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Jim Brunnemer wrote this, at some point, as a tribute to our graduating class! Thanks, Jim!
THAT WONDERFUL YEAR – 1962
September, 1961 – Martinsville, Indiana
When we, as eager teenagers, returned to begin our final year at Martinsville High School in September, 1961:
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy was in his ninth month as president of our country. Barely two more years would pass before the young and dynamic leader would be cut down by the bullet of an assassin.
- The Cuban missile crisis, which brought us to the brink of a 3rd world war, was still a year away. (Remember, at the crucial stage of talks with the Soviets in 1962, as the Russians considered the alternative of war with U.S., Secretary of State Dean Rusk reported, “We're eyeball to eyeball…and I think the other fellow just blinked.”
- United States’ “advisers” were even then in a small, inconsequential country called Vietnam. In a matter of months we all knew about ‘Nam and the war that took the lives of thousands of young Americans, including Eddie Neal, a member of our class.
- Gunsmoke, Wagon Train (with a young Clint Eastwood as “Rowdy”), and The Ed Sullivan Show were among our TV favorites…although far behind Huckleberry Hound, of course.
- On November 29, Enos the Chimpanzee became the first living American to orbit the earth. Three months later, we all watched breathlessly as astronaut John Glenn rode Friendship 7 into space to become the first human American to circle Earth.
- Seven-foot two-inch Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors scored 100 points in a single NBA game, still an all-time record, and averaged an amazing fifty points per game, another record.
- Sonny Liston was the reining heavyweight boxing champion and Muhammed Ali was still Cassius Clay, fresh from his 1960 Olympic gold medal performance.
- Roger Ward survived an accident-marred Indy 500 race in the spring of ’62.
- Mariyln Monroe didn’t survive an overdose of sleeping pills, and the movie legend passed into eternity at the age of 36.
- On the local scene, we drove the circuit from Frisch’s Big Boy through town and to the A & W root beer stand, looking for friends and adventures. You might even see Robbie Sparks driving slowly around town with a bloody arm sticking out of the trunk. That arm belonged to Norris Griffin. Norris and “Rockie” Cohen staged a number of their dramatic (fake) fistfights.
- Karen Lesser served as Student Council president. (Karen continues to serve our class in ways that we all appreciate.)
- “Headache bands” and “tunic blouses” were the rage in ‘62. Square-toed shoes were replacing pointed-toes as the style in footwear. Wearing white socks were okay, too. (Weren’t they?)
- Senior cords went undecorated as faculty tried to convince us that they looked better that way. The truth was that previous senior classes had adorned their cords with naughty drawings and profanities, resulting in Principal Kennedy banning all art and words from the innocent lambs of our class.
- Bull in a China Shop, directed by Roger Hunt, was the senior play. Does anyone remember who played the bull?
- One of Sharon McDaniel’s many jokes: “What do you get when you cross a Comet with a Valiant?” A “Vomet,” of course. (Eeewwww!)
- Jane Reese’s favorite expression—at least when I was around—“I’m gonna blast you!”
- Jenness Northerner was editor of the Artesian Herald. (Who would have thought the sketcher of horses would become Jenness Northerner Cortez, world-renowned artist, whose paintings don the walls of suchnotables as Queen Elizabeth II, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton, among others?)
- A few of the more memorable Christmas wishes that appeared in the December issue of AH: “Merry Christmas to Greasy Gus,” from Face and Leroy; “Merry Christmas to all the boys at St. Red’s Mission,” from Hound, Ugly, Mooneye, and Beans; Merry Christmas to Barbara Hicks,” from J.J.; and Merry Christmas to Big John,” also from J.J. (Seems “J.J.” couldn’t make up his mind.)
- An anonymous but loyal writer’s cryptic description of MHS football that year: “The football team finished the season with 1 win and 9 losses; but the scores don’t always mean a lot.”
- The opening basketball game saw the Artesians rack up a 28-0 score in the first quarter against Mooresville. Too bad the squad couldn’t have saved some of those points for other games. MHS was 12-9, losing to Ellettsville in the sectional tourney.
- Speaking of the sectional—remember the huge snow that hit during sectional week? Across the state, many fans were forced to stay overnight in the gym because of road conditions.
- If your skirts were too short, girls, Dean Davis was there with her trusty ruler to check it out.
- Among favorite teachers were Speelman, Emhuff, Perry, Kinzler, Hunt. Jane Hall was voted sex symbol of the faculty by senior guys. Receiving one or fewer votes were Matilda McKrill, Hazel Beaman Ratts Owens, Ms. Shufflebarger (“Ach du lieber!” or “Oh, my dear!”), Frankie Bailey, Maggie Rose, and Mae McCoy.
- A few popular songs of our senior year were “I Can’t Help Falling in Love” (Elvis), “Let Me In” (The Sensations), “Sherry” (The Four Seasons), “The Night Has A Thousand Eyes” (Bobby Vee), and oldies like “Take Good Care of My Baby” (Bobby Vee), “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (The Tokens), “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (The Platters), “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” (Paul Anka), “Where the Boys Are” (Connie Frances), and “Venus” (Frankie Avalon). And there was the tender ballad by Australian Charlie Drake, “My Boomerang Won’t Come Back.”
- Many a couple fell in love to the song and movie, “Theme from a Summer Place.” The dance craze that year was the biggest thing since “The Stroll”: Chubby Checker and “The Twist.”
We laughed and cried our way through nine wonderful months, and then it was May. Our 194-strong senior class sang the bittersweet lyrics to “Auf Wiedersehen” and “We’ll Meet Again” as we marched out of commencement at the old Glenn Curtis gym.
And it was over.
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