Randallstown High School - Horizon Yearbook (Randallstown, MD)

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980: Beltway traffic begins to jam exit 18. A stalled Pin to at Milford and Liber- ty obstructs one lane, backing up traffic for a few blocks. Their radar guns glaring at speeders, police pa- trol route 26. MTA buses drop off passengers, weary after a hard day of work. 1727: Steady rain widens the ruts in Liberty Road. Christopher Ran- dall of the Severn River curses as he and his brother Thomas try to force their carriage out of the mud. Later they decide to purchase 100 acres of land along the dirt wagon trail, founding Randallstown. Until 1880, a seemingly accidental cluster of homes comprised Randall- stown. Travelers en route from Ohio to Baltimore had little reason-to stop here-except for the tollgate at Church Lane, a minor inconvenience compared to the unpaved, often im- passable quagmire called Liberty Road. On McDonogh Lane stood a one- room schoolhouse taught by Robert Breckenridge Chapman, a strict dis- ciplinarian. Nearby, Mount Olive Church provided Methodist services for neighborhood families. But Randallstown did not have a community identity till the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal order, built a three-story lodge hall-housing a new school and auditorium-on Li- berty Road. The Hall's auditorium finally gave Randallstown a center of activity. By 1905, the rapid influx of popu- lation and unhealthy conditions in the present school created demand for a new, larger building, however, school commissioners refused to take action, doubting stories about the Hall's rat-infested classrooms. Kitty Fite, a teacher weary of chas- ing rats with a fire poker, invited the commissioners to attend her class. A rat crawled over the superinten- dent's shoe, causing him to jump on a chair. Randallstown promptly got its new, four-room school. Dedicated in 1908, the school's completion coincided with Randall- stown's sudden change from a rural to suburban community: the county paved Liberty Road, a trolley brought people from the city, and across from the school, a community building was constructed, providing a bowling alley, post office, store, bank and auditorium. Friday's farm wagon parade into Baltimore ceased. Census figures indicate that Ran- dallstown's rapid growth continued throughout this century, drawing people from established city areas: from 1960 to 1970, the county's growth rate was 26 percent. The 1980 census counted 784,000 living in Bal- timore-a 13 percent decrease over 10 years-while county population increased four percent since 1970. Randallstown's change from a ru- ral to suburban community has E 5 The school Kitty Fite fought for Mount Olive Church, with Randal1stown's ol- dest cemetery. 10lH1story of Randallstown

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CTION! The action does not stop after 2:35, 39 percent of RHS students participate in an extracurricular organization after school. Drama enthusiasts may be involved in the various aspects of theatre: acting, directing, ushering, and production. During the 1980-81 season, the Randallstown Theatre Associ- ation produced Canterbury Tales, a student-teacher show, and the musical Oklahoma. The Ski Club sponsored trips to local slopes, including a weekend adventure to Cam- elback. Politically-oriented organi- zations include the Student Government Association and the Political Science Club, which provide students with a forum for expressing their views. In addition to serving as the governing body of RHS, the SGA coordinated Blood Donor Day, the November Canned Food Drive, and a computer matching service. The Political Science Club held debates on current issues and organized students to halt a bill which would have raised the state's minimum drinking age to 19. Wargaming's popularity is reflected by the existence of the War Games Club. Mem- bers play Dungeons and Drag- ons as well as chess. Thus, student life is con- stantly in action. tudent lifg,

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produced several modern problems. Businesses clutter Liberty Road with signs. Mary Basso, president of the Greater Randallstown Commu- nity Council, objects to the honky- tonk appearance of Liberty Road. In response, the GRCC has urged local politicians to propose legisla- tion halting the construction of gas stations-28 serve a two-mile stretch of Liberty Road-and preventing contractors from building additional shopping malls. During the past decade, Randall- stown has undergone an adjustment period of racial uneasiness created by the movement of urban blacks into an all-white suburban community. Residents accused real estate agents of drawing urbanites to the Liberty Road corridor. Despite these prob- lems, today blacks and whites live together harmoniously. In 1979 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development chose to build government-subsi- dized housing in Randallstown. Protestors against HUD apart- ments organized to form the Com- munity Association of Suburban Ho- meowners, which ran an effective door-to-door campaign to stop the project. CASH member Blanche Ca- priolo claims that the area is not just oversaturated. Every little spot has been taken? CASH's efforts severely restricted the project's size. Because of this victory, ho- meowners have formed permanent action groups that oversee mall and housing construction. Recently a group of citizens drafted the Liberty Action Plan, which calls for im- provements in roads, landscaping and recreational facilities along Li- berty Road. Randallstown's problems do not overshadow the positive aspects of living here: the crime rate is low, residents are near the city, yet the country is a few minutes' drive away, community organizations are a strong force in local governmentg and the population's ethnic mixture gives Randallstown a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Thus, although change has stripped Randallstown of its commu- nity identity, rising concern over re- sultant problems indicates that Ran- dallstown will become more stable in the near future. 21133: Randallstown's Post Office A memorial to World War II Veterans - .. X Randallstown Health Center on Liberty Road The new Baltimore County General Hospital History of Randallstownlll