Big Sandy High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Big Sandy, MT)

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LABOR Inasmuch as most good things are produced by labor, it follows that all such things ought to belong to those whose labor has produced them. But it has happened in all ages of the world that some have labored, and others, without labor, have enjoyed a larger proportion of the fruits. This is wrong, and should not continue. To secure to each laborer the whole product of his labor as nearly as possible is a worthy object of any good government. ' —Abraham Lincoln (from First Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1861) Big Sandy is a working com- munity, and Big Sandy High School has a student body of working people. It is on such bases that our students and graduates are part of a school tradition that works. This 1978 Pioneer carries a theme appropriate to the nature of our institution and community-- work! The 1978 annual staff hope you, our reader, will notice and appreciate the efforts made by all the people involved in Big Sandy Schools, and that you will enjoy the product of our labor — the 1978 Pioneer.

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crew support, he advised his crew to bail out. This option to bail out would have meant that they would have the chance to walk out or be captured as POW's. They asked what he was going to do. His reply was that this was probably his last mission, so he was going to try to make it to the water. The men chose to stay with Mr. Hammond. They threw out any weight in hopes that this would insure their making it to the water. By this time two P-51's were there to escort the hopeful crew. Because the P-51's could not hold a great deal of fuel, they had previously radioed for P-47's to help keep the German Air Seas Rescue away; otherwise, Mr. Hammond and his crew would have been taken as POW's. At last the English Air Service Rescue picked them up and transported them to safety. Mr. Hammond had managed to save all his men even though they were in the water for an hour and forty minutes with only one dinghy. After they had hit the water, Mr. Hammond had to climb on top of the plane and open the canopy to release the dinghies before the others were out of the plane. He placed five in the one dinghy and tied the other five together with a line and had the men in the dinghy hold them so they would be together when found. During practice Mr. Hammond did not work on this technique because the windows were too small and he could not make it through them, yet during the ordeal, he was the first man out. His citation dealt with the activities over and above his duty to save his crew and get them back to the field. The Commanding Officer, Colonel Garland, recommended him for this award as this was his third plane that he had brought down without losing any men. Mr. Hammond earned the DFC award which also is not won by many men. The Distinguished Flving Cross award went to the pilot who had completed thirty missions. Mr. Hammond also has the air medal with five clusters. (Each time a person completed five missions he would receive an air medal.) After the first medal the person would get an oakleaf cluster for each five missions. Along with all these personal accomplishments, Mr. Hammond received unit citations. These were given any time the group did an outstanding job of dropping the bomb right on target usuali under adverse or unusual conditions. When Mr. Hammond left the Air Corps he was a captain and in line for a Major which is quite a high rank. During his last few years in the service, Mr. Hammond went through instrument training and taught his knowl- edge around the United States. In 1944 he started train- ing in Brian. Texas, which was the best training site in the country ai mat tune. After this instruction, he transferred to instructing instruments in B-17’s at Lockburn Army Air Base at Columbus. The following spring, Mr. Hammond went to Rapid City to instruct instruments in B-17's. He was a catcher for the 4th Air Force baseball team during his stay at this base. Biggs Field was the next place Mr. Hammond instructed. Here he instructed in B-29's. While he was here, he was given the opportunity to fly for McGinnis Airlines that served B-29 groups and flew mail routes. It was at this base that he flew as an operations officer. His duty was to fly e ?rtainment groups to the military bases where they pe . med. He picked the groups up at Mines Field in Los r. lgeles. All the expenses were paid for him while he lived with the group he was transporting. He was able to meet many people from this job. Mr. Hammond personally knew Red Skelton, Rus Morgan, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, and Bob Hope and has many pictures, autographs, and letters from these celebrities. One letter that he received was from Jimmy Dorsey's trombone player, Buddy Moitow, who wrote and asked Mr. Hammond to fly his band around the country. Mr. Hammond turned down this offer. He now feels that he likes working with students just as much as he probably would have enjoyed flying fo professional people. Mr. Hammond was also given the opportunity to fly for T.W.A. while at Lockburn Army Air Base. The inter- viewers took only those people with over 2, OCX) hours. If Mr. Hammond had taken this opportunity, he would have received lower pay and would have had to go through the T.W.A. 's special instrument school in Brian, Texas, from where he had just graduated. The company wanted to standardize procedures for transport pilots, yet he would have had to go through this school on his own time. Mr. Hammond turned this job down because he would have received lower pay and he wanted to buy land to start fanning. In the fall of 1947, Mr. Hammond went back to teach and farm in Kremlin. He purchased land and machinery in March of that year and hired his brother to work for him. Mr. Hammond had taught junior high school and coached high school athletics in Kremlin before entering the service in 1941. He had his elementary certificate from two years and a couple of quarters of college. After two years of teaching at Kremlin, Mr. Hammond went back to Missoula in 1950 to get his B.A., Master's and Administrator's degrees. He was offered the job as superintendent in Rudyard, but when he was in Havre at a district tournament, Mr. Miley, Mr. Schwartz, and Mr. Rickard (the superintendent of Big Sandy) asked him if he would be interested in coaching at Big Sandv. Mr Hammond accepted and came to this community in 1952. He coached for twelve years and took the State Basketball Championship in 1963. He and his wife, Ella, have lived in Big Sandy ever since that time. The Hammonds have three children - Mike, Patti, and Howie. Mr. Hammond will be retiring from the Big Sandy school system in 1979. From a small farm boy who rode on a wagon to town, Mr. Hammond became one of the top flyers in World War II. He flew overseas missions, flirted with death, and met many interesting people. He became a well-known primcpal in Montana and helped shape the Big Sandy High School. He served his country and his community. Big Sandy has been fortunate to have a man of such talent, and his service here will always be remembered and appreciated.

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Opposite page. Top. Cleaning the mimeograph machine is a thankless yet vital task, but Bernard Witschen faithfully does a thorough job of it. Center. The show must go on, so Ken Hoge puts his muscles to constructive use to help clear the stage. Center right. Though some classes have the tendency to put you to sleep, there is never a dull moment in P.E. Here Mary Ann Otto’s rope jumping exemplifies the mood of this class. Lower. Putting on the Prom is a big job, but many hands make light work. Consequently the Juniors, including Sheila Jenkins, had to pitch in to make the Prom a success. This page. Upper Left. John Knottnerus is involved in one of the numerous tasks required of the working man. Upper Right. Teaching involves communication and cooperation and Bob Tyler and Kevin Barsotti seem to have that down fairly well. Center left. A Diehard, A Diehard, my kingdom for a Diehard! Lisa Ray's nearly antique 1961 Chevy Belair apparently decided to take the day off, so she is getting it going in the right direction. Center. Filling the candy machine is not really an exciting job, but Reg Springer faithfully makes the effort to feed the students appetite for candy. Center right. It takes a lot of effort from a lot of people to make our school what it is and here, Bonnie Kulbeck makes herself a part of that effort. 5