Chicopee High School - Memini Yearbook (Chicopee, MA)

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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.

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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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1979 1980 Sophomore Year 1 know it will be pleasant to retire because I will not have the same routine everyday, yet it will not be easy to adjust to retirement because I love it here at Comp ... These were the parting words of Mr. Stanley J. Ziemba who retired as Principal of Chicopee Comprehensive High School on August 31, 1979. In September of 1979 we re-entered Comp as sopho- mores under a new Principal and under a new course of direction. Mitchell S. Kuzozal took the position of Princi- pal and immediately began to initiate new programs and policies in our school. A new attendance policy went into effect establishing five, ten, and fifteen day notices for absences. We also adopted a Hearing Impaired Program which was the only secondary level education facility for the hearing impaired in Western Massachusetts. Howev- er, the most important changes which occurred during our sophomore year were the changes which dealt with the new course of direction of our class as sophomores. During sophomore year, we purchased our class rings revealing the pride and honor we had in our school and becoming a bigger part of Comp. We also started to take the initial steps toward graduation. We elected class offi- cers early in the year and began our candy sale as a fund raiser for our class. On St. Patrick ' s Day we started a tradition of selling green carnations: this tradition would be carried throughout our high school years. Although our class began to move forward, the world did not and suffered a serious setback during our sopho- more year. The United States faced one of its most crucial crisis since the Vietnam War. On November 4, 1979 4000 angry Iranian students under the influence of Ayatollah Runollah Khomeini marched to the United States Embassy in Tehran and demanded the return of the ousted Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The Shah was presently in a New York hospital receiving medical help for gall bladder problems and treatment for cancer . Shortly afterwards the students forced their way into the embassy, seized control of the building, and held approximately 60 Ameri- can diplomats hostage. The Iranian crisis had begun and little aid the country realize that this crisis would last for 444 days. During our sophomore year many attempts and steps were taken to free our hostages. President jimmy Carter banned the import of Iranian oil, froze all Iranian assets in the United States, and threatened deportation of all illegal students. However, the only hostages which were re- leased were women and blacks-because the students be- lieved they were an oppressed people. A message was attached with their release stating, the rest of the hos- tages will be tried and punished because of the embas- sy ' s alleged espionage activities. Operation Blue Light was an attempt to free our hos- tages with the aid of eight RH 53 helicopters and six C-130 Hercules transport planes. The operation was a disaster- ous failure when a helicopter collided with a plane loaded with ammunition causing the death of eight men and injuring five others. At the end of our sophomore year, America was still held hostage! Further complications adding to the Iranian crisis were the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the presidential elections both in Iran and the United States. By December 27, 1979 Afghanistan ' s President Hafizullah Amin was ousted from power apparently by the USSR, and by De- cember 29th, substantial numbers of Soviet troops were reported crossing into Afghanistan. Scattered throughout the year were two environmental disasters. In the beginning of the year. Hurricane David swept through Dominica, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and the east coast of the United States killing approximately 1000 people and destroying thou- sands of homes. On May 18, 1980 at precisely 8:32 A.M. a dreaded disaster occurred. Mount St. Helens in Washing- ton erupted after being dormant 123 years. There were 34 persons who were killed during the volcanic eruption and 28 were missing and presumed to be dead. The total monetary damage was estimated at $2.7 billion dollars. This May 18th eruption was followed by six lesser ones; consequently Washington took on the nickname ashing- ton . Despite these tragic episodes, the United States still had several advances in the medical, scientific, and govern- mental departments. On October 17, 1979 the United States Department of Education became the 13h cabinet in the government. During this same month the World Health Organization announced the total eradication of small pox. Also in the medical field, a national virus fight- ing substance called interferon was manufactured in the lab for the first time. Science progressed with a closer look at the planets Saturn, by U.S. Spacecraft Pioneer 11, and Jupiter, by the Spacecraft Voyager 1. During the sports season between 1979 and 1980 we faced many triumphs. During the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid the United States won six gold medals, four silver medals, and two bronze medals. The United States hock- ey team brought one of those gold medals home after thirteen days of competition. The Boys of Winter basked in their glory as Jim Craig, the goalie of the hockey team, wrapped himself in the American flag which re- flected the emotional impact on the young teams success. Eric Heiden, a speedskater for the United States, also became a star during the Winter Olympics. He not only became the first athlete to win five gold medals, but also he set five Olympic records and one world record. An upset in the sports world occurred on April 12, 1980 when tne House of Delegates of the U.S. Olympic Com- mittee voted 1604 to 797 in favor of a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott was led by the United States and followed by dozens of other Western Nations. The reason was obvious: the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December. Among the movies of the year were: Kramer VS Kramer , The Deer Hunter , Superman , Apocalypse Now , The China Syndrome , Star Trek , and Rocky II . The trend of disco was still popular during our sopho- more year. Disco rollerskating became the big fad and dance music became the popular choice. Donna Summer, The Village People, Chic, Rod Stewart, and Blondie be- came the popular disco artists. Other trends were toward the already well established rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Who. The Who released two films during this year, The Kids Are Alright and Quadrophenia. The excitement of sophomore year had passed, and we were already half way through high school. Our class was looking forward to the next two years of high school which would lead us to graduation-and open the doors to our future. With everyone looking forward, the past two years just faded in our minds.