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Marilyn,

No, you weren't the only one not to drink in HS. And get this...my father worked for Blatz/Pabst, and beer and other liquors were readily available in our home. Turns out, once I started drinking (AFTER I turned 21), I didn't even like beer, much to my father's dismay. Give me a glass of good dry wine anyday (red or white).

Did you mean Miss Koepp, English teacher? She was extremely ineffective. In fact, I remember a whole contingent of RL students in her class who "stormed" into Miss Scherkenbach's office, desperately pleading that we be moved to a different class. And...that's exactly what happened! Imagine, students were listened to, believed, and action was taken! Amazing!

Would love to hear about the prank in the CHS parking lot.

Does anyone remember the thwarted "Senior Sweatshirt Day?" My recollection is that those who dared to wear a sweatshirt to school were "severely" dealt with. But I don't remember the details. Can anyone fill me in? Seems EXTREMELY tame compared to what happens now-a-days!

07/02/12 09:02 PM

#103

Gordon Sauer

> Questions, questions, questions. Hopefully many will be answered at our reunion. I was too afraid to drink for fear of getting kicked off the BB teams. However, some baseball players puffed on a cigar and in fact were removed from the team, but only for a short time. Times were quiet different. One of my questions is how a person with great potential but too many outside interests could become the star of the basketball, albeit a one man team. I, for one am still learning; don't mess with the "webmaster" or chairperson. Really looking forward to future messages and and new stories on our web site.

07/02/12 09:13 PM

#104

Carol Albers (Pederson)

OK Jeanne and Marilyn, I am a member of you "didn't drink in HS either". Still not fond of beer to this day. Marilyn, I went to Edison. But the funny thing is that Roger's (now my husband) dad was a teacher there. Shop teacher! Ken Pederson. Ran into him in the hall one day. Physically RAN INTO HIM! Little did I know he would be my father-in-law a number of years later. We were the first 9th grade class there. Big Shots!

As to going up and down Wisconsin Ave., did that too. Called it "bombing the yo-yo" Watched the "submarine races" at the lakefront. I had my own car-Red '56 T-Bird (family car too.)

Roger had an automatic trunk release in his '55 Ford. People could hop out of the trunk at the drive-ins easily and without attracting attention. Can't remember how much it cost to get in.

Ahh. . . Keep those memories coming.

07/02/12 11:28 PM

#105

Marilyn, you have awesome memories. Yes, please keep 'em coming. My brain needs jogging! It may be that I actually didn't DO anything. I also didn't drink --- then. Went to Edison too, and Miss Kapp was an English teacher there; maybe you were thinking of her, Marilyn. If you didn't turn in an assignment or do your homework, you got a zero, and if you got too many, you had to sit in back under the shrunken head. Yes, a shrunken head! Miss Kapp knew the perfect way to get to adolescents: humiliation in front of the class. She did get up to write on the chalkboard, and was my inspiration (when I became a teacher) for lifting weights to keep those little flabby things from forming under my upper arms. She was so difficult for me, that my mom actually asked if I could change classes. Eighth grade was "not my moment." And yet, I have memories of wonderful people and friendships that started there.

07/03/12 12:17 AM

#106

Garry Sellers

None of the people I hung around with thought it was cool to drink. (Of course, Sauer might drive anybody to drink unless they're as strong-willed as me!) It never even came up as a possibility! Think of all those parties in kid's dark and dank basements!! So many hearts soared or got broken. Play "Chances Are" and/or "Misty" one more time please. Somebody once showed up with alcohol on his breath and he was ostracized! And nobody cool smoked either (did they Sandy?) ... well for the most part. As a sophomore I took a girl to a varsity football game and she lit up right there in front of God and my friends! I was devastated! Somebody told me she must be a slut! I guess you'd have to have a second date to find out.

How could all of you have gone to Edison? I thought only Gordy, Rodney, Griebel, and me went there? Kapp was a b--- but for some reason she liked me. Must have been the reason I had to stay after school so much in her room! Remember Mr. Pauch? He was a cool dude ... who with one look could turn you to stone!!! Griebel and I sucked up to him shamelessly!!!

07/03/12 01:40 AM

#107

Aaah! Thomas Pautsch - Algebra. he would make you write an essay on gum every time you got caught chewing, and add pages each subsequent time. I was up to about 4 pages. And you had to read them aloud to the class. Good practice for Speech class later on! But he was really nice at heart. - and funny.

07/03/12 07:26 AM

#108

Marilyn, Carol, sign me up with the "didn't drink in HS"....should we be forming an "I thought I was the only one" club as well? Didn't smoke either, although tried it for about a week in college. Couldn't see the point.

Thomas Edison memories are pretty dim, but I still remember sewing class with a teacher (name?) who was older than dirt and about as exciting. We made card-table-size tablecloths with matching napkins....I can still see mine in my (ever shrinking) memory bank.

07/03/12 07:49 AM

#109

Marilyn Griffith (Bauer)

Edison alumni - how can you forget Miss Rock (she was older than dirt then) when she would march up and down the rows of desks shouting "No Taxation without Representation!" I also remember music class with Ms/Miss/Mrs Whatever crying when some guys (who knew) lit stink bombs in the back desks. Then there was Mr. Science Teacher on the second floor who consistently gave out his discipline in the form of writing pages of "I will not chew gum again/I will not throw paper airplanes, etc - the whole class would band together with carbon paper and help out the guilty culprit! How is it possible I can remember all this and can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday?!

07/03/12 12:18 PM

#110

Sandy Wachs (Oldham)

Spring break bike ride on bikes built for two! Marilyn, I do remember those rides along the Lake Shore. One year we did travel too far, and ended up at the airport too tired to ride back. I can't remember who's father picked us up either. Who all was on that ride? Merebeth Hodges, Judy McConnel, Nancy Davidson, you and I. Who else?

I also remember sneaking into the drive-in one night with 4 people in the trunk of our car. We were watching the movie with 6 of us in the car when the manager came up to our car. He said that no one came into the drive in with 6 people. Merebeth said--pointing at me--'We came with some guys'. I am looking at her like she is crazy--yes she is. The manager tells us to get out of the car and show him the two guys. Merebeth and I start walking and see a car with just two guys. We jump in and ask them to play along. They told the manager that we came in with them. Manager left, and we jumped out of the car. How did Merebeth talk me into doing these things??

Custer Parking lot and red paint? I do not remember a thing. That is my story, and I am sticking to it.

07/03/12 07:37 PM

#111

LOL Nancy - The "I thought I was the only one who..." club. I did take up smoking in college - to try to look older. Boy, do I wish I hadn't - but at least Iwas able to quit before getting pregnant. Along with not remembering what I had for lunch, Marilyn, comes this crotchety-ness - the kind that makes me "tsk-tsk" the NBC Nightly News reporter, complaining " Didn't she just say EXcape?????" Wisconsin just was mentioned - guess you guys are having some warm weather? On a trip to Milwaukee last summer, we tried to retrace the bike route from the northwest side to the Lake. Did we take Capitol Drive????

07/03/12 08:56 PM

#112

Carol Albers (Pederson)

Well you can add me to the "didn't smoke either" club. My dad had a bad smoker's cough and I didn't want to sound like that. Miss Kapp was a stitch, especially when she tried to hurry to answer room phone . She jingled because she pinned her keys to her bra strap! Most of the guys in back of the room used to just about role on the floor. Our 9th grade homeroom teacher Miss Feath-----?, and Miss Kapp had a "Coketail" Party for us at Miss ??? apartment on the East side. I remember my dad took some of us there. Our homeroom was made up of mostly band and orchestra members. Terri, do you remember that?? I think our homeroom was in the cafeteria.

I remember walking home from Edison or riding the regular bus, if Ellyn's dad didn't pick us up. When we walked home, sometimes we ended up having squirt gun fights. The girls would threaten to put perfume in the guns.

OK, the little filing lady that I imagine runs around in the archieves of my brain, trying to find memories, is working overtime. But she is just finding bits and pieces. The rest is probably on microfichie. (sp?)

Marilyn, Rog said we had to go down to the Public Library to do research papers for history /English. Remember doing all the bibliography cards and footnotes?

I've got to give the little filing lady a rest.

07/03/12 09:22 PM

#113

Add my name to the list of non-smokers. My parents both smoked, as did my husband. And I HATED being around all the second-hand smoke. My father smoked most of his adult life, but the remnants of his last cigarette were tossed on the sidewalk of Milw.'s St. Joseph hospital after we drove him there...massive heart attack (which he survived, but had heart disease that finally took his life). My mother quit smoking at the same time, but died 6 years ago from from metastasized lung cancer. My husband gave up the filthy habit 12 years ago after suffering a major heart attack, undergoing open heart surgery (6 by-passes), and receiving an implanted defibrillator. You might say that I am EXTREMELY grateful that I never smoked!

07/03/12 11:36 PM

#114

Yes Carol, I remember our homeroom teacher in Cafetria A (where DID that memory come from!!) Her name was Carol Freshwater, and she was this cute, perky brand-new P.E. teacher. I think our homeroom students were her first "children" and she was SO nice to us. Among my memorabilia is the invitation to the "Coketail Party". Wow Jeannie, you DO have reasons to hate smoking. My husband almost died of emphysema in '96, Being intubated for 9 days and on a respirator withdrew him from smoking, and caused him to finally admit maybe smoking wasn't the best thing. But didn't our parents generation almost all smoke? We children were probably addicted from birth, inhaling the smoke of two simultaneous cigarettes sitting in the back seat of the car on road trips.

07/04/12 12:03 AM

#115

Garry Sellers

I LOVE these discussions of the "old days" but has anybody noticed that whenever Sandy interjects there's a hint of mischief and mayhem. Well, not a "hint" of it, more like an avalanche rolling right at us! How come I didn't know that 50 years ago?

07/04/12 10:18 AM

#116

Sandy Wachs (Oldham)

The devil made me do it. Did not like being type cast as 'Rah Rah' so I rebelled.

There were no sports for girls in those days, and cheerleading was our only option. How many of our female classmates would have liked to play sports? I would have loved to be on the Custer gymnastics team, instead of riding a bus to the downtown Turner hall in Milwaukee. So exciting to see the opportunities girls have now in sports and careers.

Reading the bio's of many of our female classmates, I am so impresses with their career accomplishments. They did amazing things to break through those 'glass ceilings'.

07/04/12 10:41 AM

#117

Carol - your mention of the bibliography cards brought back memories. Someone asked why we had to go downtown to the library. Do you remember the library on Villard? Not too well-stocked. I still remember the smell (or better - aroma) of the old card files......miss that.

Terry - you're so right; both of my parents smoked, as did most of the adults we knew. And, living in a two-bedroom, one bath home, that means I did a lot of vicarious smoking as well. I'm so grateful that Karsten never smoked, except those gigantic cigars he lights up when he gets on the riding mower to take care of our lawn.

BTW, I wholeheartedly agree with your "crotchety-ness" - I have it too. It extends to "reality" ("realty"'s close cousin to "nucular") and really gets riled up with the ubiquitous misuse of the first-person reflexive.

Garry - that "mischief and mayhem" of which you accuse Sandy is actually called "spunk".

07/04/12 11:06 AM

#118

Terri,

Along with "excape," I just loathe "EKCETERA"! Wonder why?! Then there's "punkin', "libeary," "kindygarden," "jewelery," and "realator." Just to name a few!

07/04/12 12:05 PM

#119

Carol Albers (Pederson)

Terri, Jeanne, Nancy-with you all the way. My biggest annoyance was when my school principal would say "irregardless"! No such word Mrs. R! Just "regardless". Corrected my share of "libearians and kindygardens" and not just kids. Never was able to get students passed "me and him" though I never gave up. Too many outside influences! (Sports figures)

Thanks Terri for remembering Miss Freshwater and Cafeteria A She was nice.

As to the Villard Library (had a different name) , that was my home library too. And you are right about the smells. Even the wooden card catalog had its own smell.

Someone mentioned McGovern Park. Spent summers swimming in the pool and winters ice skating on the lagoon. Froze my feet until I couldn't feel them and when they thawed out-Yeowww!

07/04/12 12:39 PM

#120

Garry Sellers

Ya Carol, frozen feet and that was in the summer! Wisconsin!!! Remember laying down in the little puddles of water around the edge of the pool because it was warm water? I don't even want to think about what had to be growing in it! And that day that you were tall enough to go beyond the ropes? How about that safety pin with your number for the basket for your clothes? Oh ya, how could I forget about the foot inspection station!

And now that it's the 4th, remember the fireworks at McGovern? Close enough to make your teeth rattle and blow your hair backwards. I don't know why all of us weren't up in flames! Even tiny little Smith Park had fireworks ... and a lovely toilet called a wading pool.

God ... am I really this old?

07/04/12 01:34 PM

#121

Well, Garry...you wouldn't be freezing your feet today. It's 100° (in the shade) at our house in Menomonee Falls, heat index of 107°, dew point 70°, and we're under an excessive heat warning until 10 PM on Friday! Ah, Wisconsin!! (But at least we're not without electricity!)

07/04/12 02:23 PM

#122

Marilyn Griffith (Bauer)

Random thoughts . . . . . Sandy, Angie was the sixth person on the bike ride from hell. I think it was her dad that picked us up - still can't figure out the logistics of that pick up. Jean, you are way too diplomatic calling Miss Koepp ineffective - fast forward to present - students would bring her to tears and her knees with her teaching methods. Garry, innocent parties in dank and unfinished basements drinking generic soda and playing 45 rpm's on record players. I remember the perky, young skinny phy ed teacher who also taught an English class. I remembered completing a short story or whatever as an assignment for her - think it had to take place during the Civil War. When she returned it she had made a comment about a suggested love tryst between a white girl and a Creole that I had put in the story. She was aghast that it implied a relationship between a white and probably a mulatto. I was too dumb and surprised to challenge her on that one. OMG - it was the late fifties! Sandy, oh to have been in high school after 1972 when Title IX was enacted. At the very least it may have saved us from pummel horse in G.A.A. Just think - we could have been anything we wanted. At the time female careers revolved around teaching, nursing, secretary . . . . . If we only knew, we could have pulled up our big girl panties and conquered the world!!! Speaking of smoking, drinking and cursing - of which we did none of - do I dare even imply that there may have been some heavy petting - no, say it isn't so . . . ! I had the first beer of my life a month into my freshman year of college. It happened when some Custer alumni drove up to Stevens Point State College ( I was there for a year). We went to a teen bar (I was still 17) - next thing I knew I was being carried out of a car because I couldn't walk. Why do I think Rodney Gehrig was part of that group. . . . . .

07/04/12 02:50 PM

#123

Jeanne - I feel sorry for everyone in the city. It's 85 degrees in the shade here today (we're between Grand Lake and Lake Huron) and there's a nice breeze coming across the lake. Local funny: "summers are lovely here - all week".

I remember days in Milwaukee in the late 50's when I was on my stomach on my bed (terribly sunburned back- no one pushed sunscreen like we do today) and with a cold, wet washcloth on the back of my neck. No air conditioner, of course. Ha! Actually had five people living in a house with one bathroom, one t.v., and one phone (it was mustard gold color and hung on the wall - very modern!)

Yes, Garry, the safety pin and basket at McGovern are a memory. And how many interesting conversations one could overhear in those wooden dressing rooms open at top and bottom; and the area through which one passed in order to "shower "(ya, right).

07/04/12 07:07 PM

#124

Talk about smells! How about the warming house at McGovern Park - indescribable! Maybe roasted socks comes close! And I can't swim at the Y without the chlorine smell taking me right back to Custer. Garry, I

remember those little warm puddles too! Do we dare tell our long-suffering Wisconsin classmates about our weather here in CA?? Suffice it to say I had to close the window last night because it was a little chily at 55 deg. I'm so glad others have become crotchety as well - then there's its/it's. "There, their now - they're not the same!"

07/05/12 07:35 AM

#125