Millikan High School - Aries Yearbook (Long Beach, CA)

Page 29 text:

ABOVE: THE PARK WILL BE CLOSED IN . . . Seniors Pam Gerbasi and Elaine Correa end a fun-filled Saturday afternoon of picnicking at the closing of El Dorado Park. BELOW: TRUCKS ONLY — In the corner of the south parking lot, resides the vehicles of student mini- truckers. ABOVE; MAY I SEE YOUR DRIVER ' S LICENSE? Junior Mike latum begins an exciting October evening unsuccessfully, as he reaches for his Na e in his dad ' s $50,000 Porsche 930 Turbo for Exhibition of Speed. j PI X-Cars Will They Sell? The cost of everyone ' s favorite toy — a car — went up-up-up, while the size of the car went down-down-down. Students who wanted to move beyond hiking boots and bikes to the joys of the freeway had bleak prospects. Buy gas guzzling oldie cheapie which drank gasoline by just sitting in the garage, or work part- time as bank president and buy a new sardine can size E, J, or K car for around seven thousand dol- lars? Headlines in the Newspapers and cover sto- ries in news magazines about the car crisis in America only darkened the picture. Many won- dered, in fact, if the big three auto companies in America would survive. Chrysler lost two billion dollars and was saved for the time being by a 1 .5 billion loan from the government. Ford lost the same amount with GM not far behind. During 1980, 1643 American car dealerships went out of business. The facts were simple; thirty percent of the U.S. market was absorbed by foreign car makers. The Detroit 1981 cars, however, demonstrated that the industry had learned some hard lessons. Mileage and durability were the twin gods of the new little cars rolling off the assembly lines. To most students, the joy of owning one of Detroit ' s down-sized cars would have to wait until they hit the used car market. Those big old cars with those big old appetites would have to serve. The only consolation was that they were much more comfortable for triple dating and drive-in theaters. BELOW: EAT, SLEEP, STUDY . . . Senior Jerry Messer- schmitt completes his English notebook in the parking lot, just prior to class in his mobile living quarters, his 1 976 Dodge van. Activities Cars 25

Page 28 text:

FAR ABOVE: ON THE BOULEVARD — Milllkan students Kriss Paige, Ruth Berman, Tara Wallis, and Todd VanSooy cruise to Marina Pacifica for a relieving break on Veterans ' Day. ABOVE LEFT: ON A SUNNY DAY, junior Rick Gross applies a little elbow grease to his family ' s antique 1930 Model A Ford at El Dorado Park ABOVE RIGHT ART WORK, ROCK AND ROLL, AND OUCH sums up the loving detailing on Lonnie Sheperd ' s very- used school transportation VW, 24 Activities Cars

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SONG FAR ABOVE: SONG GIRLS: Julie Testa, Ginny Thompson, Chu Hong, Kathy Bau, Heather Hux, Valenica Boykln. ABOVE: FLAG GIRLS: Vicky Paulson. Jennifer John- son, Gretchen Weiss, Bridget Clysdale, Dor- othy Djokic, Kathy Evans. RIGHT: MAJOR- ETTE: Tracy Trampush. FAR ABOVE RIGHT PEPSTER CHALLENGE — Kathy Evans and Jennifer Johnson take a Pepsi break up in the stands during the Milk Bowl at Vets Stadium in September, FAR BELOW RIGHT PEPSTERS IN HIGHTOPS — Flag girls Vicky Paulson, Kathy Evans, Gretchen Weiss, Jennifer Johnson, Bridget Ci sdale parade in the Fifties dress hopping to Ameri- can Bandstand, 26 Activities Pepsters