This Poland fan has a license to cheer
Poland HS fan Esther Stewart
By Jon Moffett
Others have wanted the PSHS FAN plates, but this fan says they aren’t for sale.
POLAND — Esther Stewart loves Poland the way a bulldog loves a bone.
Poland Fan- Esther Stewart
While a bulldog may get a certain joy out of chasing a car, Stewart gets joy out of people chasing hers.
And Stewart’s Toyota Matrix gets plenty of attention from fellow fans.
The retired teacher and longtime Poland Seminary High School supporter and her husband have the privilege of owning the license plate PSHS FAN.
Stewart said she got the idea for the plate while in Charlottesville, Va., visiting her son.
“[My husband and I] just came up with the idea when we were driving one day,” Stewart said. “I often read license plates. And sometimes in Virginia, people tend to give a little message on their license plates, much more than they do here in Ohio.”
Stewart said when her plates needed to be renewed after coming up with the idea, she applied for the PSHS FAN plate. Stewart has had the plates for about eight years now and has had around 50-60 offers from people who want them. Despite all of the offers, Stewart said the plates are not for sale.
“There’s kind of a waiting list for it, but it’s not for sale or being transferred at the moment,” Stewart said. “Right now, it just kind of belongs to my husband and me, and we feel very honored to have it.”
The license plate may be the most visual form of Stewart’s passion for Poland, but her love of sports transcended the playing field and spilled into the classroom she taught in.
Stewart taught second grade in Poland for 37 years and brought sports to school every day.
“I would talk sports in the morning and I would read to my kids,” Stewart said.
“I would tell any principal that I would talk sports in the morning and read to them, and you won’t be able to change me.”
Stewart inherited her love for sports from her father. She said when her older brothers went into the military, she and her father bonded, and sports was a major part of their relationship.
“Dad and I became very, very close, and he and I would talk sports,” Stewart said. “He taught me how to keep score for football and how to do the baseball [scorebook]. It was a great, rewarding experience.”
The passion Stewart developed became so intense she transferred schools because of sports. Stewart grew up in North Lima and attended the National College of Education in Evanston, Ill., her freshman year, but wanted to transfer because she “needed her sports.”
After consulting with her father, she transferred to Mount Union College in Alliance to finish her education.
Stewart moved to Poland in 1952, when she married her husband, Cloy, and began teaching at Union School. At the time, Union was a “little two-room portable building,” Stewart said.
Though Stewart retired from teaching, she is still active in the Poland community, especially in athletics. If you go to a football game in Poland, chances of seeing Stewart there are pretty good. She has sat in the same seat — five rows up in front of the press box in the home stands — for years and has missed only a handful of games since she’s been in the community.
“It means a lot to me and the whole [football] team, and it’s a good thing to have a superfan like Mrs. Stewart,” said Andy Bartos, a junior at Poland who plays both football and basketball. “It boosts our confidence.”
Bartos admitted Stewart is just as vocal in basketball as she is in football. And although he cannot hear her on the field, he can when he’s on the court.
This comes as no surprise to Stewart, who said basketball is her favorite sport.
She and her husband are members of the Poland All-Sports Boosters, and also formed a four-person basketball club, which makes programs and pamphlets for the games.
Despite her love of sports, Stewart was adamant that academics are more important in a school setting than athletics. She said she has had many “brilliant students” during her teaching career and many of her former students still remember her and like to catch up, even if they remember her for her license plate.
jmoffett@vindy.com