Merrillville High School - Merrillvue Yearbook (Merrillville, IN)

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Rising to leave, we are halted by a small disturbance. The bouncer Jerry Standlev is trying to throw out a drunk. After such a full day, we are very ready to return to the hotel and catch 40 winks before starting out again in the morning. The first thing on our schedule for the day is a football game between the Washing- ton Redskins and another pro team. Oustanding on the team are some of our former Pirate stars: Chuck Smith, Don Smith, Steve Yaros, Ed McDonald, and Don Barclay. The other team doesn t stand a chance with such an able cheering section led by Shir- ley Brechner, Dorothy Shearer, Maggie Rosenbalm, and Phyl Schnabel. (And they ' re pretty, too.) Right there getting a play by play pictorial report is Dave Fryer, the famous news- paper photographer. Also on hand --selling peanuts, no less --is Donna Halsted By the way, the team won. Then the high point of our trip is reached--the Inaugural Ball. We drive up in our limousine chauffeured by Clarence Halfman. As we enter and look around us, we notice other important people who are present, among them, the man responsible for leading his party to victory--that able orator, Bob Craig. He introduced us to the German Am- bassador to the United States, Adolph Hohl.whom we remember as an exchange student back in our senior year in high school. Another ambassador whom we meet is Marilyn Lavery, who carries our word to England. She informed us that Bob Randall had recog- nized an ambition of his by winning the annual Nobel award for oustanding achieve- ment in science. Then came the biggest thrill of our trip--meeting the new president of the United States--Carl Kraft and his able vice-president, Jerry Hamilton. We feel confident of a peaceful administration. At the conclusion of our trip, we drive toward the airport, owned by Gloria Sullivan and Dale McNary, and pass the brightly lit Roller Dome jointly run by Judy Hollar and Ruth Frank. Posted on the side of the building is a wanted Sign out for Don Gorgas alias Buggsy. Arriving at the information booth, we inquire of Dot Wolff where we get tickets She directs us to another ex-Merrillville student, Kathi Hunter, who sells them to us We are ushered to our seats by capable Dorothy Reid, the stewardess, who assured us of a safe trip. And with such able crewman, consisting of Phil Ayers, pilot; Jim Shawver, co-pilot; and Norman Schultz, radioman; we feel truly at ease. We meet another of our old classmates, Ralph Gustafson, who is a missionary to foreign lands. After chatting a time, we settle back to read a current newspaper. On the front page, we see glowing accounts of the jet ace, Ransom Freeman. Then turning to the sport section, we read of the latest feats of strength of Darrell The Mad Russian Maxey, who is now a famous wrestler. As we close the paper, our eyes are caught by a picture of the latest toast of Broadway. She turns out to be the stage star, Marion Knoop, now appearing in a successful play. We came to the end of our trip with a feeling of satisfaction in finding our class of 53 so successful in their chosen fields. 28

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VACATION TIME IN ’63 Vacation time is here again; and, after due consideration we have decided to take a trip to our nation ' s capital and see if we might be able to look up some of out old classmates while sightseeing. Upon boarding our bus furnished, of course, by Birk ' s Busy Bus Business, the first person we see is the wealthy Texas oil man, Ken Byerly. He called our attention to our driver whom we discovered to be another of our classmates, Dan Stoltz. Consulting our guide book, we discover that one of the main points of interest on our trip is Tony Es- sick ' s cow farm, which we have been going past for two hours now. Quite a large farm! Reaching the half-way point of our trip, we refuel at Griffin ' s Greasy Garage oper- ated by Carl Griffin and attended by Charles Kitchell. Then we stop for a snack at Don ' n Shirl’s Restaurant owned by Don Conrad and Shirley Jenkins. Once inside, we are waited on by two sociable girls (Anita Good and Shirley Kros) who serve us our delicious meal. After reaching our destination, Washington, D.C., we hurry to the beautiful Reveal Hotel, owned by Barbara Reveal. The porter, Les Nelson, takes our luggage and directs us to the receptionist, Florence Lowell, who in turn, cordially directs us to our room. Ready for an evening of excitement, we jump into a taxi from (Delores) Sager s Cab Company and settle back for a peaceful ride. But it isn ' t peaceful long, for we are startled by a resounding crash. As we rush to the scene of the accident, one of Ams- baugh ' s Ambulances, driven by Rich Herzog, screeches to a halt, narrowly missing the police car drawn up at the curb. From the officer, who turns out to be none other than Art Kaiser, we learn the details of the accident. It seems that after completing Russ Houchin ' s Drivers Training Course, Bryant Wade had just wrecked his car. (Small won- der) After this harrowing experience, we calmed down enough to look in on Violet Craig at her Curio Shop to say hello. She also told us to be sure to stop in to see Midgett’s Auto Races, owned and operated by Dick Midge tt, another of the Merrillville Alumni. After promising to, we then hurry on to the Treasury Building where we have an ap- pointment with some of our friends who are now cabinet members. We are greeted by the new Secretary of the Treasury, Nancy Clark, who calls over the Secretary of State, Judy High, and the incoming Secretary of Agriculture, Don DeVries. They get together and offer us tickets to the Inaugural Ball, to be held the next evening. We accept with pleasure and arrange to meet there on the following night. Then changing to our best evening clothes, we prepared for an evening at the most exclusive night spot in Washington- -the one and only King’s Kastle, owned by Shirley King. We enter and are seated by the headwaiter, Bob Smith. While waiting for the floor show, we turn our attention to the audience around us. Seated at one table, we find the former Beverly Pruiett and her husband , the former Lucricia McDade and her husband, and likewise, Frances Marselak and Sandy Frazure. At last the lights dim and the spot light shines on the M. C., Fred Jack Benny Rigby, who introduces the first act, a duet composed of those singers, Judy Nearing and none other than Frank Halfman. The applause from this number has barely died, when the chorus line composed of Mary Ann Olejneczak, Doris Polomchak and Barbara Miller file onto the stage. After listening to the smooth rhythm of the duet and watching the diverting talents of the dancers, we were highly entertained by a rising young comic familiar to most of us, Jerry Blaze. Looks like he’s on his way up. The last act is a fast-moving acrobatic number lead by Betty Bodamer. Also in the troupe are June Riddle, James Warot, and James Adler. They were very entertaining. 27

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1. What ' s the at- traction? 2. The morning after. 3. Men at work. 4. Lovely To Look 5. American beauties. 6. You don’t have to twist my arm. 7. Sleepy Time Gals. 8. Hop in. at. 29