MAY ROLL CALL (05/12 - 05/27)






Okay, so the stairs at the high school from the second to the first floor were narrow enough that Steve Q used to knock you down on his way out to his car for a smoke between classes. Or there was this one girl who said that mean thing about you right by your locker, which, if the school board had been attentive to your feelings, would have been large enough for you to slip into and just die...or cry. Or maybe you liked the lunchroom's attention to your need for more starchy foods...or you particularly enjoyed the smell of the bathrooms.
This month, we're asking you to check your memory banks or secondary-school scars for memories of the buildings and grounds we used to call Wilbur Trimpe Junior High and Civic Memorial High and share them right here on the blog. We've added a few current day shots of the premises to jog your memory, but not much is the same today as it was in 1972.
There will a fabulous prize for two lucky bloggers. Right, Helen?
39 Comments:
my memories of the junior high have more to do with the outside of the building than the inside since i spent so much time riding laps around it before my parents bought the Little Store. i bounced rubber balls and rocks off the T-R-I-M-P-E letters (albers place side of the gym) over and over, and the high school diamond, mostly abandoned in the summer, served as our unsupervised neighborhood ball field. 27 innings, anyone?
Fabulous might be a matter of opinion :-) But yes..I'll have a prize for two names drawn.
I remember walking on a sheet of ice to get to the building and seeing others busting their rears. I'm wondering did they not have ice melt back then?!
It's been a lonnggg time ago....but I worked for good ole Bethalto Community School District number 8 from about 8th grade til i left for the service...I spent LOTS of time in and around those buildings....other than class time....I'll have to rack my remaining brain cells some.....;-)
I'm no expert, but it seems our school lunch was pretty tasty compared to the crap they serve in the schools now. I remember having all 3 lunch hours Senior year. I didn't have to be at work 'till after the last one.
Hey Talk, wasn't that you that used to get the buses going in the mornings?
Hmmm, smells? How 'bout last weeks gym clothes on Monday morning after you forgot to take them home for the laundry on Friday.
More...Mr. Williams climbing the wall...study hall on the 2nd floor at WTJH, you know the room with the stage in it. Lots of memories. Haven't thought of some of these for years.
I did assist in getting the busses going on cold mornings...while working w/ Bill Piening around the busses & drivers I learned the phrase "loose nut behind the wheel'...;-D.....lots of times while working for the district we'd snack in the kitchens on cartons of milk...crackers and Land o Lakes cheese.....gym clothes?!...ooowweeee!!!...didn't need that memory...lol......here's one memory I was thinking of....a good test, if you will.....anyone remember bus driver Ben Albers?....Aggie Winslow I'm sure we all remember.....CMHS #1 Fan........ and a Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there!!
Speaking of ice, I busted my tailbone on the ice covered steps shown in the third picture...seems like there were more steps back then. I had to stand in class for several weeks because I couldn't sit down. I still have trouble with my tailbone to this day...guess you could equate it to an old football injury. Another tradition that began in school lunchroom that continues to this day is a peanut butter sandwich with a bowl of chili. Yum! Oh, and the girl's blue gym suit memory...mine could stand up by itself before I took it home for washing...and shower??? Our bodies barely felt a drop of water because someone might see one of our boobs.
Nobody understands my penchant for a peanut butter sandwich with chili...so glad to hear I'm not the only one.
Our food was very good compared to what is served in schools now. The middle school here serves samples on parents night. YUK
And if there is ice anywhere near a school, school is cancelled. Bunch of sissies. I guess its a result of our litigious society.
Did Bethalro ever have snow days? I can remember every school in the areas being closed but good ole Bethalto would be open.
Ah, yes, the peanutbutter and chili combo. Yummy!
I remember how the gym echoed when you yelled something in from outside.
I remember the boys playing ball at the ball diamond Steve D. mentioned and going to the lil store to buy drinks for the guys.
I remember wondering if the gym teacher, Ms. Miller, was really a woman.
I remember the reports we had to give in front of the class in Mr. Jones' science classes.
I remember going to the Jr. High dances.
I remember how lucky I was to live only a block away from school and getting to go to most of the school activities.
Talk, I remember Ben Albers well because he was my Mom's Uncle. I spent a lot of days at his farm and still have the scar on my knee from a wire fence that took a chunk out when I was running from from a pissed off hog. Spent many an evening playing basketball behind Trimpe as well as many days playing baseball on the diamond Steve mentioned. We would play until it got too dark to see. Hardly ever see kids playing baseball like that now. Good memories.
this chili and peanut butter sandwich tribute is music to my tastebuds. my wife looks at me one part disgust, two parts you-crazy when i suggest she try the combo.
I too have had many odd looks when requesting peanut butter when chili was served....always seemed right to me....funny it's something we all seem to have in common that seems different from the 'mainstream'?...;-) I remember Ben Albers breaking apples apart for us...and I do seem to remember a snow day or 2 way back in grade school days....I remember Ben getting the bus stuck on the corner of Winona and the football field when we were real little...a ton of snow that day. Blue gym suits.....had sure forgotten about those... I remember getting dressed for basketball games downstairs in the Bethalto gym...b4 it was called 'East'....& also in that gym, getting little cartons of milk in the machine for 2 cents....the tables that folded up into the walls...the kitchen off to the side and the ladies w/ hair nets..... the thing I always rememberd getting at the Little Store was Bananna Flips....can't remember the last time I had one of those yummies....
One of those tables that folded into the wall nearly killed me at the Jr.High! One fell right next to me. I had my back to it and it grazed my backside pulling my shoes off the heels of my feet. The backs of my ankles were bloodied. OMG if I had been an inch closer...I shudder to think.
And the peanut butter tasted different than it does today..I think they mixed it with white Karo syrup.
Does anyone remember seeing the Harlem Globetrotters play the teachers in our high school gym? I believe we were in jr. high at the time. I remember Curly and Meadowlark Lemon being there but can't remember any of the others. Seems like Steve Carey was one of the teachers playing but I'm not certain.
funny that we're fixating on junior high, that our memories are just as strong further back. maybe it's because we weren't as ready to move on.
what do i miss about the old high school? the front of it. second-floor classrooms for some reason. the gym. the hill leading down to the football field. the cinder track far more than the football field.
Yes Gwennie there were more stairs than are in that picture. My best memory of the lunch room was the Tuna Bumsted sandwich they always made loved those things.
Deb V-Hilarious! I fixed myself a tuna bumstead last evening! Had some left over hot dog buns and no hot dogs, but I had a can of tuna. I about fell over this morning when I read your comment! Some things never change.
Mom says you're right about the syrup, Helen. She was a sub-cook for the school district for a few years. Glad that table missed your head.
I totally remember the Globetrotters playing at the high school. They were great! I think Jim Carey & Ed Hartweger both played against them. On a side note, I saw a Doo-Wop Concert at The Fox in December and one of the singers with The Castelles is the son of one of the original Globetrotters.
Something else I recall about jr high. In art class Gayle Deck,Wendy Broadbrooks and I made faux stained glass angels that went on the big windows above the entry doors. They were about 6 feet tall and it was for Christmas. I'm sure the whole art class was involved but I only remember Gayle and Wendy. I seem to recall an argument about the size of the angels bosoms. A vote was taken in class and the ample chest won (the majority of the class was male.)LOL
Gwennie if you get a chance share the recipe for the tuna cause it never taste right with mine. Well I'm off to Florida this afternoon all so won't be able to check in. You all have a good week.
I remember Mr. Williams room for common learnings in Jr. High, I think it was right by Mr. McCann's office. Also I remember that the highschool had too many steps.
Here is a smell and a memory for everyone, how about Bob Kallal's biology class and the disecting frogs in formaldihide! That is one I always think about when I think of school back then. I too remember watching the girls in those blue PE outfits and thinking how cute they looked. Always liked to to watch them on the rainy days when we had to share the gym for PE class. Any body remeber playing Bombadier dodge ball? Used to love to play that on rainy day PE. How about the smell of the guys locker room, somehwere between repulsive, and the only saving grace was that a few guys would be using the rubbing balm, so the smell was always offset by the distinct smell of that ben gay like substance. That could kill alot of bad smells!
I'm glad someone thought those blue gymsuits were attractive.LOL I loved watching the guys play but does anyone remember the times when the girls had to play dodge ball with the boys? Boys throw hard and I thought it was quite tramatizing! Didn't Rene suffer a concussion from getting hit in the head during one of those games?
Oh, my mouth is watering. Maybe our menu for reunion should be chili and peanut butter sandwiches. I remember our bombardment games in the old gym, and I remember our pep rallies. We had a skit that required us all to snap together, and we referred to the Batesville casket company. Deb Parsons...do you remember that? Mr. Prange lead us in our chorus to state competition; I think we won. I remember our double sextet in long blue skirts with wide waistbands and boleros. I worked in the office during the junior high years and loved flirting with Mr. McCann...remember that Linda? And we can't forget, we would walk over to Claudia's house, or to Steve's store, or to Rhonda's. I loved her El Camino.
Sheri,
Jerry McCann gave me a "kissing timer" necklace for Christmas one year. I still have it. That's back in my Hot Lips days!
I could probably write for hours about this stuff. My first memory was of WTJH: the first day of school in 8th grade. I didn't know anyone and I got off the bus and was quite simply petrified. God bless Mona--she came up to me, introduced herself and took me under her wing. I will never forget how kind she was that day.
Sorry--I'm not the fan of PB & chili that everyone else seems to be. I loved the beef stew and those rolls they served with it. The rest of the time, my lunch of choice in high school was a Snickers bar and a Coke.
I remember Miss Rainey scaring the hell out of me because---just because she could, I guess. Mr Considine & the laughs (& learning) that went on in his class.
A lot of my memories revolved around the gym too. Most of them were fun but a few weren't. Yes, Sheri, I remember that skit--was a LOT of fun. Miss Ims also made me clean the trophy case all the time. Obviously, this was before women's liberation! She also made me clean out the girls' storage room in the back of the locker room --I didn't even know there was one back there! I got caught for skipping on Senior Skip day and that was my punishment. NOT FUN and talk about the smell. My eyes watered until I got used to it. You're right, Gwen: with that foul odor, NONE of us EVER showered. Also, you might have been afraid that someone was gonna see your boobs--I was afraid that everyone would see that I didn't have any! The ironic thing was that I didn't even do anything on Sr skip day except stay home and sleep! I think my favorite memories were the pep rallies and the games. What fun we had! The Thanksgiving assembly was always fun, too. The talent shows, and the one where I thought we were really on the edge was the assembly where Mr Kohlburn announced that the dress code was abolished. The "radicals" in the Senior class threatened to sue, didn't they? Don't remember the details, just the outcome.
I'd better stop or I really will write all day! Thanks everybody for sharing--it's great how one person's thoughts will trigger something in someone else.
WOW! What memories. Blue gym siuts...so flattering they were. Remember the rule for no PDA in the hallways? I broke that one a lot. I wasn't the only one though. I remember decorating homecomming floats at Stan Medley's house and how freezing cold it was one year. How many trees did we kill decorating those floats? lol We sure went through a lot of tissues. We all had sore fingers from tucking tissues though all those chicken wire holes.
Girls, remember rolling up our skirts to make them shorter? Bell bottoms, mini-skirts, long hair, to granny dresses...we went through many fads. I wanted to celebrate when the dress code was abolished. I never liked dresses and skirts...still don't.
My favorite class was biology with Mr. Johnson. got an A on my bug collection and remember disecting earthworms.
I enjoyed taking Home Ec. except for having to make that stupid dress...can't tell you how many times I had to rip out seams and resew them.
what's PDA?
Public Display of Affection-
Miss Rainey would freak out if one of us girls leaned on our locker to talk to a guy. And she HATED our short skirts.
Does anyone remember Debbie Pyle? Debbie and I went to Mr. Kohlburn to voice our dislike of the dress code. He actually supported our efforts and helped us to write the actual petition to abolish the dress code! He is one cool dude! I never did get a copy of his book. Isn't it available somewhere in Bethalto? I can't remember.
anyone remember the clock from Mr.Considines room showing up at assemblies (and other places)?
'72s girls?....rollin' up threir skirts?!...Naa.....they wouldn't do that, would they?.....;-D It's rainin' this AM & my paper didn't show up....so I got a few to remember and diddle here... Mom & Dad left yesterday AM & spent last night in Murdo, SD. PLayed some roundball on the outside Jr high court too....what I remember is guarding Dave Taynor & Mike Marburger...& the 65(?) Thunderbird Taynors had....& rebounding at practice w/ Rick Williams & me buttin' heads....thought it was sweat runnin' down my cheek til Mr Kallal stopped us & I wiped my face & my hand was all red....I remember Mr 'GI Joe' Williams was 7th grade home room teacher and sponsor of the chess club. Makin' locker keys while workin' for Mr McCann....cleaning lockers during summer vacation... I've had dreams over the years of mot being able to remember my locker number..;-P I don't really remember the Globe Trotters playing there. I always liked the HS gym, Steve, I remember as a grade schooler getting to play there w/ the glass backboards...what a thrill! & Bil D & my Dad stood on that hill by the football field and watched lots of games... the smell I remember from WTJH is Mr Earnhardt's biology glass...we had cheicken eggs in the incubator...anyone remember that episode?.....2 extra points if you remember what happened.....lol Ha!...funny Deb...my first ex always liked a Snickers bar and lemon flavored diet pepsi....yuck! never could do diet pop....don't really remember about the clock....geeze it's 8 already...better check on my paper....thanx for the trip down memory lane, kids!
Drawing winners are:
Rich Hendrix and
Carla Lackey Short
Congratulations and I'll get those in the mail in a few days.
Drawing winners are:
Rich Hendrix and
Carla Lackey Short
Congratulations and I'll get those in the mail in a few days.
You both get one prize each even though it showed up twice.LOL. :-)
Yipeeee! I won a fabulous prize! It's a major award! OK, maybe not major but I'll take it...hehe.
Congratulations to Mr. Hendrix too! :- )
just backreadin' here a bit....no one else remembers the incubator incident in Earnhardt's biology class?......we musta been freshmen.......maybe I got a good reason for remembering......lol
Come on, Dennis!! You can't keep us hanging now. Spill it. I don't remember the incubator. My memory of Mr Earnhart's class was him making me handle a garter snake & I was truly petrified. I almost started to cry and/or wet my pants. Not one of my better moments, that's for sure. He was a great teacher but the snake was too much for me. Ironically, I had another awful experience with a snake in my freshman Psychology class in college. It didn't end any better than the one with Earnhart! And neither of them helped me overcome my fear.
So let's hear the incubator story
I remember Mr. Earnhart's class fondly. I couldn't bear to attend while we were dissecting the sheep's eye so I was excused and had to do a ton of extra credit to pass!
I remember our collections, too. Mine was a seed collection and Jackie Tucker's was an insect collection. She had a friend in Puerto Rico send her a dead tarantula spider! Yuck!
Sorry, Talk - I don't remember an incubator.
Do you remember when we were dissecting the fetal pigs and they had hot dogs for lunch??? Sorry - it was a memory that just had to be shared!
I remember disecting all the different stuff....I had done some hunting and fishing and that part of it was fairly easy for me....OK....didn't know if anyone would remember the incubator incident or not.....I had been working w/ Harold Earnhardt for a while so we knew each other better than just student-teacher....& of course I was sitting close to the door so that may have affected what happened also.....but we had the chicken eggs in the incubator for a while and were taking one out every few days & cracking it open & studying the chick's progress......don't remember which Stotler twin was in that class but it was her turn to crack open the egg.....but it was rotten...euuuueee!!...& Earnhardt delegated to me the job of cleaning it up...off to the restroom I went with this dish w/ the rotten egg...enough to gag a maggot, so to speak...didn't eat eggs for a long time.....and as a quick aside...I had another story about not eating eggs for a long time....my first Husky, Odaq, got into the neighbor's chicken yard...short story is he killed 22 chickens & a duck in not much over 10 min.....they were the neighbor's wife's 'babies'....I felt horrible...even tho it wasnt my fault the fence was down & they had left the gate open to the chicken yard.....but Barry & I butchered chickens til 3 in the AM....passed on eggs for a long time after that.....;-)
Talk,
You are a trip. I always get a laugh when I read your posts. The incubator incident had me stumped and I figured that someone turned up the heat setting and the eggs got hard boiled or something. Rotten egg! Shew weeee! I remember when I was a kid finding a robin egg and I put it in one of my dresser drawers thinking it would hatch if it was kept warm. It turned rotten and stunk to high heaven!
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