Lew Wallace High School - Quill and Blade Yearbook (Gary, IN)

Page 33 text:

Cadets feted ON AWARDS DAY, ROTC feted its outstand¬ ing cadets Above, LTC Wilhelm honors ROTC award winners Michael Zanders, Pa tricia Reid, Latrece Stewart, Superior Cadet Medals; Clifton Reeves, Retired Officers Award; LaTonya Brown and Maurice Bar nett

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Mesich Sends Xmas Over There Cards illar of the school for over twenty years and security guard, too, Charlotte Mes¬ ich, unofficial LW P-R person and longtime supporter of the Ameri¬ can Legion, had volunteered for the second year in a row to head the Christmas Drive to send cards to our military men and women over there. This was the second time that M esich had gotten LW per¬ sonnel interested and involved in one of her many humanitarian projects. Both she and her LW suppor¬ ters had labored unselfishly to send more than two thousand Christmas cards to our military personnel overseas, some in re¬ mote areas of the world, others on board ships, and still others at U.S. Embassies in places like Ger¬ many, China, Ecuador, Liberia, Oklahoma, Alaska, and the Phil¬ ippines. LW teachers and friends, like Tersa Cecil, Maxine Ciminillo, Jul¬ ia Colby, Glorya Cotten, Karen Danko, Pauline Gerbick, Karen Ingram, Dorothy Johson, Dorthy Kouvelas, Madeline Lovette, Caorl Puchowski, Nancy Walls, Clara Williams, Mary Bradford, Nancy Piazza all had become keen over Mesich ' s Christmas Project. They, too, had seen the great need and had offered their helping hands. When the immense job of mailing two thousand greeting cards overseas was completed, return mail from all over began to flow in letters from Americans who were grateful that someone here had taken the time to re¬ member them. In the end, it really was a small world after all as proven by a letter from one Capt. Don¬ ald Bullard whose father had once taught at Lew Wallace. Holding Bullard ' s letter in her hands, a weary Charlotte Mesich slowly looked up and smiled. It was worth it, she said. □ reported Preston Lewis and Angela Thorton NUMBER ONE BOOSTER Charlotte Mesich, security person, hobnobs with Michelle Benton, senior, on Black and Gold Day, Unofficial LW p-r person and long time pil¬ lar of the school. Mesich passed away in 1988. Her passing left an empty place where once her cheer and warmth had been. ‘Her passing left an empty place where once her cheer had been’

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Hornet Regiment touts new style SENIOR DENISE WILLIAMS practices LOWSOPl leCldS drillTl COfDS at the Gary Regional airport. jAy ' ore than just a brand new MfW band, it ' s a brand new style. Charles Lawson, who had previously taught at Tolleston Mid¬ dle School, came to LW with new ideas and a new sound. I felt the LW Band was ripe for a change. We ' ve instituted the drum corps style of marching and playing that has now placed us in the main¬ stream, he said. One of Lawson ' s goals was to acquire new uniforms for the band. Our new uniforms reflect not only our corps style of playing and marching, but they are indicative of new pride and uniqueness. The students have worked hard to proj¬ ect their image. Now LW is the home of the nationally ac¬ claimed Hornet Regiment. Anthony Lampley, senior, said, Since the Hornet Regiment was formed in the Fall of 1986, we ' ve come a long way. We be¬ gan with pre-school practices and ended by placing second in the nation in Class AA at the Mid¬ American National Band Compe¬ tition in St. Louis. ' Maestro,” as Lawson is af¬ fectionately called, added that the band has performed thirty- seven times including the Mexi¬ can Independence Day Parade in Chicago, the McDonald ' s Charity Parade, the Gary March¬ ing Jamboree, and the National Band Competition in St. Louis. We also have had students in¬ ducted into the All-American Band Hall of Fame, and a re¬ cord number of fundraisers, said Lawson proudly. Being invited to national contests in Orlando, San Anto¬ nio, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Toronto were big highs for all of us, said Yolanda Johnson, se¬ nior. And St. Louis was a real trip, she laughed. Lawson smiled wearily, Running a championship band is a lot of hard work, dedica¬ tion, time, and expense. □ written by Eric Johnson THE HORNET REGT MENT’S brass section fills cheerless halls with Christmas music COMMANDER DAR¬ LING HENDERSON, se¬ nior, recruits BalHy stu- KSjWX 30 BAND