The History of Unit Cheers
By Pati Egan
Any parent who has picked up their camper on Saturday will agree that the Unit Cheer will be done at least two or three dozen times between Camp and home, and more if you are driving to Chicago!
Where and when did the tradition of Unit Cheers start? The earliest cheer goes back to at least 1966. Leroy Isselhardt was Unit Leader of Brebeuf.
Lalande:
“Lalande is what? Red hot. Lalande is what? Red hot. Lalande is R-E-D red H-O-T hot we can’t help the stuff we got, red hot woooo red hot wooo. Lalande is what? Dynamite. Lalande is what? Dynamite. Lalande is tik tik tik tik tik tik tik tik hold up wait a minute put a little boom in it!”
Daniel:
“Ooooooo, Daniel, best by far, smoking all the others like a cheap cigar. Motivated, educated, downright dedicated oooh ahhh we’re gonna rock this camp, rock on Daniel huh!”
Steve Rheinecker remembers, “…the most colorful early unit leader [of Brebeuf] would be Leroy Isselhardt, also known as ‘fearless leader.’ We were all taught a tune starting…we love you fearless, oh, yes we do… to the tune of bye-bye birdy….” The campers would gather around the staff cabin and sing this to Leroy every morning. I believe this is the earliest example of a Unit Cheer.
Barb Schutzenhofer is credited with a cheer in 1970 in the 50th Anniversary Book dated 1970.
“Oh, beautiful for monster kids
Who’ve grown beyond their years
We live in cabins in the trees
But really they’re not bad
Amantacha, Amantacha, God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good
With monster hood
From tree to budding tree.”
The first year I remember Unit Cheers being in full swing is 1972. A very early cheer was Lalemant, which was Dave Jansen’s cheer.
“Eat your grits and gravy
Join the Lalemant Navy
Fight, fight, fight for Lalemant
Boys with broken noses
Fight like Holy Moses
Fight, fight, fight for Lalemant
(Unit staff names)
Were the guys who eat no spam
See that penny; hold it tight
Come on Lalemant
Fight, fight, fight.”
Dave recalled, “My Lalemant song was a parody of a song Leroy started.” Leroy is the father of cheers! All of a sudden, all the units cheered! Some infamous cheers are:
“Ahatsistari is the big number one
Big number one
Ahatsistari is second to none
Big Number one
You’ll hear us shoot it
No doubt about it
Ahatsistari’s number one.”
This next cheer also had a long lifespan—I was told that the tune was from a piece of classical music. The Teondecoren unit was opened in 1972. I’m unsure if this was used during Boys’ Season, but it hung around a long time during Girls’ Season.
“I’m Teondecoren born
And Teondecoren bred
And when I die
I’ll be Teondecoren dead
Heepwah Teondecoren
Heepwah Teondecoren
Heepwah for dear old Teondecoren
Well I traveled east and I traveled west
And dear old Teondecoren still the best
So Heepwah Teondecoren
Heepwah for dear old Teondecoren.”
One of the oldest, most consistently used cheers was started in the 1990s when Amantacha was rebuilt. I’m sure many a parent has listened to many repetitions of this cheer:
“Oooosasasa Oooosasasa
Hit ‘em on the head with an
Amantacha!”
I asked for input on the origins of unit cheers, and the response was incredible! I wish I could list them all, but that will be a project for another day. Some of my favorites were Chabanel’s Addams Family Cheer.
“Dananana (snap snap)
They’re creepy, and they’re kooky
Mysterious and spooky
They’re all together ooky
The mighty Chabanel”
My former students from Holy Angels in East St. Louis performed this last cheer on a Wednesday overnight. It was introduced around 1984 and had at least a 25-year life span, as it was carried out in 2007.
Lalemant Cheer
“Check us out
Check, check us out
We’re Lalemant
The mighty unit
That’s L A L A M E N T
You got it – not quite
That’s L A L A M E N T
You got it – alright!”
The Rules
Unit cheers originated in the old Dining Hall. After dessert was served, it was an accomplishment to be the first unit to get its cheer in! Only one unit could do a cheer at a time. The next unit to jump in did theirs next. Eventually, each unit was limited to only one cheer per meal.
Little did Leroy Isselhardt know what he was starting when he had his unit perform “Fearless Leader” to the tune from Bye, Bye Birdie. The cheers help build unit identity and cohesion. I think they are now primarily done in the grotto. They are done in the new Dining Hall, but more than one unit can cheer at a time. The cheers are more raps than songs. I asked Luke Schuster for some examples. I like the cheers – especially the mini campers. Times change, and cheers change with the times. Parents probably still hear the cheers for miles and miles on the way home, and some (if they were campers or staff) still hear their unit cheer from back in the day in their heads. They might even sing it for their children. The tradition passes on!
People have asked how I get the information for my blogs. I mostly get them by forming Instant Messenger (IM) groups.
This time, they exceeded all that I expected. Here’s their cheers:
“Stop look and listen here comes Tekakwitha (Repeat) We are Tekakwitha, the mighty, mighty unit. (Repeat chant again) Stop!”
Suzy Munn Mahoney – late 80’s early 90’s
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Amantacha don’t take no jive. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Back it up let’s do it again. Rock, don’t stop. Rock, rock don’t stop. We’re rockin to the East side, were rockin’ to the West.”
Suzy Munn Mahoney – late 80’s early 90’s
“From East to West, Daniel is the best. I said from East to West, Daniel is the best.”
Suzy Munn Mahoney – late 80’s early 90’s
Brebeuf
“We are Brebeuf mighty might Brebeuf
Everywhere we go people want to know
Who we are – so we tell them.”
Avya Ishaya (Pat Perdue) early 70’s
Teondecoren
“I’m Teondecoren born and Teondecoren dead
And when I die I’ll be Teondecoren dead
Heepwah Teondecoren Heepwah Teondecoren
Heepwah for dear old Teondecoren
Well I traveled East and I traveled West
And dear old Teondecoren is still the best
So Heepwah Teondecoren…”
Avya Ishaya (Pat Perdue) early 70’s
Amy Menard mid to late 80’s
Lalande
“Lalande is number one, can’t be beat by anyone. Swimming, sailing, hiking too. We’re gonna rock rock rock all over you. Lalande is number one at Camp O, Ondessonk.”
Suzy Munn Mahoney late 80’s early 90’s
Lalemant
Lalemant Navy in the blog
Dave Jansen late 60’s early 70’s
Brebeuf
The first!
We love you fearless oh yes we do
Tune from Bye Bye Birdie
Steve Rheinecker – 60’s & 70’s
Goupil
From my high school STA in East St. Louis
Give me a Goupil
GOUPIL
Give me a Silent
SILENT
Give me a Goupil silent Cheer
All the campers would stand up, raise their arms & pretend to cheer
Pati Egan 1972
I rely on my Camp friends to help me out…there’s that connection and bond again. It lasts forever
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