West Salem High School - Neshonoc Yearbook (West Salem, WI)

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BASKETBALL Left to right- Back row: Mr. Glasrud. H. Caulum. R. Groth, J. Grabon, R. Storandt. F. Wehrenberg. First row: E. Carlson, T. Mc- Eldowney, D. Groth, E. Olson. C. Carlson, N. Rowe. Overcoming many handicaps including sprained ankles, a broken arm, and an appendectomy, the team finally recovered its full strength and completed a very successful season. By winning 8 out of 9 conference games, Salem was tied for first place with Holmen in the Coulee Conference. Probably the outstanding game of the season which brought greatest honors, was the one with Tomah, in which Salem defeated them in an overtime period by a score of 25-23. SEASON'S RECORD West Salem 20 Holmen 14 West Salem 18 Tomah ....36 West Salem 20 Norwalk ...25 West Salem 18 Bangor ....11 West Salem 31 Onalaska ....11 West Salem 17 Galesville ....16 West Salem 22 Alumni ....28 West Salem 18 Holmen .... 25 West Salem 50 Mindoro ...18 West Salem 34 T rempealeau 19 West Salem 47 Bangor ....27 West Salem 25 Melrose ....15 West Salem 45 Central Sophomores... ....24 West Salem 35 Onalaska 39 West Salem 25 Tomah 23 West Salem 39 Central Sophomores ... ...22 TOURNAMENT RECORD West Salem 35 Norwalk 20 West Salem 34 Cashton 22 West Salem 22 Westby 14 West Salem 13 Tomah 19 West Salem 21 Blair 23 Won—15 Lost—6 Pet. 714% CONFERENCE STANDINGS: Won—8 Lost—1 Pet. 778% Players F.G. FT. M. F.T.A. Pet. Total Points P.F. Todd McEldowney 90 51 87 .586 231 32 Don Groth 54 20 42 .476 128 42 Everett Olson 37 21 41 .536 95 25 Clarence Carlson 21 13 31 .419 55 14 Norman Rowe 8 9 21 .429 25 26 Russell Dovenberg 3 2 5 .400 8 2 Rollie Groth 0 1 2 .500 1 3 Earl Carlson 0 0 0 .000 0 3 Harry Caulum 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Don Cassell 0 0 0 .000 0 3 Don Diekroeger 3 2 3 .667 8 3 Freeman Newberg 10 12 16 .750 32 17 Wilfred Vanderploeg 0 1 2 .500 1 0 Norman Eickhoff 2 1 4 .250 5 5 TEAM 228 133 231 .575 589 175 Page twenty-four

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Initiation Mixer This year's social life began with the Freshmen initiation. This mixer, sponsored by the Sophomores, was an evening of fun and frolic for everyone. The various stunts proved amusing to all but the Freshmen, who were slightly embarrassed. We danced to the music of Harry lames, Benny Goodman, and other well known name bands through the cooperation of the juke box. Everyone went home with a happy heart and sore feet. Christmas Party We were more impressed by the fact the Christmas season was approaching when the annual Christmas party was given by the F.H.A. and F.F.A. A festive mood was inspired by the yuletide decorations complete with mistletoe!!! Even the inexperienced Freshmen took advantage of the tradition. The arrival of Santa caused much excitement and commotion. Each person was presented with a small gift. This friendly gesture disproved the theory that good things come in small packages. Leapyear Mixer Done up in night club style, the senior party proved a great success. In the spotlight, dressed in formal attire, were such well-known entertainers as the two vocal soloists. Miss Dawn Wilcox and Miss Mary Hougen; an accomplished pianist. Miss Eileen Betthauser; and vocal duets by Miss Waterbury and Miss Jacobson. A jitterbug exhibition by Bettie Hetland and Cal Flaig concluded the program with a fling. Music for dancing was furnished by the phonograph with the loud-speaking system. The girls did the asking. Refreshments consisting of sandwiches, chocolate cookies, and pop were served by the senior girls who acted as waitresses. The winning entries in a love letter contest were read to the delight of the audience. The winners chose their prizes from a French menu. Were they surprised when they got them!! ! St. Patrick's Day Mixer The Freshmen gave a St. Patrick's Day mixer March 17. The theme of the party coincided with the date. A well planned program showed their initiative in giving group affairs. Page twenty-three

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District Tournament at Cashton FEBRUARY 25, 1944 The Cashton District Tournament was held one day only this year; four top teams participated. All four teams were well matched with Salem and Holmen each having won 8 out of 9 conference games. Norwalk and Cashton were also two very close teams. Overwhelming Norwalk in the second game of the afternoon, Salem went on to defeat Cashton in the Championship finals. SALEM 35; NORWALK 20 Salem's first game of the tourney was with Norwalk at three o'clock in the afternoon. Although the opposing team had superior height, Salem met with great success which brought them into the spotlight for the championship finals. Salem started the game out with a bang by scoring 8 points while holding Norwalk to 2. Norwalk retaliated somewhat in the second quarter, but Salem out-scored them by one point so the score at the half was 20-13. Salem tightened their defense and held them to 7 points and hence went into a 35-20 lead at the termination of the game. Todd McEldowney scored 22 of West Salem's 35 points in the game. WEST SALEM 34; CASHTON 22 At nine o'clock the same day, Salem met the strong Cashton quintet for the District Championship. There was a large crowd of spectators from West Salem to spur on the team. Determined to win, Salem took a quick lead by scoring eleven points in the first quarter while Cashton made only five. At the half, Salem still was leading by a margin of 14 to 7. Cashton never did recover and the game ended with Salem leading 34-22. The team received a certificate after the game for a trophy to be obtained after the war. Again Salem was the high scoring team of the tourney. Regional Tournament at Sparta MARCH 2 - 3 After winning the District Championship at Cashton, Salem traveled to the Sparta Regional Tournament. Placed in the tougher of the two brackets, after defeating the tough Westby five. Salem unfortunately was defeated by Tomah and Blair. WEST SALEM 22—WESTBY 14 West Salem played its first game of the regional tourney with Westby. The game was close up to the halfway mark with both teams scored 7-7. We out-scored them in the second half, however, and the score was left at 22-14 at the final whistle. WEST SALEM 13—TOMAH 19 West Salem's second game was on the second day of the tourney when they faced the strong Tomah team. That was the fateful game, whereby we lost the chance of entering the championship game. Salem gave their opponents a good score by taking an early lead in the first quarter with a scoring of 5-3, but at the half Tomah had a 11-8 lead. We held Tomah to one point in the fourth quarter but were unable to make a sufficient comeback. WEST SALEM 21—BLAIR 23 For some unknown reason, our Orange and Black players got off to a slow start in the consolation championship with Blair. In the second half of the game Salem came back to make 13 out of 21 points scored but not in time to make the winning punch. To sum it all up we can say that the team accomplished something unlike any other West Salem basketball team on record, namely: winning first place in the Coulee Conference; winning the District Tournament; plus winning the first game of the Regional Touranment, all in the same year. The two seniors who completed their successful basketball seasons are Norman Rowe and Everett Olson. Page twenty-five