West Leyden High School - Shield Yearbook (Northlake, IL)

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' ■ ■% I Heaping mounds of snow almost cover this stop sign. This was just one of the many effects of the snow that covered West Leyden and the surrounding areas. Brrrr . . . its cold Blistering cold, spine-tingling vi inds, and record snowfalls for the Chicago area were some common conditions faced by the average West Leyden student this winter. Whether digging out the car out of the snow, trudging through numerous snow- drifts of at least four feet or standing frigidly in sub-zero temperatures waiting for a bus, everyone had ample chance to experience the hardships of the blizzard. Memories of 1967 stirred in people ' s minds as old records were shattered by temperatures of 19 degrees below zero and 49 below with the wind-chill, not to mention an excess of thirty inches of snow smothering the ground, forming impassible barriers. Nearby, the world ' s busiest airport was forced to shut down for over 42 hours, an incident that has occured only five other times in its history. When it finally reopened, however, O ' Hare was operating at only one-fourth its total capacity. In addition, commuters experienced trouble getting to and from work when various train and bus lines were either shut down or delayed for up to four hours. Closer to home, students and teachers alike, experienced a rarity - Snow Days - giving students a chance to take off for a weekend of skiing, if at all possible, or to simply catch up on a favorite soap opera. Digging out may have been the most difficult task of all. Getting snow off roofs, streets, and driveways and getting public transportation back to normal led to weather-related deaths in double figures. In the school ' s 21-year history, many declare this blizzard as being the worst, blaming it all on the belief that records are meant to be broken. Barren trees and snow piles were plentiful this winter, as everywhere you turned you saw both. This tree was not to be climbed for quite some time. 25

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A New Age in sports was thrust forth this year, beginning with a plan to change leagues next year, and resulting in a year brand new in spirit and pride. Among these changes was the sucessful start in the football season, enhanced by the guidance of new head coach Pete Ventrelli. Also attributing to this special year was an existing aura of spirit and pride. Each individual athlete pulled his own weight, making his way through the various seasons. The wrestlers learned well how it felt to have an empty stomach throughout the Thanksgiving holiday, while the soccer team suffered painful injuries. Each athlete continued on, in spite of many downfalls. Sports often plays a major part of growing and moving on in life. Lessons learned stay with us, even when the season comes to an end. Surely one can see traces of an undying pride among the shaved heads in the crowd. Keeping up the traditional rivalry with our crosstown counterparts, Chris Rubino and Louis Alex make sure that the East Leyden ballcarrier gets no further yardage.