Tag Archives: Song Leader

Those Were the Days Hodgepodge

It’s time again for Wednesday Hodgepodge and Joyce is challenging our brains to remember high school among other things.
Happy Flag Day for those of you who live in the U. S.A.
1. What does productivity look like to you? 
We are retired so our putting in effort for a yield is different from the true definition of productivity. Right now our weeds are the most productive thing staring me in the face because our weeds are taking over and they are being much more productive than me. On the positive side of things our Clematis and day lilies are being very productive, too, thankfully. I can look above the weeds in some areas of the yard. 🙂

2. What was your fondest (or one of your fondest) memory of High School?

In the Spring of my first year of high school tryouts were held for the different cheer squads. We had Yell leaders, Song Leaders and Flag Twirlers. Historically Juniors were Flag Twirlers and Seniors were Song Leaders or Yell Leaders. I wasn’t great at twirling a flag so I made the bold move to try out for Song Leader. We had grueling tryout sessions where we learned the routines that we’d have to perform in front of a panel of teachers who would narrow down the field to perform in front of the whole school and then put the vote to the student body for the final team and alternates. I remember how hard it was to walk up stairs after those training sessions. After the first tryout I made the cut and then the decision went to the student body. When the votes were counted they put up a sheet of paper with the results in the main hallway at school. I was thrilled to see my name on the list as one of the six! There were also 2 alternates. My future sister-in-law was one of the alternates. The other Song Leaders weren’t as thrilled as I was that I made the team. Oops. Lest you think I was sooo popular with the student body let me explain that I had a brother a year ahead of me and a sister 2 years ahead of me who were popular and our family name was well known in school so I’ll give lots of credit to that fact in my success in getting the popular vote! 🙂

My Junior year with the other Song leaders who were Seniors.

In this photo my future sister-in-law is behind me. This was our Homecoming rally and she is wearing a homecoming corsage that my brother gave her.

You had to try out every year so in my Junior year I tried out and made the cut again for Song Leader in my Senior year. This photo above is in my Senior year with my good friends who moved from being Flag Twirlers (as Juniors) to Song Leaders (as Seniors).

We’d probably lose 3-5 pounds every Friday night from all the aerobics.

3. What did you do the summer after High School? 

I worked and got ready to go off to college at the University of Redlands.

4. June 14th is National Strawberry Shortcake Day…are you a fan, and if so will you celebrate? How do you make yours? Have you been strawberry picking? If so what do you do with all those berries? 

We enjoy Strawberry Shortcake with sugared strawberries that have made a little of their own juice and we’ll have them with different bases like angel food cake, pound cake, or our Russian Easter Bread, with whipped cream or at Easter with Seernaya Paska (a sweetened cheese).  I have been strawberry picking but didn’t pick more than we could enjoy within a couple days. In California when we lived in Camarillo we had Strawberry fields close by and what a treat it was to go and buy baskets of fresh strawberries to enjoy. So good and sweet unlike some of the grocery store variety.

5. What’s something you always splurge on? 

Besides our kids and grandkids? We’ll always splurge on Birthday and Anniversary meals and/or nights away during those events.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our master shower project is underway.

Happy Flag Day everyone! Our flag is waving!

 

Flashback to the Late Sixties…

These next photos from my high school years might show one of the reasons for my interest in sports. These were taken from 1966 to 1968 at my home and at Montebello High School in Montebello, California. Montebello is  just East of East L.A.

img339I was on the Song leader squad in my junior and senior years. The first few photos are from my junior year.

img341Every Friday before game time we would have a Pepster Squad Dinner at one of the Pepsters’ homes. When the squads came to my house my mother would prepare a Russian meal. We enjoyed this time together before game time. It was easy to lose 5 pounds in one night of cheerleading.

img345This was my best friend and she was a flag twirler our Junior year. In our senior year we were both Song leaders.

img343Some more of my friends Judy, Shelly and Bet. The hanging of Dumbo is a long story.

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img347It was crazy hat night at our Basketball game. Looks like we were playing the Whittier Cards? Shuffle the Cards was our motto for the night.

img356Our uniforms changed every year but they were always some combination of blue and gold our school colors. This was my senior year.

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img364It was crazy hat night again.

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img369We’d always go out for fast food after the game to try to gain back some of the weight we’d lose in the course of cheering during the games.

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img361The Pep squad would have their own Physical Education hour together to practice our routines and to learn all the rules connected with the different sports we would cheer on the sidelines for. I remember studying the rules for football and learning all the referee signs. It has come in handy in understanding what’s going on when I watch sports now. These were the days when you had to have your P.E. uniform washed each weekend at home and brought back on Monday pressed and ready for the week. After class you were also required to take a shower in those group shower stalls and get your name checked off. I don’t think kids use uniforms anymore for Physical Education. Did you have uniforms in high school for P.E.?

We had a very quiet Monday here. After all the excitement yesterday with the Super Bowl it was nice to have a quiet day. Katie and I are talking about going to the Super Bowl parade in Seattle on Wednesday.

Tomorrow, Tuesday,  our new dishwasher is coming to be installed. I’ll have to learn a different technique in filling the new one.

How’s the first week of February in your world?