Central High School Archives

September 17, 2012November 14, 2012

1965 Sophomore Picture Day

It wasn’t the start of the school year until Paul Lueders showed up to take homeroom photos for The Girardot. The first step in this herding of cats was for him to size up where everybody was going to sit and stand. He was the consummate professional who never got flustered nor lost his patience. I’ve shot enough group photos to know that’s not easy. (Click on any photo to make it larger.)

Everybody look here

He’s making sure he can see every face. Girardot staffer Marcia Maupin, at right with the clipboard, is trying to get the names nailed down.

Moment of Truth

This is where the wizard disappeared behind the curtain to work his magic. His use of large-format film – probably 4″ x 5″ in this case, was one of the reasons his photos were so sharp and clear.

I apologize for all the scratches and spots on these photos. Time and storage hasn’t done the film any favors. I decided it was too damaged to try to repair everything.

Sophomore students

I actually have names for the photos for a change. If there are any errors, blame Marcia Maupin. This is the photo that appeared in the 1965 Girardot.

New Library at Old Central

I can’t help it. It might be a junior high school today, but it’s still Central High School to me. I wondered what they were adding to MY school this summer. By the time I was getting ready to leave, it had taken shape enough to figure out that it was going to be a new library.

Photos of the old and new high school libraries

Gallery of new library photos

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

March 19, 2012March 19, 2012

Vocational-Technical School

This photo of the new Vocational Technical School on North Clark behind Central High School ran in The Missourian’s 1968 Achievement Edition. The story said 306 students were attending classes there: 300 who were taking some training at Central High School and six who were going to Campus School. There were 206 adults, including both men and women, taking classes in the evening. (Click on the photos to make them larger.)

Drafting room considered best in state

The drafting room was considered to be the best of any school in Missouri. I wonder how it would compare with this one in Central Junior High School (our old Central).

Here are photos of automobile training being handled at Central High school.

Teacher pay below national and state averages

Voters were going to be asked to approve a 35-cent tax levy in the April elections. Supt. Charles E. House said that Missouri teacher salaries were below the national average, and that Cape salaries were below the state average. A graduate of State College with a degree in education and no experience could expect a salary of $5,100 in Cape. The median outside the area would be $5,467; the average would be even higher.

Of course, putting it in perspective, in 1968 I thought that if I ever made $10,000 a year I’d be having caviar and lobster every night.

March 17, 2012

High School Animal Experiments

Four photos ran on the April 16, 1966, Missourian’s Youth Page. The captions explained that “pupils in Howard Bock’s advanced biology class at Central High School have been injecting 60 baby chicks with hormones for the past two weeks to see if a change in the growth rate results. Although Jim Sooy, student teacher, assured the pupils that the hypodermic needle was only going in right below the skin, and ‘the injection probably hurts you more than the bird,’ some of the girls ‘are a bit shaky yet,’ Mr. Bock commented. Lynn Danielson, left, carefully gives the chick its hormone injection while Mr. Sooy holds it.”

Does it work like a dart?

“Miss Carmen Anderson looks as though she can’t decide whether to use the syringe as a dart or to go about the task in a more conventional manner.”

Ready to apply alcohol to target area

“Miss Sally Blankenship looks closely at the chick before applying alcohol to the ‘target area.’ The alcohol has a sterilizing effect, the instructors explained.”

Some elected not to give injections

“Some of the pupils would rather not give the injections themselves. Here, Miss Linda Propst, left, and Mr. Sooy team up to work on a chick while Miss Sharon Hunt, the bird’s owner, looks on apprehensively.”

Chick hormone experiment photo gallery

Here are additional photos of the class. The story didn’t mention what was to happen to the 60 chicks after the experiment or the results of the test. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.