Steinmetz High School - Silver Streak Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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With two baseball championships, a good record in track, swimming, football, basketball, golf and bowl- ing to our credit as the years rolled on, Steinmetz continued to make great strides in music, art and other fields as well. ln the first all-city Music Festival of Chicago Pub- lic Schools on March 28, 1939, our choruses and band participated. In the orchestra competition on May 13, 1942, our orchestra received an S rating. The choruses have repeatedly rated high grades. Steinmetz can boast of every sort of musical group from dance bands to a symphony orchestra, from soloists to choirs, from trios to concert orchestra, from swing band to a full concert band and an B.O.T.C. Band. Each of these musical aggregations has its part to play, but a debate once rose in Mr. Bradley's class in Public Speaking as to the relative merits of Classic vs. Iazz Music. Mr.7Groom tried to settle the argu- ring-it but we bgieire it is still a rnootnquesfdnzfsg-1 Steinmetz was featured on Citizens of Tomorrow in May, 1940. That same year, the Steinmetz and Foreman orchestras played a joint concert at the Grant Park Band Shell preceding the usual concert. The name of Curtis Koch was reverenced at Stein- metz in May, 1942. He was the first of our boys who was killed in action and our first gold star is dedi- cated to him. On May 27, 1943, the Roll of Honor, handsomely carved wooden plaque set with the names of our alumni in service, was dedicated at memorial serv- ices. It was donated by the Student Council, Ir. 'Girls' Choir, Boys' Choir, Office Service Club andll943 class of Iune. A second plaque has been provided by the Ianuary class of 1944 and various clubs. Steinmetz has done an all-out war job. The draft registration and sugar rationing registration were two early contributions. The gift of a fifty dollar war bond, sent to the Presi- dent by the Polish Club, was an early response to the challenge war presents. The war effort was furthered with the collection of silk stockings for parachutes. Ioseph Ronto headed the list of contributors with 500. The scrap metal drive in 1943 had everyone rum- aging for usable materials. Radios were collected for use in the training of government radio operators. Books have been brought for the Victory Book Drives. But the biggest collection of all is the collection of war bonds. Steinmetz was awarded the Minute Man Flag in May, 1943. lim Brophy, as president of the Student Council, and Mr. Ramsey, assistant principal of the school, accepted the flag from Mr. H. D. Crotty of the United States Treasury Department. It is still flying proudly. The Steinmetz Flag, too, is high, as always.

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frown? One of many community events was the Night of Stars , an evening to be remembered for its array of talent, its brilliant performances. The G.A.A., a very young organization, was found to have the aston- ishing membership of l,ll0. It was guessed at the time that it was the largest extra-curricular activity group listed in the city. The first president was Ioan Iovini and Miss Anne G. Rolence was the first sponsor. Our bare campus was the bone of contention among students for some time and in September, 1936, a three-cent tag day was held for the purpose of buying grass seed to be sown on the grounds. The true solution came much later, after some earn- est efforts directed by a committee of the P.T.A. had borne fruit. Tons and tons of good dirt had to be brought in to cover the hard clay, and then months of work were needed before this ground was prop- erly prepared for the landscaping. Eventually, it was completed and on November 10, 1939, we saw the dedication of our campus. It was the epitome of pride for those who fought for the landscaping of the ground and also for the Steinmetz students beholding their Steinmetz Beautiful . That same fall saw the interior of the building beautified. The walls were cleaned and painted, woodwork varnished, desks in classrooms refinished and a general decorating orgy resulted in a more beautiful school throughout. The delicate coloring in the small auditorium, the soft tones in the offices and even the more substantial colors used in the classrooms were attractive. The inconvenience caused by detours around the ladders and paints and scaffolding for weeks was well repaid by the outcome. The first Band Concert was held in March, 1937. An operetta, Hollywood Bound , was produced about then by Mrs. Elisabeth Sorensen and Mr. Wil- lard L. Groom of the music department. At the 13th competitive festival at Roosevelt High School in 1938, our girls' choruses rated an They repeated the following year. Bow Day had become a tradition at Steinmetz by this time. The bows are made and sold by sophmore girls and the proceeds have usually gone to supple- ment the Clean-Up treasury. One of the big events that took place about then was the Open House conducted in the evening. The entire school was open to visitors, and the people of the community were invited to come and see classes and shops in session and meet the fac- ulty. One of the persons many parents wanted to meet was lVlrs. Benson, our matron since the opening of Steinmetz, for she had befriended so many of the girls at school that their parents wanted to thank her personally. ' From a new school without even external trim- mings , Steinmetz had developed by now into one rich with traditions. This picture shows some of the souvenirs gathered by a typical graduate.

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