North High School - Polar Bear Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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1920-1939 OVERCROWDING EXISTS Kr mi nia Barsetti and Gene McGuire % e rv present at their 50th reunion. held here ai North in September. i-s. -V- 8 V North II i h Drum Majorettes, 1939 North Mini) Drum Ma- jors, 1939 The fall of l ( 22. enrollment of North High increased three-fold. larger en roll men! resulted in overcrowded conditions. Only one real disaster has occurred at North and thai was a fire in the auditorium January 21. 92. . It burst forth apparent!) spontaneous!) and destroyed everything in the loom, hut did no harm to any person. Steps toward securing a school emblem were taken in earl) 1 924. The class of 1921 left a sum of mone) to be given to the school artist who should submit the best design. The North High School seal h as accepted by a vote of the w hole school on Febuar) 29, 192 1. Bj this time in North ' s history, more clubs were add- ed. Librar) squad, art club, camera club, student council, and science club brought much participation. It was a ran- case to find a non-involved student. North ' s dedicated hunch of teachers saw to it that all were involved. Miss Kr- minia Barsetti of the class of 1 ( 2. ). (ailed her teachers J ew els of Teachers , Curriculum offerings have staved much the same. Since 1903, when art, music, and dramatics were added, these departments have done excellent work. North has been very fortunate in securing teachers with great ability and enthusiasm. During the 20 - and 30 -. more sports came into the picture, e.g., tennis, golf, and swimming. The 1925 basket- ball team captured the cit) championship, which a the fourth consecutive time, (roll played a major part in l ( J2l and l ( )2. ) with interest captivating girls as well as boys. North also cheered on two more champion football team-, one i n I 93 I. a not her in 1 ( W7. In l ( )28. North - enrollment grew. More room was needed to accomodate in-COming pupil-. In i )2 i ). North gained an added building, including a boys 1 gymnasium, a swimming pool, an enlarged stage, and class room-. Have you ever thought of what you will remember most about North High man) years later? The class of l 2. remembers well. John Montgomery recall- North as a No nonsense school — work or gel out. Gene McGuire remembers rides home from football practice. Uter spending three years of your life at North, memories will certainly be recalled, perhaps even fifty years Liter. 3 1. 1926— Warren G. Hardin : elected Presi- dent 2. 1925— Frozen rood invented 3. 1927— Lindbergh ' s solo flight t. 1929 -Stock Market crash 5, 1933— Roosevelt ' s New Deal 6. 1939— WW II begins

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North ' s Declining Enrollment 1960-1975 and Drama Departments presented Bye Bye Birdie ' Above: Child Care was a new class in- troduced in 1975. Right: Steve Larson (middle) was the first receive a 4-year Scholarship from The years 1960-1970 were the so-called care-free years. Peo- ple depended on each other and worked together to achieve goals and pleasures. There was a sense of pride as students and faculty worked together. The many clubs offered the student opportunities for developing leadership, friendships and character. Some were Drama Club, Judicial Board, Inter-City Council, Foreign Exchange, Pep Kadets, and Flag Twirlers, Dolphins, and Letterman ' s Club. The first couple years of the 70 ' s, individualism became impor- tant and was stressed not only in school, but outside of school. Peo- ple became concerned for themselves as opportunities to express their feelings grew in number. Lowering of the voting age is one ex- ample. Participators were few. Enrollment certainly had played its part. In 1965, enrollment was 1500. In two years, several factors en- forced a change. With the completion of Hoover High in 1967, m prospective North students enrolled at Hoover. Also, boundary A changes compelled more students to attend East. North exists in an older part of town with little room for new housing. A large share of the homes are occupied by retired persons. Whether North lives or dies, lies in the hands of the School Board, administration, and parents. During the early 1970 ' s many new courses were introduced to provide for individual interests with an emphasis on career educa- tion. Some are Creative Writing, Journalism Graphics, Semantics, Public Issues, Music Theater, and AFJROTC. © Group efforts did not totally die out in the 70 ' s. The North High Band spent eight days in Hawaii in 1972, and performed in the 100th annual King Kamehameha Day Celebration. The trip was made possible by a personal invitation from the Govenor of Hawaii. ■ They were so well received that they received an open invitation to I return, which they did in 1975. The 1970-1971 basketball season was one of sadness and I success. In mid-December the teams coach, Jimmy Lyle, died of a I heart attack but the Comeback Kids , as they were known, finished the season with a 20 win — 3 loss record. The 1974 football team, with an 8-1 record earned the right to compete in the state playoffs. Girls ' atheletics became more evident, with the starting of basket- ball, track, and softball. 1. I960— John F. Kennedy took office. 2. 1964— Vietnam War began. 3. 1969 — Man steps on the Moon. 4. 1971 -Voting age lowered. 5. 1974-The Watergate trials.