Ottumwa High School - Argus Yearbook (Ottumwa, IA)

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ENGINEERS To the maintenance staff of the Ottum- wa High School, the student body of O.H.S. owe a salute. The work done by these en- gineers might be classed as the backbone of the school. Each morning they start out by unlocking doors, turning on the many lights, opening lockers for students who for- get their keys, and doing many other duties. Often many things happen to disrupt their daily schedules. For instance, there are sixty-eight telephones, fifty-nine bells and sixty clocks which must be kept in perfect running order. Every day all of the halls and the one hundred sixty-one rooms, which represent a total of one hundred seventy- five thousand, four hundred thirty square feet of floor space, must be swept. Probably the most important of their work is the oper- ation of the heating units and various motors. Forty-six of these electric motors arc needed in the operation of the school mechanism, while three, one hundred and fifty horse- power boilers must be operated to heal all of the rooms of both the Adams and High School. Students and fans do not realize the significant part this staff plays during the sport seasons. Football season finds the custodians in charge of Schaefer Field. Be- sides keeping the field house in order, the electric scoreboard must be manipulated and the field marked for use. This also includes all games played by other teams at the stadium. Basketball season also means extra work. Before each game, the floor must be cleaned and the seating capacity arranged. The school board hires one man who is the engineer of all the public schools. Mr. Leslie Thompson holds this position, and it is his co-operation with the engineers of the various Ottumwa schools that keeps the system running smoothly. Heading the twelve members of the O.H.S. staff is the chief engineer, Mr. Mier, who has worked at the high school for eighteen years. The first assistant is Mr. Wilkinson who has held his position for eight years. Pace 19

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Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Bottorff, Mrs. Boland, Mrs. Wells CAFETERIA Students and teachers entering the noisy cafeteria at twelve noon probably don't re- alize the thought and work that have been done in the preparation of their meals. On the average two hundred fifty people pur- chase a hot, wholesome meal each day. Stu- dents who bring their lunches from home also have the privilege of eating in the cafeteria, which being quite large, seats over five hun- dred. Although the cafeteria is run on a non profit-basis, it has never gone in the red . This is undoubtedly due to Mrs. Thompson's capable management. Last year the cafeteria had between three and four hundred dollars to its credit after the overhead had been paid. Mrs. Thompson plans the meals, orders all food stuffs and keeps the books. Due to the wartime re- strictions it takes more careful planning to obtain all the necessities and still serve nu- tritious meals. Thus management of the cafeteria is a huge responsibility. At the end of each month. Miss King checks the books and Mr. Rozeboom audits them. Mrs. A. 0. Thompson, the manager, has been employed by the Ottumwa High School for twenty-two years. The assistant man- ager is Mrs. Marie Bottorff, who has eleven years of service to her credit. This year to help take care of the increased patronage of the cafeteria, Mrs. Boland has been added to the cooking staff. Miss Florence Fast, one of the world history teachers of O. I I. S., is the very capable cashier. At six-thirty in the morning the cooks start work. Mrs. Bottorff makes all the pastry besides helping with the main part of the meal. At noon usually six high school students wash dishes. In this way they earn their dinners; however the noon hour is not long enough for the stu- dents to do all of the dishes, so Mrs. Thomp- son and Mrs. Bottorff stay until nearly three o’clock cleaning and doing the unfinished tasks. Until this year high school girls have helped, but demands from outside sources have taken the usual supply of kitchen help from the student body. Girls from Adams have filled the vacancies. The cafeteria provides ample accomodations for the an- nual Junior Carnival, and the club parties. Page 18

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SENIOR ADVISER MISS ROTH To Miss Ruth Roth, the senior class adviser, we owe many thanks, for it was with her constant guidance that our class attained many successes in all it undertook—the many dances and parties in our junior and senior years. It is with deep regret that we see our class association with Miss Roth fade into the past. We hope that we have fulfilled her every desire for us as a class, and we know that we have thoroughly enjoyed our work with her. She has given us her understand- ing; we, in turn, give her our sincere ap- preciation. Page 20