Pictures are worth a thousand words.
Some speak the same over time, but others whisper of legacy and tradition.
During a time of overwhelming American pride, the 1940s Dearborn Fordson High school had some of the most talented boys teams in the states history, and just one member remains of that group, Ted Berce.
"People would always tell me he probably wasn't the greatest basketball player, the greatest football player or the greatest baseball player at Fordson but probably the greatest athlete," Robert Berce said.
Yet it was in the 1943 state championship game against Catholic Central, where the now 90-year old recollects the proudest athletic moment.
"I must admit I did have a lot of speed, I'm not bragging but I did, and I zigzagged and went into the end zone 17 yards not being touched, and we won the championship," Ted recalled.
74 years later, Berce's legacy lives on in this banner.
It hung in the gymnasium all those years and now that piece of history is home.
A tight-knit community with a complex system of intertwining relationships, made it happen.
"My father played center on the team with Ted, on that 1943 championship team and gave me the banner, my dad past away in 1983 and I'm thinking what am I going to do with this banner? It's something unique and it's not something you just throw in a closet," Fordson Varsity Alumni Club secretary Michael Petlichkoff said.
"They really weren't sure what to do with the banner and Mike said, 'Do you think your dad would like it?' And initially my dad said yeah but what do I do with it? He said no I'd really, really like it," Robert said.
"For some reason the tradition at Fordson high school has evolved where that even playing college ball, some of your fondest memories are from playing at Fordson," Fordson Varsity Alumni Club president Howard Pingston Jr. added.
And that statement couldn't be more true, in Ted's eyes.
"I cherish immensely, it's something that I carry everyday of my life," Ted added.
