Memories from our Senior Year – September 1971
Author: Rob Corns
As we head into our 50th year since we all graduated from Lakewood High School, I thought I’d do a month-by-month look back at some of the memories that we all shared back then. I’ll admit that I have a somewhat faulty memory, especially when one goes back 50 years, but I will do the best I can. I have some help from some Lakewood High Times and the yearbook and, of course, this new-fangled thing called The Internet. If I’m wrong on a few things over the next ten months, I apologize in advance. I’ll try and post these as early in the month as I can. I hope yopu like them. I guess you could call this a labor of love..
After a relatively quiet Summer, unlike the past two, we 17/18 year-old kids were ready to finish off our local education journey which we started back in 1959. I realize that not all of us seniors started out in the Lakewood public or parochial school system. Some moved in from other states and cities. But we all had one thing in common: we were all going to be in the Lakewood High School Class of 1972!
Traditionally, school started the day after Labor Day, which, in the case of 1971, would have been September 7th. Temperatures on that day reached 87 degrees that day with a little bit of rain. In fact, for the whole month of September, we were relatively warm with temperatures hovering between 65 to 91 degrees!
We all, by this time, had our class assignments and electives picked out for the forthcoming year. We knew what buildings we were going to be in, who our teachers were, when our lunch hour was going to be and also our study hall periods.
Student council has been set up with Mike Summers as President and our class officers were Steve Petras, Kevin Czekanski, Laurel Fulger and Brian Post with Anthony “Tony” DiBiasio Jr. as our Senior Class adviser. Our class colors were Ivory and Forest Green, he class flower was Violet, our class song was “You’ve Got A Friend” and, of course, our class motto was and ever eill be “Keep On Truckin’’”
What better way to spend a nice Autumn night but at the Lakewood High Sc hool football field! The Lakewood Rangers football team was trying to improve upon their 2-7-1 record in 1971, however, they got demolished right off the bat by crosstown rival St. Edwards by the score of 37-6. Hopefully, things would improve with them as the season went on. Believe it or not, much to my surprise, there were NO senior girls who were varsity cheerleaders, which was a shame because we have so many talented and beautiful women in our class! But, we did have Jane Scofield as one of the majorettes leading off The Spirit Parade trying to root our boys on to a victory!
Thinking ahead to what would be coming in the next ten months, much less where we would be in, let’s say, 50 years from now, lay heavily on a lot of our minds back in September of 1971. But, we had a great principal in Mr. Eugene Myslenski, who, by the way, lived to the ripe old age of 95 years old!
Looking around the LHS campus, we are greeted by Johnny Appleseed holding court in front of the Lakewood Civic Auditorium invoking the warmest of memories for our class. I’m sure that, even many years later, when you think of Lakewood High, that’s the first thing that comes to mind!
And just what were we listing to on that radio console located in the “L Room”? Remember “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey by Paul and Linda McCartney” Were you jamming to “Do You Know What I Mean by Lee Michaels? How about Yo-Yo by The Osmonds? For a more soulful song, you can’t go wrong with “If You Really Love Me by Stevie Wonder”. I was always a big fan of The Carpenters and they had the song “Superstar” out at the time.
And, for those who had a driver’s license, were you still driving your parent’s old beater, or did you have you eyes on that 19721 Dodge Challenger or the Chevy Camaro? And it wouldn’t be fall if the new TV shows didn’t have their new episodes out. “Ironside”, “Bonanza”, “Gunsmoke”, “Night Gallery”, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” among others!
Good memories from 50 years ago this month
