Paris High School - Owl Yearbook (Paris, TX)

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l T QF Bravinithe wind, speech students take a reak from school activities to have a picnic. Among other activities, the group attended meet- ings and gave speeches for con- test. Flowers are one of the many sym- bols of the coming of springs Signing a lriend's yearbook, Marti Jordan concentrates on what to write. At the Owl staff coffee for the fac- ulty, Miss Sharon Morgan and Mr. Ralph Rodgers compliment the food. Mr. Bill King displays his collection ot snakes in Mr. Ralph Rodgers' biology class. 1 Rf s i GJ 313 55 IQ E. 0 E. 0 0

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f ,HU I spring I2 April 29 brought the long awaited Junior-Senior Prom. Class sponsors and officers had been busy all week working on final details and decorations. The theme was Stairway to Heaven , with music provided by Phren-z, a band from Dallas. Seniors also looked for- ward to the annual Senior picnic at Wade Park. A feast was laid out before them. Barbecue and all the trim- mings were provided by Phil's Hickory House. Tears of sadness and excitement filled the air on May 26th. Seniors had mixed emotions about grad- uating. Graduation was here at last and with it came old traditions for commence- ment exercises. Dale Smith, salutatorian, gave the wel- come, and Karen Clark gave the valedictory speech. Rev. James Logan, Jr. spoke for the assembly. His topic was Never Give Up, appropri- An exciting part of the year ate for the class that was going to be on its own. The band performed commence- ment music as each Senior accepted their diploma. Noyes Stadium was a scene of excitement as the caps flew into the air. Spring proved to be an exciting part of the year. Not only did it refresh us from the hum-drum days of win- ter, it also wound up a year with fascination. Showing his prize winning bull, Harvey McCoin gets many points from the judges. Many of the Ag students were required to attend and enter their animals in the Live- stock Show. David Mussetter initiates Karen Hood into NHS while Tina High- tower watches. The initiation was formal with friends and family attending. After the Owl debut, Kim Doyal and Walter Brown take time out to sign each other's yearbooks.

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3 C0 2 oi cu '6 ill cn o E C2 31-I gm :E X gm 'UE Q It reminded you of a ghost town. A dry, dusty, deserted and spooky place. The once busy and crowded streets were a desolate void. This is what could happen to down- town Paris. More and more we saw the city limits expand as progress caused the city to grow outward. This popular downtown metropolis used to be the center of all city activity. Going to the town square was a special occasion for those who lived in the out- skirts of the city. On Satur- day night the plaza was jam packed with teenagers as well as adults. Paris was an old town. lt had survived two major fires, one in the 1880's and one in 1916. Miraculously a few of the buildings endured the blazes. The First National Bank building, Gibralter Hotel, and The Scott Build- ing still stand in the down- town area. As the people of the town moved outward so did the city limits. Many major busi- nesses also headed toward the city suburbs. Slowly downtown activity began to decrease and in just a few short years new modern shopping centers were being built farther out. The large department stores moved to these places because of the new facilities that went along with them, such as more parking space. The new locations of the stores were also more convenient to the public. New and larger firms also came with the move. More restaurants and gift shops popped up around the city. it was an obvious fact that as the city grew outward the downtown square became smaller and less occupied. Parisians now saw their once small farm town grow into a medical, industrial, and trade center for this area. New modern highways aided in the growth, they allowed pedestrians to go to and from the town and sur- rounding countryside quicker, safer, and easier than ever before. Paris was truly a growing city headed in the right direction. Progress and population were also on the move. The people of Paris were con- verging to the northeast section of the city. The plans to build a new K-Mart in the north part of town caused This part of Mirabeau Shopping Center can always be found busy with many new customers. VT Making the Most of ci Ghost land prices around that area to jump up considerably and realtors strove to be able to transact land. The downtown area was not deserted completely. There were a few busi- nesses to occupy the recently moved ones. How- ever, as the new firms moved in, they too chose the new facilities offered by the new shopping centers. The planning of restora- tion projects for the down- town area kept the City plan- ner and his staff busy with taking bids from construc- tion companies. After being in the same location for over 50 years, the S.H. Kress store closed due to declining downtown business. 35,2 T' 9,1 lf' iiir Qi? li an ,X -I all . , rj MMM' ,M X A iii V V. JC Penney was one of the man stores which moved to the nel shopping center. I-l Q tfwtkgsf S 34 ew