North High School - Tower Yearbook (Wichita, KS)

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each year at the graduation ceremony. One of the most popular events of the sprlng ls Redskln Rythms. The tal- ent show, staged and re-staged on two consecutlve nights, stars North stu- dents In an array of music, comedy, and dance skits. The stage band and other North muslcal groups also par- tlclpate In the program. Another high- light of the annual show Is the presen- tatlon of instrumental and vocal mu- slc awards, wlth two reclplents In each category. Redskln Rhythms was start- ed ln 1958, maklng It one of North's newest traditions. As the end of the year approaches, so do three more traditions. The first ls an assembly for the entlre school held after the class offlcer electlons, at which the retiring Senior Class presi- dent passes the paddle to the suc- ceedlng class president. The canoe paddle ls a reminder to the new Senior class that even though IIfe ls some- tlmes an upstream battIe they must try hard to succeed. Archle McVlcar, North's flrst senlor class presldent, started this tradltlon, and although lt has faded out over the years, plans are belng made to revlve lt In 1979. Rlng turning, the second of the three tradltlons that closes the school year, takes place under Butch. The ceremony slgnlfles that the junlor ls now a senlor. To commemorate the occasion, a senior turns a junlor's class rlng around and glves the junlor a klss for good luck. The last tradition of the school year ls the one that every senior looks for- ward to: cllmblng the stalrs and lad- ders to the top of the tower. When they reach the end of their long climb, the senlors slgn their names wherever they can. The names remain there un- tll the Interior of the tower ls repalnt- ed to make room for more names. The departing upperclassmen often leave behind a message or two. Some, llke I never thought you'd make It, are ln- tended for underclassmen, while oth- ers, Ilke, lt took me twelve years to cllmb that ladder, are to no one ln particular. Tower slgnlng ls no doubt one of the thlngs that dlstlngulshes North from other schools. Though traditions come and go, the ones that have remalned at North are the ones that probably wlll stlll be around another flfty years. And these are the ones that make North Hlgh graduates speclal. 1. In 1936, the tradition of ring turning is observed by Butch. 2. Showing signs of a hard first half is Home- coming candldate Mark Marasco, '79, with can- didate Cathy Jeffers, '79, 3. Varsity cheerleaders raise onlookers'spirit with a rouslng rendition of War Cry. 4. Clark Minton, senior class president of 1959, passes the paddle to Jerry Williams, sen- ior class president of 1960.

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TRABITMNS Students Still Value Time-Honored Annual Customs Dances, Homecomlng, and Senior Prom are memories cherlshed by ev- ery hlgh school graduate. But only North alumnl can look back and smlle at tradltlons Ilke Redskln Rhythms, Rlng Turning under Butch, and Tower Slgnlng. Through the flfty years of North, many tradltlons have come and gone. But one that has been popular slnce North's openlng ls the dances. Dances are held throughout the year for dlf- ferent occaslons and sometlmes even wlthout occaslon. The annual Home- comlng Dance ls held ln the fall of the year and ls one of the most tradltlonal. Instead or Homecoming Klng and Queen Ilke other schools, North has always crowned Plgskln Pete and Varsity Sue . Also, alumnl from North are Invlted to return for one last dance. The flrst Homecoming Dance held was formal. It was changed to seml-formal ln the flftles and eventu- ally moved to casual, slnce lt was held dlrectly after the Homecoming foot- ball game. ln 1978, however, It was held on a Saturday nlght and was once agaln seml-formal. Homecoming nlght may seem a little awkward for the guys, because the whole affair ls Sadie Hawklns style. The glrls ask the guys to the dance and continue to treat them throughout the evenlng. When sprlng rolls around, it's the guys' turn to domlnate the evening at another of the yearly dances, the Prom. Slnce the Prom has always been formal, the nlght turns out pretty ex- pensive. Dennis Wright, '58. talked of one of the expenses. The teachers used to always search the guys for booze, he remlnlsced, so we made the glrls sew pockets underneath those big pettlcoats they used to wear and they sneaked our booze ln for us. Carolyn Eby Grier, '55, said that slnce the dances were always held ln the gymnasium, lt always smelled Ilke a gym and there was lots of crepe pa- per. North has not always had a Prom. In the '30's, graduation dances for the seniors were held at the Forum. Like- wlse, because of the lmposslblllty of havlng both Senior and Junlor-Senlor Proms as usual, the Class of '78 dl wlthout. Instead, Senlor Celebr tlon, a seml-formal dance and dl ner,along with entertalnment,was hel ln the school cafeterla. Who knows, lr may be the start of a new tradltlon. Muslc and danclng have gone hanl ln hand at North slnce 1929. Wha true Redskln doesn't know the Nortl High War Cry, written by Dui Middleton, then an Instrumental m slc Instructor here. For flfty year nothlng has distressed our opponen more than the sounds of drums an brass that revlve the splrlt of Redskl warrlors on the field and on the court North's Alma Mater, another a the tradltlonal tunes, started out as poem. ln 1949, Student Councll spo sored a contest In the hope of recelu lng an artlstlc Impression of Redskl loyalty. The winning poem, written Charles Habernlgg, '50, was set to t tune of The Halls of Ivy. One of t muslc teachers, Mrs. Todd Woolf, w granted permlsslon to do so, but lat she composed her own arrangemen The revlsed Alma Mater Is su

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T I-IE Rl ALRY Spirited North-East Vendetta Endures For 50 Years There ls, ln sports, a certaln Intensl- fylng, excltlng element known as an arch rlvalry. The opposlng school ln such a rlvalry must be beaten at all costs, ln order to avold Ilvlng under an embarrasslng cloud of defeat for an entlre year. That one speclal game can make a one-and-elght season a wln- nlng season, as long as the slngle vlc- tory ls agalnst that other schooI. For North Hlgh, that must-wln game has been agalnst the East Hlgh Aces.AIth- ough the opening of West Hlgh In 1953 ended Wlchlta's days of belng a two- school town, and consequently some of the rIvalry's fervor, the North-East game wlll always be somethlng spe- clal, lf only because of the rlvaIry's zealous hlstory. On the day of the football game, stu- dents were released from school at around noon for all of the pre-game actlvltles. A parade comprlsed of both of the schools' bands, several floats from each school, and varlous dlgnl- tarles of the school system made Its way down Douglas, lnvolvlng the en- tlre clty In the rlvalry. Besldes the bands and floats, former North athle- tlc dlrector Blll Klncald always trled to get a student to dress up ln war palnt and bonnet to rlde along on some sway-backed horse. The rldlng Red- skln added a North Hlgh touch to the parade that the Aces never could du- pllcate. After the game, students from both of the schools would go to a dance sponsored by elther North or East for the crownlng of Grandstand Sue and Plgskln Pete. The dance sup- posedly made everyone frlends agaln after the normally bltter contest, and was usually peaceful. Perhaps the most bltter football game of the rlvalry was In 1948, In terms of both weather and game. The parade was cancelled on account of sleet and sub-freezlng weather, al- though a few tough tradltlonllsts ex- hlblted thelr floats on Douglas wlthout the rest of the procession. Both North and East were undefeated, and, as the game was always the last of the sea- son, It was to determlne the Ark Valley champlon. During the flrst half, both teams sllpped and stumbled up and down the fleld but nelther team could score. In the thlrd quarter, however, the Aces recelved a punt on thelr own flfteen-yard llne, and fumbled It away a few yards later. Ell Romero scored the Redskln's touchdown from flve yards out, and Bob Cooper klcked the seventh polnt through the uprlghts. East later scored a touchdown but could not convert, and North beat the Aces for the flrst tlme In slx years, seven to slx. The exuberant students then went to the dance at the Forum, held there for the flrst tlme because of the extra large crowd, and burnt off the day's excltment to the tunes of Dlck Haughton's band. Some students, however, rldded thelr excess energy In a more artlstlc way. Every few years students would bulld enough nerve to go on an Infa- mous palntlng expedltlon. The key tar- get of the North Hlgh Art Club was, and stlll ls, the statue In front of East Hlgh, whose students could and usual- ly would return the favor all over the Mlnlsa Brldge, only ln blue Instead of red. Occaslonally the culprlts were caught, but when they were not, the Student Legislature of the offendlng school had to pay for the expenses of restorlng the artwork to Its orlglnal color. Thls was not the occaslon In 1943, however, when Prlnclpal E. C. Strange concluded that Darrell Green, '43, had done the dlrty deed, by the brlght red palnt all over DarreII's hands the next mornlng. Another rath- er lnept eplsode occurred before the 50th Annlversary game, In 1978. Not only were North students caught palntlng a statue, but It happened to be the Roosevelt Junlor Hlgh statue, and not the one In front of East. Naturally, the superintendent of schools always trled to prevent these klnds of vandallsm, and one of the technlques used was Fleld Day. Fleld Day orlglnated when there was only one hlgh school ln Wlchlta on North Emporla, and was then Intended to consume the rlvalry between junlors and senlors In a supervlsed way. But Fleld Day's purpose changed after North opened, to break down the sometlmes destructlve rlvalry be- tween North and East. Teams conslst- I r I I I 1 1 4 1 I I 1 J l