Griffith High School - Reflector Yearbook (Griffith, IN)

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T ■■ en-speeds, rock concerts, beach parties whittle at blissful days To assist Brian Konopasek in mastering the flutter kick, senior Jeff Allman observes swimming style. Jeff taught elementary students during the summer to earn extra spending money. Meditating on lyrics from a James Taylor song, Ron Smith and Jackie Starek pay attention to Bill Hart ' s melody at the Dunes The park is a popular gathering grounds for students during summer While screaming students dutch the safety bar. the sky wheel whirls amidst a blur of lights A panorama of tree tops, house roofs and upturned faces greets riders as they glide breathlessly over the top Heaving a sledge hammer at the Lion ' s Club Fourth of July fair, junior Mark Adams attempts to test his manpower 14

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NAME GAME Digits judge students’ fates With television sets blaring and newspapers scattered over the floor, three seniors discovered their diverse futures hingejd on the roll of the big wooden drums in Washington, over 700 miles away. A guy’s vulnerability to the draft is determined by the annual lottery established in 1969. The drawing is held early each year to assign numbers to young men who turn 19 that year, pairing each date with numbers from 1 to 366. If a boy receives a very low number his chances of being drafted are great. If he receives a high number, his chances of being drafted are much less, the safe cut-off number being around 150. Greg Roe’s future is one of almost certainty in being called for duty. Larry Gradek’s is one of uncertainty as to whether he has to go or not. Eutiquio Soto’s is one of relief in that he probably won’t have to go. A high, medium and low number drawn by the boys is the why. Wednesday. Feb. 2, the night of the drawing, Greg was working. Because he starts work immediately after school, he would not know his number until late at night when he returns home. With sweaty palms and anxious faces his parents were home awaiting the results of the lottery. The list was reported on the 5 p.m. news. When the number for October 31 was broadcasted, his mother ' s shrill scream of, “Oh my God, no!” pierced the silence of the Roe’s living room. October 31 was Number 10. When Greg arrived home the only thought on his mind was getting his number. He was crushed when he learned what it was, because a number of 10 means almost certainty in being called for duty. Because he gets out of school at 11:10 a.m., Larry was able to turn to Channel 5 on his television set to watch the noon news and get a report of his number earlier than most other guys. December 21 appeared on the screen. Crossing Larry’s mind was the same question going through thousands of other 18-year-olds. Would he or would he not be called? Would he get a high or a low number? He didn ' t. December 21 was number 80. Larry’s parents aren’t bothered either. They know that the boys are coming home and not too many are going over to Viet Nam. If Larry is called, they’re prepared for it. They feel that every boy should have some military training, but they are still uncomfortable as to their son’s future, just as all parents whose sons get any type of lottery number, low, medium or high. As soon as the newsboy dropped the Hammond Times on the step, Eutiquio was out the door. Frantically scanning through the endless lists of birthdates. he finally spied September 27. “Number 248! September 27 is number 248! Thank God! I probably won’thave to go!” Eutiquio is the luckiest of the three. He got a high enough number to keep him safe from having to serve in the army. His parents are as greatly relieved as their son. They are glad Eutiquio won’t have to go fight in a war that they feel is “not the United States’ problem.” Although the three boys are affected by the lottery in three different ways, they all agree that this method is the fairest to all involved. “Everyone has the same chances of being called,” “the draft is set up so everyone has a year before he is called, and What other way could it be done?” are the ideas expressed by the three seniors on the draft. A statement from Greg summed up the feelings of all three, “Although the draft is fair to all guys, it still isn’t right. I don ' t think we should have to go if we don ' t want to.” Like a magnet attracting metal, the annual draft lottery drew clusters of shop students as they learned their fates. 13

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Participating on a girl ' s softball or Babe Ruth team, or just being a spectator helped fill the warm summer months. While bronzing bodies sprawled on the beach, ambitious students devised ways to earn a few dollars for a California trip or a Rod Stewart concert in Chicago. Others forfeited a week of vacation to attend workshops. Nervous driver education students attempted automobile manuevers, discussed insurance policies and puzzled over the technical terms of a combustion engine. Typical meeting places like the pavilion or the tank at the park became a popular gathering grounds for students. Here students kept old school friends and made new ones. To collect money for class projects, juniors installed a booth at the annual Lions Fourth of July fair. Uneasy teachers volunteered to be targets for hundreds of water balloons thrown by revenge-seeking students at the Kill a Teacher booth. Bicycles became a popular method of cheap transportation for students and adults alike. The non-polluting vehicle helped environmentally minded students do their parts for ecology, as shiny ten-speed racers started to replace automobiles on the street.