South Side High School - Totem Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

Page 13 text:

ABOVE —Perched on a ladder, the workman sighs with frustration as he rebricks the new track building partially destroyed in a fire which ruined all of the equipment. UPPER RIGHT —Construction workers cement a new brick wall on the south side of the building where Mr. Weber’s solarium was. This area will be the new site for the Times room. LEFT —Loud blasting noises interrupted classes as workers drill and pound to finish the gym by the completion date. 9

Page 12 text:

“The next time I’m teaching in a building that they’re renovating. I’m going to quit!’’ (Mr. Gersmehl) The Reconstruction Era brought transition and inconveniences during each of the three years seniors attended South. When they did not have to grope through dark tunnels, they had to follow mazes of detours. Nauseating odors penetrated the rooms, forcing some classes to resume study elsewhere . . . some¬ times outdoors. Eyes watered and sneezes resounded as occasional clouds of dust from a newly disas¬ sembled wall filled rooms. Layers of the whitish substance made desks less than inviting to sit in. Seniors often got lost in the once- familiar building; rooms acquired new numbers, restrooms were beyond locating, and labs disappeared. Frus¬ tration mounted when late-comers flew to old sites of clocks, only to see bare wall ... or one stuck on 3:42. Loud whistling, clanging hammers, shattering glass, and shrill cries became common. Even all the obsta¬ cles in the halls—lamp posts, doors, cement blocks, fresh workers, wires —became “old hat.’’ And no one grew to love the extended school day, caused by classroom shortage. 3 , WT. ABOVE —Too many cooks spoil the soup; too many workers merely get in each other’s way as they finish a section of wall. UPPER RIGHT —Stone benches and wire fencing are among the many new improvements added to enhance the school’s beauty. RIGHT —Topless bodies perched atop tall ladders aren’t a strange sight to see as Archers dodge obstacles between classes. Reconstruction Era Brings Labyrinth to South ' s Halls

Page 14 text:

Department Heads Supervise Blueprints “Construction has taxed every¬ one’s patience, but I certainly think the results are worth it!’’ (Sr. boy) During the original Reconstruction Era, the old South required the aid of scalawags and carpetbaggers to restore the land. Here, old South is becoming new South, and it too was planned by latter-day “carpetbag¬ gers and scalawags.’’ Hard-hatted workers infiltrated South, visibly altering appearances. “Top brass relieved Mr. Weicker and Mr. Grile with scrolls of blue¬ prints. Department heads worked with draftsmen to create a functional building especially for the future. ABOVE —Refuse from school renovation cre¬ ates miseries for ecologists, ungainly sights for view-seekers, and blocks pathways. UPPER RIGHT —The gym becomes more color¬ ful as workmen paint the railings green. The gym was done in time for a football pep ses¬ sion. RIGHT —Leaky roofs, as this interested stu¬ dent sees, were a part of the problems cre¬ ated, as well as solved, by renovation.