousands of high school games: “I think it’s well over 3,000 basketball games, 700 to 800 baseball games, around 300 to 400 softball games, and many volleyball games too. I don’t even know how many of them I’ve been to.” She also calculated that she’s seen four basketball state championships, one baseball championship, and one volleyball championship, making a total of six state championships.
The question that people really ponder is how many games she hasn’t attended since she became an avid spectator. Carolyn says, “Not very many.”
Carolyn picked out a game that she can really remember as a spectacular game, and it was the 2007 baseball state championship game. She remembers this one in particular because she remembers Aaron Peirick being in the outfield and having an amazing catch, and she still can’t figure out to this day how he made that catch.
What about that chair that Carolyn always carries with her?
She stated, “I think I got the chair sometime around ‘68, let’s say, because my son David graduated in 1974 and I know that I had it when he was in grade school, so I want to say that I got it in 1968. I only had that chair reupholstered once.”
She also followed with, “I wouldn’t be going to them games without it. I have a bad back, well, a back that I need to watch, so I love that chair.” Carolyn has never considered getting a new chair.
“I just really enjoy sports and watching sports. I think that they are one of the reasons that I’ve been here for so long, and hopefully I have a few more years to come. I would love to see more games coming up with a few of my grandkids playing.”
Carolyn’s family is more than happy to see her arriving at all of these sporting events, whether they are playing or not.
One of her granddaughters, Erin Scheer stated, “She’s a really special person and has and always will be one of my biggest role models. I’m always happy and feel calmer about the game when I see her walk into the gym--with her chair of course! I love our big family, and without her, it definitely wouldn’t be the same!”
To conclude, Carolyn added, “I have many memories over the years. Some great wins, some disappointing losses, but many more highs than lows. Sometimes we get riled up over the officiating, but generally speaking, I think they do a good job (they can’t please everyone). The sports programs have changed over the years. The games are played faster, the players are bigger and more athletic than in the olden days. New Haven has had many high quality athletes, but more importantly, most of them have been excellent students. The attendance at the games over the years has been exceptional and the atmosphere in the gym is great. I have had many years of enjoying sports of all kinds, and it’s been quite a ride.”
Thank you, Carolyn, for supporting NHHS sports!
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