Munster High School - Paragon Yearbook (Munster, IN)

Page 9 text:

SECOND FLOOR AUDIO-VISUAL and special edu cational equipment was destroyed and the East and West lecture halls damaged by the intensity of the fire. This weakened the building ' s structure. AS THE FIRE burned on, Mrs. Phyllis Braun, senior counselor, and Mrs. Stephanie Casey, English teacher, salvaged senior records from the smoke blackened guidance offices. CLEAN-UP WORKERS found some time for amuse- ment, while accomplishing the task of rejuvenating smoke and water damaged facilities. IN A MASS of hoses, firemen battle the smoldering ,|r « contained within the library area. It took firemen 1 hour and 45 minutes to control the fire, which occurred on the last day of Fire Prevention Week and the night of the Fireman ' s Ball. WITH OILY SOOT clinging to the walls, a clock in the old common ' s area records the exact time the fire burned out the electrical system. $1,000 IN CASH was offered by the Hammond Na- tional Insurance Company to anyone bearing infor- mation leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist(s). IN THE AFTERMATH of the fire, early bird workers showed up Sunday morning to salvage as much equipment as possible from the ruins. Among equip- ment recovered from the second floor collapse was the all familiar Hospice sign and some cages which had formerly housed biology mice. Taking it in stride 5

Page 8 text:

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

Page 10 text:

STUDENTS WERE NOT the only ones forced to adapt to the changes. Families and friends waited anxiously for 444 days until the Iranian government released the 52 hostages. THREE ENGLISH CLASSES crowded on the audito- rium stage as administrators scrambled for alterna- tive classroom space CIRCUMSTANCES SIMILAR TO that of a college campus arose as classes were relocated in Middle school following the fire. With the extra distance between classes students were given 15 minutes passing time, rather than the usual 7. WITH THE USE of all available space in the South Building, students had to budget their socializing time in order to make it through suicide corner , and still arrive to class on time. AFTER HAVING TO evacuate their North Building lockers, some students carried knapsacks. Still oth- ers. including junior Tim Markowicz, found a friend in the South Building who would share his already crowded locker. 6 Taking it in stride AFTER FIRE DELAYS, rain, and weeks of prepara- tion, the Junior Class still managed to complete Tony in time for float judging, in which he was pro- nounced the winner. AS SEVERAL CLASSES were relocated in the South Building, seniors Gary Peterson and Kurt Ha- lum found Speech I class a little more relaxed in the teacher ' s lounge.