Rock Island High School - Watchtower Yearbook (Rock Island, IL)

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The Athletic needs of Nina Plantz and Jack Holtzer almost fifty years ago were quite different from what we require today. Archery as shown here, has long since been forgotten, and in its place has come activities ranging from aerobics to swimming. §p€lti 25

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L •.» The news in review News during the 1986-87 school year was at most dismal. The world was far from peace, stricken with disease, and our local community was ridden with unemployment. Locally, John Deere workers went on strike, and stayed on strike for many months. It caused much pain for these men and their families, they had no money during this time, there was no other work for them to turn to. People were scared, and talk was heard of the plant closing down. Eventually the strike was settled, but in order to settle, the strikers had to negotiate down to not much more pay or benefits than they had before. The fall of 1986 brought about a flooding Mississippi river. Water reached the highest point it had in years. River Drive was closed for weeks, John O’Donnell stadium was incapacitated. Due to the flood wall that had been built on the Illinois side, Illinois remained dry, but the flooding waters caused many problems for Iowa. December brought Christmas dreams, no snow, and Cary Grant to the Adler Theatre. Mr. Grant was scheduled to talk to Quad-Citizens and answer questions from the audience during his one-man show. However, during rehersals, he felt chilled and H very tired . Later that evening, before his performance, he suffered a fatal stroke. The nation was shocked that one of the greatest stars of all time had passed away so suddenly . To upgrade our economy, local community leaders dreamed of more ways to attract tourism. Again our area steamboats were to be the main attraction. Riverboat gambling was considered and approved, and the Quad-City Queen was made available for rent for special occassions. Augustana ' s football team won their fourth straight first place National title. The Chicago Bears fell from their previous Superbowl Championship, possibly due to the loss of Jim McMahon from a shoulder injury. We celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of our Statue of Liberty in a three-day, televised party. Bands, ships and tons of fireworks added to our lady’s birthday. Prior to the gathering, Lee lacocca had formed a committee to strengthen her aging frame, and clean her oxidized copper. Liberace, a pianist known as the most outlandish man in showbusiness died of A.I.D.S, a fatal disease that had recently come to medical attention. A.I.D.S.: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a disease that wipes out the body ' s natural immunity defenses, left all infected helpless. And unlike cancer, no one ever recovered. President Reagan, winding down his second term, was discovered to be part of the Iranian Arms Scandal. The United States government had been shipping arms to Israel, who in turn would send them to Iran. Iran would pay the U.S., the U.S. would put the money in secret Swiss bank accounts, and eventually send it to Nicaragua, to help the Contras. All this left Reagan unpopular and humiliated, and the people wondered just who it was that ran the country. Oral Roberts, a celebrated televised evangalist stated that God had spoken to him. God had told him that unless people sent him eight million dollars by a certain date in March, he would be struck down by lightening. Nespaper columnists urged people to keep their checkbooks closed, and his religious program was soon yanked . Between overseas war, disease, and unemployment, there seemed little hope for the destiny of man. To pick us up we turned to the movies, television, and song. Bruce Springsteen: Live 1975-1985 found its way to everyone’s Christmas list. It consisted of a five record set and it ran for about $25, but was an absolute must for any Bruce fan. Every Tuesday night at eight o ' clock, every t.v. set was tuned in to Moonlighting; a romantic comedy about a detective team. It’s fast talking, smart witted, punny dialouge between Maddie Hayes (Sybil Shepperd), and David Addison (BruceWillis) brought laughter and sometimes tears as they denied their love for each other. The 1986-87 school year was grey in news of the outside world. But inside the walls of Rocky, the student still achieved great goals in academics, excelled in sports, and contributed their time and energy to the community .The Rocks, as always, were special, and the news didn ' t bother us. We knew we were the leaders of tomorrow. aU’ • TT - 24 Opening

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Misleading year It is easy for one to be misled when looking at the Rocks ' varsity football record this past season. The Islander ' s were 3-6 overall, and posted a dismal 1-4 Western Big Six record. However, they did not play as badly as their record might indicate. Of Rocky ' s six defeats, five were decided by a touchdown or less. Give or take a few bad breaks, and their record might have been reversed. Tom Piehl was the team ' s rushing leader with 663 yards. Junior quarterback Fontaine Walker had a brilliant season, completing 29 of 45 passes for 322 yards and an average of 11.1 yards per completion. The defense played superbly. Fred Oelschlaeger had 50 tackles, and teammate Chester Hickman was just behind him with 48. Shawn Leigh led the squad with seven quarterback sacks. With several inexperienced juniors playing regularly, the Islanders somewhat cracked under pressure. Next year, however, those juniors will become experienced seniors. Several brilliant sophomores will be at the varsity level, and perhaps Rocky will get a few breaks and have an outstanding year. Tom Piehl finds himself side stepping a lone defend¬ er Doug Williams looks to pounce on a loose pigskin. 26 Football