Rock Island High School - Watchtower Yearbook (Rock Island, IL)

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 Michelle Brjud »nd her dace. Dee Robinson prose they ha»e definite taste and style ai ihe Homecoming dance. From minis to the prairie Fashions of the time "Minis, gag me with a spoon!” cried one fashion conscience female, commenting on the latest trend in fashion. Yet, there was no need to fret and. actually, reason to rejoice! Thanks to easygoing, flexible clothing standards, students wore just about anything, ranging from army fatigues to dressy pants, from sweatshirts to handknit wool sweaters. Students took advantage of the liberal dress codes: the key-dressing for comfort, regardless of style. Shorts and t-shirts (OP being very popular) prevailed during the final dog days of summer, as well as the last few weeks of school. Declared one student. "I'm going to sweat enough worrying about exams, why wear jeans?" The preppy look changed with the autumn leaves; with the sportier "New Wave” look collars defied gravity and stayed up while lies hid between the buttons of dress-shirts. The mini skirt, once a typification of the turbulant early 70's, returned, teamed with white bobby socks and pointy tennis shoes to create a peppy cheerleader look. Another flash from the past, ruffles and romantic lace-a throw-back to the turn of the century era-provided a staple in girls' wardrobes. Said senior Mary Edwards. "I found tons of clothes in my grandmother's attic and most of them are in style now." Boys found the dress suit-complete with thin lapels, pin-stripes and narrow tics-crcated a Humphrey Bogart look, popular once before in the 1940V 1950’s. For every day. however. most males relied on the timeless jeans and sweatshirt, football jersey, or polo shirt. Fashion took slices of culture, mostly American but some otherwise. from past to present, some Victorian lace and splashes of psychedelic color, mixed and matched to create a unique blend, the balance between style and individuality with freedom and versatility for all. Modem Lite I ’

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Preppies Mill exist, and Steve Smith prove it is Mill quite fashionable too. Wearing red and gold to pep assemblies is not only popular to do. but it is also considered — fashionable to do so. and to be seen there. These Rocky students make sure they are seen there. 16 Student Life

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Double dates and pizza Rocky goes out Dating in today's society could have been, to say the least, difficult, rbings seemed so unplanned and unrehearsed, though some guys felt better if their lines had been planned and rehearsed. These young men walked to the door wringing their hands and repeated the same lines over and over: "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith-lt’s nice to meet you" Unfortunately, when put in this situation, all too often it came out, "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Mcct-It’s nice to smith you.” Admitedly, meeting parents was difficult. One never knew exactly what to expect. Some parents insisted upon showing baby pictures of their daughter-thc same person who had been idolized for three years and finally worked the courage up to ask out. Other parents played a game of 20 questions. They wanted to know his grade point average, past achievements. college and career plans, what age he planned on marrying, and how many children he planned on fathering. All this to take their daughter to a Disney movie! If thinking up clever things to say to her parents seemed tough, things got worse when the time came to be alone with her. Some guys immediately turned the car radio up. this prevented unwanted conversation. Girls just loved this; a very effective method if you did not want to take her out again. Some guys spent their dates talking about sports-equally effective. Occasionally they got lucky and found a girl who loved to talk. If they talked to much, however, the radio got turned up. After the date ended, she obviously had to be taken home. Once at home she had to be walked to the door; usually an interesting experience. Should he kiss her goodnight? Before he answered this question it was necessary to ask himself a few others. Did he spill scalding soup all over her white dress? If he did chances were, it was not a good idea to kiss her. Considering all the things that could go wrong during the dating ritual it seemed a wonder people participated in it at all. Double- dating is still a popular way of getting around the lack of contcrsation on a date. Joni Jawoisz. Matt Dietrich. Andy Gray, and Kafhi Murphy share some laughs at Happy Joe’ . The days of walking a girl to class have not died. Once in a while one can find a “gentleman" to walk a girl to her class. Jeff Vise proves the theory has not died as he walks Peggy Mader to class. 18 Student Life