Morton High School - Top Hat Yearbook (Hammond, IN)

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Hammond 10 Chicago 34 1. Contractors invade — trees fall, the ground is broken. The birth of a new shopping mall. Cars fill the parking lot. People from all over, not just the general vicinity, arrive to take advantage of the 83 stores. 2. Millrats — a stereotype applied to people living in the Calumet Region. One hundred thousand people work at the five steel mills. Inland alone has 23,000 employees. 3. Industries build on the lake- front and what little exists is threatened by nature. Because of high waves, Whiting may someday lose its beach. Once a well used park, Whiting Beach was closed for swimming because of contaminated water. Now huge boulders, placed by government engineers, replace sandy beaches. 4. Jump into the car, choose one of three main routes, fight heavy traffic and then — the Loop. As close as Chicago is, 24 miles, seldom do students travel there — a Christmas shop¬ ping excursion or once every four months for the average concert-goer.

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Steel mills, oil refineries provide job opportunities Where are there more job op¬ portunities than anyplace in the United States? The Calumet Region. With five large steel mills, (four ranking among the top ten in the nation ' s production), oil refineries and factories, jobs for men and women are accessible. Is it any surprise that Hammond is also con¬ sidered the Crossroads of Ameri¬ ca — with more railroads running through than any other city in the nation? It ' s probably no surprise — it seems that to get across town, beating trains is a greater hassle than fighting traffic. Industry and railroads don ' t com¬ pletely dominate the area though. Lake Michigan ' s shores run north toward Michigan City, with Indiana State Dunes lying in between. When the weather breaks, students prefer the beaches to school. Absences slowly climb with the temperature. Promoting higher education, the Region provides three college ex- tentions. Area students find it easier to save on expenses and still have a choice of going to Purdue Uni¬ versity Calumet Campus, Indiana University Northwest or St. Joseph ' s Calumet Campus in East Chicago. Even with the rise in unemploy¬ ment, the Region remained fortu¬ nate. The jobless rate reported in the Region was slight compared to other industrial cities. Most em¬ ployers resorted to cutting hours, creating four day work weeks, rather than laying off employees.

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Standard of Living to Decline Rebates spur sales The war is over, soldiers are home and college campuses are at peace with the Establishment. So what ' s there to worry about in 1975? Issues in the 60 ' s didn ' t directly affect high school students. Today, national matters concern all students — directly or indirect¬ ly- How long does $10 last? A dollar or two can be easily spent at a restaurant. Three or four just for some type of entertainment, the remainder blown throughout the week on trivial items. Expenses are high, especially if the source of income comes from parents. A pair of Levis is $14, an album anywhere from $4 to $8. Complaints are heard continuously, Wow, these pants are $28; but consumers still buy and prices rise. Last year the Watergate scandal stirred the emotions of many. This year a number one best seller All the President ' s Men appeared on the shelves of bookstores. The true account written by Carl Bern¬ stein and Bob Woodward informed the public of the details involved in the story of ' 74 — Watergate. Remember the block long lines waiting for a fill-up before the gasless week-ends? Worrying about gasless Sundays is now obsolete, but finding a gas station with gas lower than 55 cents a gallon is the problem facing automobile owners. Small economy cars, like the Pacer, replaced larger ones. 75 Unemployment in 1974-1975 7Q Seasonally adjusted Per cent of work force Experts rip optimistic forecasts on economy