Topeka West High School - Chevalier Yearbook (Topeka, KS)

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US Stamps Investment Collecting postage stamps is one of the most popular h o b b i e s i n America today. Stamp collectors range from the very young to the very oldp however, few peo- ple take stamp collecting serious- ly. One of the more serious col- lectors is Mrs. Reeta Akins, histo- ry teacher. Mrs. Akins began stamp col- lecting at a very young age. When Mrs. Akins was 10 years old, an older cousin captured her interest in stamp collecting. She has expanded her collection from just a few stamps that her dad brought home from work to thou- sands of stamps. Because of the difficulty of keeping a large number ot stamps in an organized way, Mrs. Akins has limited herself to U.S. stamps. Her collection includes regular issues, which consist of used cancelled stamps and un- used mint stamps, first day cov- ers, plate blocks, postage due, air mail, special delivery and com- morative issues. Stamp collecting has been a developing interest for Mrs. Akins. She also admits that invest- ment is another reason that she collects stamps. Mrs. Akins has many old and unusual stamps and some stamps valued into the thousands of dollars. Her oldest stamp is a 36 cent Washington stamp that comes from the 1859- 1861 issue. Her most expensive single stamp is valued at over f52,000. Mrs. Akins is proud of her complete mint collection from 1926 to the present, but the most impressive collection is one in which she has collected all but four of the Air Mail stamps ever made. Collecting stamps has had an influence on her career. When asked what she liked most about collecting stamps, Mrs. Akins re- plied, Stamp collecting devel- oped my interest in history. Ap- parently so, because Mrs. Akins has taught history here for 14 years. l 181 People X Faculty Features rx is gK V '. it . V ? L 4' v .11 : ff I TY 7 Y L Mountain Adventure Recalled lust out of high school with nothing to do, Mark Wentz, physics teacher, de- cided to take a little x adventure and hitch- ' N hike up to the North- west. There he be- came a mountain guide. Starting out in Lawrence, Mr. Wentz hitchhiked from ranch to ranch doing odd jobs, finally landing a job near Glacier, Montana. He spent some time in the mountains there, getting to know the terrain, then took a job as mountain guide at Bear Creek Ranch. The pay wasn't much for guiding horseback tours through the trails in the mountains, but it was a blast! Mr. Wentz said. There were three of us, lake, Maggie, and l. Mr. Wentz was taking hunters from the East up into the mountains. 1 don't promote hunting. 1t's a selfish thing. Mr. Wentz said. 1 led the pack in and lake led the hunters to the animals. The animals hunted were mountain goats, mountain sheep, elk, moose and bear. lt was a worthwhile adventure to raise money for college, but Mr. Wentz has put most of these activities aside. 1-le occasionally goes camping to re- member the good old days in the mountains.

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as W . Q ,. A XX .,.,,i,.,,,.,,,., 41 HI -K X f Q. 'linda' . l, . lime :A 1 ,ii Road Regulations Studied One ot a teenager's dreams is to learn to drive a car. Approximately 320 students took driver education this year to fulfill that dream. They acquired a working knowledge of the rules and regulations of the road. The classes consisted of a minimum ot 30 hours in class, 3 hours of actual driving and 12 hours ot work in the ,gil simulator. During class time, the stu- dents listened to lectures, watched films and took tests. In simulation, stu- dents watched a film while they operat- ed a computerized automobile. When they drove too fast or tailed to signal for a turn, a sign lighted up to tell them so. Driver Education classes received two new cars each semester. The cars travel up to 3,500 miles before we get another car, teacher lack Wiley said. The tour cars we use travel up to 16,000 miles a year. TOP LEFT: Listening intently to the teacher are a couple of driver education students. TOP RIGHT: Trying to concentrate in class is Raelynn Lackey, '82, while Haig Sarkesian, '82, seeks her attention. MIKE IAMISON - Driver Education IACK WILEY - Driver Education People! Driver Education! 1 17

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Antique Woodburners Popular In Crisis Mrs. Kathy Hund and her husband, , Bud, own Mill Creek Y ' M Antique Store and ' 'N they live in Topeka. , X That alone may not 'Q seem odd until you if S know that the store is in Paxico - then the story takes a strange turn of events. Mill Creek Antique Store has been open for seven years and provides most of our income, Mrs. Hund said. The store started as a kind of escape. I laughed at Bud, Mrs. Hund said. l thought it would never be anything. Until five years ago the store had sold mostly furniture and odds and ends such as fixtures and stained glass. That's when the Hunds started special- izing in woodburning stoves. Because of the price of oil, sales have really snowballed in the past two or three years, Mrs. Hund said. My husband is convinced that woodburners are bet- ter than conventional stoves, she ad- mitted. Our house is even heated with one! The Hunds have between 50 and 75 stoves at a time in the store, of which one was made in 1840. They sell their stoves to local dealers and collectors in the area. Mrs. Hund helps the store mostly with moral support. l paint billboards and refinish furniture in the summer, she said. As for the future, she said, Maybe I can specialize in antiques, clothes or housewares. What do you need to have a success- ful business-hobby? You have to de- velop a good clientele, have a good selection and above all like what you are selling, she says. And it appears that the Hunds of Paxico definitely do. Harvesting Second Job While most teachers spend their summer va- cation resting for the next school year, Miss Mer- edith l-leinen continues work- ing until August - but not in the classroom. Miss Heinen works with her family in their custom cutting ser- vice from the first of summer until the middle of August. They cover an area including central Oklaho- ma, eastern Colorado and 'central Kansas.. Miss Heinen has been helping the family with harvest- ing since she was in the ninth grade. During her high school days on the farm, she and her brother showed horses at the 4-H. They also raised sheep and hogs for display. Probably the biggest entertainment was square danc- ing, said Miss Heinen, it was about 40 miles to the movies. The combine Miss Heinen drives is an Allis Chalmers Model L that runs on diesel fuel. lt has an 85-gallon fuel tank, enough to keep it running for approximately eight hours. Every one in the family helps out during the harvest season. Her mother, father, three broth- ers and cousin all work the fields from about 9 a.m. until around ll p.m. The cost of employing the Heinens is S512 for each acre cut plus lO cents for every bushel over 20 per acre. ' Y- 4 ' a w, People! Faculty Features! l 19