On any fall Friday night, one may witness two of the things which make Alba-Golden special. 

The first is the close and personal environment presented at the gymnasium. Fall volleyball is also unique in that the low overhead in the gym often comes into play. 

When a ball is hit to the rafters, it becomes a demonstration of dynamics. A ball, lifted to the rafters, compresses against them and is returned to the floor at greater velocity than it went up. 

Much to the delight of the home crowd, the rafters often catch visiting teams by surprise – at times in critical passages of play.

The second Friday night characteristic is next door at Panther Field, where the visiting sideline runs adjacent to County Road 2377.

There are no visiting bleachers on that side of the field. There is room aplenty for the team and a narrow strip of land between the field and the fence encircling the stadium. Immediately on the other side of the fence (a six-foot chain link) is County Road 2377.

During any home game, one will find a line of cars – mostly pickup trucks actually – parked on the edge of CR 2377 watching the game. Panther Stadium may be the only football field yet in use in East Texas that offers ‘drive-in football’.

Of course, times are a-changing. The small country school of Alba-Golden is growing. To prepare for that growth, Alba-Golden ISD recently bought the land just north of the football field. 

The county recently approved the closure of CR 2377, contingent upon the school constructing two turnarounds in the existing road. The end result being that soon it may not be possible to park along the north side of the football field to watch a game.   

Recognizing that this opportunity might be passing soon, during halftime of the Alba-Golden vs. Mount Enterprise game, efforts were made to discover just who was enjoying the 2377 view. 

The first two spectators, at the western end of 2377 just before the turn south at the corner of the northwest end zone, were Donna and Willie Hale. It was their second year on the fence.  

“We had been in the stands for the prior decade,” Willie explained. The two still have a grandson in Alba-Golden School and have watched other grandchildren at Alba-Golden after relocating to Alba from Indiana.

“You tend to follow your family,” Donna admitted.

Willie offered that not dealing with crowds was a big bonus to the 2377 option, as was being able to have a smoke. 

The following morning would find the Hales at Eagle Stadium in Lindale. Their grandson Canden would be there playing youth football.

Next along the fence was Laurie Durrett who was seated in a mid-sized pick-up with a closed work trailer in tow. Surprisingly, the Durretts had driven up two hours from outside of Mount Enterprise. It was unexpected to find folks from the visiting team watching along 2377. 

Given that Keith Durrett retired after a lifetime of coaching football in East Texas (including Mount Enterprise) it is likely that the Durretts may have had some inside knowledge that viewing from 2377 was an option. 

The Durretts were watching their grandson Bryce quarterback the Wildcats last Friday. And the trailer? Like many families, there are times when furniture swaps are just the right thing to do. So it was with Keith and Laurie, who were bound for a family rendezvous after the game to affect the transfer. 

Somewhere around the 35-yard line, Jan and Shannon White were enjoying the game. The Quitman couple were heading home from a family birthday party when they decided to swing by and catch some of the action. As they explained, as long as you timed it well, it was just easy to pull off of 2377.  The Whites have three grandkids in Alba-Golden schools.  

Sitting tall in a chair in the bed of his work truck, Juan Reyes had a commanding view of the field. Reyes lives just across Highway 69. 

Although he did not have any children or grandchildren involved in the evenings’ activities, Reyes admitted, “I just always come to watch the Panthers.” His son was also enjoying the game, while parked just ahead of his father.

Near mid-field was a family that obviously had the finer touches of 2377-viewing down pat. Six members of the McCarthy family (Terry McCarthy, Kelly McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Trisha McCarthy, Alyssia Nipp and Jason Nipp) were staged out of the beds of two pickups parked bed-to-bed. 

Kelly estimated that the family has been watching from 2377 for about 20 years. She explained that she graduated with the second class to graduate from the current “new” campus. Most of her schooling had been done in Golden and then Alba. 

Kaleb McCarthy, class of 2026, was representing the family in a Panther uniform last Friday. 

Just before the second half kick-off, Joshua and Jessica Ausmus explained that they were supporting Riley Ausmus, a senior in the Prowlin’ Panther band. 

“We have been watching from the road for six or seven years, after having relocated from Princeton,” Joshua stated.  He also noted that the family was very happy to have escaped the growth effecting the Princeton area. ‘Too many people, too fast’ was a phrase which came up in conversation.

Although time allowed speaking with only six groups, it was enough to identify some common themes. Family, community and gratitude for living in the Alba area were the oft-repeated themes. 

Someday there will be a large new gym on the campus and volleyballs won’t accelerate down from the rafters. And someday, there will be visiting bleachers at Panther Field and CR 2377 will be closed. But now, today, those particularities of the small Wood County school are a part of the experience – one to be cherished.