CAMERON, Texas — Editor's note: Catch this full report Friday night on KVUE News at 10 p.m.
On Friday nights in the heart of Texas, time seems to stand still. The traditions of old meet the faces of new. The past and the present are perfectly intertwined.
At C.H. Yoe High School, one man takes it upon himself to paint this picture. In fact, he's done it for half a century.
“It just flew by. Fifty years. I can’t believe it,” 78-year-old Bertie Shuemate said.
Shuemate is a Yoe alumnus, a graduate of the class of 1961.
As the man on the mic for the Yoemen, he's developed a distinct style of public address announcing over the years.
“I’d make people laugh every once in a while about the referees," he said. "I’d always get in trouble with them but at least I kept the audience laughing.”
His style is personal.
“We always opened the windows in the booth where we’re at, so we visited with the fans in the stands pretty often,” he added.
His style roots for the home team.
“Manor was on offense and I think it was number 18 and Bertie said, ‘Manor Mustangs lineup and number 18 lined up wide right all by himself.’ That alerted us that we needed to get someone out there to cover 18,” said Randy Sapp, who grew up in Cameron, played football at C.H. Yoe and was the head coach of the Yoemen for 33 years, starting in 1981.
For the past five decades, Shuemate hasn't just spent his time pouring his voice into Yoe athletics, he's also poured his heart into Yoe athletics.
The time he's invested has culminated in a lifetime of records – record books that meticulously detail year-by-year district standings and individual C.H. Yoe player stats.
Shuemate said his older brother, Max, was responsible for starting the project.
“[Max] started in '50 and '51," Shuemate said. "He would sit in the easy chair in the living room all day long and only get up to go eat or go to the restroom.”
“When Max passed away in 1995, Bertie had to pick up the ball and run with it,” Sapp said.
“I followed in his footsteps. [Max] was always known as the best Yoemen fan,” Shuemate said.
That honor has now been passed on to Shuemate, at least according to Westlake head coach and former C.H. Yoe head man Todd Dodge.
"When you think of Cameron Yoe, you think of Bertie," Dodge said. “He’s not some guy who just shows up on Friday night to call a game. He was invested.”
Dodge got his head-coaching start in Cameron in 1994, which was around the same season Shuemate's brother passed away and the season when Shuemate became the program's do-everything man.
“[Bertie] absolutely delved into everything that was Yoe football. He’s one of those that’s kind of a fixture in the City of Cameron,” Dodge said.
Shuemate has gone on to witness the golden years of Yoe athletics – his golden voice narrating football state championship wins in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
His pen strokes allowed the story to become history and helped time stand still. If only time could stand still.
“I had some heart problems, and they were treating me in the Waco hospitals,” Shuemate said.
The 2021 season has been Shuemate's farewell tour.
“At one time, he really wanted to announce this year, but I think that as his health has deteriorated, he realized that might be too big of a thing to do,” current head coach Rick Rhoades said.
“I felt I was doing good, but my family didn’t want me to do it either,” Shuemate added.
Shuemate is retiring from announcing games, but his indelible mark has been left on Yoe athletics.
“All the stuff that’s happened in the last four or five weeks since I quit, they’ve honored me here, there and everywhere,” Shuemate said.
It's a celebration for all he's done.
PHOTOS: Bertie Shuemate wraps half century of PA announcing for Cameron Yoemen
“I went to our superintendent at the beginning of the year, and I said, 'I really think that we need to name the press box after Bertie,'” Rhoades said.
It's an appreciation for his time.
“It was easy because I was a true Yoemen already,” Shuemate said.
He's helped Friday nights in the heart of Texas feel timeless, and the goal of this season has been to tell the story of his life's work.
“I’m going to be there, one way or another,” Shuemate said.
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