HISTORY OF THE CLASS OF 1968
of
WEST HIGH SCHOOL
501 Genesee St.
Rochester, New York

Within a few weeks, the class of ’68 will become alumni of West High School. Only foggy recollections of teachers and classes and half-forgotten names will remind us of the six years, more or less, that we have spent here.

As seventh graders fresh out of elementary school and damp behind the ears, we dreamed about high school in the same way that a senior dreams about the excitement of college life. Our first glimpse of West came on Orientation Day in West High’s assembly early in September, 1963. Those little orange books published for the benefit of disorganized students still come in handy after all that time. For the first few weeks we depended entirely on that book to help us to find such inaccessible places as the Music room which is still floating around somewhere between the first and third floors. Students without a sharp sense of direction were quickly lost amidst long corridors and disordered room numbers, all of which looked alike. We were able to eat lunch away from home and could even buy it ourselves by standing in line in the cafeteria. Our introduction to school food was an experience we will not soon forget! Assembly days and those clever “fifth-period-before-lunch-unless-you-have-first lunch-or-eighth-period-is-first” days still are a little tricky. Final exams were another new experience which we could have done without nicely. However, after first getting used to filling out our names and correct birthdays, we found that going to school for a string of half days wasn’t so bad when you could look forward to a beautiful summer.

Our class gathered a little steam as we entered our Freshman year. More hardened and conditioned, we were prepared to expect anything. Class officers were: John Rotunno, President; Shelly Dunham, Vice-President; Gwen Fraser, Secretary; Dale Yarger and Barbara Lewis, Social Chairmen. The first few weeks of school passed slowly, but soon it was Fall Weekend time. Our class queens were: Joan Carroll and alternate, Beverly Halik. Proudly we displayed our float contest entry – a model of the Unisphere. However, once in the sunlight it was revealed as a strange-looking globe thing covered with pink and blue flowers. Although the flowers were lovely, we did not win the cash prize which was a dent in our financial status from which we never quite recovered. As Freshmen, we also sponsored our first big, successful dance entitled, “Swinging ‘68”. Fortunately, people showed up.

Sophomores are a secure group who are too old to be awed by the thought of high school any longer, yet are still young enough to be blasé about college and job hunting. As tenth graders we elected Dale Yarger, President; Don Larter, Vice-President; Ann Taylor, Secretary and Robert Byer and Shelly Dunham, Social Chairmen. Our advisors, Miss Turu and Mr. Raymond helped us to think up money-raising projects and encouraged us to do something once in a while. Fall Weekend was a smashing success because we finally won the price. As President Dale stepped up to receive the usual $25.00 – Surprise! Surprise! we were presented with a lovely trophy which now resides under guard, in the main hall showcase. We were very busy making plans for the remainder of the year and saving money for a Junior Prom for the following spring. Fanny Farmer candy was “in” and that meant that each person had to sell his share in order for our class to make a profit. We also held several baked food sales for which we organized poster parties to advertise. At first we planned on selling Coke along with our donations of cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies and Stella Doros, however; due to circumstances beyond our control, the administration confiscated our bottles because they didn’t relish the thought of cleaning up broken glass. Another one of our imaginative plans for 1966 was a cabin party. However, we decided to conserve our money and our energy and wait until the annual Senior Picnic to go outside. The Ballot Ball was our responsibility and we jumped right in, sold tickets, checked coats and even hired a band.

Being a Junior is almost as good as being a Senior. There are only two years to go until graduation, but senior responsibilities still seem far away. In 1967 we elected Mike Bruni, President; Nancy Clarke, Vice-President; Joan Carroll, Secretary; John Thyroff, Treasurer; and Tony Godfrey and Barbara Ievers, Social Chairmen. In response to the plea of our advisors, Mrs. DeRosa and Mr. Raymond, to raise money, candy season rolled around again. However, by this time we had learned our lesson. Instead of buying all the boxes we had to sell with allowance money and developing hives, cramps and acne, we got out and sold the stuff to “friends”, relatives, and neighbors. Earlier in 1967 it was Full Weekend time. We lost the title of Float Contest winner because, evidently, people fit into the category of “Manufactured Articles.” In the spring, Student Association officer elections, campaigning and mud-slinging filled the air. After a grueling battle at the voting booths the results were: Bob King President; Nancy Clarke, Vice-President; Carmella Worthington, Secretary; and Steve Vaccarella, Treasurer. Through a fluke in nature, the National Merit Scholarship exams coincided with the Great Blizzard of ’67. That spring thaw uncovered many a missing senior! One by one the counselors who had helped us over all those rough spots in previous years were faced with a roomful of new faces in the Guidance Department. Naturally, the highlight of the Junior year was the Junior Prom. It was a pleasure to note that the Sophomore’s took such an interest in our prom. Our class decided upon the theme, “Paris Café”, although there was some dissent from a faction who preferred, “Holiday in Alaska.” All in all, it was a fun year. We were almost Seniors and the problem of whether or not we would graduate was foremost in our minds.

The Senior year is always extremely busy. College applications must be filled out, jobs must be found, SAT exams have to be taken and plans for the Ball, the Banquet and graduation are mulled over. The officers with whose assistance our Senior functions have been arranged are: Tom Rathbun, President; David Evans, Vice-President; Sarah Hartwell, Secretary; John Thyroff, Treasurer; and Louis Bostic and Sue Whiting, Social Chairmen. Instead of selling candy this year we progressed into candles and zip code books. Candles were ordered at an amazing rate and although the money was a little slower in coming back, we were able to collect enough to pay for the Ball and Banquet. The magazine drive didn’t set any records, but at last count several Seniors had sold their quotas. This year might have been called the Year of the Lunches. First of all, a Senior lunchroom was established complete with record player. Unfortunately, this project was short-lived due to the institution of three lunch-periods. After that we were forced to wait until 1:00PM to eat and to sustain ourselves with apples during the passing periods. Lastly, but not to be forgotten, each of us was invited to attend a Senior Luncheon. Although odd numbers resulted in strange-looking couples, and ice cubes were scarce, everything went smoothly. At some time during the year, each of us was called down to be accurately measured for caps and gowns—a sign that graduation was approaching. Another interesting addition to school life was the arrival of the man from Josten’s with an assortment of graduation announcements and name cards. There are so many things one can do with a name card, such as filling in those little holes in the announcements. As spring approached scholarship announcements were made. Gwen Fraser, Martha Leonard, Janice Lee, Tom Farmer, Lynn Wilbur and Eric Barklund were fortunate enough to receive Regents Scholarships. Through some miracle of engineering, our Senior Ball was held on May 31st and the Banquet was planned for June 5th. Soon final exams will be coming up and so will summer vacation. Our last official act as students at West High will take place on June 21st when commencement exercises will be held. As we stand there for a moment, wearing our accurately tailored caps and gowns and grasping our diplomas, we will think about how really easy the past years have been and we will wonder if we will be able to tackle the next couple of years with as
much success.