Valparaiso High School - Valenian Yearbook (Valparaiso, IN)

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On an Indiana state road map, it’s merely a dot in block B-4. Area: a little over eight square miles. Population: ap- proximately 22,000. But to us, Valparaiso is a lot more than a simple combination of statistics. History books interpret the Spanish name “Valparaiso” to mean “a vale of paradise.” Can a vale of paradise” really exist in the middle of Northwest Indiana? Maybe so. Maybe the County Seat Plaza makes Valpo a “paradise.” Ten years ago, the corner of Calumet Avenue and Vale Park Drive wasn’t much more than a K-Mart surrounded by an unkempt, grassy field. Today, we need a calculator to count all the businesses in this same area. It might be the Popcorn Festival we celebrate every September. Attractions like the Popcorn Parade, the five-mile Popcorn Panic and concerts on the main stage entice residents from all parts of Porter County to Valpo. Or, it could be the parks. The beauty of Ogden Gardens lures an ever-increas- ing number of couples to marry there. Parks like Kirchoff and Bicentennial reg- ularly are sites of softball games, picnics and family outings. And for swimming, we drive an average of only 20 minutes to cool down at the Dunes. Most likely, it isn’t one of these things, but a combination of them all that makes Valparaiso a “Vale of Paradise” to us. by Karen Mutka 5 Opening

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AFTER PLACING SEC- OND at the VU cross- country regionalsjun- ior Jim Arnold accepts congratulations from Washington Township principal Lonnie Steele. VU was also the sight of other community events, including Christmas vespers ser- vices, four dramatic pro- ductions and cultural lectures. PORTER COUNTY’S FOUR-STORY court- house was rebuilt after a fire in 1935. The first courthouse was com- pleted in November of 1873. 4 Opening

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by Karen Mutka i c L- A - V After the initial shock, there was more to come. Days unfolded to include the usual doses of football and basket- ball games, telephone calls and evenings out with “the gang.” But in 1987, “The Year of the Tight Squeeze,” the gang was bigger than it used to be. Old cliques composed of five or six people endured the process of social reorganization, but new additions made each clique more like a clan. While the school enrollment increased to a number stu- dents felt was “too many,” some things comfortingly re- mained the same. Admission was still $1.50 at sock hops. County Seat Cinema movie tickets were $4.50 — still too much, and Dairy Queen Blizzards, a VHS favorite, still cost $1.45. The gym’s north balcony, Southlake Mall and County Seat Plaza — they were places where we got together for events that made the year worth remembering. Sometimes these events fit into the framework of stu- dent life, and sometimes they didn’t. But they were all PIECES OF THE PUZZLE. ' t, V J 6 Student Life Division