Memorial High School - Reata Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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,JJ 1 eww? ' mmf? I INSTRUCTING BAND MEMBERS on the drill team for the week's performance, band director Jack Greenburg points out some weak spots. The band practices daily during football season along with the Markettes in the Church of Christ parking lot. Photo by Scott Waughtal. HQ- 1455. c -r ,V+ as feogm.. Red Hotl ' 201

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The magic of spirit lfrieol Hoi pirit. From a seventh grader dressed in red and white, waving a banner at a football game for his future team, to a Wrangler dressed jauntily in a barrel at a pep rally, Spirit varied in forms and intensity. What is spirit? Webster's dictionary gives 14 different definitions of spirit, ranging from vital spirit to courage. You can be in spirits, cheerful or lively, you can be out of spirits, gloomy or depressed. You can't touch spirit. You can't really see spirit. But you can feel it. When it is right, it pervades the air like the scent of fresh-cut pine wood, and when it is wrong, well, we've had some of both. Beginning with the football season, spirit had its vicissitudes depending on the moods of the students and how the various teams fared. Following last year,s excellent By Catherine Chriss pre-district play upset some students, the team won every other game until the end. Venturing to the Astrodome for Bi-district play, the Mustangs lost to Kashmere on November 5. CHANNELS OF SPIRIT There were some changes with the football season. Because of a new gym floor, two pep rallies were held out- doors. Band member Rene Abat thought the first pep rally, which was held out- side in drizzly weather, contributed to a lack of spirit at the beginning of the season. In the gym everyone's together, and yelling, but outside I couldnit hear the cheerleaders yelling and I was right by them, she said. Cheerleader Marjorie Wandel agreed with Rene. It was a lot noisier in the gym so it made more spirit, she to be outdoors, was moved to the audi- torium because of rainy weather. After the pep rally, the Wranglers bom- barded Sigma Gamma in the courtyard with waterballoons. Wrangler Presi- dent Fred Stow said, We had heard that afternoon that Sigma Gamma was going to throw water balloons at us. We all went over to Sav-On and bought some balloons and went to the showers and filled them up. We were ready for them and they didn't have any bal- loons, we didn't want to waste them, so we just threw them? The rest of the pep rallies which fol- lowed were all back in the gym, much to the relief of everyone. Wranglers for the first time, sat next to Sigma Gamma instead across the gym. Sigma Gamma President Karen Provenzano said this was to prevent the new gym floor from getting scratched record, the Varsity Football Team went said. . almost as far this year. Though Va loss in afsumvwv-Y PUZZLED BY THE CAMERA, Sophomores Barbara Trowbridge and Anne Mattingly stand frozen in position. Both girls held flags during the halftime performance of the Spring Branch game. The girls were only two of the 12 flag bearers performing. Photo by Scott Waughtal. Red Hot! Depth design by Carol Devlin and Cheryl Sumner ' One pep rally which was scheduled or marred. Continued on page 202 DURING THE COOL WEEKS OF FALL, Trombone player Todd Johnson practices after school with the band and Markettes. Todd and other band members devised their own version of Star Wars which they played at games. Markette Kelley Truesdell said, The first six weeks they played it, it was okay, but it did get a bit monotonous. Photo by Scott Waughtal. OPPOSITE PAGE: AFTERNOON SHADOWS LENGTHEN as Junior Darcie Raible rehearses a military pom pon routine to Dixie, The Markettes performed a traditional patriotic show in military uniforms for the Spring Branch game. Photo by Scott Waughtal.

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Life of Performers - Qverfirrio Conlinued from page 200 They used to throw toilet paper and stuff acr ss the gym and this year they didn't wczlnt the floor to be harmed. she said. OVERTIME DUTIES Spirit for many began in early August. The Markettes practiced an hour or two five days a week, learning and perfecting routines and getting in shape for the season. Developing bobby sox tans, the girls marched on the hot asphalt preparing for the sea- son. Joining the Markettes was the band. Summer practice carried into after- school practice. Practice for both the band and Markettes usually lasted until 5 p.m. Markettes began with warm-up exer- cises and usually either practiced the routines in the gym or marched to the church parking lot where they prac- ticed the half-time show with the band. Some of the songs played were Dixief' Sir Duke,', Star Wars, and Johnny Comes Marching Home. Everyone really got tired of 'Dixief said bass clarinet player Rene Abat. We played it a whole lot. Sophomore Markettes and Cadet band members anxiously awaited each week's line up, to see if they got to march. Aside from the marchers. the Markettes at half-time had flag hold- ers. These girls rehearsed with the rest of the band and drill team. Most of the routines we do on the field are very old. This year was an exception, said ,Junior Catherine McClesky. Catherine cited Basin Street Blues as. an example. The Markettes have been performing Basin Street for nine years. Afternoon practice at times lasted until 6 p.m. 'gAbout the second time we'd gone over a drill, Miss Josey would tell us exactly how it was. If it was bad sheid tell us, Catherine said. She added that sometimes the band would quit and Miss Josey thought the Markettes needed more practice, they would keep practicing. She won't yell but she gets a tone of voice that is very authoritative. She realizes that we're all hot and tired but we're gonna keep going over it till we get it right, Catherine added. Trombone player Billy Cohn thought that afternoon practice some- times dragged on and on. Some of the people like it. but after four years it gets pretty boring. We go over the drill hundreds of times so the people who can't figure it out, can get it straight and sharpen it as sa up, Billy said. FLASH GLOVES ln the hustle and bustle of marching season, it was a relief to some sopho- more Markettes that they had a secret pal. Game days not only meant bring- ing flash gloves to school and being in a Friday Markette suit, but it also meant that a senior or junior Markette would shower her secret pal with packs of Big Red chewing gum, hobby horses. or anything to boost spirit. 'KWhen we played Kashmere, l got a doll that looked like a Kashmere girl, a little black, girl. said sophomore Betsy Howell. Although she tried to guess who her secret pal was, she did not know until the Secret Pal Party, on December 6. 'Alt was a costume party, and we had to walk in our costumes in front of Miss Josey, and they judged us on the most original, cleverest. or fanciestf' said sophomore Barbara Trowbridge, winner of the cleverest. The Markettes, especially the sen- iors, anxiously awaited the Markette banquet held at Memorial Drive Coun- try Club on December l. Prizes were awarded to the girls sell- ing the most Christmas cards at the six- teenth annual banquet. For the third consecutive year, Valarie Holladay won the top sales award for selling over S3400 in cards. Valerie received a tro- phy and a watch as a reward. Best All-Around Member, elected by the members, resulted in a tie between Drum Major Rebecca Watts and Cap- tain Cheryl Sumner. Seniors who marched in every game for three years to receive a trophy were Carol Devlin, Kimberly Gantt, Deborah Stork, and Rebecca Watts. Proceeds from the Christmas card sales helped finance the 540.000 trip to Washington, D.C. to march in the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. Tak- ing inventory at Neiman-Marcus raised additional funds along with money left over from the 1976 Peach Bowl trip to Atlanta. A chartered plane flew the 97 girls, Sponsor Dorothy Josey, and chaper- ones to Crystal City, Virginia, where they stayed in the Marriot from March 29 to April 2. Sightseeing encompassed Virginia, Maryland, and the Washing- ton area where the group wisited the Smithsonion Institute, the U.S. Mint, the Capital, and the White House for a personal tour. Girls placed a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and took a moonlight cruise of te city by boat.