Has It Really Been 50 Years???

50 years ago, I graduated from Van Horn High School in Independence, MO. With COVID restrictions still in place, however, we won't be having a traditional reunion this spring. So I decided to go on my own walk down memory lane.

The original school building is still standing and looks a lot like it did 50 years ago. The wooden railing in the front hall where we all used to gather before school is still there, though I'm sure they've long-since cut off our senior "gift."

The swimming pool is gone. When I was in high school, we didn't have traditional girls' sports like they do now. I was on the Powder Puff Football Team (a one-time fundraiser). I was a timer for the boys' swim team and a member of the Wrestling Auxiliary (aka, the "towel girls" who signaled the end of a boys' wrestling match by throwing a towel onto the mat). About the only real nod we had for girls' sports were the Sea Maids - a water ballet group. Let me tell you, you've got to have a lot of strength to jump into a pool in heavy costumes (worn over our swimsuits) and then balance yourself on top of the water while kicking your legs into the air. I remember when we did a routine to the song Edelweiss from the Sound of Music. We didn't usually practice in costume, so when I jumped into the pool during the performance, I thought my water-logged dirndl skirt was going to pull me right to the bottom of the pool.

The big thing for girls when I was in high school were the clubs. There were tons of them to choose from, so we all loaded up. My senior year, I was President of the Pep Club, Sergeant-at-Arms for the Senior Class, Parliamentarian for the Thala Phia Literary Society, a reporter for the school newspaper, and Club Editor for the yearbook (that's how I got my picture in there 14 times!). As an attempt at creativity, I tended to pick unique places for club photos (like these stairs leading up to the roof) rather than lining everybody up in rows on the risers in the Little Theater. One time, I remember writing my initials behind that roof beam in the photo. I always wondered if my initials are still there.

The Pep Club had fallen out of popularity in the 60's (the poor mascot looked like a molting chicken). So when my friends and I took over, we had a ball redesigning the uniforms, remodeling the mascot costume, and building the membership back up with crazy Spirit Week activities, like a Sadie Hawkins dance and The Grossest Nose contest.

We grew to over 150 members, including 20 boys from the off-season sports teams who formed their own ad-hoc cheer squad. Having male members in the Pep Club was really liberal-thinking in those days.

I was a member of the Mixer Committee all through high school. Our biggest claim-to-fame was booking Bob Kuban and the In-Men for our Homecoming dance (a popular band from St Louis). It's funny how radically different the bands evolved in looks in just a few years - from crewcuts, jackets, and ties to long hair, sideburns, and psychedelic clothes. I remember my mom going with us when we auditioned bands. She always sat in the back holding her fingers in her ears.

I spent a little time in Independence looking for the places I used to hang out. Clem's Drive-in, where I had my first job as a carhop, is gone now (thank goodness), but HiBoys is still there. I never ate at Clem's, because their top menu item was brain sandwiches (yes, I said brain!). 

Instead, we all went to HiBoys or Shakey's Pizza (also gone) after football games. HiBoys still has the best onion rings and tenderloins I've ever tasted.

The old Twin Drive-in Theater is still in operation, only these days you listen to the movie sound through the TheaterEars app on your phone instead of hooking those scratchy speakers to the side window on your car. It's so much easier now for newly-licensed 16-year old drivers who don't have to worry about scratching the side of their parents' car trying to park close enough to the speaker pole. And you no longer have to crawl over the console to go out the other door when heading to the snack bar.

I couldn't believe the Ben Franklin's in Englewood was still in operation as is the indoor movie theater next door. I should have gone in to Ben Franklin's to see if they actually had any items for sale that only cost a nickel or a dime. The first movie I ever saw at the Englewood Theater was The Absent-Minded Professor starring Fred MacMurray. It's hard to imagine that movies back then (especially Disney movies) were all in black-and-white. They didn't get colorized until the 80's when they were recorded on VHS tapes.

My last stop on my journey back through time was the Cool Crest Family Fun Center. Back in the 60's and 70's this property included 2 swimming pools and a mini-golf course. I can't believe I used to be nimble enough to do back flips off the high-dive. But the pools were dug up in the late 70's and replaced with an arcade and go-kart track. Both of those are temporarily closed right now from COVID quarantine restrictions, but there were a few people playing mini-golf. I used to be a champion mini-golfer, often winning free games because I played so often.

When I was in high school, my mom used to make ceramics. During my senior year, she made me a statue painted to reflect my Pep Club uniform. She also made the same statue for 2 of my other sisters, but colored the hair and uniforms differently to reflect one as a cheerleader and one as a drill team member. Mine's still intact looking as good as the day she made it. Too bad I can't say the same for myself.