Chicopee High School - Memini Yearbook (Chicopee, MA)

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Comp. Renovations Underway A Class History Although our four years at Chicopee Comprehensive High School have now come to an end, these four years have in reality been the beginning. The beginning of our beliefs, ideas, and development as individuals along with the beginning of our fu- tures. During these four years we faced many personal and national tragedies. We became more aware of the world around us; conse- quently, we became more mature and responsible. The beginning of adulthood had taken place. Also during our high school years we faced many difficult deci- sions and questions which needed to be answered. The fright of freshman year, the excitement of sophomore year, and the rowdi- ness of junior year all passed by so quickly leading to the anxiety of senior year. What will I do after high school? What will I grow up to be? Should I go to college? What college do I want to go to? All these questions needed to be answered within a few months while the outcome of these answers would affect the rest of our lives. Our high school years have been the best years of our lives and the beginning of our lives as matured adults ready to step into the real world. Maybe in a year or five or ten years, we will open our year book, look at these next few pages and reminisce about these past four years and realize that these really were the best years of our lives. Senioritis The Rev.JimJones Kramer vs. Kramer is 1 979 ' s heartbreak hit

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Staff ADVERTISING ANGEL ASSELIN, SCOTT REDFERN SPECIALIZED ACADEMICS TONI LANDA PHOTOGRAPHY TOM COLLINS, BOB ROY ART MICHELLE GEOFFRION SUBSCRIPTIONS PAUL D. ROY ADVISOR RAYMOND BOULAIS

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1978 Freshman Year 1979 As we entered Comp in 1978 for our freshman year, we didn ' t know what to expect. We were on new territory and unsure about our future. We became the targets of upperclassmen ' s pranks and insults; furthermore, the four years until graduation seemed to be miles away. Little did we realize that these four years were going to be the best years of our lives. When we entered Comp, the school was in the process of undergoing many changes and renovations. Under Principal Stanley J. Ziemba an Instructional Media Center (IMC) was built to house our new school library. A new entrance from Montgomery Street into Comp was in- stalled to solve the traffic and busing problems. The athle- tic field, gymnasium, and cafeteria were also renovated in 1978, and during that same year equal rights left its mark on Comp by developing coed gym classes. The most embarrassing incident of our freshman year was when our freshmen sign was spelled wrong during the first school rally, and we carried the ridiculous name of freshman throughout the year. Despite the beneficial changes which were ocurring at Comp, there was much distress in the world during our freshman year. On September 28, 1978 Pope john Paul I died after serving as pontiff for only thirty-three days. The world was stricken with despair and sorrow. After slowly recovering from the Pope ' s death, the world was once again hit with more brutal and disasterous news. On November 18, 1978 United States Representa- tive Leo Ryan and four others were killed by members of the People ' s Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. Hours later over 900 people were found lying dead along with their cult leader. Reverend Jim Jones, who had taken control of them and convinced them to commit suicide. Two terrifying accidents occurred during the end of our freshman year. On March 28, 1979 an accident took place at the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Above normal levels of radiation leaked out, and there was a serious threat of a nuclear core melt down. Two months later a terrible plane crash made the headlines. Shortly after take-off from Chicago ' s O ' Hare Airport an American Airlines ' DC-10 jetliner lost its en- gine. This disaster cost the lives of all 273 persons on board. Between September 1978 and June 1979, we lost the lives of many talented and loved people. Edgar Bergen, Nelson Rockefeller, John Wayne, Gene Tunney, and Keith Moon died leaving their memories behind. Even though we faced these tragedies, we also faced many achievements toward a better future. On October 16, 1978 Karol Cardinal Wojtlyla became Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian Pope in 456 years. China and the United States shook hands and finally established full di- plomatic relations. Margaret Thatcher became the first woman Prime Minister of Great Britain. We also celebrated two historical birthdays and a cen- tennial during our freshman year. The first was Mickey Mouse ' s 50th birthday. The second was the birth of the first test tube baby. It ' s a girl! and it was born to parents in England. In March of 1979 we honored Albert Einstein through a centennial. Many names and faces broke through the ordinary dur- ing our freshman year. In sports Steve Cauthen, age 18, won the Triple Crown; Nancy Lopez made her debut as a professional woman golfer; Muhammed Ali defeated Leon Spinks in the ring; Bjorn Borj was the winner at the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament and Pete Rose smashed his 3000th career hit, and also held the modern day re- cord of a 44 game hitting streak. The television series of the year was the hilarious show Mork N ' Mindy and following the series was the often repeated saying Nano Nano . Movie goers crowded into theaters to see the biggest hit Grease starring Olivia Newton John and John Travolta. Saturday Night Fever followed right behind in Grease ' s steps. Other smash hits were: Annie Hall , The Boys From Brazil , and National Lampoon ' s Animal House. Debby Boone lit up the charts with her hit song, You Light Up My Life. The record of the year was Hotel California recorded by the Eagles. The album of the year was Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, and the group of the year was the BeeGees . The best seller list contained such books as The Sec- ond Generation, Mommie Dearest, if Life is a Bowl of Cherries What Am I Doing in the Pits, and The Complete Book of Running. Our freshman year passed quickly. We were glad be- cause there were now only three more years until gradu- ation; yet, we were sad because many of the events of our first year were not just memories.