Herbert Hoover High School honors late miner with touching tribute at playoff game
ELKVIEW, W.Va. (WCHS) — The Herbert Hoover High School marching band has played Amazing Grace before football games for years. But on Saturday, principal Mike Kelley said it meant a little more.
“Even though we play it every game, it was certainly played today with Steve in our thoughts and in our hearts,” Kelley said.
During Saturday's playoff game against Winfield High School, the Huskies took the time to honor Steven Lipscomb, a mine foreman who perished during a mine flood last Saturday. His body was recovered on Thursday morning while the community back home prayed for a miracle.
"We were all holding out hope over the course of the week that they would find him and that he would be okay,” Kelley said.
The Huskies sported shirts with Lipscomb's name and football jersey number on the back and held a moment of silence before the game.
"It is a very tight community," choral director Kathy Silber said. "Even if you don't know somebody, people here are very supportive."
Silber has been teaching at Herbert Hoover for over 20 years and said even her students have been impacted by the tragedy and are wanting to lift Lipscomb up on their own.
"I look at their Instagrams and their TikToks and all the kids have been posting things about him and about the family,” she said. “It's not just an adult thing around here. It goes all the way back.”
Silber remembers the floods that washed away the community almost 10 years ago and how people came together to support one another then. She said they continue to do so every day.
“This community wraps their arms around the people who live here and supports it really well,” she said. “It's a great place."
Kelley hopes the family and friends of Lipscomb are able to feel the support behind them during this time and find peace knowing they've got their backs.
"I'm hopeful that the Lipscomb family will feel that,” he said. “Again, we can't take away the hurt or the loss but to know that they're not alone and this community will do whatever we can to support them. I hope that provides some comfort.”
