Munster High School - Paragon Yearbook (Munster, IN)

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FENCES AND SIGNS were installed warning stu- dents of yet another area off limits to students. With an updating of the building, construction slowly spread from building to building. IN AN OTHERWISE chaotic intersection between class periods, a lone construction worker hurries to finish his chore as the hour draws to a close and student traffic beseiges him. CHANGING TIMES ARE clearly depicted with the administrator ' s concept of out with the old and in with the new. Students can only reminisce about the former glass hallway which has succumbed to dark and dreary slabs of mortar and paneled trophy cases. , ' - REROUTING BETWEEN CLASS traffic kept stu- dents on their toes when the paved pathway across the horseshoe became the only accessable route between the North and South buildings. Senior Bruce Corbin and junior Michelle Witmer, walk across the horseshoe area for the last time. CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND a single ray of sunshine are the only inhabitants of the soon-to- be gymnastics room. NEW FACES, NEW rules and new messes awaited students on their first day back from summer vaca- tion. However, all facilities were not cleared for stu- dent use when Sept. 5 arrived and art students found their classroom cluttered. Taking it in stride 3

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Taking Hassles in stride Noisy nuisances, tedious tests co nfront students Girls’ Basketball team members were determined to do it. Project Biology stu- dents were determined to do it. Speech and Debate team members were deter- mined to do it. In fact, from the time school opened Sept. 2, all 1507 students were determined to do it. It” was to take all the abnormal” construction problems and regular school hassles in stride. Whether confronting un- finished or displaced classrooms, or find- ing a new pathway from the North to South building, students were determined to overcome obstacles and prove they could come out winners. Squeezing sideways past construction workers hanging ceiling tile, avoiding signs reading “Use Other Entrance,” and evading wooden horses forced students to reroute their routine pathways. Dented trash cans catching the drips of rain fall- ing from leaky roofs and boards which sank into the mud puddles beneath them were obstacles students ha d to over- come. Once inside the organized mess known as a classroom, students were swamped with other problems. Looking for books amidst stacks of supplies or transporting materials from the North to South building delayed the start of class for some. The construction show continued as students encountered their first tests and prac- tices of the year. Academics was not the only area af- fected. Victory, the dream of every ath- lete, seemed harder to attain as con- struction problems had to be hurdled. The Volleyball team had no place to play be- cause of the torn-up fieldhouse. She- horses began practices without a pool to swim in. Equipment was put away and once uncovered, space became a prob- lem. Whether it was squeezing into a color- coordinated new desk to get some work done at school, or squeezing inside a float to get some work done outside school, problems had to be tackled. Yet the Volleyball team beat this disease known as hassles, as did Pride commit- tee members. In fact, students were just beginning to climb over their walls of has- sles when yet another surprise crept out from behind the next corner . . .

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Typical homecoming night turns to sparky Saturday Cries of disbelief echoed throughout float sites as rumors spread that the school was on fire! What began as a typi- cal Saturday night of Homecoming activi- ties ended in tragedy for some; for others, the fire sparked off” an unexpected va- cation. As the news spread, float sites emp- tied and crowded cars of students, facul- ty and townspeople rushed to the high school to witness the devastating event. On lookers were amazed to see smoke billowing from the North Building’s library. Ironically, the fire singed the High School’s North Building on the night of the Fireman’s Ball and on the last day of Fire Prevention Week. Smoldering hot spots, contained within 18,000 library books temporarily stored between the East and West Lecture Halls, kept 55 to 60 firemen from neigh- boring towns fighting for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Sunday saw the arrival of Fire Chief Mr. M.C. Smith, for further investigation into the fire’s cause. Arson was suspected when firemen discovered mysteriously broken windows along the building’s north side classrooms. Teacher materi- als, books and desks were strewn about. The intense heat of the fire caused a weakening of parts of the building’s struc- ture, and ruination of the library, audiovi- sual and lecture hall areas. During state inspector Mr. Robert Dean’s investigation, it was revealed that arsonists lit the fire in four different areas within the stacks of books. The Hammond National Insurance Company offered a $5,000 reward, in addition to the $1,000 offered by the State Fire Marshal for any information leading to the arrest of the arsonist, who escaped detection. After Mr. Dean’s approval of the build- ing’s safety, students were allowed to re- turn to school on Thursday, exposed to an unexpected crowdedness of classes crammed into every available space in high school and middle school areas. Most students thought normal” would never return . . . 4 Taking it in stride