Homestead High School - Retrospect Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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Angels, pcmthers and SAL Mystery adds laughter I Rs tenth year in the life of Homestead was in itself spec- ial, so who would be suprised if some rather special things took place throughout the year? Cer- tainly not English teacher Dennis Parr. Everyone at the school this year had heard that the noto- rious SAL f Dog Day After- noon y made a daring kidnap- ping, or rather catnapping. It all began when English De- partment Head Dennis Parr was given a small, approximately 7 inch high, rubber Pink Panther by his secret angel. The Pink Panther lived on Parr's desk except when Parr took the time to demonstrate such sadistic acts as see what the panther looks like when he's been crushed by a falling dictionary. On Monday, Nov. 19, after second period Composition class, Parr discovered that his cat was missing. I was not particu- larly attached to it fthe catj in the beginning, though it was a nice gesture on the part of my secret angel, Parr said. In an exclusive interview with one of the catnappers the reason behind the panther's abduction was learned. The pain inflicted on the poor creature was satanic and unhumanf' The catnapper went on to to explain what the group hoped to prove to the world by holding an innocent panther captive. Mr. Parr uses satanic ways and jungle law to oppress his students. The abductors openly charged Parr v1rith sadism, and he could only agree. I grew fond of the cat because it brought out my creativity and sadistic urges. The violence began on the day that the Pink Panther arri- ved on Parr's desk. The first day Parr seemed satisfied to bend the poor, defenseless cre- ature's limbs and place it in THE Pink Panther makes a futile at- tempt to send a Help! message. THE panther is freeze-fried as he suf- fers numerous tortures at the hands of his captors. 26- FEATURES ta, . QM painful configurations. The second day the panther's hands were stuck in a moving fan and on the third day Parr demonst- rated what a flat Pink Panther looked like. 1-Ie dropped an unabridged dictionary on the unsuspecting feline from a height of four feet. Just as I was thinking of new ways to torture it, they cat- napped it, Parr said. '1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 11 11 1 il I 1 ,. The frustrating ransom notes 1, began soon after Parr realized1 that his feline friend was no 1 longer around. Though Parr- claimed that he paid SAL a total 1 of 10 candy bars in response to1 the unreasonable demands, the 1 captors maintained that 'their1 profit was greater than candy. J Our profit was 10 candy bars, 1 humor, and the pleasure of As the reknown of the captors spread, their creativity1 increased. The first notes were ff typical ransom notes demand- ing such items as candy and! grades of A for all senior stu-1 dentsg however, the captors soon realized that to hold the atten- tion of the illustrious Parr, they 1 must demonstrate great ingenui-1 ty. Soon the notes were part of 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 WHITE seems to compliment thel 1 ,. 1 seeing a frantic teacher. 1 i 1 1 1 1 1... 151 2 1111 5511111 11111 ,,.., , ..,1.1. 1311131 v- . 1 ...sf I Ilfllli 11118 ,1. 111 T111 iflmd E -11. nd 1 1e1em 111111 1 171 1115 de 111 11 111109 1 1111 . F11 1 he A -,hope 1 111111 11 ' 1 1191 5 tl 'I11sno :MH 5111 a 3 P111 1111111 11101111 A-1111119 pink tones of a panther. 11,9 h 1 '11 6 1 1 1

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'legit mir 'R JUNIOR Bob Blackburn and Sopho- more Brent Floyd enjoy each others company at lunch SOPHOMORE Gary Bosselman pur- chases his lunch from cafeteria worker Shirley Foltz. We deserved our break 1 Tie people sat around tables. The floor was sparcely ,ittered with food and paper. The walls were painted blue and -me side pale yellow. A glass 'ront enclosed the area. And .meople slowly filed through three lines before joining their riends at various tables. Does his description sound dullg it vasn't because the people veren't dull. The cafeteria was more than place to spend a half-hour eat- I J i hr hi 'i ing lunch. It was a place to meet your friends, relax between classes and find out from the morning classes what was on the chemistry test you had in the afternoon. People, as they always will, established territories. It was never a spoken thing but, areas were quietly designated such as senior tab1e . Some may say such areas never existed but, most will agree that they did, not with signs, just imaginary lines. Whether you ate 4a, 4b, or 4c, the routine was much the same. Those at the front of the line were either the hungriest, the fastest, or the most afraid of not getting a table. People spent their half-hour differently. Some slowly enjoyed their meal and the conversation at their table. Others gulped their food and rushed to the hall and the conversation there. Whichever was they chose, each person used the half-hour as a break. a get-away. But, when the bell rang the academic routine was back in swing. The mob moved reluct- antly up the ramp and many were tardy for their next class. The roar died for a moment. just a moment, until the next shift moved into their place to anxiously begin their break. We deserved our brealqsu' FEATURES- 25

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S9 xv' se 4- ., .,, ,f ss' if T 2 1 ve o XXX, 4 1 4 w A .rx ' K' 'fy Q, tj, qygf fy' 06 Bw I 17 -6 cb Q, T fret A ' 'f 'ea tease as f as .af 'QQ X fa swf r si sg N0 Q, ,ap , if ' , VV fbi ia scavenger hunt that sent Parr isearching the entire school for his next clues. Though the cat- gnappers remained firm in their position that their demands lnust be met before the cat was jfeturned, they were willing to hegotiate. Since it is an im- ,bossibility for him to meet our iliemand of A's for all, due to ...social status, we are lessening iiiemands. We don't demand A's. Ne demand the SHAHV' When Parr heard of the cap- :ors demand for the Shah of ,iran, he lost almost all hope. 'Since I was dealing with such iricious and unpredictable peo- Jle, I have to admit that I had io hope of ever seeing him again in his normal state, commented arr. He had at one point re- :eived a note that told him that ,he panther had been melted, io Parr worried. I thought that f I ever saw him again, he would irobably just be a pink blob. 1 Though Parr suffered the frustration of the catnapping llone, he was not alone in his J AFTER a two day absence of his be- loved panther, Parr requested a pho- tograph of the panther with the day's paper to prove that he was alive. THE Pink Party climaxed the adventures of Parr's pink feline. attempt to rescue the then well known feline. Sesame Street's famous detective, Sherlock Hem- lock, offered his services to Mr. Parr. Hemlock was left on Parr's desk by his secret angel. Unfor- tunately, Hemlock was not of much help to Parr, as he too, was abducted. ln one of his moments of frustration, Parr said of his foes' intelligence, I think they are reasonably bright, but pathetic examples of humanity. Though Parr considered his foes to be reasonably bright, he still did not know the captors' cause. The leader of the notori- ous group explained, We were a band of students who were look- ing for a cause to rebel against. You might say we were re- . ,, ,Q -r volting. After approximently two weeks of worry, the Pink Pan- ther was returned, more or less safely, to Mr. Parr. On Friday Nov. 30, both periods l and 2 of Composition threw Pink Par- ties to celebrate the long anticipated return of Parr's 'guinea pig of sadism . Though he was all in one piece, the pane ther had suffered among other ailments, a broken arm and tail. For the damage incurred, the captors paid. Mr. Parr found it in his power to alter grades and generally make life miserable for those creative seniors who took it upon themselves to make something special happen here at Homestead that would not happen anywhere else, But. like the catnapping, all in jest. The tenth year has now gone but the memory of such special happenings as the catnapping of the famous Pink Panther will remain. BY ALISON CLARK 'l l Hangers. panther-S and sat FEA TURES- 2 ' J