Thursday, December 22, 2022

High School Holiday Scenes – December 1962

Although Lorain has been one of Ohio's larger cities for some time, it sure seemed like a small town while I was growing up. That's because the Journal did a good job of covering the entire city and presenting a sense of unity to its readers. Back then, everyone read the Journal and it was the heart of the community.

Here's a good example, from Christmas 1962. It's a full-page of photos depicting students at the various area high schools decorating for the holidays, with scenes from Lorain High School, Admiral King High School, Clearview High School and St. Mary High School. It ran in the paper on December 29, 1962.

From Lorain High School, we have student Sharyn Bacsi decorating a tree; and guidance counselors Mrs. Lillian Leimbach and Mrs. Nyla Pace getting their office ready for the holidays.

From Admiral King High School, students Terry Hollett, Barbara Garska, Susan Krase and Glenn Lucas decorate a student council tree that would be donated to a needy family.

From Clearview High School, students Howard Deliman and Kathy Stumphauzer are shown making a bow for a package to go under the school's Christmas tree in the main lobby; and students Dan Cain and Marie Yuresko posing with a turkey dinner, the special lunch served in the three schools that make up the Clearview District.

And finally, from St. Mary High School, we have French class members Ron Etzkorn, Mary Anne Meyer, Linda Connell, Dave Dombrosky and Bari Lynn Baxter performing an original French Christmas play; students Mary Anne Meyer and Mary Brosky decorating a bulletin board; and Pat Koba, James Balcik, Dave Tomsco, Ray Bialik and Donna Attie participating in an Advent wreath ceremony.

Collectively, the cute, posed photos depict a wholesome image that's almost surreal, like something out of Archie comics. But they mirror the city at that time and create a nice holiday feeling. 


6 comments:

-Alan D Hopewell said...

Ach, Dan me lad, I can remember reading this article as a six, soon to be seven year old fellow, thinking about how cool it must be to be a "grown up" high school student, like some of my neighbors, who attended the brand new Admiral King.
(I was just thinking... considering where we all lived, it would actually have been closer for the Blakely, Jackson, and Reese kids to stay at Lorain High, but someone thought the transfer a good idea.)
To think about this being sixty years ago, a thousand miles away, is dizzying; where are all those bright young faces now?
Days like this, despite the cold, I miss the City on the Black, the city in my head.

-Alan D Hopewell said...

(Actually, I was already seven, plus six days.)

Lisa said...

Happy Birthday Alan Dee. One day early if I remember correctly. Maybe a snowstorm this weekend, but maybe not. Either way, single digits with the wind chill. Ha, ha!

Buster said...

Although I did not live in Lorain County at the time, I was a freshman in high school in 1962, and these photos very much resemble what life for me was like back then. Without the girls, that is - I attended an all-boys high school.

Anonymous said...

Americana at its finest.1962 was probably the last good year for wholesome,pure,American "Leave It To Beaver" type family values.Because JFK was killed the following year in 1963 and it all came crashing down.The Beatles came over here the year after that in 1964 and classic American Rock N Roll was forever "tainted" if you will,for a British watered down version of Rock N Roll.Then Vietnam happened for real.Hippies took over and free love and AIDS and Woodstock happened.Then Nixon.Then Watergate.Then finally,Biden happened.Which begs the question.Would you rather live in Kennedy's wholesome 1962 world or Biden's corrupt 2022 world?I think it would be cool to live in 1962 and hang mistletoe on the trees with the above teenagers instead of todays 2022 teenagers.This,plus Lorain was booming back in "62.The Midway Mall wasn't around yet to siphon all of the downtown traffic away.Lorain used to be like "American Graffiti ".Before all of the above happened."Where were you in "62?"

-Alan D Hopewell said...

Pretty much the same here.