Port Byron High School - Echo Yearbook (Port Byron, IL)

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Senior Class History A ?age from the Past Each member of the class of '48 has his own special memories of the four years spent at Port Byron High. There are so many ex- periences upon which we look back with joy, a few which we re- member regretfully, and perhaps one or two which we think are better forgotten. But now, before we leave four pleasant years of high school behind us and look Htoward new horizons,H let's go back in our book of memories and read a page from the past. August 28, 1944, thirty-two very green Freshies walked meekly, silently, up the steps of Port Byron High to begin their high school career. Lfter a week of trying vainly to adjust our- selves to new teachers and sophisticated upper-classmen, we were properly initiated. what'does a Freshman fear more than initiation? It wasn't enough for the dear Sophomores to make us dress up in the ridiculous manner which they thought befit our position as Freshies, but to every upper-classman we were forced to kneel and repeat a silly verse. It was humiliating to say the least! To make matters worse cameras seemed to pop up all over the place, recording our embarrassment for genera- tions to come! That evening the Sophomores gave us a party to make up for their previous cruelty and to give us a chance to show off our best party clothes! Yes, we had our sorrows as Freshmen, but we had our joys, too. Uho can forget those roll- er skating parties at the Prom in Davenport? If our young class sponsor, Mr. Eklund, and the new Coach, Mr. Nelson, were lucky enough to arrive at the rink at all in their dilapitated old car, they usually had to spend most of the time picking up one of their Freshie charges from the floor. Back as Sophomores in '45, we thought we were adjusted to high school life. But a nearly fatal accident to one of our class members dimmed our spirits a bit. When Elinor came back in Oc- tober from a long stay in the hospital, we initiated the Fresh- ies as was the custom, but with a little less enthusiasm than usual. In November, we worked like beavers selling magazine subscriptions and turned up with a Nfirstn in the school con- test. Perhaps it was subtle salesmanship that did the trick! We dragged our sponsor, Mr. Christensen, CChristy, to the swoon ing female members of the class? over to the skating rink again this year. But, if I remember correctly, we spent more of the time eating hamburgers and finding our way home than we did skating. Under an able instructor in Home Ec II, we girls learned the housewifely art of cooking, if you want to glorify our attempts by that name. But we never had to worry about our failures going to waste, the boys always ate everything and they still do! Our Junior year was very gayg we are sorry to say it is past. The boys showed who was boss by completely running away with

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-v-. lgquuuurwy- ..- ,.,... Y-V V- --,.v..... -1 -----1'-Fl'---' ---FFFIUI . ll! ., J the class election. All the officers may have been boys, but as to who did the work...wellI He did succeed in giving a fairly entertaining Hallowc'en party that October ged up by our enterprising boys might have men, but it did nothing more than bore the wreck the girls' nylons! Ke couldn't have play than NBolts and Nutsu. It fit our cl weeks of driving Mrs. Henry and school nei we put it over with a bang. After selling The ghost walk rig- scared a few Fresh- manly Seniors and chosen a better class ss perfectly. After hbors to distraction, pop and popcorn at all home basketball games, we accumulated enough money to give the Seniors an Hextra specialn Banquet and Prom. The Junior- Senior Prom is a big event in any high school student's life, especially to the girls who are lucky enough to receive a real orchid corsage from their dream man. We shoved off to White Pines for our class picnic and practically blew back home in a wintry wind. I'm afraid the boys suffered the most! We girls held saw the Seniors through the pangs our Junior year. in Lrky's open-air limosine the arches at Class Night and of Graduation. Thus ended As Seniors, we led a merry life. No sooner had school started than we started having what we called HClub l27OH parties. We had a wget-togethern at a different home about once a week, made taffy and popcorn balls Ccolored a beautiful shade of green' and really had a rip-roaring time. When it was our turn to give the Assembly program we gave our own version of the radio's fam- ous HClub l27OH with Bob Dailey tgying to impersonate Johnny O' Donnell. Our Red Devils came through with the Two-Rivers Confer ence trophy for football again this year. We like to think it was due to the leadership and manly physiques of the team's two co-captains, Walt Bull and our class president, Rodney White- sides. We gave the annual Christmas party with a big tree Cso big there was hardly room to Cancel, a real Santa Claus, and all the trimmings. The Juniors went to a lot of work to give the Banquet and Prom for us. Thanks, kids, for giving us such a royal send-off. The real high-light of our Senior year was our trip to Missouri, May 22 and 23. After getting our of bed much, much, too early for any civilized person on Saturday morning, we drove to Canton, Missouri, where we checked in at our hotel. I bet there wasnft a happier man in the whole United States than that hotel manager when we left Sunday morning. We got safely through the Mark Twain Caves at Hannibal without losing anybody and then headed for home. Lnd say, if you've never heard of swimming in May, you've heard of it now. Boy, was that water cold! Not all the members of the graduating class spent all four years at Port Byron High and some who started with us as Freshies have already gone out to seek Wnew horizons.H But now the remaining nineteen members of the class of l948 are about to leave their friends and the school which has meant so much to them. Now we are going out into the world. But whatever may come in the fu- ture, we shall always look back into the past, now and then, and think wistfully of the happy years spent at Port Byron High.