Mahomet Seymour High School - Retro Yearbook (Mahomet, IL)

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The principal was sitting at a huge marble desk dictating a letter. I was ready to excuse myself and come back later when I recognized the prin- cipal to be none other than Charles Moore. The secretary he had been dic- tating to was his wife, Sue. Sue and Charlie had two children of their own in school here. When we had finished discussing the political situation, Charlie said, I'lI bet you'd be interested in what the rest of our class is doing. First of all, look out the window, he said. Of course I expected to see Branson's house, but instead there was a huge building with a Packard sign on top of it. Bill Bowman certainly proved himself when he left here by becoming top sales- man in the Packard business, said Charlie. That's his place now. It seemed as though many of my classmates had settled down in and around Mahomet, because I soon found that three of the girls were teaching here in MCHS. Imogene Keller was the Driver's Training Instructor as well as being in charge of the library and play production of the school. June Pence was the vocal instructor. The school had won many first division rat- ings in the music contests under her supervision. Wanda Specht was also teaching here. She was the bookkeeping instructor as well as business man- ager for unit three. This is certainly a fine surprise, I said. I'm so glad to see that so man of m former classmates had one to coIIege. Y Y 9 Here is another surprise for you, said Charles handing me the TRIBUNE. I' gasped with amazement when I saw the picture of Paul Mathis, the Home Run King. Charlie told me that PauI's success was due in large part to the excellent management of Richard Maley. Roy Pierce is the Farm Advisor for Champaign County, said Charlie, when I inquired about Roy. He is a fine leader and has been quite helpful to the farmers. There are only three members left now and I suppose you are wonder- ing about them, said Charlie. Well, Bob Barrett has won great fame all over the U. S. A. for his stock car racing. Louis Burnett has profited from Bob's fame since he owns the Mahomet Race Track. There is some form of entertainment there every night. In the winter he floods the track and makes an out-of-door ice rink. Last but not least is Joan Jones. Joan is a busy housewife, but still finds time to assist her husband in his teaching of music at the University of Southern California. They have two boys and one girI. Suddenly I felt as though someone had thrown a bucket of water in my face, but upon awakening I found it was only a September shower. I ran quickly into my house feeling only too happy about the dream which had once more brought me news of my friends of twenty years ago at Mahomet High School.

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HOP QC? I, Senator Bob Vandiver, leisurely strolled out into the beautiful garden of my Washington home one hot sultry September afternoon. I had been elected by the majority to represent the Mahomet-Seymour district in the Senate. This had been a trying day for me and as I relaxed on my terrace my thoughts drifted into slumber land. Suddenly in my subconscious mind I pictured myself in a huge jet propelled cruiser leaving Washington. I was tapped very gently on my shoulder and reminded to fasten my safety belt by the stewardess who was Ellen Czubak. Ellen told me she had been an air hostess for the last five years. As we traveled along at 600 miles an hour, Ellen came to my seat and told me I was wanted by the Captain. Imagine my surprise when I saw Bill Crouch in the piIot's seat. Bill asked me to sit down in the seat beside him because he knew I would be interested in seeing some of the sights. We were now flying over the state of Indiana and Bill pointed out a beautiful dairy farm nestled in the hills. That's where Betty and Cecil Dunlap live, said Bill. You know Cecil always did like to milk cows and Cecil had said Betty was a very good housekeeper and their three children were just as smart as she was. The next farm that Bill called to my atten- tion was the Tear-Keller Angus farm. Bill informed me that their herd was the best in the United States. Dorothy and Phil have two sets of twin boys. I noticed we were losing altitude and before I knew it we had landed at Mahomet Air Field. Bill said this was one of his regular stops, because the airport was owned by Don Branson. As I got out of the airplane, I met Dan Davis, the chief mechanic. Dan said that the airplane business had been a huge success and that in I5 years they had had only one accident and that was when Bob Dale, a retired war admiral, crashed into the watch tower and was confined in the hospital with a broken back. Upon deciding to go to my old Alma Mater, I hailed a cab and to my great surprise I met another school chum, Joyce Blanchard, the cabby. She told me that Regina Roberts was happily married to Larry Gnagey and she was proprietor of a beauty salon here in Mahomet. With a screech of brakes we stopped in front of the Mahomet High School. I bade Joyce good-bye and proceeded on my way up the steps. I was met by Lola Burnett, the receptionist. We talked a few minutes and then I was ushered into the principal's office.

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Jhdfory of Me 'Hiro U The class of l9l2 of Mahomet High School was a very ambitious and energetic class. They thought the public would want to know what the high school students were doing. A big idea came to them: they would put out the first Mahomet High School yearbook, and it would be known as the Retro. Immediately the Juniors were hustling and bustling about. Pictures were taken and articles were written. The Retro was well under way. The students were assisted by Mr. W. C. Hayward and Miss Jennie E. Pierce who were the entire faculty of MCHS that year. The following facts were learned from the first Retro : the first high school in Mahomet was a building south of the spot where the grade school now stands. At the close of the Civil War, a large brick building was erected on the site of the present grade school. This building served for many years -until l906 when a new building was completed. However, the new build- ing was burned the same year it was finished, and the school had to be re- built. The new building is Mahomet Grade School today, it served as the high school until l92O when the present high school building was completed. The Retro of l9ll showed that the graduating class of that year numbered six members, five girls and one boy. Since that class was so small, the Juniors, numbering seventeen, assumed the responsibilities of publish- ing the first yearbook and managing the literary societies. The custom of publishing the Retro was begun because it was felt that it would increase school pride and spirit. The Retro staff of 1950 was able to get the information for this history by the kind assistance of Mrs. Matt D. Herriott.