Fairmont High School - Maple Leaves Yearbook (Fairmont, WV)

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 o o % 0»o 00 o o Aoo ♦ ° 04 0 O .« 4 % y 0 4 00 • • O ♦ O V ▼ • Q° O 4O 0 A 0 4® ■ a Colltdcn 2S Contact Paper + Stuffed Animals + Coats + Books (Maybe) = A Locker After carefully spinning the dial to three preset and eternally memorized numbers, access to the locker is gain.ed. To some people, lockers are just as much a part of their decor as their rooms. However, the locker isn’t usually in very good shape at the beginning of the year. “It was all dirty and had stuff written on the door so I just put contact paper and carpet in it. There are stuffed animals in there too,” said Sophomore Lara Watts. Sometimes though students found it easier to carry all of their books with them or, against school policy, share a locker. “I hate it when the bell rings because it takes me a few min- utes to figure out which locker I left my books in,” noted Fresh- man Crystal Olesh about sharing a locker. Often lockers are used for ref- erence. Clocks, mirrors, sched- ules, notepads with homework and calendars help people make it through the day. “I’ll be putting my ‘Men of USC calendar up soon,” stated Sophomore Traci Tannehill. At least she’ll know what day it is. A home away from home is what this type of person must be looking for. Lockers are more than just a place to keep one’s books. They are a personal state- ment and an easy way to beauti- fy one small section of the hall. PEERING INTO HER personalized locker. Freshman Tracy Forcelli gathers her books. before the school day begins. A new policy this year stated that students USING ONLY ONE of the over 1.000 lockers in the school. Junior Larry Chambers catches up on homework Everyone knows where his locker is and how to get to it, but most likely, there aren’t too many people who know from where their lockers came and how they got there. For most people who have an “old” locker (ones built into the walls), the actual age of the lock- er would be about 55 years. The school was built in 1929 and lock- ers from a Milwaukee, Wiscon- sin, company were installed at the time. But in the ’60’s, St. Pe- ters High School became St. Pe- ters Elementary School and those high school students came to Fairmont Senior. That meant buying more lockers. The free- Even the Lockers Have A Heritage standing lockers that stick out in the halls were added to compen- sate for the new students. The school policy about shar- ing a locker wasn't always in exis- tence, and in fact, there was a could not share lockers but some took their chances anyhow. time when the school encouraged the freshmen to double up with a friend. Theoretically, the school should have 927 lockers in use for 1984. Actually, there are 1,100 lockers available at the be- ginning of each school year, which is just under the popula- tion count for the fall of 1976 when Mr. John D. Tennant Jr. became principal. So, like everything else at West Side, even the lockers have a proud history, and many years of service to the students. ▲ A Critical Analysis of A Locker To begin with, nothing really fits on that top shelf. Sure, one can put pencils and what-have- yous there, but there’s still wast- ed space. Of course, one can wad up a coat and shove it in there, but sure enough, when the door is slammed, dirt falls from the vents in the top and covers everything. The hooks must be commend- ed. They can hold a full-sized parks on one side and a stuffed backpack on the other. A true engineering masterpiece. Ironically, the lockers are theftproof — well, partially — since they're noisy enough that East Side knows when anyone tries to break into one. Some even stand guard over unsu- specting victims, record the com- bination and unscrew the bolts so that the door flies off in the own- er’s face. Primo. All things considered, lockers are a great luxury, but there’s always room for improvements

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Inside room 22 is a whole new world. Algebra, Eng- lish and American history have no bearing on this room. What matters here is if you can successfully drive at the speed limit down Fairmont Avenue while trying to operate the wind- shield wipers. This is the world of Driver’s Ed. From here, inexperienced, nervous students are bravely tak- en into the wheels of Mr. Byron Duncil and Mr. Joseph Cavalier, who, equipped with an extra brake, begin the instruction. Except for the one incident where a nervous student got “carsick” on his first day of driv- ing lab, Driver’s Ed. students come out smelling like roses. Instruction in driving can prove to be a very valuable thing, whether or not it comes from school or a private lesson, but all the classes in the world cannot prepare a driver for every- thing. For a few examples, read the following . . . Getting Around: Driving Passion Face it. Getting around is necessary. But as the official driving age approached, it got a little embarrassing to be chauffered around by mom and dad. So, on any given Tuesday, the state police barracks on Country Club Road could be found full of brand new sixteen-year-olds nervously scratching out answers on the test and confidently driving out Fleming Avenue. To many, this was a goal. It was almost an honor to carry around a driver’s license and it certainly was a convenience. The license estab- lished a certain amount of independence. And it was fun. After the initial nervousness and paranoia about the tests passed and the quickie-picture was taken, many were ready to roll. Once the piece of plastic allowing one to drive on the roads was acquired, then obviously a car was next. Usually mom and dad were generous and allowed the free and unlimited use of the car anytime one needed it, right? Right. (Did you catch the sarcasm?) Actually, many people have a system worked out with parents and or brothers and sisters and there’s a lot of give and take. If one were lucky enough (i.e. had a license and a car), then riding the bus to and from school could be eliminated. One could arrive at school and go off campus for lunch (instead of running to McDon- ald’s). I like driving to school because you can go out to lunch, you miss the hassle of getting up early to catch the bus, you can take your time coming home so there’s no rush to the locker and I get home about five to ten minutes earlier, depending on the traffic,” Junior Sherry Kuhn noted about the advantages of driving to school. So getting to school was no problem, but what happened to the car after arriving there? The logical answer was parking. Except for the Back Drive and Freshman Building lot, any spot around the campus was legal for parking. Well, this story is driving me crazy, so I am going to park my pen and and take a brake. A AVOIDING A RUSH to and from school can be done if a car is available. Junior Kelly Drummond shows her choice for transportation as she pre pares to drive home. A Whole New World Picking Up on Driving Out Junior Eric Tucker: “I’ll never forget my driving test. I passed the written, missing two. Then the next Monday, I washed the Cadillac inside and out for the driving ex- aminer. I was nervous and banged every barrel with the car ... an old Datsun was in order for next week.” Sophomore Pat Barrow: “One day my mother al- lowed me to practice driv- ing. About the time that I was ready to turn up our road, I looked in the rear- view mirror and there he was, a police car! I felt like there was a sign on the side of the car that said ‘15 2’.” Junior Rachelle Prud- nick: “I told my mom the other day not to talk to me while I’m driving. I can’t think and drive at the same time, and I still have trouble driving and waving at the same time. I tried it once and turfed at the Calabrase’s.”

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Making Note Experts in the East-West Stadium has a place that only a few people ever see. The back of the field was usually seen only by the football players and mainte- nance crew, but when it came to the Polar Bear Band, they knew that part of the field like no one else did. It was from there that each performance began, and from there that the band rehearsed many hours. Although the actu- al learning and memorization took place at the Marion Coun- ty Armory, performance exper ience was gained only on the field. Many hours were also spent traveling to competitions as far away as Florida and as nearby as Morgantown. “Riding on the bus gets kind of boring, so we play stupid games. We see how many times we can throw each other in the aisle, noted Senior Beth Davis. In spite of the bus rides, most times students returned to Fair- mont with a trophy. “It s really exciting and a great honor to win because you know you de- served it after putting all that work into it,” commented Soph- Field omore Jim Matheny. Whether it was feet tapping to the beat or feet moving through the grass, the Polar Bear Band's investment of time made everyone take note. TUNING THE BASS GUITAR before a performance. Sophomore Aaron Clay adds a new dimension to the Polar Bear Band's sound. DURING THE BAND'S Marietta, Ohio, competition. Senior Becky Biafore, Sophomore Michelle Mc- Donald, Junior Cheryl Lewis, Sen- ior Lisa Carson and Junior Steph- anie Bock dance through the nine- minute show. WITH A SUMMER OF WORK behind them, members of the flag corps spin and twist their way to an award as their multi-colored flags brighten the familiar blue and white of the band. DRESSED FOR THE 80 plus degree temperatures. Sophomore Kevin Curry performs during the halftime show of the Morgantown game. STUDENT LIFE Polar Bear Band