School Events

Prom Night

Sharon Oris was my girlfriend and my date for the senior prom. She went to Cardinal Brennan Immaculate Heart Academy in Fountain Springs along with Barbara Pasker and Barbara Zack, two girls from Frackville that I dated at one time or another.

Sharon lived up on Pine Street just before the road heads out of town. When we first started going together I was still under the infamous 9:00 O’clock curfew. We didn’t need a wristwatch because the siren at the Goodwill Hose Company sounded nine blasts starting a 9:00 PM. I was supposed to be home by the time the last blast sounded. It wasn’t easy to get home from Sharon’s house in the two minutes or so it took until the last blast. I remember running so fast but often got there a few minutes late completely out of breath.

We double dated with Billy Gilfert and his girlfriend, Carol Kundred who was also a classmate of Sharon’s. We went in Billy’s dad’s car. It was quite foggy that night and we had to go slow, I mean we really crept along at a very slow rate. That was before they painted the edges of the road white so it was very difficult to see.

We had dinner at Liesel’s Restaurant on the outskirts of town. This was my first formal dinner at a restaurant. After dinner we were off to the gym for the prom and dancing. After the dance we drove around for awhile. It was almost dawn when I got home but everyone was asleep so I snuck in.

The black and white picture of the four of us was taken at Billy’s house. The color picture was taken at my parent’s house right before we headed out.

Bloomsburg Fair

I don’t recall the year but I think it was the fall of 1955 when a school trip to the Bloomsburg Fair was offered and somehow I was able to go. My girlfriend at the time was Shirley Blackwell. A bus load of students from a variety of high school classes headed out early in the morning. We had a great time on the bus and at the fair. Several of us bought a gallon of apple cider and proceeded to carry it around the rest of the day acting stupid and drinking a little at a time. The only problem was there were a lot of "little times" so it was practically empty by the time we had to head back. It wasn’t long after we got on the road when I became, shall we say, uncomfortable? I tried my best to hold on until we got back to town but I could tell that was not going to happen. I should also add there were no facilities on the bus.

The pressure was mounting and I decided I had to do something drastic. I painfully headed up the aisle to talk to the bus driver. He said he was not stopping for anyone because everyone would get off the bus and we would be late getting back. I told him he had better find a place to stop quickly or there would be grave consequences. The painful expression on my face and my body contortions must have convinced him. I don’t recall where we stopped but I was the first one out the door. There were others, poor souls, that followed and then we were quickly on our way again. I don’t recall exactly what happened the rest of the way back to town but I was very silent if I remember correctly. I don’t think I dated Shirley again.

Hershey Park

This was a class trip, probably in my freshman or sophomore year. I had never ridden on a big roller coaster before and after a little prodding, I joined the rest of the guys I was with. It was horrible. I was scared and I’m certain I stopped breathing for a minute. I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. So, what do I do? I join in and take another ride because everyone told me that the next rides are better. It wasn’t and I’ve never been on a roller coaster since.

Gettysburg

Our class trip to Gettysburg was memorable in a bad way. Most of the day was pretty uneventful until we entered a store in Gettysburg. It was a novelty store up front with a bedroom in the back that has a bed Lincoln slept it, or so we were told by the store owner.

About half of us decided to go see the bed while the other half browsed the store. We signed a guest book in the bedroom and saw, well, a bed. After about five minutes we left the room and joined the rest of the gang to see what other interesting things we could find in other stores. It wasn’t until a day of so later, after our return, that things got dicey. Apparently the store owner had been ripped off by some students who stayed in the front of the store while we went in the back room.

I don’t know how they knew who might be responsible but I do recall that several students had to bring their Gettysburg mementos back to school the next day so they could be returned. I think those of us that signed the guest book in the Lincoln bedroom were removed from suspicion because of that. I believe that day trips to Gettysburg were cancelled for future classes because of this. They may have resumed but not that I am aware of.

Football Games

Football games at Memorial Park were well attended. We didn’t win a lot of games but we were full of high school spirit. There were quite a few senior classmates on the team. My parents wouldn’t allow me to try out for the football squad and I kind of agreed with them. I was a bit on the skinny side for that anyhow.

It was almost tradition that before the game you visited a local bakery. A classmate, Lew Seltzer, commented recently about this when talking about his football game memories. "Getting a loaf of Vienna bread at New York Bakery before a football game and eating center out and using outside for boxing or hand warmer." I do remember going to the bakery but I don’t think I ever used the loaf as boxing gloves, however, I did use both halves as hand warmers!