Benton High School - Wahwahlanawah Yearbook (St Joseph, MO)

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Table Of Contents Opening 1-4 Co-Curricular Activities 5-37 Sports 38-67 Seniors 68-83 Juniors 84-93 Sophomores 94-101 Freshmen 102-111 Faculty 112-123 Staff 124-127 District and BHS Administration 128-129 Academics 130-157 Student Life 158-167 Dedication 168-169 Index 170-175 Logo and Closing 176 4 Table of Contents

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The coming of these first whites was to signal the invasion of Mohosca's territory. The whites felt it was wrong to waste such abundance on the red man. Great pressure was exerted on the white men's chiefs to remove the Indians from this land. Soon the whites would be as many as the leaves on the trees. One white man who was an exception to Mohosca's bitterness toward the whites was a fur trader named Joseph Robidoux. Robidoux had always treated the Indians fairly and did not try to take advantage of them as others of his kind had. He demanded nothing of the Indians except to be treated fairly in return. His trading post, in the Blacksnake Hills, a few miles upstream from Mohosca's village, attracted Indians from many miles away. Here they brought the furs of animals to be traded for steel knives and hatchets, cloth and beads, and iron cooking pots which they could not make themselves. As more white men pressed against the boundaries of Mohosca’s territory, their cries for the removal of the Indians grew louder and louder. They approached the chiefs of other tribes who finally agreed to sell or trade their lands and move across the great river. Mohosca, however, refused all offers. His people would remain in their valley beneath the protecting shadow of ‘Wahwahlanawah' until they received a sign from Gitchee-Manitou that they should leave this land. Before long, Mohosca found his territory shrink- ing before the advance of the white settlers. Sadly he mounted the hill to the sacred spring to make a sacrifice and to pray to Gitchee-Manitou for guidance. For three days and nights, he prayed and fasted, asking for a sign. Finally, in despair, he raised his arms to the sky. Was it the will of Gitchee- Manitou, the Creator, that the white man should possess Wahwahlanawah? As he bowed his head in silent contemplation, a look of hopelessness and despair came across his wrinkled face. Only a few inches from his moccasin-clad foot grew three stalks of plantain. Mohosca knew that this was the sign he had been seeking. Among his people, the plantain was called the footprint of the white man.” He knew that his people must leave their sacred place and never return. With his heart heavy with sorrow. Mohosca gazed for the last time upon the valley so dear to his peo- ple. He saw the peak of Wahwahlanawah shelter- ing the graves of his ancestors, touched by the last rays of the setting sun. The woods upon the hillside were filled with dark shadows. The great river, red- dened by the sun setting in the west, continued to move ever so slowly to the sea. Finally, he looked down one last time to see the lodges of his people nestled in the valley. The next day the old chief watched as his people assembled to hear his words. Gitchee-Manitou has given us a sign. The tribe of Mohosca must leave Wahwahlanawah.' Let the whites advance in peace. And so. the red man departed from Wahwahlanawah, driven westward by the steady advance of the white man. — Compiled by John Foley Opening 3

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 Above: Jody Hinch. bored to death, sits listening to her teacher Above: Left to right: Mark Zuptich. Chuck Sims. Rick Sumpter, and Steve Fredrickson, run across the end zone during the Senior- Junior powder puff game. Above Left: Karen Rullman keeps her eyes on the book as she types. Above Right: Andre Sampson plays his Sax in the pep band. Co-Curricular Activities 5