East High School - Quill Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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Deadliest, costliest fire hits Younkers On Sunday, November 5, 1978; an unsuspected change took place. It was the fire that consumed the Younkers Department Store at Merle Hay Mall. The fire started by 9:15 a.m. Then, around 3 p.m., the first body was recovered. Shortly after, five other bodies were discovered. The toll was raised to 10 people who died from smoke inhalation. At lest six others, including three Younkers employees and two fire- men, were hospitalized with injur- ies related to smoke inhalation. Damage estimates went into mil- lions of dollars. Fire Chief Lee Williams called it the worst fire in the city ' s history in terms of lives lost. The Younkers building is shown above as the building, ruining the roof, and damag- the fire in its first stage begins to consume ing the merchandise inside. 4 w n 1 3 Two firemen make an effort in trying to bat- men ended up in the hospital because of tie the fire as it rages on. At least three fire- smoke inhalation. The results of the fire explain itself as one looks at the remains of the Younkers store. 4 OPENING

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Students adjust to old traditions being broken Mr. Miller, principal, offers his congratula- tions to Kari Kramme, senior, after she was selected as the first girl Kiwanian. Changes were taking place in our city, but a lot of changes and new occurrences were not uncom- mong to the student body. The tradition of the Kiwanians being all male was broken when Mr. Miller, principal, chose Kari Kramme to be the first girl Kiwan- ian for the month of December. Another change that the return- ing student body had to adjust to was the new homeroom system. Instead of the usual homeroom sys- tem every day after first hour, attendance was taken every day second hour and homeroom was held only on Monday for 20 min- utes. Those were called perman- ent homerooms. Homecoming also fell into the category of change. Entitled Grand Illusion, the tradition of having a live band for the dance was changed to a disco with impressive lighting effects, and a disc jockey was on hand to keep things rolling. Styles changed from semi-formal dress to disco dresses and three-piece suits with open necks. The dance lasted from 8 to 11 p.m. and proved to be a success. The Colorguard was no longer only a group for presenting the colors at games and assemblies. They broke tradition by presenting nonmilataristic entertainment and entering competitions. They captured first place in the tall flag division at state competition. Administrators, who usually have no classes, Mr. Bagdonas, Mr. Miller, Mr. McCollaugh, and Mr. Powell, are shown working with their permanent homerooms. Former Homecoming Queen Marilee Fors hands over the position to Janice Beghtol, senior. In the back- ground are Jerry Strauss, Judy Forest, seniors, Steve Nelson, junior, and senior Scott Winterbottom, (Jani- ce ' s escort). OPENING 3

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The tension mounts in the varsity boys ' basketball team as Mr. Sutherland plans the strategy for them at the Lincoln game during a time out. Hard work pays off well for students Exciting moments were produced by the varsity boys ' basketball team as they went through their season. One such momentous occa- sion occurred when the team was the first to defeat the Lincoln Rails- plitters in the Metro, 99-97. Then the girls ' volleyball team, having a district record of 5-0, went into state competition, capturing fifth place. The debate team also made an impressive record by bringing in a third place and several first place trophies, placing mainly in quarter finals and semi finals. Bill Knapp and Chris Hedberg were rated as a leading senior team and were rated seventh in the state. Debbi Larsen was chosen top speaker. Students show their spirit at Homecom- ing by making the float above, which was displayed at the football game. Debate winners display some of the trophies they have won. Row 1: Debbi Larsen, Kevin Landhuis, sophomores. Row 2: Chris Hedberg, senior, Terry Hotchkiss, sophomore, and Bill Knapp, senior. Kari Kramme, senior, expresses the tension she feels as she gets ready to serve in a vol- leyball match. OPENING 5