Altavista High School - Nuntius Yearbook (Altavista, VA)

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Every four years there is an election. For this recent one several students were tapped to campaign. Their involvement included handing out pamphlets and phoning registered voters urging them to go to the polls. Ronald McDonald, friend of all, led the Christmas parade and then retired with his fans including Susan Campbell for feasting and fun. Not only do they stop in after a parade but after games and school. McDonald’s is another local hangout. Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981. The ceremony was viewed by millions throughout the world including both students and faculty. Our local Lane Company sent the royal couple a chest for a wedding gift. General Hospital mania swept the country as people everywhere dropped everything and rearranged schedules to catch the show each afternoon. While soaps used to be associated with bored housewives, a new audience ranging from students to young execu- tives were caught in the shows’ fast-paced mixing of love tramas with murder, mystery, action and adven- ture. Current Events 19

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World Events Local Concern Being tucked away in a small central Virginia town didn’t stop us from being interested in world affairs. Each night when our paper came we settled down to read the news with anticipation and ... Who could forget the royal wedding of the century? Surely not those of us who awakened to the sound of trumpets at 4:00 a.m. Or the words, “I, Ronald Wilson Reagan, ...” as a new president rose to power. For at least a few days of 1982, it was possible to believe that the world could once again be peaceful. But history pro- vides a series of random accidents and un- expected turns that brought an assassina- tion attempt on our president and Pope John Paul II, the untimely death of Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, and the return of the American hostages from Iran. The events shocked and dismayed us as we flipped on the T.V. to see for ourselves that it was so. 1982 marked changes in state politics. Virginia’s first Democratic governor in sixteen years was elected. Many students worked during the guber- natorial election making calls and passing out leaflets at the polls. Phyllis Mason, a volunteer for Chuck Robb’s winning team, received a coveted invitation to his Inau- guration and Ball. In our district, Alta- vista area attorney Bill Beeton was elected to the House of Delegates. We had no trouble getting our views on issues relayed to the state legislature. But the trials and tribulations of inter- national terrorism and local politics didn’t overshawdow the lighter side of life. We still rehashed the slam-dunks of Ralph Sampson and marveled at the success of basketball at U.Va. following each of their games. And at 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday we raced home for the start of day- time's 1 drama - General Hospital. Anwar Sadat, one of the most powerful Middle East rulers, was gunned down while reviewing troops. Sa- dat was an important ally of the United States. Stunned by this act of terrorism, students and faculty checked T.V.s to see the replay, hoping the news wasn lt so Mayor Donald Holland and Governor Elect Chuck Robb talk during a compaign stop in Alta- vista 18 Current Events

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Wheeling To New Vistas With not many places to go on the week- ends, crusing from one end of Main Street to the other has been a favorite pastime for Altavista students for years. Our little town has grown considerably in the past few years with new places to go and cruise around. With the newly acquired skating rink and Long John Silver’s we now have more places to enjoy and haunt as a part of our weekend activities. Besides gathering at the usual spots, there are the tennis and basketball courts at the park. Students gather at the parks after school for a few games before going home to tackle homework. By December we even had a McDon- ald’s to add to our expanding town. With the town growing very rapidly the students grew and changed as well as the hangouts. Playing basketball on the Bedford Avenue courts is a favorite pastime after a hard day at school or on the weekends Working on a jeep behind Chefs are Craig Steven- Unloading his car after a trip to the lake is Buddy son, Todd Mattox and Bud Barbour. Washing cars Frazier. The lake provides recreation for students, and keeping them in top running condition are a teac hers, and area families popular pastime 20 Hangouts