Wyoming Breezes

Weather vane United Methodist Church September 2015 While walking last week, a melody and some lyrics surfaced from long ago - a memory from 1967 or 68 and a time when I sang in the high school choir. The school's music teacher was Clayton Arnold, a man who loved music and loved teaching choir and band. His wife Sammy was the accompanist for the choral performances as well the one who often came to the classroom to play while Mr. Arnold instructed and worked with the various choir sections. Mr. Arnold was demanding, and the results were phenomenal for a small school. One year the choir was recorded on reel to reel tape, and a small record was produced, basically unheard of in those days. I still have that record. The song that popped into my head and prompted by the weather forecast was "Something Told the Wild Geese." Something Told the Wild Geese by Rachel Field Something told the wild geese It was time to go, Though the fields lay golden Somethin...

(click to enlarge) Freshman Initiation Dress Requirements Pavillion High School Pavillion, WY Fall 1965 Freshman Initiation was a common activity in the 1960s, and in the Fall of 1965, I was a lowly freshman. The senior class was composed of nearly all boys (if I remember, there was one or two girls in the class). (click to enlarge) Initiations were usually held in the Fall during Homecoming Week, so I don't know why the informational sheet had a December date on it. As shown above, I crossed out the December date and wrote in October 25. Here's the crazy speech we had to memorize and recite whenever we encountered a senior:     Almight and glorious seniors of ’66 we the lowest scum that have ever walked the face of the earth fall prostrate at they feet and beg for they gracious, glorified, and wise indulgence.     We comprehend that we, who are so wanton, grotesque, insulate, and lugubrious in our unscrupulous and invalid acts, are unwarrantable of th...

In high school, I belonged to such a "wild crowd," a group that included upper and lower classmen. We were involved in music, pep club, and Future Homemakers of America - no girls' sports in those days, we were much too delicate to sweat. Frequently through the year, we had Slumber Parties: I remember staying at Cathy, Darla, and Nancy's houses. It may come as a surprise that one of our activities at the slumber parties was knitting, and I have the photos to prove it. Cathy R. in background and Eugenia T. Slumber Party at Nancy J. Pavillion, WY 1967 Margaret B. and Nancy J. Slumber Party 1967 Pavillion, WY Now, Nancy (High Plains Footprints)  and I knit with a group that meets every Tuesday evening. Did you knit with friends or attend slumber parties when you were in high school?

Cathy Rohn Pavillion, WY approx. 1968 Cathy and I went to all 12 years of school together and rode the same bus to and from school. Her house was about a mile and half to the east (near Ocean Lake), and sometimes I rode my bike or walked to her house to work on 4-H projects. This post has a photo of Cathy and me when we were about 5 years old. Cathy got her driver's license long before I did, and she drove a bright red, Chevy pickup with a short box. We were both in the Pep Club, and Cathy would often pick me up and take me to games or to Pavillion to catch the bus for an out-of-town game. Besides Pep Club and 4-H, another activity we had in common was FHA (Future Homemakers of America): Cathy was a State Officer when we were seniors. She also played in the band and sang in the choir. Mrs. Rohn was one of my 4-H leaders, so Cathy and I worked on a lot of our projects together. One summer, our club was canning cucumber relish at Cathy's house and somehow, I sliced my ...

Homecoming Royalty Half-time presentation Fall 1967 In the 1960s, Homecoming Royalty toured the football field at half-time via convertible. Through the years, I've seen the royalty presentation on Autumn days when the sky was a gorgeous, clear blue; others, when huge snow flakes flew through the air. Some years, the wind simply howled. Despite the weather, the Queen and her attendants dressed in formal gowns for the half-time presentation, that is until the mid-80s when it became fashionable to simply wear slacks and a sweater. Paula Stearns, Georgia Arnold, Linda Stubbs Homecoming Royalty Fall 1967 The school band, shown in the background, often played at football and basketball games. The band also marched in parades at Homecoming, the Fremont County Fair, and Cheyenne Frontier Days. The music teacher at the time was Clayton Arnold, and his wife (Sammie) was the accompanist for the school choir. Under Mr. Arnold's direction, the band and choir often recei...

Lining up for the Homecoming parade Irene Jones on go-cart and Jerry Glasgow, standing Pavillion High School approximately 1968 Pavillion, WY I love this photo because it shows how much Pavillion has changed. The street is now paved (only Main Street was paved in the 60s), and the Union 76 station has long since closed. The nearest place to purchase gasoline today is nearly 10 miles down the road in Kinnear. After this photo was taken, the Union 76 station became a laundromat, a private home, and then later a Fifties Diner. I'm not sure what it is today. Behind the Panthers Go-Go sign you can see other parade entries - a flat bed with some individuals dressed as football players, a motor bike, and a pick-up pulling a flat bed trailer that was probably a class float, and a tractor that was either waiting for the parade to pass or was pulling another float. The Homecoming parades drew a crowd along Main Street, which is probably less than a quarter mile long. Another reas...

The 1960s was the final decade of graduates for Pavillion High School, a mere sixty year span for a school district that started in 1909 in a humble log structure, funded and built by community members. Graduates from the 1950s and 1940s  can be seen by clicking on the previous links. Observant readers will notice a different photographer was used for the senior portraits during this decade. The senior portraits of the 40s and 50s were taken by O'Neil Photo in O'Neil, Nebraska; all the senior portraits in the 60s, by Lehman Studio in Riverton, WY. I want to thank the following individuals for helping me identify some the photos in the class composites for this decade: my cousin Bob and his fiancee Anna, my sisters Marilyn and Evelyn, and good friend Nancy J. As always, click the photos to enlarge. Please send any corrections to me via a comment or email (address given in the righthand column). Class of 1960 Pavillion High School Pavillion, WY Top : Eugene Tolman, ...

This week, the graduate composites for the 1950s are featured. Last week, the 1940 composites were posted. According to Irene Jones' book, Pavillion City, very few changes were made in the school buildings during this decade. 1950 the second addition was added to the Ag Shop. The seventeen graduates formed the largest classes in the history of the school to this year. (pages 62 - 63) 1955 a class room addition was added to the high school. (page 65) Click images to enlarge. Please email any name or spelling corrections or leave a comment. Class of 1950 Pavillion High School Pavillion, WY Top : Paul Herder, Kathryn Gordon, Kenneth Stultz, Mildred Schneider, Morris Hill, Barbara Richardson. Center : Arlan Kintzler, Robert Jacox,  Lila Hollenbeck, Bill Cox, Reta Wall, Dessie Honeycutt. Bottom : Ralph Starks, Mrs. Merrial K. Clark (class sponsor) Harley K. Kittle (Supt.), Wanda Olson. Class of 1951 Pavillion High School Pavillion, WY Top : Marilyn...

I've written about the consolidation of the Pavillion and Morton school districts in a previous post . Even though the issue was an old one (talks started in 1938) it never got past the talking stage - a strong rivalry existed between the schools - until it came to fruition in 1969. The last class to graduate from Pavillion High School was 1969 (my class), and the Wind River School District was created. In the mid 70s, I was approached by the Karen Gabrielsen who had organized the Pavillion Alumni Association. She said the large composite photos of the Pavillion graduates were being taken down by the consolidated Wind River school and possibly being discarded, so I agreed to photograph the images for the Alumni Association. We hurriedly propped the large composites outside against the side of the building, and I began snapping. In my haste, I did not notice that on some of my photos, the graduates names are not clearly visible. Thankfully, the composites were never discarded, a...