Minot High School History - Minot Public Library [PDF]

On March 24, 1910, Minot High School “was admitted as a member of the ... Wolfe called for a new high school building

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Idea Transcript


A Minot High School History

by Susan Gessner August 2011

Anyone is welcome to print copies of this document or any part of it as long as the copies are not for profit and credit is given. To save paper, this document could be printed without the endnotes, which can be viewed online.

2

Table of Contents General History









1887-1899....................................................................................... 3

1900-1910....................................................................................... 3

1910-1920....................................................................................... 7

1920-1930....................................................................................... 12

1930-1940....................................................................................... 20

1940-1950....................................................................................... 27

1950-1960....................................................................................... 36

1960-1970....................................................................................... 46

1970-1980....................................................................................... 58

1980-1990....................................................................................... 71

1990-2000....................................................................................... 82

2000-2010....................................................................................... 92

2010....................................................................................... 102











School Nicknames .................................................................................... 105 School Symbols: Mixed Imagery (with Official Logo History) ............... 106 School Mascots (with a Bunny History) ................................................... 109 School Colors ............................................................................................ 111 School Song .............................................................................................. 112 Major School Publications ........................................................................ 114 Superintendents and High School Head Principals ................................... 117 Article from 1912 Yearbook: “A Brief History of the Minot Schools”..... 120 Articles from 1946 Minot High Times --for Class "B" Tourney Fans ..... 123 Other Photos .............................................................................................. 125 Afterword .................................................................................................. 132 Endnotes ................................................................................................... 133

3

General History 1887-1899 Minot’s first school was established in 1887, the same year the city was incorporated and a school district organized. The first school building was a 16-by-24-foot wood frame structure located on the same downtown block where Central Campus now is located. In 1890 the school board expanded to five members and hired the district's first principal, C.A. Johnson.1 In 1893 the Minot Graded School, facing west, was built on the southwest corner of the downtown block to house all of the students.2 It would be known as the Central Graded School (or Central School) in future years. All of the high school buildings would be built on this downtown block until the early 1970s. The photo to the right was taken in 1905 or later, after a new school building was built on the block. (This building can be seen in the background.) Also in the early 1890s “a few high school studies” were added to the course offerings.3 According to school board minutes from the period, there was a high school department, as well as primary and grammar departments. In the spring of 1895 a class of three young men became the first graduates, with commencement exercises held in the Presbyterian Church.4 At this time Minot was a “rough little town” with “small bands” of Indians, probably from the Turtle Mountain or Fort Berthold Reservations, camped on its southwestern edges.5

1900-1910 At the turn of the century Minot began to set its foundations, changing the ”the old haphazard layout of the town” and beginning to build overpasses and bridges to improve traffic over the Mouse River.6 The high school would also begin to set its foundations in this decade, under the direction of able leaders. The high school department began the 1900-1901 school year with two teachers, twenty-six students, and a new superintendent, S. Henry Wolfe, who would lead Minot’s schools for the next fifteen years. In his first year, he instituted a “four years’ course of study” for the high school.7 As the following pages will indicate, he seemed particularly interested in establishing the fine arts. He also gave spelling tests to the high school students and offered to buy alarm clocks one year for tardy students.8 Soon he was recognized “as one of the foremost educators of the state.” 9 The high school students also would be fortunate in having Miss Florence Cotton as their principal (and teacher) for most of the decade. She assumed her position in 1903 at the age of 23.10 An alumnus wrote that she was a “beloved principal” who gave “kindly advice and guidance, as well as . . . helpful encouragement at all times.” 11 She would have such a distinguished life that an

4 elementary school in Minot, Florence Perkett, would be named after her. (She married J.B. Perkett in 1913.) The photo of Mrs. Perkett appeared on the school board page of the 1916 Searchlight. She had become the first female member of the school board in 1915. In a later yearbook she too would praise Supt. Wolfe for his “devoted service” to Minot’s children.12

In 1902 it was a student, though, who started the first school publication, titled The Searchlight. 13 In this decade it was a monthly or semimonthly periodical, not simply an end-of-the-year annual. (See “Major School Publications” for more information.) It provided news about high school staff and students (often humorous) and athletics (often in great detail), as well as student literary efforts and earnest editorials advocating student self-improvement and school improvement. A 1906 graduate later wrote, “This monthly magazine was the source of much enjoyment to the members of the school, and served to instill a real school spirit.” 14 In October of 1903 the high school was granted classification as a state high school of the “first class."15 That year’s 1904 graduating class of five girls and one boy was the first to graduate when the high school had this classification. As a result, according to Florence Perkett, “the graduating class that year is usually ranked as the first class of the Minot High."16 This was also the first class to complete the four-year course of study. 17 This is a description of the classrooms for the high school students in the 1903-04 school year, provided by Perkett:







The High School and eighth grade, with about forty-five students, occupied the south half of the second floor [of the Central Graded School], at that time one large room, and had a small room under the belfry for recitation purposes with a laboratory across the hall.

Altogether eight teachers and about 275 students were housed in the Central Graded School, with some relief coming in February of 1904 when McKinley School opened.18 The high school band and orchestra were organized in the fall of the 1903-1904 school year by Supt. Wolfe. A 1905 graduate wrote about the difficulties Wolfe and his twenty band members (all boys) overcame:















Only two of them had ever had any training in band work, or knew how to play any band instrument. The city had some instruments and, there being no city band, kindly loaned those to the High School, and as some of the boys bought their own, a fairly good instrumentation was arranged. By hard, patient work on the part of Instructor Wolfe, and hard drilling on the part of the boys, the band was able to give a concert in the Spring of 1904, which was well attended by the citizens of Minot. In that way, some money was raised to buy needed instruments and music.

The first orchestra consisted of eleven boys and girls. It performed, with soloists, at the band concerts. According to the 1905 graduate, “these organizations at that time did as much or more than any other to put Minot forward as a progressive city.” In the spring 1905 Devils Lake Chautauqua season, the high school band was “recognized as one of the best High School Bands in the State.” 19 Other fine arts also had a start in this decade. In April 1905 students performed a four-act play, “The Schemers,” by Harry Dixon, at the Opera House. The performance had “the distinction of

5 having the largest house that ever witnessed a home talent play, in Minot,” with $250.25 in receipts. Supt. Wolfe and his wife trained the students.20 In Searchlight issues for the 1907-1908 school year, boys’ and girls’ glee clubs were briefly mentioned.21 In 1905 a high school building with ten rooms, facing east, was added to the southeast corner of the downtown school block. (Over the years the high school building would have a variety of functions--until it was demolished in 1974. In later years it was referred to as “Old Central.”) The Central Graded School remained on the southwest corner.22 In 1905 the first sport was organized--baseball.23 The interest in having a baseball team was reflected in a complaint in the March 1905 Searchlight issue that no baseball team was being organized while “nearly every high school in the state are making preparations for the organization of a baseball team.” 24 A student, Pete (Clarence or C.P.) Vandenoever, organized the team, which was considered a "very fast team."25 It played against area men's teams, such as “the Great Northern office men."26 The next two sports to be organized were boys’ and girls’ basketball. In November 1905 the boys formed an athletic association to start a basketball team and elected a captain. In the early months of 1906 they played an “independent team” twice and Lansford, which had adults playing for it. It would take another year before the team played against “interscholastic competition” and an additional year before they had a “regular coach.” In August 1906 “the high school girls got into the act by opening basketball drills under Captain Gertrude Dwire.” They acquired a coach in December. 27 When the boys' team played Valley City on February 28, 1908, this was “the first game between a team from this part of the state and an eastern team.” Minot High won, with the score 19-13, and claimed the state championship--its first in athletics. 28 One of the difficulties the basketball teams had to face was a lack of facilities. One person recalled that the first in-town games were played in the White Front building, located on Main Street.29 The boys put in a floor in the attic of the Central Graded School to create a basketball facility.30 ( Basketball games were played in the attic through much of the next decade.31) They had no shower facilities until the spring of 1908, when “a room in the basement of the central building” was “fitted up with shower baths and lockers.” 32 Through the 1909-1910 school year the girls still did not have a “shower bath” area. 33 What were the basketball seasons like for the boys and girls? From 1907-1914, during the regular season, these were the opponents for the boys’ and girls’ teams: Kenmare, Harvey, Rugby, Lansford, Carrington, Donnybrook, Towner, Valley City, Enderlin, Berthold, Williston, Velva, Tower City, Bottineau, Courtenay, Willow City, Mohall, S. of For. (?), Alumni, New Rockford, Michigan City, and Grand Forks (once). One year the girls played one more game than the boys, but generally they played fewer games and apparently not in tournaments. The boys played from 6-10 games a year, sometimes with games in December but usually running from January-March.34 The Berthold team that Minot High played during the 1907-1908 school year was a men’s team, “some of them old time basket ball players.” 35 The first football team was organized in September 1906 without a coach; a captain and manager

6 of the team were elected. Only three games were played, due to weather: two games against Harvey and one against Towner. 36 The team did not have an established playing field; two of the places it played in the early years were “north of the Great Northern Passenger Station” and “on the field just west of the McKinley School grounds.” 37 In 1908 the team decided to join the “state high school league.” 38 This is a list of the opponents the football team played from 1907 to 1913: Towner, Williston, Devils Lake, Grand Forks, Kenmare, Fargo, Lakota, Enderlin, Park River, Rugby, Carrington, and Co. D of the Militia. The team played 4-5 games per season, usually beginning in October.39 There were other competitive Minot High School teams. Students participated in an annual track meet, held in Grand Forks.40 They participated in an annual declamatory contest in Minot and then in the annual state declamatory contest in Grand Forks. 41 Sometime in late 1907 or early 1908, three students organized a debating club.42 A debating team competed against Valley City in the spring of 1909.43 In these early years the railroads (the Soo and Great Northern lines) seemed to be the main form of transportation for the teams, fans, and sometimes the band. However, by “1907 or so” automobiles (“gasoline buggies”) were “becoming fairly common in Minot” (and really began to take off by 1915).44 Minot youth enjoyed the thrill of “sport coasting” in automobiles down North Hill in this period, with the record time being 47 seconds in 1910.45 In a 1910 Searchlight issue, a sophomore girl was reported to love a junior boy “who had a Rambler car."46 Early drivers did face many problems: the vehicles were hard to handle, the tires did not hold up, and Minot’s streets and nearby roads were not in great condition.47 Significant improvements in roadways would not come until after World War I.48 Of course, each year’s social events were important to the high school. A Halloween party in 1904 was held in the bandroom with a grand march and prizes for best costumes.49 There were class parties--held outside of the school at such places as the Opera House and Thompkins Hall on Ramstad Street. In 1907 the Sophomore Party had dancing, cards, and fortune telling. 50 Supt. Wolfe and his wife entertained the seniors annually at their home. For the senior party in February1905 that meant five seniors. They arrived at eight and stayed until the “wee small hours” of the morning. They played games, ate a “dainty lunch” served at about eleven, and enjoyed music from the phonograph.51 There were also parties held after games for the opposing teams. After a basketball game with Towner, in the 1907-1908 season, a reception was held at the M.E. church and then a party at the Opera House.52 After a February 11, 1910, girls’ game with Kenmare, a banquet was held in the Catholic church basement with Valentine’s Day decorations and games that followed.53 Along with all the other developments involving the high school in this decade, the kinds of courses offered to students underwent change. A student Searchlight editorial early in 1907 expressed a desire for “trade-training” courses.54 However, a commercial course seemed to have been added first. A Searchlight editorial in the fall of the next school year noted the addition of a commercial course and the advantages of the course for the school:







The number of boys in our school has always been a small minority compared with the number of girls, but since the commercial course was added many boys have entered. . . . Also many of the girls are taking the same course and even a few of our graduates have come back to school to take up this interesting subject.55

7 school.56)

(A business college established in Minot in 1903 drew students away from the high By the 1909-1910 school year both commercial and manual training courses were part of the curriculum as evidenced by this Program of Studies published in the final Searchlight issue that school year: Freshman





Required





English I





Elementary Algebra











Elective





Latin I







German I





*Physiology





*Phys. Geography



*Commercial Arithmetic

Manual Training

Sophomore



Required



English II



Plane Geometry









Elective



Latin II





German II



Bookkeeping



English History



Manual Training

Junior





Required



English III



Ancient History









Elective



Latin III



Chemistry



Botany





(torn page)









Senior Required Physics Civics *American History Elective Latin IV *Commercial Law *Solid Geometry *Higher Algebra (torn page)

Unfortunately the Searchlight page was torn; the junior and senior lists are probably incomplete and the asterisks unexplained.

57 School officials also continued to pursue accreditation for the high school’s preparation of students for college. On March 24, 1910, Minot High School “was admitted as a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.” As a result, its graduates would “be admitted to all colleges and universities of the Mississippi Valley without examination.” 58 The high school enrollment grew from 26 in 1900 to 154 in 1910,59 while Minot’s population grew from 1,277 to 6,188.60 At the end of the 1909-1910 school year, in his annual report, Supt. Wolfe called for a new high school building to handle the increased number of students and the kinds of courses now being offered.61 He noted in particular the lack of an “assembly room” to hold all the students. The Searchlight staff, in the last issue that year, expressed a need for a gymnasium, “physical culture drill,” “shower bath” for girls, more track equipment, and a track training area closer to the school.62 It would take a few years before these needs were satisfied. For the sports fan: In the August 19, 1961, 75th anniversary issue of the Minot Daily News are two articles to explore: a lengthy article by Merrill Schalow on baseball in this era in Minot and the region and an article by James Sullivan on the early years (through the 1950s) of Minot High School basketball. In the 1912 Searchlight are pictures of most of the early basketball and football teams.

1910-1920 This decade would be another one of growth for the schools. It would also be clear later in the decade that the high school was not an island unto itself; the outside world would have significant impacts on the school. But first some odds and ends . . . Each year the four high school classes would choose at least one of these to represent the class: a motto, color, flower, and yell. The senior class motto in the 1912 yearbook was “Impossible is un-American.” Some American attitudes never seem to change.

8 Apparently proms were in existence as early as 1913, if not earlier. A 1916 graduate wrote that he had attended the “Junior prom” his freshman year. This was his exaggerated description of the prom that year:







The banquet commenced about 8 P.M. at De Leland [Leland Hotel] amidst enchanting music and ladies, while dishes a la delicious were incomparable. Then from there we motored in our palatial cars to the armory, where decorations were exquisite. So in that fantastic hall we glided on the glassy floor with a fair sex in our arms . . . .63

The 1914 Searchlight provided detailed information on two important departments--Manual Training and Commercial-- and reported an increase in departments. Students took these manual training classes in their freshman and sophomore years: Mechanical Drawing, Cabinet Making, Wood Turning, and Architectural Drawing. The course of study for the Commercial Department, all elective courses, included “spelling, penmanship, business correspondence, commercial arithmetic, geography, law, bookkeeping, and two years of shorthand and typewriting, consisting of theory, dictation, and office work.” These two departments were identified as being “more recent”: Chemistry and Domestic Science. 64 In the 1913-1914 school year a state tournament system was devised for boys’ basketball: “the state was divided into four districts and winners of each district were to meet in Fargo” for semifinal and final games. The winner of the final game would be the “undisputed” state champion. Before this year there was no tournament system, yet teams, including Minot, had claimed to be state champion. The disputes occurred especially among the three largest cities: Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot.65

Census figures for North Dakota’s four largest cities, 1910 and 1920 Fargo



14,331

21,961 Grand Forks

12,478

14,010 Minot



6,188

10,476 Bismarck

5,443

7,122

The bumpy road of the automobile revolution showed up in an entertaining story (in the form of a letter) about a trip to attend a football game in November 1913. The football player author wrote that he and others went up to Mohall in cars for the second team’s game. On their way home they lost their way and suffered “about six punctures” and “about as many blowouts.” 66 As early as the 1913-1914 school year a yell (cheer) master was chosen for the sports events.67 These were some of the yells, with variations, provided in more than one yearbook in this period:



Eins, Zwi, Dri,







Boom-a-lacca! Boom-a-lacca!













Klein und Grouze!

Ach der Himmel,



Vas is Loose,



MINOT!









Ach Louie, Chop Suey.

Watch Minot Hop thruey.

























Bow, Wow, Wow! Chick-a-lacca! Chick-a-lacca! Chow, Chow, Chow!

Boom-a-lacca! Chick-a-lacca! Hoop-la-ki,





Rah! Rah! Rah! for the Minot HIgh

















Give’m the ax, the ax, the ax!



Give’m the ax, the ax, the ax!



Where?









Right in the neck, the neck, the neck.

Right in the neck, the neck, the neck.

There?









Shall we salt ’em?





SURE!









Minot! Minot! Hats off to thee. To our colors true we shall ever be. Firm and strong united are we

With a Rah! Rah! Rah!

And a Zis! Boom! Bah! And a Rah! Rah! Rah! And a Zis! Boom! Bah! RAH! for the Minot High.68

9 The “Minot! Minot! Hats off to thee” cheer was the school song for the high school for many years. It was based on the University of Minnesota’s school song. A “Dutch” band (also called German Band) was organized in the 1915-1916 school year to support sports, especially to help get fans out to the games. The real goal was the money fans would pay to see the games because “finances control athletics.” The band’s role was to advertise the games, which they did by marching “down the principal streets on each evening before a game,” playing loudly and apparently badly. The leader used a megaphone to announce the games.69 The 1916 Searchlight provided some glimpses of technology in this period. The school had a mimeograph machine. When news was sought from Fargo about the championship basketball game between Valley City and Minot, students invaded Central Avenue to be near the telegraph office for the news. 70 ( The 1916 Searchlight is particularly informative and entertaining.) In the 1916 yearbook's daily chronology for the school year was this information for April 30:





The floods have descended--all the best part of town is being rapidly covered with the overflow from the Mouse. School children will experience the novelty of canoeing and rowing to school. Reports state that the worst is yet to come.71

Minot had not had a flood since the extensive 1904 one, but it was flood-prone (eighteen from 1904-1979).72 There would be a devastating one in 1969 and an even greater one decades later.



In an editorial in the 1917 yearbook the writer expressed dismay about Minot High School having acquired a “black eye” in the state. He blamed the “black eye” mainly on the reputation of Minot, "which," he wrote, "has been called the ‘wayward daughter of Mother Dakota.’” 73 According to Minot State University Professor Charles Dickson, “the city had long had a reputation as a rowdy frontier town and had never paid much attention to the state’s prohibition of the sale of alcohol.” 74 Minot also experienced “political turmoil” while it was the state headquarters of the Socialist Party. The strongest years for the party were from 1912-1916.75 Whatever the reasons, the editorialist asked students to “boost” Minot High. Both the 1917 and 1918 yearbooks were dedicated to Minot High School students and alumni serving in the war that we now know as World War I. The 1918 yearbook cover is pictured below. This was the 1918 dedication:



















To our boys ‘With the Colors’ who, inspired by the ideals of justice

and humanity, liberty and democracy, inculcated in them in the Minot High School, have gone forth to do battle for those ideals and to make this world safe for democracy; whose worth we know, whose fine, robust idealism we admire and in whose

courage and selfsacrificing devotion we have the utmost confidence; whose memory is not only perpetuated in the stars on the cover design, but enshrined in the heart of every student and teacher of the Minot High School, this volume is lovingly dedicated.

There were many patriotic pages, including an honor roll of those serving, photos of some who were serving, and a section titled “Extracts from the Boys’ Letters Home.” In both the 1917-1918 and 1918-1919 school years there was only one male teacher.

10 The big news for the 1918-1919 school year was the opening of a new high school building, but students were not able to settle in for long before the Spanish Influenza closed the schools for seven weeks. The football team was not able to play a single game.76 The Spanish Influenza pandemic killed an estimated 550,000 in the U.S and 1,378 in North Dakota, a number considered “grossly underreported.” 77 The new high school was built on the north side of the downtown school block, extending into the center of it. This structure is still there today. In the school district’s souvenir booklet High School Opening (January 8, 1919), all the modern features were listed (a master electric clock, an intercom system, controlled temperatures, etc.) as well as such general-use rooms as a large study hall/assembly room and specialized rooms for the various departments. Perhaps the most outstanding feature, however, was the “great auditorium,” which had “a regular seating capacity of fifteen hundred” and could be arranged to seat almost two thousand.78 The 1919 yearbook, in its introduction to the new building, emphasized the new auditorium and the many ways it could be used. It had a large stage for plays, oratory, choruses, etc. The floor could be used as a gymnasium for basketball games and gym classes. At the rear of the auditorium was a swimming pool and dressing rooms for both boys and girls. According to the 1920 Searchlight, the auditorium/gymnasium included an indoor running track.79

New High School Building That Opened in 1918

The front of the high school building, at the left, is facing north. At the right is the Central Graded School constructed in 1893.





The auditorium: facing the stage

The auditorium: facing away from the stage

11 According to the "Society" section of the 1919 Searchlight, the auditorium became the location for social events at the high school, including many parties honoring the players from visiting teams. There wasn’t anything about the prom in this yearbook, but in the next yearbook, a brief article on the junior-senior prom reported that it took place in the auditorium. What happened to the 1905 high school building? In the fall of 1918 it became the home for a junior high school that was organized for seventh and eighth graders. The Central Graded School had become a grade school sometime after the 1905 building was built.80 There was a very significant increase in enrollment in the year after the new high school opened--from 276 to 440 for the 1919-1920 school year. Departments added classes and staff. A new department was the Music Department, which had a large number of musical organizations--orchestra, band, girls’ glee club, girls’ octette, boys’ glee club, chorus, and mixed quartette--and offered “classes in music appreciation, in harmony and in group instrumentation.” 81 In the short time of its existence the auditorium had become invaluable to the community. It hosted “some of the finest musical attractions in the land,” a Sunday Music Hour “regularly” had 1000-1500 adults in attendance, and a Movie Hour brought in a like number of children and young adults. It also was the gathering place for many other events, such as Thanksgiving services and Armistice Day celebrations. Other rooms in the high school also provided a place and equipment for a Night School.82 One other notable use of the high school: the Alumni Association of Minot established a dental clinic for the city’s students. In an office in the high school the students “were examined and given cards showing the necessary work which was done by the dentist the parents chose to do their work with.” 83 A major national development at the end of this decade was the push for passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The sentiments for passage seemed to be reflected in this plea for equal treatment from a senior on the 1919-1920 girls’ basketball team:















The deepest wish in the hearts of us who are leaving for those who practice next year is that they should persuade the School Board to get a coach for the Girls’ Basketball Team as well as for the boys. We ask: Is not the woman coming more into prominence every year and certainly athletics in school will help us a great deal, when after a few years, we have some grave political question before us or when we are called to attend some man who has had a leg run off, or mayhap to throw some guy off of a streetcar for not paying his jitney [slang for five cents]?84

12 Three Buildings on the Downtown School Block, after 1918

From the SW corner: Central School with a bit of the new high school building at left, back of 1905 building at right

Illustration from A History of Public Education in Downtown Minot (1986)

The photo of the football team to the right is from the 1920 yearbook. In the background to the left is the public library, which opened in 1911. The building still stands. In the background at the right is the new high school building.























1920-1930 By 1920 Minot’s population had grown to 10,176. Enrollment in the high school was at 470 for the 1920-1921 school year: 173 boys and 297 girls.85 The enrollment numbers would continue to grow significantly during the 1920s, along with Minot’s population. Also notable for the decade would be a proliferation of high school clubs, a new building on the downtown block, and the establishment of a school newspaper, nickname, current school colors, Homecoming, and regular physical education classes. In addition, some significant developments in the city’s history would be reflected in yearbook pages. A new department in the 1920-1921 school year was the Department of Physical Training (what we would now call the P.E. Department). This department provided “regular and definite required instruction and practice periods for all girls.” 86 In the fall of 1921 physical training was organized for the boys. A new faculty member that year, Emil C. (“Jack”) Flug, seems to have been a force in developing the physical training classes. 87 He would also become a successful football and basketball coach in this decade. Also this year sociology became a required credit of the sixteen credits needed for graduation. As a result, the Social Science Department grew more than the other departments.88 The auditorium would be used for the physical training classes and for many other school

13 purposes throughout the decade, but it also continued to be heavily used by the community. According to the 1921 yearbook, on one eight-day stretch, from Sunday through Sunday, the auditorium had “an estimated attendance of over 10,000” at various activities held there. 89 In the second half of the decade the auditorium was the setting for a number of major performances or events. In 1926 nationally famous humorist Will Rogers appeared there, and in 1927 “the city heard the Tunney-Demsey fight, not over the radio but by listening to a local announcer read Associated Press reports supplied by the Minot Daily News.” 90 Yearbook calendar listings indicated that John Philip Sousa’s Band appeared in September 1928 and a Russian Cossack Chorus in October 1929. However, by the end of this decade “the major cultural center of the community” would shift to the new McFarland Auditorium at the college.91 In the 1920-1921 school year three new groups were organized at the high school. Two were music groups: the Ukulele Club and the Drum Corps. The Philomathians was organized to promote “the development of all kinds of literary work among its members.” 92 The high school had had a literary society in the 1900-1910 decade but probably not with this name. In the next year’s yearbook an enduring issue was addressed: having a place to go in the evening for young people, the boys in particular. A senior boy, in a lengthy piece, noted that City ordinances had closed access to “pool-halls” and “dance-halls” for young people. The solution should be a Y.M.C.A. run by the city, according to him. Near the end of his piece he wrote, “The animals of the zoo have an animal house to keep out the North Dakota winter, but the boys of Minot haven’t a place provided to spend their evenings in a way satisfactory to the townspeople.” 93 (The city zoo had been established in 1920 and a bear den and “zoological building” in 1921.94) One sports highlight from the 1921-1922 school year indicated how Williston had become Minot High’s biggest out-of-town opponent. After a basketball victory against Williston, Minot students marched single file through downtown streets.95 The Normal School, which became Minot State Teachers College in the 1924-1925 school year, was our in-town rival. The 1923 yearbook provided information on the physical training course for boys as well as a photo, to the right, of the boys training in the auditorium/gym. By this year the activities included “marching, calisthenics, horizontal bars, horse, and work with the Indian clubs and dumb bells.” Pyramid building was also “one of the big parts of this course.” In fact, a pyramid club had been organized the previous year.96 In the "Literary" section of the yearbook, a senior acknowledged the national flappers phenomenon in a poem titled “The Flapper.” The poem’s first line stated that the school had “many a flapper” and then went on to identify the characteristics of a flapper--from “penciled” eyebrows and “stenciled” lips to using slang words, chewing gum, and “shirking” her school work. The drawing to the right opened the "Society" section of the yearbook. This yearbook also reported that a “cross-country bus” was used for a basketball team trip to Donnybrook because the trains were running late.97 There would be increasing references to

14 buses (“motor bus”, “Yellow Bus”) in future yearbooks. By this time, according to Charles Dickson, “the increased number of private cars and trucks cleared Minot’s streets of their clutter of horse-drawn wagons.” In 1922 a bus system was available for Minot citizens and the “state’s first interurban bus line . . . began operating between Minot and Bismarck.” 98 However, road improvement would continue to be needed, both for the city and the state. Most of the state’s roads were gravel roads. The road that we now call Highway 2, then called Theodore Roosevelt, also “was called the ‘T and R’or the ‘Tough and Rough Road’ due to its many chuck holes.” The speed limit in towns and cities was 10 mph and 30 mph on highways, reflecting road conditions and automobile quality. 99 The illustration to the right, from the 1930 Searchlight, conveyed the basketball team’s experience of traveling on the Jamestown-Carrington bus.

In this decade the major highways that met in Minot were known by different names: Highway 2 as the Theodore Roosevelt or Glacier Park Trail, Highway 52 as the North Star Trail, and Highway 83 as the International Trail. Other names and numbers were also used at this time and earlier. (See Endnote 99.)

On November 16, 1923, the Minot High football team played a game against Grafton before a crowd “estimated at about 2000; it was the largest crowd that had ever witnessed a contest in the history of the school.” 100 Victory would give Minot the right to play for the state championship after a number of unsuccessful football years. Various city organizations and businessmen sponsored the game, which Minot won 13-0. It was played at Riverside Park (soon Roosevelt Park). Throughout this decade football games were played at the park. Football at Roosevelt Park

There were many pictures of football games in the 1920s yearbooks. This one was taken during the Grafton game.

This photo is from the 1927 yearbook. Notice the cars at the back left and the man in the large tree at the back right.

In May 1924 the printing class produced a single issue of a publication (newspaper?), which they called the MI-NOT-HI. The following year there would be another single issue of a publication with the same name. 101 (See "Major School Publications" for more information.)

15 Two pages in the 1924 Searchlight were devoted to the Teddy Roosevelt equestrian statue which was to be placed in Riverside Park in June of 1924. The dedication would have to wait until September 11, 1924, when the name of the park was also formally changed to Roosevelt Park. The gift of this statue to Minot was a big deal. On the day of the dedication, Minot’s businesses closed for the afternoon, a parade was held, and the governor and other important people attended the ceremony. The statue was “dedicated to the children of North Dakota,” and more than 3100 Ward County school children contributed pennies and dimes to help create a base for it. Dr. Henry Coe, who gave the statue to Minot, said that the gift was “a token of recognition for what . . . [the city had] done in the line of developing its parks.” 102 The 1924 yearbook also displayed many park photos. The next three yearbooks would also have pictures of the statue and the park. The one at the right is from the 1925 Searchlight. In the 1924-1925 school year a parent-teacher organization and four student organizations were started. The Parent-Teacher Association of the Senior High School Grades organized in November with a charter membership of seventeen parents and five teachers; the membership soon almost doubled.103 (A Central School PTA already existed.) The students added a Pep Club (or P.E.P.--“ Pep Every Place”--Club), Beta Nu Science Club, and the Senior Forum Literary Society. The Forum Literary Society was created especially to develop speaking skills. Apparently the Philomathians had dissolved. In the 1925-1926 school year many more clubs were launched: the Barrymore Dramatic Club, the Minot High Athletic Club (for lettermen), the Hi-Y Club, the French Club (Le Cercle Francais), and the Spanish Club. The goal of the Hi-Y Club was “to promote clean living, clean playing, clean thinking, and to help get the worth-while things out of life.” 104 Principal J. H. Colton, in his introduction to the 1926 yearbook, wrote about the value of clubs for schools: they “give an avenue through which a pupil may receive additional training in line with his tastes and preferences and in which lessons of mutual cooperation may be learned together with a toleration for the views of others in his social group.” He must also have been pleased with what the club creating said about the energy of his students and staff. (He was principal throughout the decade and would continue to be Minot High's principal through the 1944-1945 school year.) Also during the 1925-1926 school year the Magicians nickname seemed to become official, and maroon and gold began to replace crimson and corn as the school colors. Minot High had deferred to the Normal School's use of the Magicians nickname for some years. (See the sections "School Nicknames" and "School Colors" for more information.) In the 1926-1927 school year a newspaper, again titled the Mi-Not-Hi, was established with the November 9th, 1926, issue. The juniors were in charge of it, publishing every other Tuesday, just as the seniors were in charge of the yearbook. By the end of the 1927-1928 school year, the newspaper was called the Minot High Times and the staff was no longer limited to juniors.105 These were new organizations added in the 1926-1927 school year: the Rostrum Club, the Latin Club (Roman Sodalitas), the Pin Pan Club, and the Howling Hellions. The Rostrum Club was another club to promote debating, as well as other speaking skills. (The Senior Forum Literary Society remained active.) The Pin Pan Club was created to promote an interest in home economics. The white-shirted Howling Hellions was a boys’ cheer group informally organized to provide support at the basketball games. It would be active for three years, then fade out only to be replaced by the Boomers in the 1929-1930 school year.

16 During the 1927-1928 school year the science club had to be broken into two science clubs-Newtonian and Mendelejeff--because so many students had joined it. Making first appearances in this decade’s yearbooks were these clubs/physical activities for girls: Hiking Club, Swimming Club, interclass baseball played in the gym, and tennis. The only one definitely identified as new was interclass baseball. Minot High’s first Homecoming Day took place on October 22, 1927. It was introduced by the new head basketball and football coach, Fred R. Prusha. In the 1928 yearbook the day was described this way under the heading “Annual Homecoming”:















This was the day on which M.H.S. Grads came home to view the progress of their Alma Mater. . . . Before the anticipated Devils Lake Game a gay parade wended its way down the principal business streets of Minot. Floats sponsored by each class and each club were presented. The Sophomores with their clever covered wagon of pioneer days, won the distinction of having the best float.





The parade found its way to the gridiron where it ended in a wild burst of glory when we won the heated battle with the Red Devils. . . .

In two years Homecoming would acquire a different name and expanded activities. The theme of the 1928 yearbook reflected a significant development in the city. In a foreword the airplane (“aeroplane”) was identified as “a sort of materialization of progress” and the theme for the yearbook. (Near the beginning of the yearbook appeared a picture of Charles Lindbergh in front of his airplane Spirit of St. Louis.) The foreword also noted that Minot had established a municipal landing field (in 1928) that “put Minot on the aerial map of America.” Located on North Hill, where it exists today, it was called the “Port of Minot.” 106 The theme for the 1929 yearbook was again progress. The foreword noted that Minot had become “one of the most prosperous cities of our nation,” and, as further proof of progress, that a “wonderfully well equipped” new building was being added to the downtown block. This was the Junior High Building, which was built on the west side of the block. This building would allow the school district to adopt the 6-3-3 plan, which meant the Senior High School building would house the 10th-12th grades, and the Junior High School building the 7th-9th grades. The new gymnasium that was part of the new building would allow the basketball team to “overcome the handicap of playing basketball on a small floor.” 107 The New Junior High School Building

Above is an architect’s drawing found in the 1929 yearbook. At right is a drawing of how all the buildings looked on the downtown block (from A History of Public Education in Downtown Minot, n.p.).

17 Superintendent L.A. White provided additional support for what he called the “Spirit of Progress” theme. The high school enrollment had risen to 908, along with increases for the other schools and the city’s population. The new building would “enlarge the opportunities” for students with its “excellent large gymnasium, space for a cafeteria later, many ample classrooms, and good provision for home economics and some industrial arts work.” A “‘new type’ of teaching methods and experiments” was being employed and the 6-3-3 plan was a “modern type of plan.” As final proof of progress he reported on the success of the high school graduates--in college and at jobs. 108 Some additional points about the new junior high building: The 1893 Central Graded School was demolished to make room for the new building, which was completed in the fall of 1929.109 Though it was built right next to the senior high building, there were limited connections between the buildings because school officials wanted to limit contact between junior high and senior high students.110 Superintendent White did not mention overcrowding, but certainly the new building and the 6-3-3 plan relieved crowding in the senior high school. There were just a few organization developments in the 1928-1929 school year. The music department continued to add groups: the Blue Bird Club (a girls’ choral group) and the Harmonica Trio. Also new was the Girls’ Athletic Club, which had as a goal the promotion of athletics for the “physical benefit of participants instead of primarily as a public spectacle." Members could earn points for participating in these sports: “hiking, baseball, swimming, basketball, athletic badge tests, quoits, and A plus class work.” 111 In the 1929-1930 school year these were the new organizations: the Commercial Club; the History and Social Science Club; the Philatelic Club (for those interested in collecting stamps); the Boomers; and more musical groups, including boys’ and girls’ sextets, a second girls’ glee club, and the Clef Club. With the Clef Club perhaps a club mania had set in: the Clef Club was open to any person who belonged to another musical organization. The Boomers replaced the Howling Hellions as a boys’ cheering section at the basketball games. In this school year Homecoming returned after a year’s absence, but under a different name: Loyalty Day. (There was no mention in the 1929 yearbook of Homecoming activities except in the "High School Calendar" section: “Annual homecoming not quite a success.”) The 1930 yearbook identified October 19, 1929, when the football team played Devils Lake, as the “first annual Magician Loyalty Day."112 Details were supplied about the two days of activities dedicated to this day:

























Festivities were begun on the Friday afternoon before the big game when a pep assembly was held in the high school. Later in the day, show windows in business districts were decorated by girls of the school. The next step in the excitement was a great snake dance in the evening which formed near the high school and followed the band down Main street and Central avenue to Roosevelt Park where a pile of wood as big as a house had been stacked and started afire. The blaze was very spectacular and drew a large crowd of enthusiastic students and interested townspeople. Strong electric flood lights had been arranged around a platform where a short program was presented. Coronation ceremonies were held and Frances Cox, the football queen-elect, was crowned by John Lee, the football player who had been voted this honor. As the fire burnt low, cheers for the team rang out, and the party broke up with the outlook for the next day very bright indeed.

18









Morning brought Loyalty day and its excitement. Everyone entered into the spirit of the day. Floats were decorated by each of the classes and many of the organizations in the high school. The prize winners were: Seniors, first; Sophomores, second; and Girls’ Athletic Club, third. The Seniors had for their float an antique hearse in which lay an effigy of the Devils Lake team.



The climax of the entire proceedings was the football game. . . .

According to a 1945 article in the Minot High Times, “the name Loyalty Day was voted by the students because it best expressed the ideals of rededication of every student to his loyalty to school and extra-curricular activities--in short, to the highest interest of the student and his school.” 113 Loyalty Day would be the name that dominated until the 1960s, but there would often be uses of both it and “Homecoming”--even in this yearbook and the next one. The new gym was first used in a game against the Alumni in late December 1929 and formally opened on January 17, 1930. It had features that made athletes and fans happy. For athletes there was a regulationsize floor with a “remarkable finish,” walls surrounding the floor made of cork for safety, and locker rooms for boys and girls with special features. For the fans, there were two electric scoreboards and seating for almost a thousand people. For the P.E. classes, steel lockers were available and the gym could be subdivided into two smaller gyms “by means of a sliding, folding door.” 114 The lighting and air control systems were also praised. This gym is still being used. The photo above is from the 1930 yearbook. On the back right side, not readable at this size, is a Boomers' banner. The seating at the back is on the west side. Years later this area would become classrooms. The 1930 yearbook was the first one in which photos of the cheer masters (previously yell masters) were provided. At the right are the photos of Magician Cheer Masters Maybelle ("Mibs") Wheelon and Mort Aakrann. (These two were each also labeled “cheer leader” in the senior section of the yearbook.) An April 22, 1966, Minot High Times article, which provides a history of cheerleaders for the 1930s and 1940s, identifies the 1929-1930 school year as the first year for cheerleaders. Aakrann was interviewed for the article.115 The radio theme for the 1930 yearbook probably was chosen because, in the fall of 1929, Minot gained the radio station KLPM . It was located on the top of the Leland Parker Hotel; the LPM letters stood for Leland Parker Minot.116 Principal Colton used the word “station” in his introductory page in the yearbook.

19 Throughout this decade the yearbooks continued to provide details on the many dances and other social activities. These are a couple of the amusing details: Miss Cass’s science students had a 16th birthday party for her at least two years in a row, and a boxing match was part of the program for one junior-senior party. A new type of dance at the high school was the sunset dance. The November 25, 1925, sunset dance was the first one covered in the yearbooks. Some 1931 graduates still remembered these dances fifty years later. According to one of them, the dances lasted about an hour or ninety minutes (the yearbooks give some longer times) and “were held in the balcony area” of the auditorium. The students danced waltzes and foxtrots, sometimes to music provided by the high school orchestra. Five cents was charged for admission.117 By 1930 Minot’s population had increased to 16,099; it was still the third largest city in North Dakota but a close second to Grand Forks. According to Charles Dickson, "by 1928 Minot was . . . ranked as one of the most prosperous cities in the nation based on business volume.” 118 The enrollment for the three grades of the senior high school for the 1929-30 school year was 721.119 Nine years earlier the enrollment was 470 for four grades. The Great Depression, however, would soon impact Minot and its schools.

Examples of Auditorium Use During This Decade

Proms were elaborate affairs. These pictures are of the 1924 prom with an oriental theme. In the picture to the right tables are set for the prom.

Notice the detail of the proscenium arch.

Of course heavy use was made of the auditorium for musical performances.

20 Minot Senior High School

This photo of the senior high school, facing north, is from the 1928 yearbook, before the junior high was added on the west side. In 1940 there would be an addition at the east end of the senior high.

1930-1940 In this decade of hard times the word progress did not appear as a theme for any of the yearbooks. It was not a time for significant growth in enrollment at the high school or population growth for the city. However, the yearbooks were not filled with gloom and doom, organizations were added, and in the middle years sports teams brought home championship trophies. At the end of the decade there would be a modest addition to the senior high school. The radio played a role throughout the decade and in decades to come. The yearbooks had little to say directly about the depression, but the school board minutes convey the building financial distress for the school district. At an April 1931 meeting the board approved a 5 percent reduction in salary for all teachers and a suspension of automatic increases. By the next spring positions were eliminated, including those in industrial arts and home economics. That summer the board voted to disallow salaries for substitute teachers "as an The teacher pay schedule for the emergency measure and economy move." At a March 1933 1933-1936 school years: meeting the board voted for additional reductions in pay for Senior High School men: $1600 teachers and administrators. The superintendent's annual Senior High School women: $1350 salary had been over $5000; now it was reduced to $3000. Grade 9: $1250 (Salaries stayed the same until the 1936-1937 school year.) Grades 7-8: $1100 In the September 13, 1933, minutes appear the first of many Grade school: $1000 similar statements in the upcoming months and years: "Since the school treasury is depleted and there will be no funds available to pay September salaries because of the non-payment of taxes, the Secretary of the Board of Education be instructed to advertise in the official newspaper the sale of certificates of indebtedness . . . ."120 There was no sense of the impending economic crisis in the 1931 yearbook, which was the first one to use the theme of magic, with "Aladdin's Lamp" imagery. The foreword attributed the

21 theme to Minot's "Magic City" nickname and the school's "The Magicians" nickname. Knowledge and education were equated with a “Magic Lamp” and teachers with “genii.” To the right is one of the section page drawings that conveyed the theme. One new organization that year was the Principal's Student Advisory Council. Each homeroom would elect a representative to be on the Council, which met often with Principal Colton about issues "concerning the interests of the student body at large." One of the issues was tardiness, a perennial problem. The Council members compiled a list of the "ten usual reasons for tardiness."121 The 1931yearbook indicated that there had been a change in name for the sophomores--to froshmores. (There was no freshman class with the 6-3-3 system.) The names of the drama clubs, previously only one club, were the Senior, Junior and now Froshmore Dramatic Clubs. The sophomore name change would continue until the 1950s. Another change involved Roosevelt Park, which no longer provided a field for the football team or Loyalty Day activities. Minot High games were now played at the Minot State Teachers College field. The Loyalty Day football game was played under the lights there. The Loyalty Day parade--a snake dance involving all students--took place on the downtown streets and ended at the high school. Later yearbooks indicate a bonfire was lit on a vacant lot near the school. 122 The individual photos to the right identify the intramural sports that girls participated in this school year--and provide a picture of sports clothing in the early 1930s. All of the girls pictured were members of the Girls Athletic Club (later in the decade the Girls Athletic Association or G.A.A.) Yearbook photos would capture girls' intramural sports throughout the decade. (The last school year in which the girls played a team from another school was 1926-1927; they would not return to playing interscholastic sports until the 1960s.) League (or intramural) basketball was also available for boys who could not make the school teams. In the foreword to the 1931 yearbook, the yearbook staff expressed the hope that Aladdin's Lamp "works magic for the readers by bringing back to them their happy days in dear old Minot High School." The refrain of happy days or hours or years at Minot High School would appear in the forewords of many of the yearbooks of this decade. A representative student contest and new clubs were among the developments reported in the 1932 yearbook. The yearbook staff sponsored a "Most Representative Student Contest, based upon scholarship, participation in activities, character, and attitude toward things worthwhile.” 123 The first one chosen by the student body was John DeMots. By the end of the decade five students would be chosen annually. Two new student groups were the Public Forum and the Radio Club. The Public Forum, which limited its membership to senior and junior boys, had these purposes: " to develop a scientific attitude and approach to large social problems and to

22 questions."124

afford an opportunity for training in discussion of such The Radio Club, which seemed to have only male members, aimed "to develop . . . the ability to construct short and long wave receivers; to create familiarity with conventional stock-model radios and their repair; to propagate interest in the radio as a profession."125 (The yearbook's "School Calendar" section reported that an assembly was held on October 9, 1931, to listen to a World Series broadcast over the radio.) The Music Department continued to be active, adding the Jenny Lind Club as a musical group. The vocal groups continued to produce an operetta throughout this decade. The "School Calendar" recorded that the city band held a "benefit concert in interest of local unemployment."126 The school board minutes listed motions to allow use of the high school auditorium and other school facilities for such groups as the Citizens' Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Federal Emergency Relief Association (FERA). In the 1933 yearbook the depression was addressed more directly under the heading "Things We Would Like To Know." One of the “things”: "How long will it last? (I mean this period of general hard times." 127 Under the heading "Things We Would Like to See," these two items appeared, along with others: a library in the Minot High School and the reorganization of the Minot High Times. Perhaps since at least the mid 1920s the students had used the public library across the street as their library. In a December 8, 1925, school board meeting, the board voted to place the high school's library books, as a loan, upon the shelves of the city library for general circulation.128 The high school would not have a library until the beginning of the next decade. The high school newspaper was not published during five years of this decade, probably for cost reasons. (The present high school libraries have only a few issues from1930 and one from 1931.) One notable sports development was the addition of an in-town rival. Minot High played the St. Leo's Lions for the first time during the 1932-1933 basketball season, St. Leo's first basketball season. (The St. Leo's school building had opened across the street from the Junior High building in 1926 and "expanded to 12 grades in 1929." 129) The St. Leo's teams, coached by Father Hogan, were very successful during this decade, and though they were in the Class B division, the games in the junior high gym between Minot High and St. Leo's High drew large crowds. For at least St. Leo's first season, the team played their games in the junior high gym.130 The "School Life" section of the 1933 yearbook was particularly lively. One section within it, "Memories of 1932 and 1933," provided an informative and entertaining run-through of school activities. This was the October 20 entry, a familiar complaint: "There was a terrible snowstorm raging and school goes on as usual." The January 11th entry: "Another all-school assembly-wherein we learn how to rid ourselves of all types of slang." The January 17-18-19 entry: "Three days of explanations--we mean examinations. (Maybe we were right the first time at that.)" In the 1933-1934 school year the basketball team won a state championship and acquired another in-town opponent. The basketball championship would be the first of three in a four-year period, under Coach Harley Robertson. The new opponent for the varsity team: the Model High Beaver Kits. Model High was part of the Minot State training school for teachers. Minot High reserve or froshmore basketball teams had played the Beaver Kits as early as the late 1920s. (Model High School first graduated students in 1929.131 A new building for the training school was dedicated on February 4, 1931.132 That building is now called Model Hall.) The first-string

23 basketball team stopped playing Model in the 1937-1938 season. Minot High also played Model High in football for a few years. Basketball and Football Teams in Action

This photo of action in the junior high gym is from the 1934 yearbook. At the back is the east wall.

The game is at the college field. In the background to the left is first the back of the new Model training school building and then the Harrison School building. This photo is from the 1933 yearbook.

Other developments this school year: The Biology Club and the Vergil Club were new. The goal of the Vergil Club was "to become better acquainted with Roman custom." (The Latin Club was no longer in existence.) Apparently there was a group of students from Eastwood Park that had become a notable clique. They were singled out as a "gang" amongst other gangs in the "Senior Class Poem." (In the next year's yearbook "Class Poem" they were "another good bunch" along with the "South Hill gang.") The word depression appeared in the opening sentence of the "class prophecy" section: "the dark clouds of depression, which for so long have hovered over minot high school as over everywhere else . . . ." (The 1934 yearbook, designed in the "modernistic mode," had no capital letters.) The 1935 yearbook, with the motion picture as a theme, presented a number of casual shots of students as if they were in rolls of film. One of these was the first picture at the right. Some small pictures of Minot businesses, such as the State theater and Keg restaurant, were also included. (Other theaters were the Strand and the Orpheum. 133) Two new student organizations in the 1934-35 school year were the Quill and Scroll Society and the Minot Model Maker. The Quill and Scroll Society was an "international honor society for high school journalists." The Minot Model Maker ("Triple M Club") was for students interested in aviation and model building.134 The following year, 1935-1936, was a signal year for Minot High sports. Minot won state championships in basketball and football. In football, under Coach Glenn Jarrett, Minot was the North Dakota and South Dakota state champion after beating Rapid City. The yearbook was dedicated to the two teams with pictures of the teams placed at the beginning of the yearbook.

24 Perhaps because of the attention that was accorded the basketball and football teams, a number of pages were devoted to the Girls Athletic Association. This description of G.A.A. activities was provided:



















At the same time the boys were winning championships for our school, the girls were gaining better personalities and healthier bodies through their athletic activities. A variety of sports was evident. Many girls, under the leadership of Miss Grace Anderson, learned the fundamentals of tap dancing. Expert volley ball, which was the result of hours of conscientious practice after school, was exhibited in the tournament games. Playing basketball every Saturday morning during the winter months became a popular pastime for many. At the arrival of spring, time was spent playing indoor kittenball [softball]. Then also the tumbling mats were taken out, and many learned to perform difficult feats which were shown at the physical education exhibit.135

The photos below convey some of the physical activities the girls participated in on the east side of the school grounds or on nearby streets.

This photo was titled "Tumbling." In the background to the right is the Armory, which became the administrative building in the early 1960s. A parking lot has replaced the residence at the back

This photo was titled "Kittenball." The girls are playing in the street south of the school block. The Ellison Apartments can be seen in the background to the right. That building still stands.

A new club in the 1935-1936 year was the Active Atoms, created to study and promote chemistry. The Latin Club was back under a new name (Latina Solidotus) as was the Model Maker Club, which was now the Aviation Club. The 1936-1937 school year was another dominating one for Minot boys’ basketball and football. The basketball team won the state championship again. The football team outscored its nine opponents before the championship game 520-0 (yes, 520-0, including a 90-0 score over Bismarck). Unfortunately it lost the championship game against Valley City. That year the high school began a weekly radio broadcast aired at 6:30 in the evening on Tuesdays. Students, staff, and the principal participated in creating the programs. The 1938 yearbook provided some positive details about the state of the school. A home economics class was back for the first time since 1932. The school newspaper restarted in February 1938 after not publishing for a few years. The junior class of 251 was the "largest group in several years."136 A sports star of this school year and the next two was Joyce Nelson, who was considered "North Dakota's leading woman figure skater.” 137

25 The photo at the right from the 1938 yearbook has this caption: "The latest in cars--and Seniors." In the 1938-1939 school year these were new organizations: the Broadcast Club, Students' English Council, and the Writer's Club. The Broadcast Club "sponsored weekly radio broadcasts and six radio plays." It's unclear what the purpose of the English Council was, but each English class chose a representative for it. The Writers' Club was organized "to encourage writing as a hobby." Also noted were two Minot High boys who were amateur radio operators. They were "two of the 281 licensed 'hams' in North Dakota." 138 To the right is a photo of one of them. By this year two outside youth organizations were having an impact on Minot High students: Order of the Rainbow for Girls and Order of DeMolay (for boys). Both organizations were associated with the Masonic Lodge and emphasized community service and leadership.139 Both sponsored dances that were noted in the 1939 yearbook: a Rainbow Formal at the Parker's, a Rainbow Calico Ball, and a "swell" DeMolay dance.140 It's not clear whether any of the dances took place at the high school. The two organizations would be active for years in Minot and covered by the High Times. The word jitterbugs (student dancers), along with jitterbuggin', appeared a number of times in the pages of the 1939 yearbook. The jitterbug was a very animated dance that was popular in the later 1930s through the end of World War II. The happier times that the jitterbug might suggest were soon darkened by war news. The "School Calendar" section of the 1940 yearbook recorded that on September 21, 1939, there was a "special assembly called to hear President Roosevelt speak. (over the radio)." No commentary was provided, but Roosevelt, appearing before Congress, asked that the Neutrality Acts be amended so that the U.S. could more easily supply arms and goods to Great Britain and France. In his introductory remarks in the yearbook, Principal Colton acknowledged "these times of hourly European War news." Other 1939-1940 school news was less ominous. The Shorthand Club was a new business organization; apparently only girls belonged. Major movie news was conveyed in this March 31, 1940, "School Calendar" listing: "'Gone with the Wind' and we can't get excused from school to see it. Oh, unhappy day. But that's OK. We'll spend all Saturday there. I'd settle for Rhett Butler any day." The "School Calendar" also recorded the first mention of Sadie Hawkins in a January19 entry: "Get set, girls--this is our big chance. Sadie Hawkins says, ‘Get your man, honey, it's leap year.’" A Sadie Hawkins dance is an informal dance for which girls invite boys. (Sadie Hawkins was a character from the comic strip Li’l Abner, begun in the mid 1930s.141) A final sports note: Track was reported to have become a major sport for the high school boys by the end of the decade.142 It had been covered in the yearbooks throughout the decade, along with football and basketball. Golf and tennis were two other boys' sports covered, briefly, in most of the yearbooks. A new addition to the east end of the senior high building was finished in January 1940. The picture below is from the 1940 yearbook.

26 Senior High School with East Addition, 1940

The high school's enrollment numbers moved upward by the end of the decade but at the end were not higher than the 1929-1930 number. These were the high school's enrollment numbers for the decade, beginning with the 1930-1931 school year: 663, 691, 682, 694, 613, 683, 696, 676, 727, and 721.143 The lowest number was during the 1934-1935 school year. Minot's population grew only slightly--from 16,099 to 16,577. (The growth of the other three major cities in the state was greater.) North Dakota's overall population numbers decreased as the depression was accompanied by severe drought. In January of 1939, about 37 per cent of the state's population was still "receiving assistance from a state or federal agency."144 Minot remained a small city physically as well. As Wally Hankla remembers it, "the perimeters of Minot in the mid 1930s were roughly: Minot State Teachers College to the north; 10th and 12th streets west, except for Garden Valley which was random housing, Rosehill Cemetery to the south, and Roosevelt park to the east."145 (The Garden Valley area was west of the present Job Corps/past VA Hospital area.) A symbol of the economic times was an unfinished office building downtown, called the Sparrow Hotel, that was begun in the mid 1920s but not finished until after World War II, when Clarence Parker converted it into the Clarence Parker Hotel.146 (It's now the Minot Commission on Aging Parker Senior Center.) However, Minot was able to improve or build miles of streets, bridges, and sidewalks and improve its sanitation system thanks to "large amounts of federal funds."147 Minot also needed a city auditorium but was unsuccessful in its pursuit of federal money for it. The senior high school auditorium and junior high gym were not capable of or appropriate for handling all of the city’s needs. The school board, in a September 3, 1935, resolution, stated that a "combination Armory and Community building of sufficient size" was needed to handle "large conventions, athletic events, entertainments of a wide variety, displays and exhibits such as civic bodies of the City are in need of at this time." They also stated that the present Armory was "wholly inadequate." Elks’ circuses performed in the high school auditorium in 1935, probably in 1937, and perhaps in other years.148 There were even requests to handle boxing or wrestling matches, in response to which the school board, in a Dec. 1, 1936, meeting, passed a motion never to allow such events. The State Class B Basketball tournament and other big games were held in a high school gymnasium with somewhat limited seating.149 Minot would not acquire a city auditorium until the present building opened in 1954.

27

1940-1950 World War II was a major element in school life in the first half of this decade. However, much of the normal activity continued, and in the second half of the decade developments with the clubs and school publications seemed to suggest a new level of energy. School enrollment, though, was another matter. The U.S. was not at war during the 1940-1941 school year, but the patriotic theme of the 1941 yearbook was American liberty. The Statue of Liberty was the cover design, and the title of Principal Colton's remarks in the yearbook was "Liberty Enlightening the World." America/ Minot was contrasted with Nazi Germany in the inside covers of the yearbook:

Superintendent White's yearbook remarks, titled "Our School Is Democratic," focused on "the part the schools must play in [democracy's] preservation and development." Perhaps that is why the high school acquired so many councils that school year. In addition to the Principal's Council (previously the Principal's Student Advisory Council), the school had an Athletic Council, a Social Council, and a Dean of Women's Council. On each of these councils there were staff and student members, so that all had a voice, and together the councils served as executive organizations for the bulk of school activities. The main purpose of the Dean of Women's Council was "the welfare of the girls in school." 150 The councils, along with the P.T.A., were covered near the front of the yearbook. Other new organizations were the Library Club, Ushers' Club, and the Homemaking Club. The Homemaking Club replaced the Pin Pan Club, which had not been in existence for a number of years. The Ushers' Club members, all boys in the yearbook photo, checked tickets and ushered fans at the basketball games. The Library Club members worked in the library during a free hour, and at its meetings that year studied reference books. The high school's first librarian, Edith Iverson, was the advisor. The new addition at the east end of the senior high school building included the library, which opened on Nov. 13, 1940. When the library opened, it had 1500 books on the shelves with 500 "being readied for use." Thirty-one magazines were on order.151 By the end of the decade the number of books would increase to 5000 along with 38 magazine subscriptions. Also by the end

28 of the decade the addition housed the band room and home economics

room.152

Some final bits from the 1941 yearbook: On a two-page spread for "All-Stars" from boys' sports, skiing and figure skating standouts were highlighted, in addition to football and basketball players. The G.AA., still active with 153 members, sponsored for the first time a girls' softball league. For any prom historians, there was a two-page spread on how to get ready for a prom (for the girl) and how to achieve a perfect prom day ( for the guy), filled with pictures. The Calendar section included this entry for April 1: "It didn't seem like April Fool's Day with the mobilization of the guardsmen." During the next school year, the United States was drawn into war. The inside covers of the 1942 yearbook presented a map of North Dakota with the resources that North Dakota could provide the nation during war. Throughout the yearbook were large photos of farm equipment, coal mining equipment, and so on. At the beginning of the yearbook these were the words provided by the administration about the efforts of the high school:











So we in Minot High School are trying to do our part. By giving up small luxuries we have purchased war stamps throughout the year. Many of the boys, both graduates and members of our school, have joined their country's forces. Still more have entered war industries, so vital to the national program. Last, but far from least, we have those who are doing their bit on the farms of our state--growing the grain to feed the man behind the man behind the gun.







Minot High has the ability to do its part; Minot High has the resources to do its part; Minot High has the will to do its part. Minot High School WILL do its part!

On one page of the yearbook were pictures of some students who had volunteered for military assignment. Both in this yearbook and the previous one there were photos of students and adults saluting the flag, in a manner that we don't see anymore. The one to the right is from the 1942 yearbook. A new council this year was the Red Cross Council, which developed from the high school's membership in the National Junior Red Cross. Each home room was a Red Cross Chapter and provided a representative to the Red Cross Council. The members received First Aid instruction and knitted and sewed.153 The new library was clearly a success. This information was provided on the Library Club page: "During an average day about six hundred students use our high school library. Usually about seventy-five or more students come into the library each school hour. There are also about fortyfive students using the library before and after school hours."154 The first photo to the right is a busy library scene, with the fireplace mid left side. The second photo is of the school cafeteria, housed in what is now the shop area. Both photos are from the 1942 yearbook.

29 championships.155

Some 1941-1942 sports notes: The boys' football and track teams won state The football coach was Jack Mackenroth and the track coach C.A. ("Cassie") Mills. Male and female figure skaters made the sports "All-Stars" page.

In the section "Glimpses from Bub's Diary," near the end of the 1942 yearbook, were these two entries, among others:





December 8: The inevitable thing happened. The United States declared war on

Japan. I heard President Roosevelt's declaration in an all-school assembly. February 9: I like the new Daylight Saving Time schedule.

The 1943 yearbook conveyed the effects of being at war for over a year. There were two pages of lengthy lists devoted to "Sons in Service" and an "In Memory" page. A new section of the yearbook was titled "War Work." Highlighted in that section were the Junior Red Cross Council, a military drill unit (which met at the armory across the street), a course in home nursing and first aid, and a course in farm machine repair. New organizations were the Junior Game Wardens Club and another "executive" council, the Dramatic Council. The goal of the Junior Game Wardens was "to restore the wildlife of North Dakota and perpetuate it for the benefit of future generations." The Dramatic Council, an "advisory board for the John Barrymore Chapter of Playmakers," had final say over the specific productions and number of them as well as financial matters.156 This caption appeared with a photo of students dancing: "Time--every Friday night. Place--the auditorium. What senior will ever forget the weekly snake rassels with their broken-down nickleodians and sticky floor? Of course we did manage to have fun."157 A June 11, 1943, Minot High Times article conveyed the effects of war on the senior students:



Uncle Sam has called several seniors of Minot High to service for the

duration in the many armed services. Most of them are on an inactive

standing until graduation June 11.

Many have enlisted in the navy V-5 and V-12 programs and the army air

corps. Lee Northern and Don Thompson enlisted in the army air corps

while Howie Howe is the most recent senior to go into the navy V-5

aviation program. The navy deck officers training (V-12) has four M.H.S.

seniors on their roll. These are Bob Alander, Tom Hugh, Al Bacon and

Ted Bliss. The draft is going to get most of the seniors before the summer

is over, but they must go so that victory will be one step nearer.158

The war also took its toll on the school publications. The High Times would not be published for the next two school years. The June 11th issue was much smaller physically. (The two high school libraries have few issues of the early 1940s school newspapers.) Beginning with the 1943 yearbook, the yearbooks had fewer pages for a number of years. The 1944 yearbook was dedicated to service. Principal Colton wrote about honoring the men and women who served in the military and issued "a call for Service" to all in the high school--to serve the school, their homes, country, and "best selves." Near the end of the yearbook was a "Memoriam" page and a poem dedicated to those who had fallen.

30 There was news about organizations. A new one was the Office Club, whose members worked during school hours in the principal's office and the board of education office. The Social Committee, which seemed to have replaced the Social Council, was particularly active-purchasing a nickelodeon for the dances and sponsoring the Sadie Hawkins Dance and the Class B Tournament Ball. The G.A.A. was still in existence as "among the more prominent organizations in Minot High."159 According to yearbook photo captions, this music was a hit at two assemblies: the "boogie beat" of the songs "Boogie Woogie" and "Pistol Packin' Mamma" along with the "swingin''" style of Benny Goodman. According to the Benny Goodman caption, "The kids went high, wide, and hog-wild over the arrangements and encores of this gentleman of jive."160 This was a bit of sports news: the high school had had a tumbling squad for a few years. This year the squad, which performed during the halftimes of home basketball games, was larger.161 The 1945 yearbook did not have a theme but opened with photos of a war bonds booth with men in uniform speaking to students lined up at the booth. The previous yearbook had ended with war bonds booth scenes. Bonds would continue to be sold in the nation's schools the following year with the slogan "Speed Recovery, with Your Savings."162 The 1946 yearbook provided a list of assemblies for the year and a small window on school life:



September 28--Vernon S. Peterson, PLASTICS

October 6--Emil E. Liers, TRAINED OTTERS.

October 30--Salvation Army.

November 3--Loyalty Day.

November 10--Armistice Day.

November 13--Dr. Laird, GEOLOGY.

November 22--Thanksgiving.

December 12--One-act Plays.

December 21--Christmas.

December 22--Football.

January 12--Mr. George H. Steck, RED CROSS.

February 7--Film, COMBAT AMERICA.

February 20--Film, WINNING THE WAR WITH SYNTHETIC



RUBBER.

February 22--Dr. Weber and Hazel McCulloch.163 Again a page in the yearbook was devoted to the war dead--now a much longer list--and a poem was dedicated to the dead. A new page was titled "Missing in Action." The war in Europe was over by the end of this school year, and in a few months it would be over in the Pacific. This would be the last yearbook with lists of the war dead. In the 1946 yearbook the war and its aftermath were addressed in the opening pages but made no other appearances. The yearbook was dedicated to "all the men and women who have served in the armed forces of our country, and especially to those who have paid the supreme sacrifice." Superintendent Miller and Principal King wrote about the problems in the aftermath of war, and the superintendent expressed hope for what the seniors would accomplish in "guiding affairs in a post-war world." (The school newspapers did include some references to the war.)

31 The 1946 yearbook did have a unique feature and a bit of organizational news. The unique feature was that all the junior and froshmore pictures were hand-drawn. A new organization was the Executive Council, which apparently replaced the Social Committee. It sponsored many of the school activities. The Principal's Advisory Council seemed to have disappeared with the arrival of a new principal this school year. In the 1945-1946 school year the High Times returned with force. Among the articles on the front page of its first issue that year (October 19, 1945) was a lengthy article on Loyalty Day and an article pushing for a canteen, a "place for teenagers to go evenings." The Loyalty Day article provided specifics on the plans for that year's Loyalty Day activities, noting that "war restrictions" had limited the activities in recent years. It also provided a history of Loyalty Day. According to the article on the need for a canteen, there had been one in past years, but no one was willing now to be in charge and the room was too small. The armory across the street was favored, but it had been leased for use as a roller skating rink. An editorial in the same issue insisted that Minot High's reputation was at stake. According to the editorial, Minot's youth had a reputation for "drinking, smoking, [and] vulgar language," which came from frequenting "'dives'" because there was no other place with "enough variety in activities to interest everyone." Representatives from all three high schools in Minot were involved in the search for a suitable canteen. A canteen did open later in the school year. Located in Eastwood Park, the Teen Canteen was open every night except Sunday for all junior and senior high students.164 Where were some places students could be found apart from the Teen Canteen? The editorial mentioned three places to dance--the Red Rooster, Parkers, and the Fairground pavilion. According to Wally Hankla, "a prominent hangout for boys in the 40's was Angelo's Pool Hall [on Main Street]. . . . If you were under 18, a written permission from your parents was required to be filed. If boys and girls were together (or looking for one another), the place to go was probably the Nifty Nook drive in."165 On a later page of the October 19 issue was an article that conveyed a common complaint about the high school: its layout. The article also provided a sense of how the facility was used. This is the article, titled “How Well Do You Know Nooks, Crannies of M.H.S?":









A jigsaw puzzle or a school? That’s M.H.S. Our school was built piece by piece and that is the reason it is so cut up and unhandy. That is why you have to go through Oral English to get to [the] Home Ec. department and through a drafty tunnel to reach the new gym. Also, being a building of large proportions, it furnishes many dark nooks and corners in which newcomers and visitors may get lost.









So many doors lead in and out of the building that one becomes confused. When venturing into the old gym you’re likely to come upon several tunnels which lead to no place in particular. On the second and third floor of [the] Senior High you find iron gates which lead to the Junior High.





A sprawling room on the lowest floor is the cafeteria where lots of the students eat lunch. A hot dish and fruits are usually served.





There is a running track around the upper balcony of the auditorium. Here daily during track season the patter of dainty feet is heard stomping around the track.





At the back of the auditorium is a movie booth where regular size films may be shown.

32



On the street side of the track are two doors, one on either side. The door to the right is the new bookstore and the door to the left is a dark, locked mystery.





If curiosity leads you to our swimming pool, you may enter either door at the farthest end of the gym.





Our school, even if it isn’t a haunted building, has a spiral staircase. It is an emergency exit from the band rooms and also Home Ec.







Dank . . . dark . . . drear . . . deathlike . . . any of Edgar Allan Poe’s favorite words are said to apply to the faculty men’s hide-out or ‘lair’ near the shop. Mr. Kuch guards the door--and who knows what goes on?

In a December 1945 poll in the school newspaper, students chose “If I Loved You” and “Paper Moon” as the "top songs on the list of records wanted for the nickelodeon."166 The Class B Basketball Tournament continued to be a big event at the school. In a later section is a March 15, 1946, Minot High Times feature that welcomed the fans and provided information on Minot High and what Minot had to offer fans. Model High would win a number of Class B championships beginning with 1947. ( St. Leo’s had joined the Class A ranks after its third Class B championship in 1943.) A significant change in class requirements went into effect at the beginning of the 1946-1947 school year: no more gym for juniors and seniors. Physical education and health instruction would now be covered in the 7th-10th grades. This schedule, it was felt, would allow the upperclassmen "more of a chance to do their studying inside of school" and "more time for extra curricular activities."167 Required gym classes for juniors and seniors would not return for years. The revived Quill and Scroll organization sponsored a literary magazine, Magician, that would continue to be published for decades. The first issue was printed in December 1946.168 There were a number of other organizational developments in the 1946-1947 school year. According to the 1947 yearbook, two new clubs were the Future Homemakers of America (FHA) and the Key Club. The local FHA unit was part of a national organization. (The Homemaking Club seems to have had a short existence.) No information was provided about the Key Club in the 1947 yearbook, but there was information in the 1948 yearbook: it "is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club in Minot and is to Minot High School what the Kiwanis is to the community." The membership of this all-male service organization was made up of representatives from all of the school's clubs and organizations. Minot High's Key Club was the first one in the state. (It would be active for a few years, then disappear for many years.) The Executive Council was apparently replaced by the Student Activities Committee, whose membership consisted of students and advisors for organizations in the school. The Ushers' Club now had male and female members. (In future years it would an all-girls club.) According to the High Times, a local chapter (Troupe 791) of the National Thespian Society was chartered at Minot High in the spring of 1947.169 To qualify for this honor society, Minot High Playmakers had to perform at a high level. (The Thespians were not mentioned in a yearbook until 1948.) A committee covered in the yearbook was the Constitution Committee, which produced a school constitution. The proposed constitution, whose creation had been sponsored by the Minot High Times staff, was published in a November 15, 1946, High Times issue. It was ratified soon after by a "narrow margin."170 In the 1949-1950 school year it was revised. 171

33 A notable issue of the High Times this year was the October 18, 1946, Twentieth Anniversary Edition. It provided a lengthy history of the school paper, as well as articles on Minot's history, Minot High's history, and the histories of many smaller cultural institutions such as KLPM, the Y.W.C.A, and the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Flickertail Girls' State had its first session in the summer of 1947. Sue Harmon was Minot High's delegate to this session. The applicants, chosen from the junior class, were "selected on the basis of leadership, character, courage, honesty, cooperation, and scholarship by each high school faculty."172 (The first session of Boys State began in the summer of 1938.173) Attendance at the Class A basketball tournament was a significant social activity in these years, warranting (as early as the 1944 yearbook) a page of informal photos in the yearbooks To the right are photos from the 1947 and 1948 yearbooks: In the 1947-1948 school year a new organization was added and one returned after many years' absence. The new organization was the Legislative Council, which made "regulations governing student conduct outside the classroom." 174 Both it and the Executive Council were part of the Constitution ratified the previous year. This year its delegates, from each home room and from "the six major activities," addressed these topics: an all-school letter, management of dances, and gym seating.175 (The Student Activities Committee seemed to have been replaced by the two councils.) The Hi-Y Club, which received a "charter of national affiliation" this school year, was back in time to play a role in the establishment of "a building to house all YMCA activities in Minot," according to a High Times article. The overall purpose of this all-male club was "to create, maintain, and extend throughout the school and community high standards of Christian character."176 In 1948 a YMCA building was built downtown, just north of the high school. (That building would have a number of additions and then be sold and replaced by the new YMCA building in 2001.177) In the 1947-1948 school year the school district acquired a new GMC forty-two passenger bus.178 The photo at right is from the 1948 yearbook. It doesn’t seem possible that forty-two passengers could fit in the bus. During the 1948-49 school year, the high school added a vocational agriculture program. The agricultural classes were "open to all farm boys, in compliance with the federal Smith-Hughes Act." In addition to covering grains and animals, farm machinery was also covered.179 Two clubs were added this year, three were back after many years' absence, and one expanded. The new clubs were the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the Student Council. The FFA was an outgrowth of the new vocational agriculture program. Apparently the Student Council, becoming a "unicameral body" in the second semester, replaced both the Executive and

34 Legislative (According to the 1950 yearbook, the Student Council was composed of all the class officers and homeroom officers.) The Latin, Debate, and Spanish clubs were back. There was a Junior Hi-Y in addition to the Hi-Y. Councils.180

The biggest sports news in the 1948-1949 school year was the boys' basketball team winning the state championship, under Coach Pete Petrich. The 1949 yearbook covered the usual major social events--Loyalty Day, a carnival with concessions manned by each organization, and the prom--but two of the more memorable events must have been the Hobo Hop and the Sadie Hawkins Day dance. For the Hobo Hop "all Minot High School went slumming," according to the yearbook article, which went on to report that "the highlight of the evening was the crowning of our hobo king and queen, . . . who, dressed in their 'regal attire,' received the royal gifts of a can of beans and a cigar." 181 This was the description of the Sadie Hawkins Day dance:



All MHS girls and the boys they snared danced among the jugs and schmoos

[both from the Li’l Abner comic strip] at the Sadie Hawkins Day Ball

sponsored by the Quill and Scroll. The only entrance to the dance floor was

a slide from the first balcony. After the boys compared corsages made of

vegetables and what else was available at home, the dancing began--and what

dancing! As they all went home, visions of butterflies danced in their heads.182 These are photos from the yearbook for these events:

Both the 1949 and 1950 yearbooks, longer than the yearbooks had been in years, provided twopage photo features on Froshie Day. For the 1949-50 school year the Student Council established some rules--apparently limiting the mistreatment of froshmores. This is a description of their treatment: "besides bowing and praising upper-classmen, the froshies could be seen carrying books, polishing shoes and scrubbing floors under the willful commands and whims of their masters." 183 Happily, the froshmores were honored at a dance that evening. The first photo below is from the 1949 yearbook; the second is from the 1950 yearbook.



35 For the 1949-1950 school year, Minot High had very successful football and basketball seasons-under two first-year head coaches, Duane Carlson and Art Hovde. The football team made it to the state championship but lost a close game. The basketball team won a second straight state championship. Some final sports notes for the decade: From the 1946 yearbook on, the G.A.A. seems to have been inactive; at least there was no coverage in the yearbooks. Girls' sports, however, continued in leagues for basketball, volleyball, softball, and bowling. (There were also boys' leagues in most of these sports.)184 Teams from the other high schools were involved in these leagues.185 The boys' varsity played St. Leo's, whether Class B or Class A, twice a year in basketball and a few times even in football. The football team played Model in 1947-1948. Football, basketball, and track were the only significant boys' sports; tennis and golf disappeared for the entire decade. What happened to the councils by the end of the decade? The Dramatic, Social, Dean of Women's, Executive, and Legislative Councils were gone. The Athletic Council continued into the next decade, but almost no attention was given it in the yearbooks. The Student Council remained, along with councils for each of the three classes, consisting of the officers for each class and the homeroom presidents for each class. The Red Cross Council, after a short hiatus, also continued into the next decade. Representative democracy was still alive at Minot High. Before this decade is closed out, some attention is due the school’s vital music and dramatic organizations and its Pep Club. During the 1930s and 1940s the high school always had at least one band, orchestra, and chorus, along with smaller musical groups. These organizations provided music for many occasions. In the 1936-1937 school year Arvel Graving joined the department, where he would be a force for decades as a band director. In all but one year of the 1930-1950 period, according to the yearbooks, there was at least one Dramatic or Playmaker Club producing plays. In the year when no club seemed to exist (1938), both the juniors and seniors produced plays. The all-girl Pep Club, in existence every year during these decades, was generally very large, sometimes requiring three photos to include all the members. Its force at games was captured by these words from the 1941 yearbook: “A sports announcer once said, after observing a basketball game, that the girls won half the game.” This club not only supported the teams at games but sponsored such events as Loyalty Day, the Pep Club formal, and pep assemblies, as well as financing the cheerleaders and, at least for a time, choosing the cheerleaders.186 According to the 1944 yearbook, at a time when Pep Club membership was limited to junior and senior girls, it was the “height of every [froshmore] girl's ambition” to become a member of the Pep Club. Minot's population over the decade grew significantly from 16,577 to 22,032. After the war ended, there were two major building additions to the city: the Clarence Parker Hotel and the VA hospital.187 The high school enrollment numbers, however, decreased significantly, probably reflecting the impact of the Great Depression on birth and marriage rates. These are the enrollment numbers, beginning with the 1940-1941 school year: 784, 750, 694, 608, 635, 610, 623, 619, 579, 616.188 There were no building additions to the high school. There were, however, some positive developments by the end of the decade: the return of the school newspaper (with, at times, ambitious content), the addition of a literary magazine, the increased size of the yearbooks, the return of many clubs and the addition of others, and sports success.

36

1950-1960 In this decade the city's population grew significantly and the high school's enrollment even more significantly. Minot High acquired a new school song. The debate team was the school's most successful team. Cars made the school newspaper many times. Rock-and-roll music arrived. Sports offerings and venues expanded. A major event in the 1950-1951 school year for Minot High students was a model United Nations held at Minot State Teachers College on November 10-11. Dr. Thomas Davis of MSTC was the original force behind the event, considered to be the first one of its kind in the United States for high school students. Six hundred students from at least forty-seven schools were scheduled to attend. Minot High students represented the U.S. and Russia as well as eight other countries. All Minot High seniors were required to attend.189 The lack of a teen canteen was back as an issue. For a while the speech classes, which worked on the issue, looked for a large house that they could inexpensively remodel.190 Then a High Times editorial suggested that the "new" YMCA about to be built would provide financially stable and ample facilities, including a teen canteen that girls could use.191 It is not clear what was meant by a "new" YMCA; likely it was an expansion or remodeling of the earlier building. The small debate team had a successful year under the direction of new coach Willard Laabs. The team traveled to Gustavus Adolphus and Concordia colleges in Minnesota as well as to schools in North Dakota. It also put on informal debates in Minot. It took first place at the state high school tournament, for which the general topic was the "welfare state."192 This tournament was the "first state debate convention." 193 The trips would continue throughout the decade and so would the success. There would be four more state championships for Minot High's debate teams coached by Laabs.194 The photo at the right, from the 1954 yearbook, captures the traveling element of being on a debate team. Coach Laabs is at the left. In the next school year, 1951-1952, the High Times campaigned for a drivers' training course. Above a photo of wrecked cars, this was the headline of one article: "A Driver Training Course Could Have Prevented This Accident."195 The article noted that as "times are more prosperous" more young people are driving cars. In an editorial, some numbers about state schools were offered in support of a course at Minot High: "251 out of 386 secondary schools conduct drivers training courses, and out of 6,414 eligible students, 5,567 are enrolled." In another article, it was reported that in a driving-training poll of students only 35 were opposed. However, it was also acknowledged that with increasing enrollments the administration needed to fill other staffing needs.196 On November 16-17, Minot High's Student Council hosted, at Minot High, the first annual state convention of the Student Councils of North Dakota. A Student Council Edition of the High Times was published. Nine student committees worked to make the event a success.197 The teen canteen problem seemed to have been solved with the opening of a "new" YMCA

37 building in January. Among the many facilities were an 80-by-50-foot basketball gym and a 60-by-20 foot swimming pool. A teen canteen was supposed to be "held" in the banquet room on Saturday nights. As of January 21, 1952, 376 high school boys and 62 girls were members of the YMCA.198 However, future High Times articles would indicate that, while student involvement in the Y would remain high, the teen canteen remained in a state of flux. (In two years there would be plans for a teen canteen in the basement of the YMCA, in another two years the American Legion was considering building a Teenage Youth Center, and then late in 1958 a remodeled Y canteen was supposed to open. 199) The photo of the pool is from the February 4, 1952, High Times. It would be used by Minot High physical education classes in future years. Minot High added new clubs this year and saw other developments with organizations. One of the new clubs was the Minot Chapter of the National Honor Society, whose goals, according to the yearbook, were "to promote worthy leadership and service, and to create an enthusiasm for scholarships."200 The yearbook now covered three levels of Hi-Y: Froshmore, Junior, and Senior. The High Times reported on a new Y club, Tri-Y, formed in the spring of the year. This club was for girls who belonged to the YMCA; they were "allowed to use all facilities at the YMCA." 201 The Science Club returned with three divisions--Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. Big sports news in Minot was the new gym at Minot State, which could seat 3500. 202 It was part of the new Swain Hall. The college basketball team played its first game in the gym early in January 1952.203 On January 29th, Minot High played St. Leo's before 2500 fans.204 This was what Minot Daily News sports columnist James Sullivan wrote before the game: "For the first time a Magician-Lion game should attract everybody who is willing and able to see it. There are folks who have never sat down to the action, except in front of the wireless."205 Minot hosted its first Class A western division basketball tournament at the new gym in March. Though the new MSTC gym was certainly welcome, Minot High and St. Leo's continued to play basketball at the Minot High gym. With four teams in town, all the games could not be held at the new college gym. (Dakota Lutheran Academy, another school at this time, may also have had a team.) An issue of the High Times was devoted to the tournament, with material about the teams' schools as well as each team and advice for visitors. In one High Times tournament piece visitors were advised that the places to go for young people were the YMCA, the Nifty Nook, and a place the writers called "THE HOLE."206 "The Hole" was Selk's Pool Hall, a boys' hangout that was featured in a High Times article on two snooker rivals earlier in the school year.207 A minor sports development at the school was the addition of a trampoline. A trampoline team of five boys performed at half times at basketball games. The following year there would be three girls and one boy on the team.208 The photo at the right is from the 1953 yearbook. Other news this year: Some movie stars--Robert Young, Gig Young, Marta Toren, Ann Doran, Dorothy Patrick--visited Minot High, and Senator Joseph McCarthy spoke before the American Legion in Minot with many students in attendance. 209 There were two references to the fighting

38 in Korea in the High Times--both about how soldiers had enjoyed reading copies of the High Times at the Korean front.210 The yearbooks seemed to contain nothing on the war. In an October High Times editorial in the next school year, 1952-1953, there was a call for the high school to have its own school song. Bismarck High had come up with its own school song.211 In a few years there would be an answer to this call. In the second semester Miss Mai Nagatomo taught a radio class that consisted of students from the previous semester's High Times staff who were "interested in attaining experience in radio writing and radio speaking." The class produced 15-minute programs Fridays, beginning at 3:45, that were broadcast over radio station KLPM. The programs were supposed to "consist of school news, interviews, and recorded music." 212 A March 1953 High Times article captured the spirit of study hall:





Buzz-z-z, recess time. On the third floor of Minot High school is a large room with 12 light bulbs and 16 big windows . . . . One hour of each day the Minot High kids enjoy an hour of relaxation there.





The Study Hall supervisor acts as a recreation director, and sits up in front of the room at a big desk. . . .













For recreation the kiddies sometimes have races to see who can fill up the pencil sharpeners the fastest. Ever try to find your reflection in a light bulb? That's lots of fun. The dictionary will twirl around at an alarming speed with a little practice. The athletes often practice throwing balls of paper at a waste basket half way across the room. Funny, how they've usually got a better aim in the gym.



..........







The kiddies, who have real lively imaginations, can tell their futures by reading the lines and pictures carved in their desks. It just takes a little voo doo practice.213

Another March High Times article provided an update on what the library had to offer: about 5000 books, four sets of encyclopedias, four large dictionaries, about 25 newspapers, about 44 "different magazines," and a career section. The career section consisted of books on vocations and bulletins from colleges and universities.214 The library expanded this section at the end of the decade.215 Later this year students from the Distributive Education (D.E.) class met in Valley City with other delegates from around the state to form a "North Dakota chapter of Distributive Education students."216 D.E. classes had been offered at Minot High since the 1950-1951 school year. On a 1953 yearbook page the D.E. class was described as "composed of students interested in preparing themselves for selling jobs after high school graduation. The students study retail merchandising and advertising in class, and apply what they learn when they are on the job during the afternoon." By the following year, 1953-1954, there was a club, sponsoring such events as "an appreciation dance for their employers which was held at the Riverside Lodge." 217 By the end of the decade the D.E. Club would also be known as the DECA Club.

39 In the 1953-1954 school year, Minot High's radio broadcasts were expanded and a talent discovered. Nagatomo's Newswriting II class now produced a program from 5:05-5:30 Fridays on KLPM. By this year "talent from the school" had been added to the program.218 One senior stood out as a radio talent: Boyd Christenson. In addition to being an announcer for the Minot High program, he ended up with his own "On the Record" program from 10:35 to 10:55 PM Mondays through Fridays. He received his night position "because of his bang-up performance on the March of Dimes program . . . and through the efforts of Les Maupin of KLPM."219 Christenson would go on to be a well known figure for decades in North Dakota radio and television. School leaders this year addressed concerns about safe driving and juvenile delinquency, among other issues. The Student Council sponsored a safe driving campaign "because many townspeople blame reckless driving and traffic misdemeanors on teenagers."220 In a May 1954 High Times editorial juvenile delinquency was acknowledged as a national problem. The editorialist stated that "no serious outbreak of delinquency has been present in Minot High," but added that there is "no reason to believe this is something that happens only in far-away large cities or imaginative places." The editorialist ended by asking readers to "exert every effort to combat this menace to our nation." 221 In the 1954-1955 school year, early meetings of the Student Council attempted to address two problems: the "perennial" lack of student parking spaces around the school and congested hallways between classes. Students who couldn't get excused to move their vehicles had to pay $1.00 parking ticket fines.222 The congestion in the hallways was probably due to the steadily increasing enrollment at the high school. Club news: A new service club this year was the Flickers, "an audio-visual aids club... formed for the purpose of learning to run and to repair movie projectors." 223 The club's officers and advisor appear in the yearbook photo to the right. The science club was back under the name "Acidaddicts." The Pep Club adopted a constitution that "provide[d] for the systematic election of the school's cheerleaders," which were sponsored by the Pep Club.224 Big news for the city was the opening of a new municipal auditorium. At that time it was the state's largest civic auditorium, able to seat an estimated 6300 people.225 A professional basketball game between the Minneapolis Lakers and the Fort Wayne Pistons was played in it on December 30th; this was Minot's "first pro league game in history." It was soon booked for a variety of other events.226 Minot High first played in the auditorium against Devils Lake on February 8, 1955.227 The high school would play many home games on this court in upcoming years. Other sports news: Minot High's basketball team, "the best defensive team in the state," won the state title under Coach Hovde. 228 There also was news about a hockey team. Though the yearbook did not acknowledge this team, according to a January 1955 High Times article, "for the first time in four or five years, MHS [was] represented in the sport of hockey." The team was called the Minot Cake Eaters and apparently played at Lincoln Park, or at least was set to host a tournament there. 229 (Erik Ramstad Junior High was built on Lincoln Park land two years later.)

40 There were many articles on style in this year's High Times issues These were some of the titles of articles: "Sprightly Cottons Brighten Hearts and Minot Shop Racks," "Hap-Hazard Hair Styles Give Spice to Students, Teachers, " and "MHS Students Wear Every Imaginable Kind of Glasses." Such articles appeared in issues throughout the decade. The Pep Club formal in November and the Quill and Scroll formal in February were major social events throughout the decade. At the 1955 Q & S Valentine Formal, held in the high school auditorium, "Valentine mobiles were suspended from the ceiling, and red lighting cast a rosy glow over the decorations."230 The photo is from the 1955 yearbook. In the 1955-1956 school year the word froshmores was replaced by sophomores--in both the yearbook and the High Times. (In the 1955 yearbook, both terms were used.) Froshie Day was replaced by Sophie Day, but this initiation tradition would end this year. Future sophomores would not have to look forward to the Froshie Day afternoon assembly when they had to perform in unflattering attire for the upperclassmen. The photo is from the 1953 yearbook. Minot High had a foreign exchange student for the first time this year, sponsored by the Student Council: Ayca Izbudak, from Turkey.231 Minot High would also send two of its students as summer exchange students--one to Germany and one to Norway.232 Organization news: The science club this year was called the “Molecules.” The A Cappella Choir performed as a "Singing Christmas Tree" in the school Christmas program and for television. On portable risers each singer held "a fir branch and electric colored candles and [wore] a decorative cape." 233 In subsequent yearbooks the "tree" would be called the "Magic Tree" or the "Magic Christmas Tree." The photo at the right was from the 1956 yearbook. During this year the radio class produced a half-hour program broadcast on KCJB radio each Saturday. The program, titled "School Scoops," "featured news and events from the Minot area schools on the sports, social and academic scene." 234 Minot was able this year to host, at the new city auditorium, its first Class A state basketball tournament. The High Times staff published a twenty-page issue for the tournament. For visitors it supplied information about what was playing at Minot's theaters--the Empire Theatre and Town Theatre--both of which seemed to have opened just in the last year or two. (The Strand and State theaters advertised in the High Times through the first half of the decade.) On its page devoted to Minot High's team, the newspaper also provided an article on the fads of Minot High students. Common student expressions were "cool man, cool," "that's real gone" and, for the girls, "for nice" and "for cute." One of the newer fads was the Jockey hat, which was "worn over one eye by the boys." The "braver students" wore Bermuda shorts, which could not be worn "without knee length socks."235 The issue also identified the jive and the bop as the most popular dances at Minot High. Both were rock-and-roll dances. "Bopping" was introduced to Minot High by a student who had spent his summer working in California.236

41 Later in the spring Elvis Presley made an appearance in the High Times. The author of the article stated that Presley was "probably the most controversial figure in the recording industry" at that time and "idolized by a tremendous number of teen-agers all over the country." In another article on the same page, the Crewcuts were identified as "America's number one singing group." They performed at the Minot city auditorium before a "huge crowd" in April.237 In the 1956-1957 school year Minot High acquired its own school song. The High Times campaigned for it, and, as a result, band director Arvel Graving, who had been thinking about composing a pep song, created both the lyrics and music for a song that was officially adopted in the spring by the Student Council. (See "School Song" section for more information.) The photo of Mr. Graving is from the 1956 yearbook. A High Times editorial asked again for a driver's training course. A response from Supt. Paul Miller was also published. He felt that the money to pay for a driver's training teacher could be better spent on a teacher for other courses, especially when it had been hard to find a teacher.238 The High Times also addressed juvenile delinquency again in a number of pieces. According to an editorial, though it was not considered to be a major problem in Minot it was "on the rise"-perhaps due to population growth.239 One article provided some numbers on Ward County: "In 1956, there were 262 juvenile delinquents in Ward County, compared with 180 in 1955. The 1956 total is double that of 1954."240 For another article, newspaper staff asked Minot High teachers, students, and parents: "Do you think Elvis Presley hair cuts and dress affect juvenile delinquency?" The article reported that "most opinions showed that the mode of dress doesn't necessarily affect delinquency." A number of individual responses were also supplied, most of which were somewhat critical of Presley's appearance but at the same time questioned its effect on young people. Here's one student response: "I don't think it does too much, really. It's just a bunch of hoods and hound dogs that think they are being cool by wearing their jeans low." One adult's response: "I don't think his hair and dress do so much as other factors such as his--ahem-movements."241 Another High Times article aired student opinions on the new jet-interceptor base being built north of Minot. ( The groundbreaking for it had taken place on July 12, 1955.242 ) The question posed to 18 students was "How will the Air Force base affect Minot?" The more serious responses mentioned concerns about noise, Minot as a target for the Russians, Minot becoming a "wild town, " as well as increased population for Minot and "people that are new to North Dakota." The less serious seemed to focus on the young men who would be arriving; about this boys' opinions differed from girls'.243 A sports note: In track in the spring of 1957 senior Tom Skadeland high jumped over 6' 6", which broke the state record and landed him on the All-American high school track team. He “joined an elite group of three high school students in the U.S.” that accomplished this feat.244 The photo is from the 1957 yearbook. The 1957 yearbook and yearbooks for the rest of the decade would be at least twenty pages larger than previous ones. The expansion in pages reflected the increase in students at the high school.

42 In the 1957-1958 school year the High Times made a major push for a guidance counselor at Minot High. The newspaper even sponsored a student essay contest on the subject "Why we need a Guidance Counselor in Minot High School."245 Below are photos of some of the Loyalty Day activities (from the 1958 yearbook). On Thursday evening there was a snake dance, led by the cheerleaders, to the "highlands" (the Town & Country shopping center would be built there), where a bonfire had been lit. On Friday afternoon there were coronation activities for the new queen, followed by a parade of homeroom floats and the royal court, led through downtown Minot by the high school band.246 In the evening was a football game, followed by a dance.

A flu epidemic closed the high school for a week in the late fall. 247 Later in the year a High Times writer covered a sports topic under discussion in the school: the need for more "sports activities." According to the author of the article, the student body had expressed a desire for "Golf, Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Gymnastics, and Cross Country (a type of marathon run held during the football season)." He wrote that "the most serious thinking has been along the line of golf" because of the high interest and the fact that there already is a state meet. This was his justification for more sports:









The reason for this expanded sports program is to get more boys as well as girls participating in sports. As it is now there are only Basketball, Football, and Track, where in the case of basketball and football, height and weight disadvantages create a problem. This program would involve more people and it would give a lot more students a chance to enjoy extra-curricular activities.

In a separate piece, he also reported that there was quite a bit of interest in forming a wrestling team. He wrote that "Model and other schools in the area now participate in the sport."248 Additional sports notes: In the girls’ gym classes this year the activities included volleyball, basketball, wrestling, and boxing. Wrestling was the most popular.249 Minot hosted a three-state basketball tournament at the city auditorium over Christmas vacation. In addition to North Dakota, teams from South Dakota and Minnesota participated.250 Club news: The science club changed its name again--this time to "The Little Einsteins." The Pep Club yearbook photos were impressive for the numbers of girls in them. This was the third year in a row that the yearbooks described the organization as the largest in the school. In the spring of the year the High Times reported on "major" curriculum changes and new graduation requirements for the upcoming year. Students would need 18 credits to graduate. These were the specifics about class changes:

43





















The major changes will be in science and math requirements, as four credits of each will be required for graduation. The following courses, in addition to the present ones, will be offered: advanced chemistry, advanced physics, and advanced biology; a full year of advanced algebra, a year of trigonometry and geometry II (combining solid and analytical geometry).









A few subjects will be dropped next year, including home economics, Journalism II, speech and dramatics, art, and physical education. No credits will be given for Band, Orchestra, A Cappella, or private music lessons. These will be purely extra curricular.

Two years of language will be required, and German and Russian will be taught. English requirements will remain the same, but only three years of history (no social studies) will be required. There will be no physical education requirements, although an extra credit course in drivers education will be offered.

It's not clear how many of the changes were implemented the following year (neither German nor Russian was taught), but clearly the administration felt a need to make changes. According to the article, these changes were "instituted because the need for fully educated citizens has increased steadily throughout the years."251 Though not mentioned in the article, America’s Cold War with Russia and its scientific accomplishments (it successfully launched the first satellite, Sputnik, in October 1957) must have had an impact on these decisions. In an October High Times article in the 1958-1959 school year, the new superintendent, James Slocum, discussed building changes for the school district, including another new junior high. (Erik Ramstad had opened in 1957.) According to the article, Supt. Slocum said leftover federal money granted to build an elementary school at the new air base would be used to build a "junior high known as South Junior High School. Upon its completion Minot Junior High School will be vacated and senior high students will move into its classrooms." All of this would take a few years, but the plan was in place. Slocum also stated that the administration was thinking about adding Russian to the curriculum.252 Club news: There were two new clubs: Psychology Club and Art Club. The Radio Club returned with the nickname "Erratic Statics," influenced perhaps by the various nicknames the Science Club had used. This all-male group studied “technical radio theory” and had a ham radio station.253 The Minot High D. E. Club was the championship team at the state DECA convention.254 The Girls' Athletic Association (G.A.A.) was back for a few years after many years' absence. Its purpose was "to promote more interest in sports among high school girls."255 Major sports news was the addition of wrestling and golf as Minot High sports. Wrestling was set up so that it would start after the varsity and "B" squad basketball teams were chosen. Minot High competed with Class A and Class B teams.256 The team did quite well in its first season, placing fourth at the state tournament but close behind the second and thirdplace finishers.257 In the 1959 yearbook photo to the right Jim Hauge is working on a pin. He took first in the state heavyweight division this first year. In the spring golf was established. Minot had a sixth-place golfer at the state tournament. 258

44 In a February 1959 editorial the High Times once again addressed the lack of student parking. Some students had brought the issue before the City Council, but the suggestion that the students use the parking lot at the Municipal Auditorium was not well received. How many students needed parking spaces? According to the editorial, a survey that 93 percent of the students took showed that 135 students drove cars to school each day.259 Some final points for the 1958-1959 year: Former President Truman spoke at MHS at an assembly in October.260 Apparently driver's education had finally come to Minot High. According to the 1959 yearbook, "every other day the sophomores take a break [from their physical education classes] and study driver's education."261 Boxing and wrestling seemed to be gone from the physical education classes, as only basketball, softball, trampoline, volleyball, and swimming were mentioned in the yearbook. The 1959 yearbook provided a school calendar with Minot High, U.S., and world events. The previous two years' yearbooks had also provided this kind of school calendar, for an eventful time in history. These are some informal photos from the 1959 yearbook:

Locker areas always seem to have been a draw for students. The hula hoop craze hit Minot High.

In the 1959-1960 school year Minot High finally satisfied the need for a guidance counselor. In fact, Minot High now had two counselors: Benard Rostberg, who was the full-time counselor, and Carl Bloomquist, who was a teacher/counselor. In addition, one of the teachers also served as an attendance, or "truant," officer.262 This year "more than 500 students came to Mr. Rostberg with some personal, scholastic, or vocational counseling." Seventy percent of these came for vocational counseling.263 Organization news: The Chess Club and Math Club were new this year. The Bible Club may also have been new. (Though not identified as new, it showed up in multiple High Times articles.) A club for students studying Latin was back with the name Omnes Res Club. By the end of the decade the Hi-Y and other YMCA clubs had disappeared from the pages of the yearbook but not from the High Times. There were nine YMCA high school clubs this year, and a "Y Canteen group" was reported to be "getting under way" in October. Student Council sponsored a Career Night for the first time.264 The A Capella Choir brought back Sadie Hawkins in a big way with three days devoted to it. There was record attendance at the Pep Club formal.265

Two of the forty members of Chess Club at play

45 The ever-increasing enrollment at the school was addressed in a High Times editorial about the need for good manners in the hallways and stairways. Students were asked to follow the up and down signs on stairways and keep to the right in the hallways.266 The High Times ran a "Classroom in Review" series covering the school's various departments. We learn, for example, that the foreign languages taught this year were Latin, French, and Spanish. An increased interest in studying foreign languages was connected to the increased interest in science and mathematics. Courses in German and Russian were still being considered.267 In the article on the music department, Minot High's vocal director, Hardy Lieberg, would not let music take second place:











It is certainly interesting to hear all about this science emphasis, and the fact that we are behind Russia and so forth. But, I am sure, many of us would be interested in knowing that there is as much emphasis placed on music and art as on science in Russia, since the musicians are paid as well as the scientists. There is a great tie between science and the arts. Without one the other is at a loss.268

These are some of the informal photos in the 1960 yearbook:

Minot students at a tournament resting on a big-finned car The big crowd at the Sadie Hawkins dance

The Minot High band performing for a game at the city auditorium P. E. students careening around Minot High's indoor track, which encircled the auditorium

Sports notes at the end of the decade: The football team continued to play its games at the college field, now called Allen Field. According to yearbook photos, the football team seemed to have held some of its practices at Corbett Field baseball stadium and near John Moses Hospital. (The VA hospital had been given this name in 1950--after a three-term North Dakota governor.269) In 1959, Bishop Ryan High School opened and St. Leo's High School ceased to exist. We stopped playing basketball against St. Leo's after the 1953-1954 season; it must have dropped out of Class A. The previous year we only played them once. Change came to Minot High's neighborhood in the late 1950s. Dr. John Ayash built a clinic in 1958 across from the senior high school and east of the public library. This was the Minot Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat Clinic; the building still stands today, though it is no longer a clinic.270

46 The brick Methodist Church, which had occupied the corner of 1st St. and 2nd Ave. SW since 1906, was vacated in 1957 when a new church, Vincent United Methodist Church, was built away from downtown.271 The corner would become a parking lot at some point before the Northern States Power building was built there in 1967. Today SRT occupies the building. Earlier in the decade, south across the street from the junior high gym, a new St. Leo's rectory was dedicated in 1953.272 Minot's population grew from 22,032 to 30,604 in this decade; it was still the third largest city in the state. Minot High School enrollment numbers grew from 620 to 1074.273 The number of teaching staff expanded from 36 to 45. There were no significant changes to the high school buildings in this period, but the need for more classroom space was clear. The air force interceptor base was a major new development for the school district as well as the community.

Census figures for North Dakota's four largest cities, 1960 Fargo:



46,662 Grand Forks:

34,451 Minot:



30,604 Bismarck:

27,670

1960-1970 In this decade the senior high school spread to all the buildings on the downtown block, and a building and P. E. room were added. Student enrollment, along with the number of teachers, grew dramatically. Teachers employed new approaches and equipment. Sports offerings continued to expand, and girls returned to the interscholastic sports scene. The wrestling team became a state powerhouse later in the decade. School dress rules were instituted and then changed. The high school entered the computer world. And then there were two devastating events in the spring of 1969. The first High Times issue of the 1960-1961 school year reported "record enrollment figures," a phrase that would be often repeated. The number of teachers increased by three. 274 The newspaper just reported student numbers for the first day (“more than 1,000 students”), but according to the yearbook, the enrollment was either 1100 or 1200 students.275 Both the superintendent and the principal, in letters to the high school students, remarked on the importance of neat dress, in particular the need for boys not to wear "tight fitting denim levis" to school.276 According to an administrator interviewed a few years later, there had been no need for a school dress policy until the arrival of blue jeans and "other extreme styles."277 Club news this year: Three new organizations were German Club, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Lettermen's Club. A German class was part of the curriculum this year for the first time in decades. The Lettermen's Club, in addition to honoring Minot's male athletes who had earned a letter, also took on many projects, such as selling tickets and other items for sports events.278 FBLA's "primary objectives [were] to help the member to a better understanding of the functions and operations of the various office procedures, machines, and ethics."279 The Student Council published a directory of organizations, including sports teams, this year. Thirty-seven organizations were listed.280 It also sponsored Career Night again with "forty-six professions, including the armed forces and colleges, [to] be represented."281 A DECA store opened in January 1961 as the DECA Exchange. At first it just sold pencils, paper, and Lifesavers. The store was located in the auditorium--in the upper northwest corner.282

47 The math department was one focus of another High Times series on departments. New developments were highlighted. An "advanced math" course had been "officially instituted." This "college preparatory course" included solid geometry and trigonometry, which were "the highest forms of high school math." A new geometry textbook had a chapter on logic. Minot High School was the only high school in the state employing the Beberman program, "a new and modernistic approach to teaching algebra," "greatly favored" by math teacher John Anderson.283 Max Beberman is considered to be a founder of the New Math.284 Sports news: Minot High's basketball team, under Coach Hovde, won the State Class A championship. There were three Pederson brothers on the team. In the yearbook the starting team was called the "famous 'Minot Five.'"285 The photo, from the 1961 yearbook, captures high scorer Paul Pederson at work. Minot played Bishop Ryan for the first time, against a basketball team coached by Dale Brown of future LSU fame. Soon Minot would play Ryan, which had become a Class A team, twice a year in classic contests. Minot also wrestled against Ryan twice this year and would continue to do so, as well as against Model. In the first High Times issue for the 1961-1962 school year, the newspaper again reported increasing enrollment numbers. The sophomore class, at over 500 students, was the largest ever. The district hired twelve new teachers for the high school and moved one up from the junior high. 286 The newspaper also provided school maps for the new students. Floor plans for all four floors of the senior high school were provided. These are the floor plans provided for the second and third floors:

The newspaper provided such maps for a number of years. In this school year, the first home economics class for boys, senior boys in particular, was introduced. Boys had requested the class, which included "the fundamentals of preparing food, ... an academic approach to family relationships, personality and child care plus the wise selection of clothing and personal grooming." All of this was meant to "fulfill the needs of teenagers and prepare them for adult life." 287 The Social Science Department placed "greater emphasis" on teaching about communism this year "because of the threat of Communism infiltrating great parts of the world . . . --more specifically the Americas." 288 These were the teaching methods employed by the department head, Lyle Fogel: “research projects, panel discussions, lecture-discussions, guest lecturers,

48 audio-visual aids, and current events." A film was created about how Minot High "teaches about Communism" to be shown on television. 289 In two years a six-weeks-long "intensified unit of study" on communism would be taught in the senior American government class.290 Kathleen Dunn became Minot High's first woman guidance counselor. She said that "women counselors [were] still rather unique in North Dakota" at this time.291 The Minot High Playmakers and musical department produced a number of well known musicals from the 1940s and 1950s this decade. This year’s production was Brigadoon with a cast of over 60. In addition to the dramatics coach, Lloyd McNea, Hardy Lieberg was the music director and Virginia Maupin the choreographer.292 New organizations: The National Forensic League (NFL) was an honorary society for debaters "consisting of those superior students who have excelled in the argumentative field of the spoken arts."293 The Political Discussion Society was organized “primarily” for discussion, not for formal debate, of “political, social, and economic problems of the world.” 294 In two articles the High Times reported on polls it had conducted to determine the ideal Minot High School boy and girl. This was the first article’s summary of what the girls had to say:







The perfect Minot High School boy is about six feet tall, has black hair which is worn in a crew cut and brown eyes. He's not particularly good looking but he has a nice personality. He wears jeans seldom and never to school. He has good manners and he's moderately religious.

The article went on to provide details and nuances. Fifty-two percent of the girls preferred crew cuts over long hair, but many of those who preferred long hair still wanted it neat. Seventy percent of girls did not want to see jeans on boys. The 30 percent who found them acceptable qualified their responses; for example, some didn't want the boys to wear the jeans "at half mast," which was a point "the girls definitely stressed with vigor." Seventy percent of girls accepted boys' smoking, with some qualifications. They were not so accepting of drinking; eighty-one percent disapproved. Almost 100 percent of the girls felt that "although looks are an asset, personality is what counts" and good manners were "'mas importante.'" 295 This was the summary of the results of a 23-question poll of 100 "representative" male students and teachers about the perfect girl: "She has long hair, she does not drink or smoke, she's religious but not overly so, she wears very little make-up and she's talkative." Again the article provided details. Just 50 percent of the boys preferred long hair. These boys "asserted that it looks more feminine than the short boyish bobs that seem to be the style." Sixty-four percent of the boys "declared they did not prefer blonds." Seventy-eight percent of the boys preferred that girls' skirts be short; over 70 percent said they did not like seeing girls in slacks. Over 70 percent of the boys were very much opposed to the girls smoking and drinking, and many supplied "fiery" language to describe girls who smoked or drank.296 The High Times also surveyed students about what books they read. The results indicated that "few read for enjoyment" and that what they read were classics or popular adult books. Young adult books were not yet being written or published. The most popular book was Exodus, followed by Hawaii, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Scarlet Letter, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, Ivanhoe, The Guns of Navarone, The Agony and the Ecstasy, and Giants in the Earth. 297

49 Sports notes: A new municipal golf course was completed in time for the Minot High golf team to use it in the spring of 1962. The coach hoped for greater turnout as a result of the "new facilities."298 (This may have been a nine-hole course.) There was major coverage in the High Times of the "Powder Puff" basketball game between the junior and senior girls, sponsored by the Lettermen's Club.299 There was also a photo in the yearbook. Two final notes for this year: Minot High’s physics classes studied a new electronic device: the sound synthesizer.300 Contact lenses became popular. As of early March, 18 Minot High students were using them--16 girls and 2 boys.301 In the 1962-1963 school year a new building was added to accomodate the increased enrollment. It housed the music and vocational agriculture departments. 302 The previous band room was made into two classrooms for biology laboratories.303 Until the new building opened in the second semester the band met "at the Labor Temple, the Chorus at the YMCA, agriculture in the garage, and the orchestra in the balcony of the Junior High Gym." 304 A photo of the addition and a drawing of the school block appear below.

The photo is from the January 18, 1963, Minot High Times, p. 1. The drawing shows other changes in the decade also. ( from A History of Public Education in Downtown Minot, n.p., the drawing adjusted slightly)

This year also the Central School--which began as a high school building in 1905, became a junior high building for a decade, and after that an elementary school for decades--began to transition to being a high school building. The top floor of the Central School building ( "Old" Central High School on the map) was used for foreign languages and the basement for art classes.305 (Beginning with the 1964-1965 school year it was "used solely by the high school."306 ) In addition to building changes, the high school also added twelve new classes. They included geology, astronomy, international relations, consumer economics, family and marriage, and commercial art.307 A series of High Times pieces addressed the issue of whether Loyalty Day should be called Homecoming. In an editorial the High Times indicated it preferred Homecoming. By the end of the decade that name dominated in the yearbooks.308 It would take a few years into the 1970s before Homecoming entirely replaced Loyalty Day. A national concern covered in a High Times editorial was high school dropouts. The editorial noted the large number of young people projected to come into the national workforce in this

50 decade. They would need an education to compete, yet many were "not expected to finish high school." The editorial asserted that 70 percent of the dropouts "will leave school, not because they can't do the work but because they don't want to do the work.” After covering the serious consequences of dropping out, the editorial addressed readers in this final statement: "So YOU think before making the decision to drop out of school!"309 The topic would continue to be addressed in the High Times in the next few years. One later editorial again highlighted the serious consequences of dropping out but also indicated that the dropout rate at Minot High was much less than the national average.310 The musical this year was Oklahoma. "A record shattering number of playgoers were in attendance all four nights of the musical production," according to the High Times. 311 A High Times survey on smoking indicated that a high number of Minot High students smoked. The survey of 200 students indicated that 38 percent of MHS students smoked "consistently." Of the students who smoked, "nearly half smoke[d] with their parents' consent," and that fraction increased to "three-fourths" with seniors who smoked.312 The large debate team, coached by Wayne Sanstead, took first at state, winning "seven of the eight available trophy spots."313 Though the debate teams in this decade would not win as many state debate tournaments as those of the previous decade, they would come home with many trophies from the many trips they took to other tournaments. The Pom-Pom Girls were a new group this year. They were chosen by the Pep Club advisor and a committee from the club. The girls developed routines that they performed during half-times at basketball games. This is a description of their outfits: "gold corduroy skirts with side pleats, white tennis shoes with tiny maroon pom-poms and white letter-sweaters with gold M's borrowed from the various athletic teams." 314 (Pom pom girls would not be organized again until the 1966-1967 school year. At the end of the decade the pom pon spelling would start to be used. ) Sports notes: Minot played its first football game against Ryan this year in its final game of the season.315 Minot played its home games at Ryan's Hogan Field this year and the next year. Student dress was not ignored by the High Times. In two editorials the newspaper editorial staff expressed dismay about the dress/appearance of girls at Minot High. These were fads that were criticized in one editorial: "'haystack' hairdos, short-short skirts (with minimum interior clearance), and make-up applied with a putty knife."316 The title of the second editorial was "Typical Girls' Knees Are Knobby, Should Be Covered." One getup in particular seemed to aggravate the editorialist: "Will a father's or boyfriend's shirt covering a knee-tickler skirt, pleated or tight, enhanced by knobby knees encased in baggy, dark, runny stockings become a standard uniform for Minot High School girls?" The editorialist called for a change in the dress policy for girls.317 A major development for the 1963-1964 school year was the inclusion of the junior high wing as part of the senior high. (See drawings on pages 16 and 49.) The junior high students moved to a new building on South Hill, Jim Hill Junior High School. The doubled-in-size high school building was renovated over the summer so that "complete departmentalization [was] possible." The first High Times issue this year provided details on the changes. The high school also added 11 teachers, bringing the total to 73.318 The number of students climbed to 1400.319

51 The library, guidance offices, and study hall all experienced size or location changes this year. The library almost doubled in size, "stretching into the two classrooms which formerly were two commerce classrooms." This new section was "made up of a reference and periodical department, two conference rooms and a small room where films may be viewed or tapes listened to, a new concept of library services at MHS." 320 The study hall was "divided into smaller sections."321 The guidance offices were moved to the north end of the administration suite,322 where they remain today. The auditorium was also renovated. The changes included "the new paint job, the squared off apron on the stage making more acting room and the widened archway made by cutting out the curlicues and thereby increasing the view from auditorium seats." There were also a new curtain and light and sound systems.323 The renovated auditorium was ready for this year's musical, The Music Man. According to a High Times article, "one of the unique features about the 'Music Man' itself which hasn't been tried often at MHS is the planned use of the main auditorium floor throughout the play for the bigger production numbers."324 In this 1964 yearbook photo "Professor" Hill practices lines meant ultimately to capture the heart of Marian the librarian. Two Loyalty Day activities were discontinued this year: the bonfire and the parade. Principal Davy gave six reasons for eliminating the bonfire, most having to do with safety. He gave four for eliminating the parade.325 A major platform plank of the High Times for the year was to eliminate a symbol associated with the school. The newspaper was not successful; in fact, the symbol became the school's official symbol."326 (See "School Symbols: Mixed Imagery.") There was major technology news this year. The Math Department acquired the Minivac 6010, for $250, to introduce students to computers. It seemed to be used mainly by members of the Math Club. John Anderson, the Math Club advisor, "said it was a simple computer but works under the same principles as the larger ones," according to a High Times article. The students programmed the Minivac 6010 "externally by plugging wires into holes." When the Minivac was programmed to play tic-tac-toe, the students found that it would "quit playing rather than lose."327 The photo is from the 1964 yearbook. Two other technology notes for the year: Student ham radio operators were still being covered in the High Times. In the same issue that carried the computer story, there was a major story on two Minot High hams, one a girl. The boy spent four-five hours a day at his hobby.328 In a later High Times issue there was a story about filming games for coaches. The films were "taken with a 16 mm motion picture camera powered by batteries." There was "400 feet of film on one roll and that would cover only half a game." It took a long time to load the camera. All the films were sent to a "processor" in Minneapolis. According to the article, as the "opposing teams do

52 not favor the practice of being filmed while on offense . . . it is not done to a large

extent."329

Student Council worked this year on reducing its size, which had grown to 65 members. 330 A reapportionment amendment that reduced the number of members permanently to 18 was passed by the student body later in the spring. The new Student Council would consist of a president, vice president, secretary, under-secretary, treasurer, non-voting parliamentarian, the three class presidents, and three members-at-large elected from each class.331 Minot High added two new sports this year. Cross country was a new fall sport. Eleven boys came out for the team, which practiced at Roosevelt Park and the Minot State College track.332 Baseball was added as a varsity sport in the spring. In March 1964 the North Dakota High School Activities Association invited the Class A teams to participate in its high school baseball program, which had been in existence for Class B teams for fourteen years. Minot was the first Class A team to join. About fifty students tried out for the team, coached by Clarence Christenson. Practice was at the school gym and then at the Minot Municipal Ball Park (Corbett Field). Minot played its first game against Lansford and was also scheduled to play Velva, Crosby, Tolley, Kenmare, Columbus, Sherwood, and Glenburn.333 The yearbook was dedicated to the new Minot Air Force Base. According to the Dedication, the "nearly 15,000" people of the base had brought "culture, worldly experience, unlimited talent, and new ideas as well as economic gain" to Minot and Minot High School. The 1964-1965 school year was an important one for athletics. When the school year began the high school had a new multipurpose field, located west of Jim Hill Junior High School. It was called Magician Field until 1982, when its name was changed to Duane Carlson Stadium. The field was dedicated on Loyalty Day, October 9th. These photos are from the 1965 yearbook:

There was a push this year to expand sports offerings. The High Times covered a speech by Art Hovde in which he addressed the need for expansion. He focused on gymnastics, swimming, and "especially girls' athletics." It was noted that at that time the only sports outlets for girls were Minot Recreation Commission volleyball and a powder-puff football game. (The girls played their first powder-puff football game this year. See first photo above.) Hovde also acknowledged that swimming in particular faced obstacles: a lack of facilities and a lack of schools to compete against. At that time only Fargo had a swimming team.334 In his speech, according to the article, Hovde also brought up the importance of having sports with "carry-over value, that is, those that will be exercised after school." Swimming, gymnastics, and tennis were offered as examples of such sports. Another High Times article later

53 in the year also reported on the emphasis on “carry-over sports.” For this article Gary Leslie, a Minot High P.E. teacher and coach, was interviewed about the advanced P.E. classes that had been started the previous year. (P.E. was still only required for sophomores.) In the advanced P.E. program these were among the sports that juniors and seniors could play: golf, tennis, curling, bowling, and swimming. Leslie gave this as a reason for “carry-over sports”: "'there is an increased amount of leisure time in today's world and these various sports are an excellent way to fill up this time.'"335 Under the direction of Leslie, a gymnastics program was started this year Twenty students, both boys and girls, came out. The team hoped to promote their sport by performing at basketball halftimes and providing gymnastics clinics in area schools. The ultimate goal: becoming a varsity sport and competing with other schools. At this time only Grand Forks and Williston had "this type of established program." While Minot High had a "good collection of gymnastic equipment," it did not have a good place to practice. 336 A gymnastics team would not compete against other teams until the next decade. The photo is from the 1965 yearbook. In the spring a tennis club was organized so that students would have a chance to compete "on a level equal to their own skill and on a regular schedule." The intent was to travel with the golf team and hold dual meets with other schools. The lack of any information on the tennis team in the yearbooks for the rest of the decade seems to indicate that the tennis efforts this year did not have lasting effects. Minot High won state in both basketball and baseball this year. This was the fourth state championship for Coach Hovde, who would retire from coaching the next year. The yearbook described the team as a "well balanced team with great depth."337 The baseball team, which had a perfect season under Coach Christenson, beat Steele for the championship, held in Minot. 338 Dress code information for this year: Girls were not allowed to wear coullottes, slacks, or short skirts. Boys were not to wear western-styled jeans or stretch pants.339 Club news: The Astronomy Club was new this year. The FFA Club was particularly large, with 96 members. According to the yearbook, the club provided many opportunities for members to compete--"over thirty local, state, regional, and national events"--and skills to learn, including parliamentary procedure, public speaking and livestock, crop, and other judging. Due to a number of controversies the Political Discussion Society (PDS) was “terminated early in the school year by its advisors.” One controversy involved discussion of censorship “which offended several teachers.” 340 The PDS was reorganized in future years. Popular culture developments: Skateboards arrived this year. A September High Times column reported that "a lot of the kids at the base have 'skateboards,' a landlubber version of the surf board, and are attempting to master the art." This column also mentioned a girl who had become a "semi-celebrity" because she had had her picture taken with "THE George Harrison." 341 The Beatles had just begun their first North American tour in August. A December High Times article

54 presented the results of a "street survey" about "Beatlemania." The Beatles were most liked by the sophomore and junior girls, and the seniors were mostly "indifferent." According to the article, those who liked the Beatles seemed most taken with their appearance. Some were even "infatuated," as one girl's response indicated: "they are sweet, unspoiled, wonderful, exciting, unselfish, and anyone who sees them can't help but like them."342 This year a new "recreation center," the Corner Pocket, opened at "the old site of Minot's Diamond Department Store." In addition to being a "pool hall," it offered high school students such facilities as "pin-ball, a shooting gallery, juke box, and vending machines selling everything to consume from pizza burgers to hot chocolate and whipped cream."343 In its first issue of the 1965-1966 school year, the High Times again announced a record enrollment but also announced that there were plans for a new high school to deal with the expanding student numbers. The plans were for a site near Jim Hill Junior High School with "completion . . . hoped for by 1970."344 The completion date would be pushed back, but at least there were plans. Also in this first issue was an article with detailed information on this year’s dress standards:







. . . the present dress policy prohibits excessive make-up, extreme hairstyles, shorts, slacks, and poorly fitted (too short or too tight) skirts or dresses for the girls, and blue jeans, too-tight pants, exposed shirt tails, and excessively long hair tending towards a Beatle style for the boys.







Boys are required to wear belts on all trousers, and anyone who forgets his belt must pay a dime to rent one from the school. Dress policy violators are sent home to change into more suitable attire.345

In another article, the high school’s two assistant principals were interviewed about the purpose of having a dress policy. The dress policy, along with other behavior policies, was felt to bring discipline to the student and the school with the ultimate purpose "to prepare the students for life in a very demanding society." Students, in one principal’s words, "must conform to regulations to meet society, to get jobs, to continue their education or to go into military service." The assistant principals noted recent dress "extremes" by boys who wore maltese crosses and earrings. One principal was quoted as saying, "We like to separate the sexes and leave the wearing of jewelry to the girls."346 In just a few years, however, rules would begin to change. Early in the school year the North Dakota High School Activities Association established a girls' "interscholastic athletic program." State meets for girls were established in track, golf, and tennis--all in the spring. There was talk of softball as a fall activity and gymnastics and basketball as winter activities. 347 Minot’s school board soon approved a girls' athletic program.348 In the spring Minot High's first NDHSAA-sanctioned girls sport was organized. According to a High Times article, for a number of years Minot High girls had "gotten together on their own to practice for the Minot State College Field Day but they did not represent Minot High at the meet." This spring the track team had coaches--Bonnie Gonzalez and Gary Leslie--and could officially represent the school. The girls practiced at the high school gym and at the State Fairgounds. This 1966 track team won the first North Dakota Girls' Track meet, which had 128

55 participants from 51 schools. Nine of the girls lettered in track--also a first, of photo of girls from the 1966 team is from the 1967 yearbook.

course. 349

This

Technology notes: Minot High acquired overhead projectors for teachers this year. The math teachers, who had purchased "special jackets" the previous year to cope with chalk dust, were the most excited about them. Other teachers felt the projectors were no different than blackboards. One teacher expressed the reservation that they "too often . . . take the place of a teacher."350 The photo is from the 1966 yearbook. Also, the potential of computers already was drawing enough attention that the High Times did an article on whether computers could think.351 A High Times editorial addressed "ability grouping" of students, which was apparently new to Minot High. The editorial asserted that "the English deparment's successful acceleration program should be extended to include other courses in the curriculum." The editorial also referring to ability grouping as a "tract system." (Maybe tracking was a new enough concept that the student author had not seen a spelling of the term.) This newspaper issue also provided some student opinions about ability grouping; they were on the whole positive. 352 The High Times also pushed for a compulsory sex education class in a long editorial. The editorial opened with this statement: "The mounting incidence of pregnancy, abortion, and venereal disease among the nation's teenagers today can no longer be ignored." According to the editorial, the situation at Minot High was not as "grave" as in other parts of the country, but it was "critical enough to warrant serious attention." The editorial also stated that "teachers with enough courage and objectivity to teach it will be difficult to find."353 Two years later the High Times would publish another editorial calling for a sex education class.354 In February or early March a "teen night club," called the Downtowner, opened. It was open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and until midnight Friday and Saturday evenings for dances, followed by "jam sessions." These were some groups that played at the club: Ernie Story and the Imaginations, the Intruders, and the Cherrystones. 355 Other odds and ends from the year: "Viet Nam" was mentioned in a High Times article about the draft and Minot High senior boys.356 An article on students' opinions about rock-and-roll music indicated that it wasn't every student's favorite music.357 In another article, students expressed their feelings about recent, mostly negative media images of teenagers. One student summarized the treatment this way: "most TV specials and magazine write-ups . . . make us look like we are spoiled or are always getting into trouble." 358 Another article reported on a poll that was conducted about whether Minot High should have male cheerleaders. Most of the students

56 quoted in the article had (The last time Minot High had male cheerleaders was in a period after World War II, when it had two male cheerleaders in five out of six years.) No male cheerleaders were added, but a male cheering organization would organize in a few years. The debate team co-sponsored with Minot State College Forensics the "appearance of the Cambridge University team from England . . . in a public debate."360 reservations.359

These are informal photos from the 1966 yearbook:

Students ate lunch in the high school gym stands. These students seemed to enjoy the satire of MAD magazine.

The yearbook for the 1966-1967 school year opened with these words about the "TIMES": "the war in Viet Nam . . . the Negro's fight . . . Birchers and the Communists . . . American responsibilities in the world . . . the realities of life." Organization news: The interdenominational Christian Fellowship Club was new.361 A pom pom group, called the M and M's, returned this year. In a High Times article, the organizer of the group was quoted as saying the girls "symbolize the entire Pep Club" and "most students don't realize the amount of work put into the group." 362 This was the first year of the Change of Pace Singers, a select choir group that had, as the yearbook put it, "a new name . . . a new look . . . a new sound."363 The select singers had previously been called the Chamber Choir and had focused on music from the "Renaissance, Baroque and Classical periods," along with performing some "stylings of great pop standards."364 Now the focus was more on modern music. The singers wore lightly colored outfits instead of dark ones. After a two-year break, musicals were back: Guys and Dolls this year, followed by Finnian’s Rainbow, Flower Drum Song, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. The number of students cast for musicals is captured in this 1967 yearbook photo of the Guys and Dolls production.

57 Both Minot High wrestling and baseball teams took state this year. Coach Don Klostreich established a wrestling state championship streak that would continue through the 1971 season. The baseball team, under Coach Christenson, won "in the first Class A Baseball Tournament in the history of North Dakota High School Athletics." 365 Teaching and curriculum notes: This year some Minot High staff explored team teaching as a method of teaching. If it worked well in trials, then it was felt that facilities required for it must be incorporated in plans for a new high school. 366 In the second semester a computer mathematics class was offered for the first time. Students would be “given ‘live time’ on the Westland Oil computer which the school [had] arranged to use in conjunction with the program.” They would learn computer programming and would “program their own problems to run through the computer.” As the emphasis was on the “mathematical side,” there would be no data processing. The school still had only one small computer. To purchase a powerful enough one for the computer mathematics class would have cost “at least $18,000.” 367 In the 1967-1968 school year, the board of education agreed to add to the facilities for the P.E. department. A relatively small room, 68-by-43.5 feet, would connect to the auditorium and be close to the gymnasium. The extra height would allow for gymnastics, as well as wrestling and other sports. The need was clear this year: two P.E. classes had to expand to the YMCA, and other classes had up to 40 students. The addition, called the Wrestling Gym, opened in 1969. ( See map on p. 49.) The library continued to expand its collections for student and staff use. It added 1000 new books and 20 magazine subscriptions to bring its total up to 117 magazines subscriptions. The previous year the library tried out soft background music, as a Student Council project. Students apparently enjoyed it enough that the librarian hoped the Council would continue it this year.368 A Russian class was finally added to the curriculum--taught by Sam Verbitsky. It was the only Russian class taught in North Dakota at that time.369 Club news: After not being organized for a number of years, the Future Homemakers of America (FHA) was back. The Student Council continued to struggle to find the right makeup. This year it created a committee system to more efficiently handle its responsibilities and to involve more students. “Each of the six committees [was] headed by a student not involved in Student Council."370 Providing books for students to read that they really would enjoy was helped in 1967 by the publication of S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders. A High Times review described it this way: "It's for teen-agers, it's about teen-agers, and it's written by a teen-ager." It had the Greasers against the Socs and a character named Ponyboy. Hinton had also been written about in Seventeen Magazine, Read, and the Atlantic Monthly.371 Hinton's book is considered by some to mark the beginnings of the "modern YA novel as we know it."372 There were two developments this year that might provide a "boost" for the golf team. The new 18-hole Municipal Golf Course (the Souris Valley Golf Course) opened, and the State High School Golf Tournament was held at the Minot Country Club. 373 At the beginning of the 1968-1969 school year Minot High counted former Model students in its ever-increasing enrollment numbers. Model High School closed at the end of the 1967-1968

58 school year. In its first issue this year, the High Times welcomed the Model students under a photo of the Model High School building.374 The large number of students forced the school to contract a company, Dakota Data Incorporated of Bismarck, to computerize the registration for the first time. Students did need help interpreting the schedules they received as "the computer talks in numbers not words." Principal Howe found the problems "minor for the first year of service." He also indicated that employing a computer service would help in modular scheduling, then being considered for Minot High.375 Minot High had a new dress code regulation for boys this year: "bangs must be at least one inch above the eyebrows." This was a new regulation for girls: "culottes are in--pant dresses out." The girls were also reminded that "slacks necessary for warmth during the winter are to be removed for the school day." 376 Minot High's wrestling teams continued their total domination of other teams. Through this year's wrestling season Minot had 47 consecutive dual meet victories, which at that time was "the most consecutive victories by any team, in any sport, in the history of high school athletics in the state." The teams also won 18 straight tournaments and three consecutive state titles377 Though this would be Coach Klostreich's last year at Minot High, the streak would continue. In the spring computers again made the High Times, in an article that reported on the Student Council's efforts to help students "find their perfect match." A Computer Dance was to be held on April 25th. Students could purchase a computer card for sixty cents. After they filled it out, it would be sent to a company in New York for processing. According to the article, "those attending the computerized dance will receive a number for themselves and five to ten other numbers of selected matched mates. Then the fun begins, searching and circulating during the dance allows the students to meet his various matches. No one is obligated to stay with any person."378 But before the Computer Dance could be held, Minot and its public schools experienced contemporaneous disasters: a teachers' strike and a major Mouse River flood. "Close to 150" of 425 teachers in Minot's public schools went on strike Wednesday, April 2nd. The next day around 200 did not show up at their schools. On April 2nd a front-page Minot Daily News photo showed a student at Minot High at the front of a class, acting as the teacher; the next day a photo showed students gathered at the front of the high school. The high school, along with the two city junior highs, was closed early on April 2nd; on April 3rd all three opened only long enough to dismiss classes. This was repeated on April 8th, after the Easter break.379 On April 10th, the school board announced that all schools would close because of flooding, which had begun on April 6th. They would stay closed for two weeks due to flooding, which also undermined the strikers' cause. Teachers were given an April 25th deadline to return to their schools; one hundred twenty-five did not and were fired.380 When the high school reopened on April 28th it had 75 teachers compared to the 86 it had before the strike; twenty-nine of the 75 were substitutes hired to replace striking teachers. Some classes, such as shop and German, could not be reopened at that time because replacement teachers could not be found. Only juniors and seniors were required to be back at the beginning of this week. Many students did not return the first two days.381 The unsettling changeover in school district teachers continued. An estimated 75 additional teachers did not return to the school system for the next school year.382 The flooding, which had begun on Easter Sunday, lasted until May 12th. It forced close to

59 damages.383

12,000 people to evacuate and caused millions of dollars of While Minot High School was not flooded, flooding did affect school activities in many ways. The baseball team, for example, lost its home park to the flood. (See first photo below.) The team ended up using the field at the Air Force Base.384 Minot High had its "first out-of-doors graduation" at Magician Field. The city auditorium, the usual location for the ceremonies, was unavailable because it was "currently being used as a storage area for the furniture of flood victims."385 Both of the 1969 flood photos below are from the 1970 yearbook.

At the beginning of the 1969-1970 school year, Minot High reached an enrollment of 1,982 students with 91 teachers and 3 administrators.386 There was a significant loosening up of dress code regulations, as reported in the High Times:



Blue jeans and tennis shoes are now accepted attire for boys. Belts have been required for boys, but due to the change this year, they are not essential.





Girls are now allowed to wear culottes or pant dresses. Although there is no set length for skirts or dresses, they must be of modest length and fit.









Boys are allowed to wear long hair if it is neat and well-groomed. If the block cut [is] worn, hair should be thinned. Boys must be clean shaven. If sideburns are worn, they should not come below the lower part of the ear. Bangs are to be cut above the eyebrows.



There is no restriction on shoes or sandals as long as socks are worn.387



Notice that slacks still seemed not to be allowed for girls, but photos in 1970-1971 school publications showed girls in slacks as well as skirts and dresses. The library expanded once again as Study Hall East became the new periodicals section of the library. 388 In a December article, the High Times announced that a bond issue had been passed that would pay for a new high school. These were student hopes for the new school: escalators, pop and candy machines (the new school would not be near downtown stores), television sets, a student lounge, and a swimming pool. According to Principal Leonard Anderson, the new school would be "quite different" from the present one: "They will be able to combine classes and change classrooms by moving a wall with a button." There was even mention of "unstructured time" for students.389 According to the yearbook, the Student Council helped to push the bond issue.390 Some Minot High teachers began using a "contract system" with students, which allowed a more

60 individualized approach. Students liked the system, according to a High Times article, but also thought it was "easy to slack off."391 New organizations: This year the BA BOYS was organized to help the cheerleaders and Pep Club promote school spirit. They wore red and white engineer caps and created their own cheers. The name was borrowed from a Minneapolis group, Bachelors Anonymous.392 In the yearbook, on the same page with a Pom Pon Girls photo, was a photo of a girls' group called the Twirlin Merlins. They had twirling batons but no information was supplied about the group. The baseball and wrestling teams won state championships. This was the baseball team's third championship under Coach Christenson. The wrestling team also pushed its undefeated duals record to 58 this year, under new head coach Al Allstadt. 393 The first photo is from the 1970 yearbook, the second from the 1971 one. A note about football during the this decade: For the 1960-1966 football seasons there were no state championship games--just regional ones. 394 Environmental odds and ends: In April Minot High classes helped celebrate the first Earth Day by discussing "major pollution problems" in all their classes.395 There was also a High Times article on the "pollution proof" electric car.396 According to a High Times article, the junior-senior prom was to take place May 15th in the boys' gym, with the Universal Joints playing, followed by a "fun night" at the North Hill Bowl. As a reflection of the times, the prom’s theme was “The Age of Aquarius.” (In 1969 "Aquarius/ Let the Sunshine In," “a medley of two songs from the musical Hair,” was a Billboard #1 single by The 5th Dimension.397 ) However, the article insisted the prom would "not be a psychedelic affair. It [would] be as romantic as it has been in the previous years.” 398 While Minot’s population only grew from 30, 604 to 32, 290 during this decade, Minot High’s enrollment almost doubled. This was no doubt mostly the result of a post-World War II “baby boom.” Minot High’s facilities had to expand and would continue to expand in the next decade. Other changes came in the form of teaching innovations and curriculum and sports expansion. Dress code regulations had to accommodate changing styles and gender norms. These were the 1960s, after all. Change may not have been psychedelic at Minot High, but here as elsewhere in the country all these young people commanded attention.

1970-1980 The biggest development this decade was the opening of a new high school campus, which combined with the old high school campus to make one Minot High School. The main old high school building was extensively remodeled, a vocational building was added, and a building was torn down. Vocational training opportunities were enhanced. More sports were offered, both for boys and girls. Minot High's track team dominated, and then both swimming teams became dominant. Enrollment was never greater.

61 There was record enrollment again for the 1970-1971 school year--modestly higher than the previous year's enrollment. There were 96 staff members.399 Although it took until the second semester of this year, female teachers were finally able to enjoy a dress code change of their own: the right to wear pantsuits. Over the Christmas break one of the female teachers who wanted to wear pantsuits during the winter contacted Supt. Marlowe Johnson for permission, which was granted. Female teachers reported that the main reason they liked them was that they were comfortable. One also reported that she felt more freedom in teaching her classes. Apparently they were popular enough that a “pantsuit-craze” ensued.400 This was the first year female students took Auto Tech. The eight girls offered these reasons for taking the class: (1) most had boyfriends with little car knowledge so their knowledge could help when there was car trouble and (2) for those with "grease monkey" boyfriends, car knowledge would allow them to be with their boyfriends on weekends when they were working on cars.401 Sports news: The basketball team, under Coach Nick Olson, and the wrestling team, under Coach Marlin Schlager, took first at state. (In a December tournament the wrestling team was defeated for the first time in four years.402) There was a large gymnastics team this year, still made up of both girls and boys, but mostly girls. The High Times provided an article on the importance of weight training for athletes and the addition of the "Hercules Gladiator" equipment with its "11 stations, each designed to increase strength in the arms, back, chest, legs, shoulders, and stomach."403 Organization news: Photo Club, Social Studies Awareness, and Physical Fitness Boys were new groups with photos in the yearbook. No information was provided on any of them. In addition to hosting a foreign exchange student from Brazil, Minot High exchanged two students with Canada this year over a two-week period. There was also an exchange with Ryan over a three-day period. 404 Minot High continued to have exchanges with Ryan. Just before the start of the 1971-1972 school year there was a groundbreaking ceremony for the new high school, which would be located west of Jim Hill Junior High below Magician Field. The land had once been part of the old municipal golf course, Washington Golf Course, land owned by the Minot Park Board.405 The photo from the 1972 yearbook shows early activity in preparing the grounds. At the start of the year students at the current high school had to endure extensive remodeling of the school building. Some classes were run out of the YMCA, YWCA, and Northern States Power Co. buildings.406 Later in the year, however, students could enjoy having a student lounge--a Student Council project. Card playing (but not gambling), radios, and tapedecks were allowed, and a pop machine was installed.407 It was located on the third floor "across from the Foreign Language Lab."408 The photo is from the 1972 yearbook.

62 Two new organizations this year were the Youth Association for Retarded Children (YARC) and the Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC). Through its activities the Minot chapter of YARC (maybe only in existence this year) had this as its "long-range goal": "to boost the retarded person's morale and give him confidence in his ability to gain social acceptance."409 The ROTC students enrolled in the first year of a three-year aerospace education program at the high school. Seventy-one boys were enrolled; girls could join but could not yet get credit. In addition to aerospace instruction, the program was "designed to develop the student's leadership potential" and "promote habits of orderliness, personal honor, self-reliance, and discipline."410 Girls were able to enroll for full credit beginning with the 1973-1974 school year.411 Sports news: The girls' track team took first at state under Coach Diane Hildenbrand, as did the boys' cross country team under Coach Doyle Radke. This year there were separate gymnastics teams for the girls and boys. Neither seemed to be involved in interscholastic competition. Minot High "reinstated a competitive swimming program" this year for boys. The team was called the Minot Swim Club in the yearbook. The yearbook page also supplied this information: "The most difficult problem for the first year team was getting some meets organized. There are no schools in western North Dakota with swimming programs and eastern teams had their schedules already filled." A girls' golf team was also organized this year.412 A new teen center was The Garage. Located in the renovated Aero Garage building, it offered "pinball machines, pool tables, picnic tables, . . . a large dance floor and a stage for bands." Two Minot businessmen created the center with the help of the school board and financing from a local bank.413 One of the businessmen said "the Y ...[could] not provide for all the students."414 During the 1972-1973 school year the old Don Moe Dodge building was converted to a vocational education facility for Minot High students. It was located northeast of the downtown school block at 102 3rd St. SE. The building was first used in the second semester with "approximately 250 students . . . enrolled in . . . auto technology, auto mechanics, auto body, small engines, advanced woods, and upholstery." 415 The first photo, taken many years later, shows the front of the vocational building. 416 Little was done to the outside of the building over the years. The second photo, from the 1978 yearbook, captures an inside scene.

A new fall sport this year was girls' swimming. The team, called the Girls' Swim Club in the yearbook, competed in five meets. 417 Organization news: There were three new clubs this year: Speech Club, Humanities Club, and Rodeo Club (perhaps only in existence this year). The best talent this year in Speech Club was in these two events: original oratory and serious interpretation.418 The Humanities Club was "for those who [were] interested in traveling and for furthering their appreciation of fine arts." This year the members traveled to Winnipeg, Manitoba.419 The Girls Athletic Association (GAA) was back after a lengthy absence. It was noted in a High Times article on the GAA that out of 1046 girls at the high school, only 423 were enrolled in P.E. GAA activities were promoted as a way, after school, to meet "physical activity needs" in a variety of individual and team sports.420

63 The 1972 Homecoming had some activities no longer used. Queen candidates had to give campaign speeches and skits before the sophomores and then the juniors and seniors. For the second annual Hush Day "all the girls had to buy a button for a penny and wear it until she was tricked into talking to a boy (about eleven seconds on the average)." Girls had to buy a new button if they talked. On Thursday, after a snake dance through downtown Minot and a pep rally, there were tricycle races in front of "Old Central."421 At the beginning of the 1973-1974 school year Minot High's eleventh and twelfth graders entered a new high school building, Magic City Campus (MCC), while ninth and tenth graders remained at the older facility, now called Central Campus (CC). After a period of over forty years of being a high school with three classes--sophomores/froshmores, juniors, and seniors-Minot High was back to having four classes. However, the division of classes between two campuses was unusual. This photo of Magic City Campus, cropped to fit here, appeared on the front cover of the 1974 yearbook:

The new school building had a number of distinct design features. Overall it had a spread-out design, "a departure from the monolithic, rectangular buildings of the past with their long corridors opening onto rooms of uniform size and shape."422 The department spaces were all organized around the media center and locker bay areas. "Open planning was used in the English, Social Studies, Art, Shop and Home Economics areas." 423 (Openness generally meant a lack of doors and moveable "walls.") Two large resource areas were included for each floor of the north academic wing. According to district administrators, the new building offered more than additional space for increasing enrollments; it was designed to promote "active participation" by students. The flexible design of the building and a "revamped and wider-ranging lineup of courses" were the "key" to involving students.424 At Central Campus what was not remodeled in the 1971-72 school year was remodeled this year. Twenty-five classrooms were "out of commission" when the school year started. The boys' gym, locker rooms, and office areas were also being remodeled. Rooms at the YMCA and portable classrooms had to be used, as well as all the rooms in Old Central.425 The "color combinations" in the newly remodeled rooms were "in shades of green, gold, and blue," with the carpet colors matching wall colors. 426

64 At Magic City Campus colorful was in. The photos capture some of the theater seating, a section of the brick walls that enclosed bathrooms off the main hallway, and the colors of one locker bay. The seating and locker bay photos are from the 1974 annual. What did students think of the new school? They liked the "locker system, with the colorful compartments grouped in a centralized area," the carpeting, commons area, and bright furniture. They liked the Physical Education Department scheduling and really liked the pool, indoor track, weight rooms, and gymnasium. They also spoke positively about the equipment in other departments, such as Home Economics. One complaint students had was about the openness of some classroom areas. One student said, " You could get more out of a class if there was whole walls and doors." Another student wrote about what he called the "delightful faculty game 'My record player's louder than yours,'" in which two faculty, in side-by-side rooms, keep adjusting the sound levels of their record players so that students can hear. As a result, according to this student, students are learning the skill "Basic Lip Reading," which was also being employed in the commons area during lunch. Some also complained about the "plastic falseness" (their words) of the many artificial plants in the building.427 Soon, in a High Times editorial, the goal of "one Minot High School" was questioned. The editorialist felt that it was "totally unrealistic to continue in the delusion that we are one school" and went on to write, "We live in two separate worlds, quite independent of one another." To support this viewpoint, the writer said that Magic City Campus's club presidents, activity advisors, and students involved in activities do not say they "feel united to their counterparts at Central." Also offered as support was the different physical environments at this time--a "near perfect" Magic City and Central in a remodeling mess. While Magic City had an open campus, Central did not.428 A North Central Association report from a visit later in the school year also indicated there was "poor communication and cooperation between students and staff at the two campuses." 429 Two campuses trying to be one school would continue to be an issue. Under the heading "Old Methods, Teachers Fade," this year's yearbook provided these comments on teacher-student relationships at MCC: "The stereotyped image of 'the teacher' has changed. The high-heeled disciplinarian has given way to pant suits, informal discussions, and awareness of students as individuals. The personal student-teacher relationship is facilitated by an open classroom and a more casual atmosphere." Sports news: After many decades girls were back playing interscholastic basketball, with this nickname: the Majettes. The Majettes' record this year was 8-2, and they won the District 20 championship. A High Times article reported that the lyrics "I am invincible, I am woman" could be heard at this tournament. 430 The boys' track team took first place at state, beginning a string of seven straight state championships under Coach Radke. The girls' gymnastics team became competitive this year, participating in thirteen meets before taking third at state.431 Minot High wrestler Ink Johnson, a two-time North Dakota state champion, took fifth place at the National Junior Freestyle Wrestling Tournament in March. The previous year he had placed sixth in this tournament.432

65 Organization news: The foreign language clubs sponsored a soccer tournament during Homecoming week. 433 This tournament would become part of Homecoming activities for a number of years. The Student Council sponsored hour-and-a-half mini courses on a day set aside in March as a break for students and a chance to explore careers.434 A new organization was the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which was originally just a “girls' huddle,” but then “male athletes were invited to become a part of the huddle."435 This year students were asked to join the Parent Teachers Association (PTA). The result: the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA).436 At Central the Math Club acquired a more popular name: Bulc Htam.437 Curriculum developments: The English and Social Studies Departments at MCC offered nineweeks "mini courses" this year. They included Ethnic Literature, Science Fiction, and Women in Society. Students could sign up for a Helpers in Education (HIE) two-hour block during which they worked with a teacher. The object was to help students interested in becoming a teacher to decide whether teaching is really what they should pursue as a career.438 The Occupational Child Care class at MCC ran two sessions of nursery school for Minot children in the spring. The twohour block class was for students "interested in jobs or careers where they work with children."439 At the end of the year, High Times articles reported on curriculum changes for both high schools in the upcoming year. A goal of the many course additions at Central was to reduce the busing of students between the two campuses. A significant change in physical education was that students would take P.E. only for one semester (five days a week) each year. At MCC 18 new courses were going to be offered, "bringing the total available courses to 260." Two trends: vocational education courses and independent study courses for those who have "completed all the courses offered under one subject." One new vocational offering would be Health Occupations.440 These are additional photos of the new school and of an art piece mounted on an outside wall of the Arvel N. Graving Theater. The two photos to the right (from an information booklet on the new school) are of the commons area, with plastic plants, and the large pool area. The Humanities Club paid for the stainless steel and bronze sculpture, which was created by a former Minot High student, Mike Odden. Odden did not title the piece because he felt “people should be free to see art for themselves.” 441 The photo below was taken by the author.

66

The above photo of MCC's media center (from a slide) was taken sometime before 1982, when the magazine collection was moved to the balcony area. Note the plastic plant at the right edge. The photo to the right is of the first page of the 1975 yearbook and captures the idea of one school with two campuses. In a few years the sign was changed to Central Campus High School.

Early in the 1974-1975 school year, a High Times editorial expressed hope for a better year than the previous one, which many students felt was a “down” year. This year, the writer noted, "both campuses are physically ready to go and . . . not all the faculty and students are new to our system." The writer exhorted everyone to get involved to ensure “a good year.” 442 The yearbook indicated that many organizations were added this year, particularly at Central Campus. (This year the yearbook increased again in size--to 272 pages. The jump from 200 to 248 pages in the 1974 yearbook reflected the addition of freshmen.) Central Campus began the school year without the "Old Central" building, which was torn down in August.443 It was the first Minot High School building, opening for school in 1905. In the 1980s a new building would be built on this part of the school block. The photo is from the 1975 yearbook. Sports news: Coach Radke's cross country and track teams took first at state. The boys' swim team, under Coach Jim Straight, also took first at state. They were undefeated in duals.444 This was the first year for Minot High boys' hockey as a sanctioned sport. The team skated outside near Corbett Field's outfield. The coach of the team was looking forward next year to using the All Seasons Arena, which was being built this year.445 Both photos below are from the 1975 yearbook.

The fans also were probably looking forward to indoor hockey. Jon Morrison, nationally ranked, led the way for MHS at the state cross country meet.

67 A High Times guest editorial this year criticized the impact of P.E. grades on students' grade point averages. This was a new issue because, with the opening of Magic City Campus, juniors and seniors were required to take P.E. for the first time in many years. The student editorialist did not question the value of P.E., or even that P.E. should be required. The many solutions offered included not counting the P.E. grade in the grade point average or allowing the P.E. classes to be taken pass/fail.446 In January “many” Minot High students attended a North Dakota Senate committee hearing and House session on whether the legislature should ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. A student who attended the Senate hearing wrote that the hearing room was “absolutely torrid with emotion” and that those in attendance were equally divided. 447 The amendment was ratified by the state legislature in February. A High Times article provided information on vocational education at Minot High. An estimated 61 percent of Minot High students grades 9-12 and 75 percent of those in grades 11-12 were enrolled in vocational classes.448 In the April 1975 issue of the High Times, an editorial responded to an April 2nd Minot Daily News front-page article that stated that "80 percent of Minot High School students have or are smoking marijuana." The editorialist felt that "the majority" of Minot High students were "not habitual users" but seemed unsure about what could be done about the problem.449 The musical Calamity Jane was a big hit this year, with shows running eight days. The director was Ron Wineteer, with Gary Walth as music director and Virginia Maupin as choreographer.450 The Student Council again sponsored a Mini Day. These were some of the activities students participated in: folk dancing, dog grooming, reading palms, and "elementary" karate.451 Central Campus had its first Mini Day or Mini Fair this year.452 In the 1975-1976 school year Central Campus, having added a journalism class, established its own newspaper, the Central Campus Crier. The Crier staff hoped, in an editorialist's words, “to establish our distinct and unique individuality." The editorialist also wrote: "By reporting the accomplishments and activities of our students we hope to propagate school spirit and to encourage others to become involved."453 The High Times had attempted to cover news for both campuses for the previous two years. (Unfortunately only copies of two Crier issues, including the first, survive from this year through the 1989-1990 school year.) Sports news: Boys' golf, under Coach Les Anderson, won state, as did boys' track. Minot High added both girls' and boys' tennis teams. Apart from the first year for the girls’ team, when he was an assistant coach, Jerry Lyon would be the head coach for both teams for over thirty years. Organization news: Minot High added the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America (VICA), which covered these areas: electricity, health occupations, building trades, small engines, auto body, auto mechanics, and welding. The Chess Club won the state championship this year.454 The design for the yearbook celebrated the country's bicentennial with lots of red, white, and blue. The music department created a Bicentennial Singers group dressed in colonial costume. The Art Club worked on a bicentennial mural and posters. The Playmakers celebrated it with a "melodrama, a classic, and an historic revue."455

68 These are informal photos from the 1976 annual: A Mr. Magic City contest was a memorable part of Homecoming Week in these years. Plaid was in these years and Dr. Olthoff, head principal at MCC this year, was not afraid to wear plaid.

A note about hair: Quite a few of the male staff (and students) had longer hair at this time as well as mustaches and beards. According to the yearbook, the senior class for the 1976-1977 school year was the largest ever.456 The seniors of the previous school year could argue that their numbers from earlier in the school year were larger--over 700. But if end-of-the-year enrollment numbers are the basis for comparison, the 634 number from the end of the 1976-1977 year was larger, though not by much over the 1975-1976 and 1977-1978 numbers (630, 631). 457 Sports news: Boys' cross country and track, under Coach Radke, were again state champs. The baseball team, under Coach John Thompson, had a perfect season. Organization news: The Chess Club again took state. A new club at Magic City was the Special Education Club, which provided extracurricular activities for the 28 students enrolled in special education at MCC.458 Another new club was the Wrestlettes, who supported the wrestling team and coaches. Both the VICA and FFA clubs were very large; VICA had 350 members and FFA 224 members. Central Campus added two organizations that Magic City did not have--Kiwanis' Key Club and Student Guides. Central’s Key Club seemed to have existed only this year with male members only (at least in the yearbook photo), as was the case with Key Clubs years ago. Some other news from Central: The Career Education Plus program was added to allow students "individual learning with an accent on community job explorations and working with adults." The New Model Me Program class was added to help students make decisions that were "more positive for themselves and others."459 Sharon Johnson, who became an assistant principal at Central this year, was identified in the yearbook as "the first woman secondary principal in North Dakota." In more recent times this may have been true, but Minot High did have female principals at the beginning of the 1900s. The 1977-1978 school year was a good year for sports as these four Minot High teams won state: girls' tennis, girls' track, boys' swimming, and boys' track. This was the fifth consecutive state championship for the boys' track team under Coach Radke. The boys' swim team was undefeated this year under Coach Mike Stromberg. The championship would begin a string of six straight state championships. (The photo is from the 1978 annual.) The girls’ state track meet was held in Minot this year. The girls won under a new head coach, Jane Jackson.460 The girls’ tennis team had a 15-1 record this year; next year their record would be even better. This year the DECA store acquired a new name--The Corner Junction--and new merchandise. For the "grand opening" there was a "ribbon cutting ceremony, program held in the theater, and

69 store."461

the KKOA broadcast from the The photo of the Corner Junction sign, still there today, is from the 1978 yearbook. The store was remodeled the following year.462



Organization news: Speech Club, under Coach Arlyn Marquardt, also took first at state this year, with firsts in four events.463 A new organization was Students Concerned About Students, which was "open to any students who finds an interest in other students." Amongst their activities were attending a seminar on alcohol awareness, in order to present information to students, and showing new students around school.464 This organization would be in existence for only two years but was a predecessor for the Rainbow Connection program, established at the high schools in the 1980s, and later the Character Counts program.465 In May the Student Council sponsored one-minute radio broadcasts on KKOA that featured information about school activities and an interview.466 MCC students with technical help from Hank Beaver put the broadcasts together. Beaver, who was the new head librarian this year, brought audio-visual expertise and many students to the AV production areas of the library. The photo is from a pamphlet (undated but likely created in the early 1980s ) about the production services available in the library. The products could be as complex as “multi-image slide programs, synchronized with narration and background music.” 467 Familiar issues were addressed in the High Times. In a poll of seniors conducted by a High Times reporter, sixty percent felt that parking was "the major problem" at school. They wanted more space for parking--another parking lot.468 There were also editorials expressing concern about a lack of school spirit or lack of involvement. One student had a somewhat unusual solution. In a guest editorial in the paper, he wrote that a poll of students had been conducted about whether they knew the school song, "Loyal and True." "Only 31 per cent," he reported, "could recite the song leaving a sickening 69 per cent who could not." He asked whether school spirit could exist without a school song and in his last paragraph wrote, "Let us break the chain of apathy and learn our school song."469 The 1978-1979 school year would see another very good year in sports as Minot High took state in girls' swimming, boys' swimming, girls' basketball, boys' track, and girls' tennis. This was the girls' swimming team's first championship and would begin a string of eleven straight state championships and more under Coach Kathy Aspaas. The girls' basketball team, under Coach Bruce Anderson, also won state for the first time, beating Bottineau in the final game. The head coach for boys' swimming was again Coach Stromberg. The photo of the girls' basketball team in action is from the 1979 yearbook. Hockey notes: This was the first year the Minot High hockey team began playing teams from the east.470 The team's head coach was Dean Blais (1977-1980 at MHS), who would go on to be an assistant and head coach for the UND Sioux. Vern Thiessen's vocational classes built an addition to MCC "located behind the current building trades classroom." The addition was to be used by the building trades and the drafting classes.471

70 Today the second floor of this area is used by the ROTC staff and students. District budget concerns affected programs at MCC this year. The purchase of sheet music and instruments for music was limited. A number of assistant coaches were dropped. The pom pon team was discontinued and the baseball program’s existence threatened.472 The baseball team did play in the spring, but this was supposedly baseball's final year.473 Because of low enrollment and the cost of the program, the Air Force Junior ROTC program also was cut this year. ROTC gave a glider to the library "in hopes that they [would] be remembered."474 That glider is still hanging in the library. Eventually the ROTC program would return. Other organization news: MCC added a Creative Writing Club. Student Guides, as a "branch" of Students Concerned About Students, seemed to first appear this year as a distinct group at MCC.475 Central Campus added a Pool Club. There was a High Times article this year about the introduction of an Apple II computer in Craig Nansen's computer math class. (Apple first introduced the Apple II in 1977.) It cost about $1400, was “the size of a typewriter,” and could handle “sixteen thousand bits [16K] of information in memory.” The students studied “ computer language, problem solving and game creation.” The programming language for the Apple II was BASIC, but the students also studied FORTRAN, used on the IBM computer at Minot State College.476 Students had been entering data and computer programs on keypunch cards that were taken over to the college.477 The issue of inadequate parking space for MCC students was covered in a number of High Times articles this year. One editorial supplied information about the increasing demand for parking spots: this year one out of three students was driving to school compared to one out of five when the 317 student parking spaces were designed for Magic City Campus.478 Early in the school year car pooling was proposed as a solution, both for high gas prices and the lack of parking, but the efforts of Students Concerned About Students to organize carpooling for students had limited success.479 Another solution was paying for parking, but the preferred solution was adding parking space, and the Student Council had specific ideas about what areas to pave over. However, the feeling was that the School Board, especially at a time when it was cutting programs and staff, would not be willing to pay for more parking spots. The Student Council also focused on Snack Bar money, which they considered "MCC student money" even if the school district had used it for projects at other schools. 480 The parking space problem would not go away, and Snack Bar money, in future years, would be directed to MCC projects like parking spaces. A High Times article from later in the school year reported that a new pool hall had come to Minot--Golden Cue Billiards--located on the 2 and 52 Bypass East. Students had to be at least eighteen years old to go there. It had twenty pool tables, some snooker tables, "a small arcade room," and a snack bar.481 This photo from the 1979 yearbook shows the popularity of George Chumas' Minot Food Store during lunch break for the Central Campus students. Chumas also was a famous fan of Minot High sports.

71 In the 1979-1980 school year, Minot High took first in four sports and added a sport. The boys' and girls' swimming teams again were state champions. Ken Disher was the new head coach for boys' swimming and would remain head coach for many very successful years. Boys' basketball took state, under Coach Terry Hjelmstad. Boys' track completed a string of seven state titles under Coach Radke. This was the first year for girls' cross country. This year a computer room was added in what is today the math office area, along with three new Apple II computers and a printer--all for a cost of about $8000. The computers could handle Pascal programming language and “64,000 bits [64K] of information.” The computer math classes, along with "a handful of interested students and teachers," used the computers to design “programs which will do everything from typing mailing labels to a program designed to tell jokes.” 482 The photo is from the High Times. This year was the first year of a a multi-year program called Enhancing Student Communication Skills Across the Curriculum. Dr. Olthoff and seven staff had met in the spring of 1979 to put together the program, which focused on reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. This year all four skills were covered. In following years individual skills would be the focus.483 According to Dr. Olthoff, one reason for the program was to respond to "the back-to-the-basics critics," though the "real big reason" was "to do a better job" of developing student communication skills.484 Mascot news: The bunnies continued to multiply. Last year there were three. This year the number grew to five. This year a senior, Mitch Fink, was a popular magician mascot at basketball games. (For more about Mitch and other magician mascots, as well as the bunnies, see the "School Mascots" section.) The photo of Mitch is from the High Times. Organization news: A new club was the student AFS (American Field Service) Club. Its main purpose was to "help raise money for students chosen to go abroad during the summers." VICA added the drafting classes, which moved to MCC this year. Other news: Both the pom pon girls and baseball team were back despite last year’s budget cut threats. Central Campus had its first King and Queen of Hearts event, which would always take place the week of Valentine's Day.485 The event provided a balance to Homecoming, which had more of an MCC focus. The photo is from the 1980 yearbook. (It would be two years before Homecoming would have a king.) KXMC began a program to present “youth views” on television. Students from the MCC Speech and Media Arts classes participated.486 School dances made MCC a “social hub” in these years, according to one 1980 graduate. In the 1979-1980 school year there were at least seventeen school dances--from prom and Homecoming to a Homecoming Week breakfast dance, Sadie Hawkins, and dances after games. Almost all had live bands--from as far away as the Twin Cities and Nebraska. After the dances many students hung out at Burger King. Student Council sponsored almost all of the dances.487

72 Though Title IX had been enacted in 1972, school district officials did not seem to fully address its requirements, particularly with regard to P.E., until this school year. The Title IX federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in "any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." At a December school board meeting, one principal reported that P.E. teachers were "apprehensive": there were "male teachers who have never taught girls and female teachers who have never taught boys." Some school board members were also apprehensive. However, two principals pointed out that "apprehensions on a nationwide basis were found to be unfounded once Title IX was implemented in the schools." The school district could come into compliance by "providing that all classes in non-contact sports be co-ed."488 Changes soon followed for P.E. and sports in the school district.489 A final note about a teacher-politician: Beginning with his election to the North Dakota House of Representatives in 1964, Wayne Sanstead divided his time between teaching at Minot High and political office for fifteen straight years. He was a state representative for six years, a state senator for two, and then the lieutenant governor for eight years. He left teaching at Magic City Campus after the 1978-1979 school year. The photo is from the 1979 yearbook. Since 1985 he has been the North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction. Minot High had its highest enrollment numbers in the 1973-1976 school years when the total each year was over 3000 students.490 (A comparison between beginning and ending totals this decade is less useful because there were only three high school classes at the beginning of the decade. These were the beginning and ending numbers: 2027, 2427.) The population for the city of Minot changed little over the decade: 32,290 to 32,843. In 1980 Minot added the Dakota Square Mall and the Minot State University Dome. Soon, too, a new 16th Street underpass near the Water Treatment Plant and Burdick Expressway eased traffic to and from MCC.

1980-1990 In this decade a new building was added to Central Campus, filling up the downtown block again. A few more sports were added, and many MHS teams won state championships, especially the swimming and diving teams. This was a major decade for new educational concepts/practices, at least at Magic City Campus. One club was particularly successful at winning state awards, culminating with a triumphant national campaign by a MHS student. Both swimming teams continued their strings of state championships begun in the previous decade. This decade girls' swimming, under Coach Aspaas, would win state every school year except the last one. Boys' swimming, under Coach Disher, would win state six times, three at the beginning and three at the end of the decade. Early in the 1980-1981 school year a new student parking area was finally added at MCC. The new lot, designed for approximately 70 "economy cars," was located north of the academic wing, between the teachers' lot to the east and the large students' lot to the west. (Another small students' lot was located near the softball fields.) Snack Bar money was used to pay for

73 the new

lot.491

The above photo of the lot under construction is from the 1981 yearbook.

Students' eating habits were affected by a new federal law that banned the sale of "junk foods," including carbonated beverages, until after lunch. According to a Snack Bar supervisor, there had not been many complaints because there were "enough other choices." The Snack Bar staff could sell "anything that contributes at least five percent of any nutrient the body needs."492 This year at MCC writing was the communication skill that teachers were supposed to emphasize across the curriculum. Another writing movement of the period was the focus on writing as a process.493 Early in the school year Chicken Man visited MCC, probably on a promotional tour. The Journalism I classes arranged a press conference for him, he signed autographs, and he appeared at both MHS and Ryan football games. The character was from a show that had been broadcast on "more than 1,000 radio stations" since its start in the mid 1960s, including"five times daily on KTYNradio in Minot." (The radio show was actually titled Chickenman; the name for the visitor may also have been misspelled in the High Times article used as a source for this information.) The character was a shoe salesman during the week but a "'white-winged . . . warrior'" against crime on the weekends.494 Sports news: There were a number of Minot High teams that won state this year and one new sport. Both girls' golf, under new head coach Steve Hurd, and boys' tennis, under Coach Lyon, won championships for the first time. Boys' tennis also had an undefeated season. The football team, which had not won a state championship since the 1941 season, won under Coach Howard Theige. Both girls' and boys' swimming won. Girls' track also won state, under Coach Glee Mayer. This would be the first of four state championships for the girls' track team this decade. The new sport this year was girls' volleyball--power volleyball rather than recreation volleyball.495 Although the coaching staff and school officials apparently thought volleyball would be a NDHSAA-sanctioned sport this year, they would have to wait another year. Nonetheless, the varsity and two junior varsity teams continued their planned practices and scheduled games. 496 The debate team also took state under Coach Allan Alvstad. Minot High had the two top teams, having defeated their "great rival" Fargo North in both semifinal rounds. As usual, the debate team's season involved competition against teams beyond the state's borders--against South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio teams this year.497 The issue of students and part-time work was addressed in High Times articles. According to a survey, 66 percent of MCC students had a part-time job--69 percent of males and 63 percent of females.498 A High Times editorial stated that more students were working than in past years and expressed the view that this was at the expense of school work, school athletics, and being a fan of school teams. According to the editorial, students were working to buy such items as "waterbeds, cars, trucks, and stereos"--items "their parents [could not] afford to get them." The "solution": "raise the age of when employment can begin or pass a rule that makes it so a working student can only work a minimum of hours and only until 9:00 p.m. at the latest."499 Another survey, conducted by the sociology classes, was on chewing tobacco use at MCC. The survey indicated that 22 percent of junior guys and 30.25 percent of senior guys chewed. While

74 none of the girls who were surveyed said they chewed, the author of the High Times article on this survey said there were "a few" who did. An editorial addressed the issue of disposing of the chew, which had ended up "on the floors, in drinking fountains, garbage cans and in school desks." The High Times wanted tobacco chewing banned in school.500 Patriotism Week was celebrated in February and would be an annual event throughout the decade. Members of John Sandeen's International Relations class organized the activities, which included speeches, a flag-folding demonstration, a red-white-and-blue dress-up day, and a slide presentation that "included scenes of America and its history, . . . shown to the accompaniment of American music."501 Other news: This year the computer math students (and other students and teachers) had access to 12 Apple computers to use for programming. 502 The choir held a variety show for the first time, to earn money. The Change of Pace singers performed over 40 times.503 The prom may have had its first After the Prom Party this year, sponsored by the Minot Kiwanis. Of those students who attended the prom about 65 percent attended the After the Prom Party.504 In the 1981-1982 school year the communication skill focused on school-wide at MCC was reading. For the first time for Homecoming a king was crowned as well as a queen. Just as now, there were eight candidates for each position. The part-time job issue was again addressed in a High Times article, along with another survey. The notable information from the new survey was that of those students working (67 percent of students), 82 percent worked over 15 hours and 38 percent worked later than 11:00 p.m. While the positive aspects of part-time jobs were identified, the main points of the article were that research showed the "15 hour rule of thumb" was best to insure that negative consequences of part-time work don't outweigh positive ones and that a "community effort" was needed to limit work hours for students.505 Another issue this year was Ryan participation in Minot High sports. In January the school board voted to allow Ryan students to compete to be on Minot High teams. A High Times guest editorial opposed this decision, and an article in a later issue sampled student and staff opinions, which were divided. According to the author of the article, "the only true consensus of opinion seemed to be that Ryan participation in Magi sports might lead to cuts of Minot High students on some teams and increased inter-school rivalries."506 MCC had a resident writer this year who worked with various language arts and foreign language classes. Dr. William Borden was an author, playwright, and creative writing teacher at the University of North Dakota. He presented writing as, in his words, "a process, a learning process."507 This year home economics added an organization: HERO (Home Economics Related Occupations). Though it was not directly connected to FHA in this year's yearbook, the next year it would be, as FHA/HERO. The HERO part emphasized that FHA (and home economics) was more than homemaking; exploring careers such as child care, food service, and fashion design was a major emphasis. In the 1990s the organization would change its name again.

75 During Spirit Week in February, FBLA presented MCC with a banner that contained the words to the school song. FBLA members had worked on the banner for two months as a competition project focusing on school loyalty. They focused on the school song after "noticing many students did not know the school song." The banner was hung on the south wall of the gym. 508 It was replaced at least two times, but the words are still there on that wall. 509 The photo is from the 1995 yearbook. Sports news: Both swimming teams won state again, as did boys' tennis and girls' golf, this time under Coach Dwight Farrell. The volleyball team was sanctioned this year.510 A May High Times article reported that "a growing number of students and teachers alike are becoming 'hooked on hacking.'" The article defined "hacking" to mean being "addicted to computers." As an example of the work of computer math students, the article noted the "popular" dating service project of two female students. They "programmed their Apple II to match students with similar interests. The lists of compatibility were then printed and sold for 50¢ as a fund raiding project for the Student Council."511 The MCC pom pon team acquired a new name this year-Magicianettes. According to the yearbook, they changed their name because other pom pon squads had chosen names that "correspond with their schools." They did not choose Majettes because of its connection to girls’ athletics. The photo is from the 1982 yearbook. A major development in the 1982-1983 school year was the addition of a new building at Central Campus--a gym/cafeteria facility that filled out the southeast corner of the downtown block. Both the gym and the cafeteria, located in the lower level of the facility, were truly needed. The old floor/gym area of the auditorium was not adequate for such sports as volleyball. There was no cafeteria for students. In previous decades they ate in the stands of the newer gym or on its playing floor or left the building.512 New Gym/Cafeteria Facility at Central Campus

The photo and drawing are from A History of Public Education in Downtown Minot. As the drawing indicates, the new facility was connected to other parts of the campus through a commons area.

76 Central also added an elevator to the outside of the north side of the campus to allow handicapped access. The Special Services and Art areas had also recently been renovated.513 This year at MCC enhancing student speaking skills was emphasized across the curriculum. This was the fourth year of a five-year program, with only listening skills to go. On October 28th the name of Magician Field (or Magician Stadium) was changed to Duane Carlson Stadium. At that time Carlson, who had served the district for forty-two years, was the Director of Athletics. 514 The photo is from the 1987 yearbook. Sports news: Both girls' and boys' swimming teams again won state. Due again to a school district "financial crisis," the baseball team was to play its "final season." The major problem for baseball seemed to be that it was the state's only Class A team. It had to travel out of state to compete, and even North Dakota's springs were not helpful.515 Minot High School began the 1983-1984 school year as one of the top 100 high schools in the nation. During the summer the National Commission on Excellence in Education gave Minot High--CC and MCC combined--that designation. 516 Sports championships: Three girls' teams won state this year: swimming, track, and gymnastics, under Coach Pam Parizek. This was the first state championship for the gymnastics team, which was also undefeated in regular season meets. Also boys' track was a co-champion at state. Other sports news: MCC added soccer this year--as a club, not yet as a school-funded sport. The club organized intramural games for six coed teams with 80 participants. Of course, a goal of the organization was a "future school sponsored soccer team." A number of staff assisted the organization in getting off the ground; some coached and supervised games.517 It would take three years before soccer became a sanctioned sport. The baseball team was back again this year despite the lack of funding from the school board. Students and parents raised the needed money, and 52 students came out to try out for the team.518 Two music groups, the Symphonic Winds Band directed by Dave Jensen and the Senior Jazz Ensemble directed by Richard Anhorn, won Minot High's first gold medals at the Winter in the Rockies Festival held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in March. The gold medals "placed the bands in the top four to six percentage of the nation."519 Organization news: Back at MCC after a number of years was Latin Club, and the Library Club returned to CC. Vern Thiessen's and Blanny Nygaard's classes (VICA students) renovated the Edison hockey rink, including "rebuilding the warming house," in the fall.520 Some MHS students organized the North Dakota Surfing Association, "a group of students who dress in their wild Hawaiian attire and go to all high school hockey and basketball games and cheer for their teams." Their goals were to "promote school spirit and to have fun with friends" at the games. What was particularly unusual about the group was that they were willing to lead a pep rally and game cheers for teams other than Minot High teams.521 Two issues covered briefly in the High Times were parking, again, and a possible cancellation of senior "skip week." Students continued to park in the teachers' lot and other prohibited areas,

77 partly it seems because many of them took up two spots in the student lots. This year the fine for illegal parking was raised to ten dollars. 522 For many years seniors had looked forward to the last week of school as "skip week." This year the state superintendent of public instruction, Dr. Joseph Crawford, was insisting that all North Dakota students must attend the required 180 days of school. Another argument for eliminating skip week was that many students who were going off to college were missing the final exams typical of college classes.523 The seniors did eventually lose their skip week. In the 1984-1985 school year the school district added an alternative education program for students ages 16 to 21 who had dropped out of school or intended to drop out. Through this program students could attain a regular high school diploma. Bob Kelly was the coordinator/ teacher for the program; Sharon Goodman Ellis was also a teacher for it. The first building used for the program was the Adult Education Center on 4th Ave. NW. 524 Eventually the program would be housed in a building on the Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center grounds and become the school district's third high school, with the name Souris River Campus. At Magic City Campus two new programs were implemented: "Problematic Behavior Intervention" and "Enhancing Questioning-Discussion Teaching Skills" (higher-order questioning). The first program formalized intervention with students in trouble, working through four stages: identification, confrontation, referral, and reclamation. The goal of the second program was to have teachers asking the kinds of questions that required students to apply, analyze, synthesize, and ultimately evaluate.525 Sports news: Girls' tennis, girls' swimming, and girls' golf, under Coach Farrell, all won state. Boys' track, under Coach Radke, also won state. The High Times reported that this year the North Dakota High School Activities Association passed a rule that "girls have the choice of participating in contact sports such as football, hockey and wrestling." Of ten students interviewed by newspaper staff, most supported the idea but potential issues were noted, such as where the girls would dress. 526 Textbook and library book controversies seem to have hit a peak this year. The ninth-grade literature textbook, Reflections in Literature, along with the tenthgrade text The Grapes of Wrath (and the movie version) became the focus of a removal campaign led by a school board member. The principal complaint seemed to be that they were negative or depressing. Neither were removed.527 (The photo is from the 1985 yearbook.) Another textbook that generated controversy was the text Married and Single Life, especially its two chapters on sexuality, used in the Family Living course taught at MCC.528 In August of 1984 the same school board member had "announced . . . that she would form a committee to investigate the public school libraries," which she did by checking out books from various libraries, utilizing a checklist of 60 books. She proposed that "at budget [ordering] time each book be reviewed beforehand by at least one person in the community.” 529 Edna Boardman, the librarian at Magic City Campus, later wrote that the school district "experienced challenges and criticisms relating to materials over a nine-year period." The district attracted national attention during these years. 530 The school board member had also campaigned against Humanism (or Secular Humanism) in the schools.531 In June, "wearied by

78 years of controversy," Minoters voted to replace this school board member and another with similar views with two "mainstream candidates."532 The traditional Wednesday graduation day was shifted to Sunday this year. The main reason, according to Principal Olthoff, was that the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction "requires that all students be in school until the end of the school year." He did supply an additional reason: "relatives and friends who travel long distances can attend."533 Computers had become important enough to the school district that a district computer coordinator position was created. Craig Nansen was chosen for the position, which he began serving in the following year. He has remained in that position, though now as Technology Director.534 Nansen has retained his support for Apple computers over the years. However, PCs and Microsoft software were purchased over the years when needed. This year MCC had eight foreign exchange students--from six countries. In the 1985-1986 school year a High Times article conveyed further developments in computer use. Both Magic City and Central Campus teachers took computer word processing classes this year, taught by other teachers. The article reported that one of the teachers of the class "explained that computer word processing is the ability to correct errors on the screen when typing a test or program into the computer. The program is stored on a disk and can be changed even years later." This teacher also "pointed out that computer word processing is important to everyone, not just those in a math-related field." 535 Mastery Learning, an instructional method/philosophy, was introduced this year to high school staff by Dr. Robert Osland, the curriculum coordinator for the Minot Public Schools.536 Its essential beliefs are that almost all students can master material, if given enough opportunities, and should master it before moving to new units of material. These are some of the terms associated with Mastery Learning: outcomes, formative tests, enrichment activities, and criterion-referenced tests. Darrell Liebelt, Dave Armstrong, and then Cindy Mau were the teachers who pioneered using it in their classrooms at MCC.537 Sports news: Girls' cross country took state for the first time, under Coach Joe Ringen. The girls' golf team took state, again under Coach Farrell, as did girls' swimming. The photo of the cross country girls is from the 1986 yearbook. In January the Industrial Arts Dept. "housed a high-tech lab sponsored through N.D. Vocational Education and Industrial Technology of UND." The lab "familiarized students with these areas of higher technology in industry: robotics, lasers, and the CAM and CAD systems (computer-aided machining and computer-aided drafting)."538 This was also the first year for MCC to be involved with the Close Up program. The program was created to give students "a chance to experience the process of democracy as insiders." The participants would travel to Washington, D.C., to see how the federal government works.539 In later years the trips would be to Hawaii. This year "the shadow of censorship," in the words of a Minot Daily News editorial, returned briefly. 540 Two famous children's books, Shel Silverstein's A Light in the Attic and Where the

79 Sidewalk Ends, came under attack, although no formal complaint was filed. The books were removed temporarily from shelves at some schools and underwent a committee review. All of the committee members supported returning the books to the shelves, and school officials "agreed that a new, better defined procedure" was needed. A High Times article reported that of one hundred MCC students surveyed, "ninety-five percent were opposed to the removal of the books from school shelves in the area." 541 "Leave the Books Alone" was the title of the Minot Daily editorial. The yearbook listed these fads: "stirrup pants, shaker sweaters, floral print jeans, paisley, socks over pants, broaches, and plaids over plaids."542 While trike races had been part of Homecoming Week assemblies at Central Campus for many years, this year turtle races seemed to be a new event. 543 The photo is from the 1986 yearbook. In the 1986-1987 school year Mastery Learning was newsworthy enough that it was covered twice by the High Times. According to one of the articles, most students liked the new method. They liked the chance to improve their grades (and many did) and, according to one of their teachers, "seem to work much harder when given a second chance." 544 The other article offered a reason why it wasn’t being used by more teachers: “it involves a ton of work for both student and teachers.” The article also reported that, according to Darrell Liebelt, “some classes are easier to implement mastery learning [in] than others.” 545 School district officials would continue to push for its implementation for a few years, but eventually the lack of staff support for it undermined its influence. Beginning this year, Minot High piloted a new approach to North Central Association accreditation. Instead of "conducting faculty self-evaluations," MCC and CC faculty used an "outcomes" approach that required pre-testing and post-testing. The "target areas" were "study skills, communication skills, international awareness, and student self-concept."546 Central Campus developed a students' courtyard in the center court area. This photo of staff doing landscape work on the courtyard is from the 1987 yearbook. This year soccer finally became a sanctioned sport at MHS. However, according to the 1987 yearbook, "a hockey booster group was responsible for all costs this year." The yearbook also reported that the team was the "only coeducational sport played in North Dakota."547 Though yearbook photos did not list any female members, a High Times article reported that a sophomore girl had been on the team until injured.548 Other sport news: The girls' golf team took state for the third time in a row, under Coach Farrell. The girls' cross country team repeated at state, under Coach Ringen. Girls' swimming continued its string of state championships. Prom was moved to the auditorium. The photo is from the 1987 yearbook.

80 In the 1987-1988 school year MCC staff employed additional educational concepts/methods: Lesson Design (the Madeline Hunter model) and Cooperative Learning. (Cooperative Learning seemed to have been new this year, but Lesson Design may have been introduced earlier.) Lesson Design provided a structured approach for effective use of classroom time. In fact, "time on task" was a term associated with Lesson Design. Some of the terms that were part of the Lesson Design model included "Anticipatory Set," "Guided Practice," "Checking for Understanding," and "Closure." With Cooperative Learning students were divided into groups to work on learning activities; each student in a group had a responsibility in the more formal uses of this strategy. According to a High Times article, proponents of Cooperative Learning "say that it produces more and better ideas than the usual method of 'teacher talk and student listen.' They also say that group learning improves problem solving abilities and helps students to get to know each other." 549 In these years it was emphasized that these educational practices, as well as others recently introduced, were research based. 550 There were also important curriculum changes All departments at MCC were supposed to change to an outcomes-based format within the next five years. There was also a push to "move away from tracking," which resulted in some Language Arts Department courses being dropped. Dr. Olthoff expressed the view "that classes in which all types of students are grouped together are more beneficial."551 Sports news: This was a very successful year for Minot High teams. When the girls' swim team won its 10th straight state championship, it tied a national record and brought a visit from ESPN to interview the team.552 (The photo is from the 1988 yearbook.) These were the other victorious teams: boys' swimming; boys' basketball, at Minot, for the first state title under Coach Gene Manson; girls' golf for the fourth consecutive year, again under Coach Farrell; girls' tennis; and girls' track, beginning a nine-year period during which they won 8 state championships under Coach Mayer. The issue of P.E. class grades affecting grade point averages returned to the High Times. A lengthy student guest editorial calling for a change in how P.E. grades were counted in terms of grade point average (and maybe even dropping P.E. as a requirement) elicited an even longer response from a P.E. teacher. The teacher discussed the many benefits of physical activity and pointed out, in terms of grades, "that everyone has something they don't do as well in as the next person."553 The High Times again covered student parking space concerns. Over the summer the field south across 11th Avenue, which had provided space for 60-65 vehicles, had been fenced in by ASK Incorporated, which was trying to sell the land. The school district did not have funds for a new lot, but "ten parking slots in the teacher lot [would] be assigned to 'student groups of four or more' who are willing to car pool" and permission had been obtained to park near Jim Hill Junior High.554 By this year the seriousness of the AIDS epidemic compelled the school district to provide information for staff, students, and parents through a presentation titled "Suddenly Sex Has Become Very Dangerous." At MCC students viewed two videotapes in English classes and could ask trained staff questions. Grades 8-10 students were also to view the videotapes.555

81 The musical South Pacific, produced only once so far at MHS, was a major success. Ron Wineteer was the director, Richard Anhorn the musical director, and Virginia Maupin the choreographer. 556 Rainbow Connection was a new organization at Central. According to the 1989 yearbook, its goals were "to help teens understand the issues they deal with . . . on a day-to-day basis, offer alternatives to substance abuse, and to create positive peer pressure." 557 The organization sponsored a successful all-night New Year's Eve Party.558 In the 1988-1989 school year MCC's library added a computer lab, in the room off the junior locker bay, with twenty-four new Apple II GS computers and five printers. Students had to have their own floppy disks; the lab was not yet networked beyond the room.559 This was the first computer lab for general use in the school. However, as reported in a High Times article, Craig Nansen, the computer coordinator, hoped that English Department classes would get "extra use out of the computers because he [felt] that the word processor [would] revolutionize the teaching of writing classes."560 The library also added three computers in the main library area.561 Sports news: In another very successful year, these teams won state championships: boys' tennis, under Coach Lyon; boys' golf, under Coach Farrell; boys' swimming; girls' swimming, for an 11th consecutive title; and girls' track. The school board voted to allow high school members of the Magic City Figure Skating Club a chance to earn athletic letters.562 The girls on the Magic Blades team performed at "hockey games, competitions, and their annual ice show."563 (The photo is from the 1989 yearbook.) This year the gymnastics team moved into a new building at the Fairgrounds, which they shared with the Gym Dandys.564 This year a Magic City Campus team took first at the Minot State University Math Track Meet for the ninth year in a row. The only year this decade they did not take first was in 1990. A Conoco Kwik Stop store opened at the corner southwest of MCC and quickly became popular, competing with MCC's Snack Bar. According to a High Times article, "a few hundred students visit the Kwik Stop daily. On the average, each spends about one dollar."565 In the 1989-1990 school year the Minot High School DECA chapter capped a very successful decade by winning the state Chapter of the Year award for the seventh year in a row under Advisor Kevin Reisenauer. In addition, the MHS Chapter and State DECA President Heather Funke, a senior at MCC, campaigned for and won the election to be National DECA President.566 The photo of her in action is from the 1990 yearbook, Other organization news: By this year Rainbow Connection seemed to have expanded to include students from Magic City Campus as well as Ryan High School. Members also worked with younger students.567 The Pep Club returned at MCC after not organizing for a number of years. It would fade away again in the next decade. The Debate Team won state, under Coach John Scheeler. Two MHS teams competed for the first place trophy.568

82 Sports news: The soccer team won the state championship, under Coach Erv Johnson, after two years of being runnerup. (The photo of a Minot player going in for a score is from the 1990 yearbook.) The boys' basketball team won state again, under Coach Manson, with an undefeated WDA season. Boys' swimming also won state, for the third time in what would be a string of six straight victories. While the girls' swimming team did not win state, they did push their dual victory string to 103 wins and were the WDA champs for the 16th year in a row. The Magic Blades team won the Traveling Trophy at the North Country Competition for the third year in a row. 569 To encourage students to read and thereby improve reading skills, an NCA target for the high school, a reading break was instituted this year. A High Times article summarized the experience this way: "The reading break happens once a week for 15 minutes, alternates hours every week, and students seem to enjoy the break." 570 The popular Media Arts class was offered for the last time this year. Students had learned about "the history of the media . . ., the importance of nonverbal communication, how to make commercials, propaganda techniques and practices, radio and TV broadcasting and how to make movies." The class was discontinued because the Curriculum Cabinet felt that as a language arts class it did not require enough reading, writing, or speaking.571 (Over the decade, too, there had been an increasing "concentration of the courses in the core curriculum."572) This class was a forerunner for the present Media Literacy class at MCC, and now media creations are common in classes in all departments. In the spring of the year KX13 and Piggly Wiggly sponsored a game show, High School Academic Challenge, that was broadcast on KX13. Teams from eight area schools, including Minot High, competed against each other in answering questions from these categories: math, science, American literature, and history.573 There were a number of High Times articles about school district budget cuts this year (and in other years this decade). Thermostats were even turned down, and the district began recycling paper.574 In remarks, in this year's yearbook, about the upcoming decade, Supt. Edward Mundy identified "funding for education" as "the greatest challenge in North Dakota." He also wrote that "technology will change the type of education students will receive." Minot High School's enrollment declined a bit from the first year of the decade to the last--from 2324 to 2124. The city's population grew over the decade--from 32,843 to 34,544.

1990-2000 In this decade the most important development may have been Internet access in the schools. This was not a decade of major new educational practices, but school site councils brought decentralized decision making, more course opportunities were provided for college-bound students, and another alternative school was provided. A number of girls' sports teams had strings of state championships; girls’ track, under Coach Mayer, won state the first seven years of the decade. One new girls' varsity sport was added. There was a building addition to Magic City Campus and talk of major renovations to Central Campus. Teen bands were big.

83 In the 1990-1991 school year there was concern, fueled by rumors, that Minot had a gang problem. The focus of attention was a group of young people nicknamed the "Raiders" because they "often [wore] clothing with the L.A. Raiders logo on them." After some incidents in Minot, Minot police and Air Base security police took action. However, one MCC student identified as a "Raider" insisted, "All we are is a bunch of guys who hang out together, and we all like the Raiders. The police are blowing it all out of proportion." Dr. Olthoff stated that it was "not fair to judge somebody just because they wear a certain color." He also said, "The only action I am taking taking at this time is to be more visible." 575 Both the debate and speech teams won state. The debate team, under Coach Scheeler, was successful throughout the debate season competing against North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota teams.576 The speech team, under Coach Marquardt, won as a result of the performances of many team members in many different categories.577 Sports news: Boys' swimming won state, as did girls' track, girls' tennis (under Coach Lyon), and the gymnastics team (under Coach Nancy Ziegler). Freshman gymnast Kim Sveum was Minot’s "first-ever all-round titlist"578 and would continue to be a standout performer. This was the first year that girls' soccer was a varsity sport. A Magic City Campus team took first at the Minot State Math Track Meet. MCC teams would also take first in 1994, 1997, and 1998. The High Times had an article on staff and student reaction to U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf War (August 1990-February 1991). The article reported that most supported U.S. involvement.579 There was also a page titled "MCC students support Desert Storm troops" in the yearbook supplement. Organization news: The Student Technology Association (STA) was a new organization. (At first it seemed to have a longer name: Student Technology Education Association.) Its goals included: to "expose students to different areas of technology" and to “improve thinking by applying technology." 580 DECA members created a "product to promote the city" that was similar to Monopoly--a game they called MINOTPOLY. They "sold spaces on the board to local businesses for advertising and promotion."581 (The photo is from the 1992 yearbook.) DECA would continue its string as state chapter-of-the-year through the decade. Rainbow Connection became Connections this year. The organization continued to include students from MCC, CC, and Ryan. Their "main activity" was "cross-age tutoring."582 The drafting classes were now using computers with AutoCAD software. (CAD means Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting). With this software students could experience college-level or professional level tools that allowed them "to become more efficient and reduce drawing errors." 583 This year the MCC Magicianettes discarded the label "pom pom team," insisting instead that they "be known as a dance team," according to their advisor. She said they seldom used their pom pons.584 At Central the pom pon squad also experienced changes. It acquired a new name, Magic Kicks, and competed in the state pom pon competition.585 In the following years Magicianettes and Magic Kicks would disappear as nicknames; both teams would be Majettes.

84 In the 1991-1992 school year computer opportunities continued to improve for students. The Business Department at MCC received a "high-tech" IBM computer lab, through federal Perkins Act money, that allowed students to save to a server for that lab rather than to disks. There were also "broadcast" and monitoring features for teachers.586 Organization news: There were two new MCC clubs, both community service-oriented: Ecology Club and Psychology Club. The main goal of the Ecology Club (also called Students for the Environment Ecology Club) was to help protect the environment. Amongst its activities this year was working with STA to place two bins for pop cans in the commons and, along with the Central Campus Science Club, organizing a newspaper recycling drive that brought in almost 21,000 pounds of newspapers.587 (This club would combine with the Science Club in 1997-1998.) The Psychology Club was for students "interested in human behavior to experience learning outside the classroom," in the words of the advisor Cindy Mau. Psychology Club members volunteered to work with agencies helping such groups as the elderly and the handicapped. 588 The Symphonic Winds, Jazz Band, and orchestra traveled to Orlando this year. These were the first music groups to fly and the first to travel as far as Florida.589 (They would be joined by the choir in future years.) Sports news: The hockey team won its first state championship this year, under Coach Gary Sampson. This was also the first state hockey title for a team from the West. In the finals the Magicians beat a team that had beaten them twice during the regular season, the Bismarck Demons; the final score was 8-7. Tom Philion was the tournament MVP.590 (The photo is from the yearbook supplement.) The boys' swimming team also won state (for the fifth straight time), as did the girls' track team and the gymnastics team, under Coaches Robbie (Lacari) Werchau and Steve Carver. According to a High Times article, role-playing games, such as Merc 2000 and Stormbringer, were increasing in popularity at MCC. Those who played the games were called "gamers," and the role-playing was called "gaming." The article reported that the "most popular games seem to be based on wars of the future [as with Merc 2000] or on battles of the ancient past [as with Stormbringer]." These were not computer-based games or video games, which do not require a game master. According to a student interviewed for the article, most gamers also listened to "speed metal" music.591 Two High Times articles indicated that teenage bands were a notable element of teen life in Minot. Two bands were covered in articles, one unnamed, the other with the name Nobody's Children. One band played for activities that benefited organizations and social needs.592 Local bands would be covered in the High Times through much of the decade. Honor Society pursued changing 11th Avenue to Magic City Avenue. Amongst the obstacles was a cost of from $600 to $700 to change seventeen street signs. 593 Magic City Campus is still located on 11th Ave. SW. In the summer before the 1992-1993 school year there were two developments that would help staff and students at MCC. The library automated its book collection so that students could use

85 computers to find materials more quickly. Circulation was also (It would be a few years before CC's library was automated.) Over the summer MCC and Souris River Campus language arts teachers created a writing handbook for their classes. 595 The handbook was first used in classes this year, and a revised version of it is still in use. computerized.594

Sports news: After an undefeated regular season, the wrestling team took state for the first time since 1971, under Coach Ken Vetter. In the state tournament 11 of its 12 wrestlers placed. The team ended up ranked fourth nationally.596 (The photo is from the High Times.) The boys' swimming team continued its string of victories (six in a row). The gymnastics team won for the third time in a row, under Coaches Carver and Werchau. The girls' track team also won, as well as girls’ golf, under Coach Nadene Johnson. Key Club was a new club at MCC, still "sponsored in part by the Kiwanis." Though in previous appearances Key Club was restricted to males, it now had male and female members. Its major goal was "to promote community service among MHS students." Key Club members had the "opportunity to give about fifty hours of service . . . through volunteer work on the weekend."597 Students from Central Campus’s Science Club took first at the ND State Science Olympiad competition this year. This competition began in 1985. In a first-time production at MCC, the musical Fiddler on the Roof was a big success. Tanya Kjos was the director, Neil Lemieux the music director, and Virginia Maupin the choreographer. In April the first Minot High Battle of the Bands was held at MCC. These were the bands that competed: Prodigy, Nobody's Children, Death Toll, Nothing, and Dr. Carlson Must Operate, which won the contest. The bands were judged on appearance, originality, and crowd response.598 The 1993-1994 school year was Dr. Olthoff's last year as the head principal at MCC, before moving on to become the assistant superintendent. He had served as a Minot High head principal for nineteen years, two at CC and seventeen at MCC. He promoted what he called a "'high expectations' philosophy."599 Sports news: The gymnastics team won state for the fourth time in a row--under Coaches Werchau and Carver. Kim Sveum was the all-around titlist for the fourth year in a row. (The photo of Sveum is from the 1994 yearbook.) The girls' golf team, under Coach Johnson, and the girls' track team also won state again. This was the fourth victory for girls' track, under Coach Mayer, since 1991. A new tool for helping students plan their futures was introduced to students this year: the Choices computer program. Students were able to access the program in a library computer lab or on a computer in the guidance department area. It allowed students to find out more about post-secondary schools, occupations, and financial aid.600 Later in the decade it added a Career Aptitude Survey (CAS) feature.601 For this year and next FHA seemed to be replaced by FLA (Future Leaders of America) or had FLA added to its name (FHA/FLA). There would be a permanent name change in a few years.

86 In the 1994-1995 school year site-based councils were established at schools throughout the district. The councils were composed of teachers, administrators, parents, and, at MCC, students. The councils provided decision-making at the level closest to the students served by the building. According to Supt. Larson, the councils had the power to make "important decisions regarding setting goals, hiring staff, and developing educational programs."602 They had a budget to work with.603 Sports news: A number of teams won championships for MHS. The girls' swimming team began a string of five straight state wins this year, after an absence since 1988. The girls' golf team won state for the third time in a row under Coach Johnson. The girls' track team won again, along with the girls' cross country team, both under Coach Mayer. The boys' basketball team won, under Coach Manson, with strong defensive play.604 Two students collected over 500 signatures on a petition to have the dress code eliminated at MCC. The students were protesting against rules that said school personnel could remove a student who wore clothing that "disrupts class, an activity or constitutes a safety/health hazard to the student or classmates." Specifically this would be clothing that "displays offensive graphics or lettering or that illustrates alcohol, drugs or tobacco products." One of the students said, "The power to decide what a student can and can not wear shouldn't be left up to one person but to the student body." He wore a Hooters shirt one day to test reactions. The two students brought the petition before the school board, but the dress code was not changed.605 In the second Battle of the Bands, held during senior week, these groups performed at MCC: Bloatedfish, Jesus, Aneurism, Mercy Seat, Sputnik, and The Pink Ladies + Kevin. The Pink Ladies won.606 Some of these bands also performed at the Minot Collective Cultural Center ("the MC3"), owned by Micah and Sarah Scott. A High Times article described this music venue this way: "This is the only place within 200 miles or so that you can hear your favorite underground punk, metal, alternative and hard core bands in full stereo sound." The Center had been around for a few years but hadn't always had "their own building."607 According to the yearbook, these were other places students hung out: YMCA, Oasis (for "playing pool, ping pong, or video games"), Dakota Square Mall, McDonald's, Sweetheart's Cafe, and school sporting events.608 These were two informals from the yearbook:

The M & H Store (see store sign in first photo at right) had been a draw for Central Campus students. At far right is a cast photo from the hit musical Godspell.

87 In the 1995-1996 school year the Internet arrived, in a limited way, for staff and students. In the MCC library there was a computer upstairs for students to use Sendit as an in-state email service. Staff could access a main floor computer to use both Sendit and the Netscape Web browser. During the summer the school board had passed an acceptable use policy for student use of the district's "electronic network." These were functions listed for the network: "electronic mail, conferences, bulletin boards, data bases, and access to Telnet, FTP, and WWW resources."609 For periodicals research the library began to move away from print indexes to computer-based tools (via CDs): an EBSCO index for magazine articles and, through an expensive subscription to Newsbank, "thousands of newspaper articles . . . ready to read off the screen or print out." 610 A greenhouse for horticulture classes was completed on the east side of MCC, attached to the home economics area. The previous year Scott Bexell and his Drafting II students drew up designs from a concept presented by Vern Thiessen, whose Building Trades students put in the foundation and footings in the spring of 1995 and continued work on it this year. A masonry company was hired to do the brickwork. 611 The High Times photo on the left below is of the building under construction in the fall of 1995. The second photo was taken in 2011.

College credit courses became an option this year for MCC students. These were the first classes that provided this opportunity: IBM Computer Applications II, Marketing and Management, and Writing Workshop (which provided credits in Freshman Composition).612 This was the first year that ITV classes were taught by MCC teachers from a studio at MCC. The courses taught this year were Art Techniques, Speech, and Criminal Law.613 Home economics classes this year became Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) classes.614 It would take a few years of encouragement from the FACS staff before others consistently used the new name. School planners were new this year for students, replacing folders. The main purpose behind them was as an organizing tool.615 The yearbook captured the promotion of the planners in a humorous two-page spread celebrating them. Planners are still being used. The photo is from the 1997 yearbook. Sports news: Girls' golf won for the fourth straight time, under Coach Johnson, breaking the state score record two years in a row.616 Other state champions were girls' track and girls' swimming, which had a perfect season. There were High Times articles this year, and in upcoming years, on a non-school hockey team, the Minot Oilers, on which Minot High students played. The Oilers played this year in the North Dakota Midget Hockey League and the Moose Mountain Provincial League.617

88 This year for the first time cheerleaders were able to perform stunts. According to a High Times article, that meant they could "now lift each other higher than the base person's waist. They [could] also do basket tosses, which is where one person is thrown into the air and three others catch her." The past summer the cheerleaders and advisers had to get certified to do the stunts.618 Central Campus adopted a no-hat policy this year; MCC would adopt it next year. 619 The policy addressed concerns about gang activity and difficulties communicating with hat wearers. 620 The yearbook had a two-page spread on student involvement with bands. The Minot Cultural Center and Sweetheart Gourmet Coffee Shop were identified as "stages" for performances.621 The yearbook also had a page on the O.J. Simpson trial with student reactions. In the 1996-1997 school year Internet access expanded. The high school campuses were wired over the summer, and students could now email and browse the World Wide Web.622 At MCC the Internet became available for general use in one of the computer labs in the library.623 For a few years that lab was so packed with students at lunch and after school, especially with emailers, that library staff had difficulty clearing the room. More computers were purchased to address a district goal of "having a computer available in each teacher's classroom." FirstClass, which provided in-district communication, was also installed on all staff computers.624 One consequence of having computers in classrooms was the need for security for them. At MCC doors were added to classrooms that had been without them since the school was built. Advanced Placement classes were offered for the first time--AP English 11 and AP English 12. AP Calculus was added the next year, followed by AP Chemistry one year later. AP Government and AP U.S. History would be added towards the end of the next decade. MCC teams won the state Science Bowl both this year and the next year. Both teams went on to the Department of Energy National Science Bowl; the 1997-1998 team placed in the top eight. Competition for the Science Bowl began in 1995 in North Dakota.625 Sports news: Girls' swimming, girls' track, and gymnastics, under Coach Carver, took state. The Magic Blades took second at nationals. This year and the next two there were photos of male gymnasts on the yearbooks' gymnastics pages. There had been a male gymnasts' club in Minot for years, but not until their sport could letter did they receive yearbook attention. They had Russian coaches and participated at their own meets, mostly out of state. 626 Souris River Campus moved to 1510 University Avenue West, on the southwest corner of the Quentin Burdick Job Corps Center grounds, its present location. The school district partnered with the Job Corps. According to Supt. Richard Larson, "high school students had opportunities to enroll in courses and programs offered by the Job Corps and their enrollees could take academic classes at the alternative program facility."627 The alternative program had in recent years been housed at the State Fair Grounds. The photo of part of the then newly renovated SRC building is from the 1997 yearbook.

89 This year the Building Trades classes took on a large project, building a house across the street from MCC.628 In the photo students are laying forms for the house, which was located in a wide-open area. This would be the first of the on-site house projects that the Building Trades (soon Construction Technology) classes would construct on property across from MCC and then at Aspen Circle in an area west of KMOT. Such a large, expensive building project was unique for high schools in the state.629 FHA at MCC began making home-made Swedish meatballs this year for Minot’s annual Norsk Hostfest.630 The meatballs were made at school, and everyone enjoyed the aromas. Battle of the Bands competition this year involved Snotrockets, KumKwat, 2nd Generation, Afro Davis, Nail Bender, Adrenalin, and Twist. "The scene," in the words of a High Times article, "was just like that of a rock concert with an awesome stage, courtesy of Star Guitar, and ten security guards who were needed to keep the rowdy students away from the stage and the band members." The winner was 2nd Generation. 631 Snowboarding made the High Times this year. One snowboarder was quoted as saying, "Everybody and their mom has a snowboard these days." For a while, every evening about 7:00 at MCC, "a bunch of guys" and sometimes a girl could be seen "going off a jump that they made themselves or carving down the hill." The district did close down the steeper hills to snowboarders and sledders.632 The school year at Central Campus began with some serious excitement as a "pop bottle bomb" was "detonated in a hall trash can." 633 The photo of police on the scene is from the 1997 yearbook. The 1997-1998 school year was the last year Tom McDonald was the head principal at Central Campus. He was head principal there for twenty years, the second longest serving MHS principal. In the 1998 yearbook McDonald had this to say about the students he dealt with over the years: "The quality I like most about the 9th and 10th grade age group is the high energy and enthusiasm that forces adults in their world to hustle to keep up."634 There was talk of bringing all of the high school students together in one building. That would have required expanding Magic City Campus or building a new facility. In a High Times article, the money issue was addressed: "We already have problems with school funding. Where would money come from to remodel or build a new school?" According to the article, "a majority of the student body said that they think [combining the four grades] would distract from our learning environment, although there were a few who think it would be a good idea."635 The talk of a potential new high school would turn to talk about significant remodeling of Central Campus. The library added its first online database, the Electronic Library, which would soon be called eLibrary. The database allowed students to search content from "newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, almanacs, and other print material via the Internet."636 Sports news: Only girls' swimming took state this year. The Magic Blades won the bronze at the Spring Cup World Precision Competition in Italy.637 Dance became a varsity sport. 638

90 Backpacks seemed to really arrive at MCC this year. According to the yearbook, "virtually all MCC students and even some staff use them." The convenience of being able to carry everything around with you was noted but also the danger of being hit by a backpack. At Central there was a "no hats, no jackets, no backpacks policy." 639 The photo of MCC students heading to class is from the 1998 yearbook. Peer Mediation began at Central Campus. Trained student mediators were to work with other students having a dispute, bringing them face to face to hear the other side and talk.640 Bands were again covered in the High Times. One article reported at some length on these MCC student bands: Nail Bender, Afro Davis, International Velvet, and Project Euphio. The bands were said to demonstrate a "wide variety of music and talent."641 The High Times also covered game-playing and fashion developments. Games, such as Tetris and Drug Wars, could now be played on the graphing calculators, to the dismay of most teachers.642 Students were caught up in the competition between the Nintendo 64 and Sony Play Station game-playing systems. Whatever the system, their addictiveness was evident.643 Tongue piercing was reported to be the "latest fashion trend." An article covered the experiences of a student who had had her tongue pierced. Derma Design, according to the article, was the only place that did tattooing and piercing.644 In the 1998-1999 school year, after two years of considering whether to adopt block scheduling, a committee of teachers, students, administrators and parents recommended against adoption. A survey MCC and CC staff "indicated that 55 teachers approved of a modified block scheduling plan and 46 were opposed."645 Sports news: The MHS basketball team, under Coach Manson, won state after a 25-1 regular season record. Both girls' swimming, for their fifth straight, and boys' swimming, which began a long string of victories, were state champs. The baseball team, under Coach Pete Stenberg, also took first at state. (NDHSAA, though, did not begin sponsoring Class A baseball until the next year.646) This was the first year of girls' hockey in Minot. However, the sport was not yet supported by the school; instead Minot Hockey Boosters supported it.647 A shortage of rink space created practice problems for the Magic Blades.648 Organization news: Key Club returned to Central Campus. DECA created a second edition of Minotpoly. One thousand games were produced; fifty were given to businesses that "had purchased a space on the board" and the rest sold out. DECA also created two other games this decade: LIFE in Minot (in 1994) and Magic Land Game (in the 1999-2000 school year).649 After a very successful performance at the Orlando Music Festival, Minot High's orchestra ended up ranked second in the nation.650 The MCC Art Department added Art Studio as a class “for senior art students who wish to research and experiment further with a specific medium.” Students who were going to take the class reported looking forward to “working with other students who are good at what they are doing” and to “working freely.” The Art Department was known for its “developed” program.651 Central Campus changed its front sign, replacing a sign that said “Central Campus High School.”

91 The new sign reinforced the idea of two campuses but one high school. The photo of the new sign is from the 1999 yearbook. MCC continued to expand its student parking spaces A new area, an extension of the lower west lot, opened early in the school year.652 In the 1999-2000 school year, another alternative school was added--this time for 9th and 10th graders. It was called Central Campus East and was first located at 1900 8th Ave SE. Its location would change a number of times. Now it is called Central Campus Plus. By the end of this school year, after extensive discussion, the school board committed to significant renovations at Central Campus, in a part of the facility that had seen little change since 1918. The renovations would involve the old auditorium/gymnasium and opening up traffic to the various parts of the complex.653 In a few years the board would commit to another phase of renovations. New colorful iMacs appeared in schools around the district, including labs at the high school campuses. These iMacs seemed to revive the fortunes of Apple Computer and in the school district rekindled an interest in Apple computers. The photo is from the 2000 yearbook. The new iMacs did not have a slot for floppy disks, which did create some problems, but this year everyone could save to a server from any computer in the school. The server could also be accessed from home.654 (Access to the server from home would be eliminated in a few years to protect the school district network from hackers.655 Boys' swimming and diving was the only sport to win state this year. At Central a new snack/lunch/breakfast facility was added in the commons: Snack Central.656 FHA changed its name to FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.) A High Times article on backpacks had a different focus this year: health concerns. Experts were cited for both sides of the issue of potential harm to students from wearing backpacks. The students interviewed for the article agreed with the idea of potential harm. The article also reported that “the latest trend in backpacks is the new one-strap backpack.” 657 The yearbook captured the spirit of a millennium year with the theme “Millennium Magic.” The photo is from the yearbook. High school enrollment increased slightly over the decade: 2126 to 2227.658 Minot's population went from 34,544 to 36,567. Another high school appeared in Minot in 1995 when Our Redeemer’s Christian School added a high school program.

92

2000-2010 In this decade there were significant facility upgrades: major renovations at Central, a new Career and Technical Education wing and other renovations at Magic City, a new location for Central Campus East (now Central Campus Plus), and new or improved athletic facilities and stands. The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law in 2002, and the actions of the state legislature led to more testing, especially of juniors. Also in part as a response to No Child Left Behind, new programs or practices were introduced to increase the graduation rate, improve student performance, and enhance professional growth for staff. Changes were made to improve security. Two new girls' sports were added. The swimming teams continued their dominance, especially boys' swimming, which won state all but one year in the decade. Two swimmers were particular standouts. Declining enrollments would be a concern through much of the decade. Supt. Richard Larson, in his 2000-2001 annual report, offered these main reasons: "parents having fewer children, changing patterns of work force deployment on the Minot Air Force Base, and both in-state and out-of-state young adult migration." He also wrote, "Growth in parents deciding to educate their children at home, private school enrollments, and open enrollment continue to impact the number of students attending the Minot Public Schools."659 Early in the 2000-2001 school year renovation began at Central Campus. The auditorium and track areas were closed, and jackhammers were a familiar sound.660 The project would take until February 2002 to be finished.661 Sports news: Boys' swimming, still under Coach Disher, and boys' track, under Coach Greg Fjeld, won state. This was Coach Kathy Aspaas's last year as head coach of the girls' swimming and diving team, which finished second at state. During her twenty-six years as head coach her teams won the state title sixteen times. The city added a skating arena in the fall, MAYSA Arena, named after the organization that led the efforts to provide more rinks for skaters in Minot--the Minot Area Youth Skating Association. The arena is located across from the Souris Valley Golf Course. For the first time Minot would have rinks with ice on them all year long. Minot skaters had even been using a rink "located in a barn," "the infamous Ice Palace." 662 MCC began an Academic Achievement Letter program that recognized students for achievements beyond sports, such as membership in school organizations, high scores on tests such as the ACT exam, and taking advanced courses.663 Minot High students won the MSU Math Track meet this year and would also win it the following year and in 2007.664 This was the twenty-second and last year that Central Campus held the King and Queen of Hearts event. During the 2001-2002 school year Central's students were able to enjoy the results of what would be Phase I of renovations there. The outdoor courtyard was enclosed to allow a new commons area that "opened up east-west traffic through the building." Before there had only been confusing, often crowded routes. The old auditorium/gymnasium was replaced with a new auditorium that could seat 550 people comfortably, with "state-of-the art" sound and lighting. No longer was there a track around the auditorium. Under the new auditorium was a new

93 gymnasium and another room for physical education activities. (The new stage was higher than the previous one.) Off the commons, in what had been the Wrestling Gym, was a new Wellness Center. Central's principal, Keith Altendorf, reported that the physical changes "impacted the attitudes of both our kids and our staff in a very positive way!"665

At right, in clockwise order, are photos of the new auditorium, the new commons/passageway, the Wellness Center, and the new gym under the auditorium. The view of the new commons is from just beyond the west front entrance to CC. Part of the floor of the auditorium's stage can be removed for an orchestra pit. These photos were taken by the author in 2011.

Organization news: A new organization at both Magic City Campus and Central Campus was FEA (Future Educators of America), sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa, a professional organization for teachers. Through such activities as bringing in guest speakers and attending camps, students in FEA learned about what is involved in being a teacher.666 Also new this year at Central Campus was a Character Counts Committee, which was started due to one student's desire to continue being on a Character Counts Committee and ended up with forty-three students on the committee.667 Magic City Campus would add a Character Counts organization in three years.668 Sports news: The boys' swim team and boys' track team, under Coach Fjeld, again won state. The big "M," which had long topped the Midwest Federal building in downtown Minot, was added to the northwest edge of Duane Carlson Field. It was purchased and donated by Chuck Kramer, manager of I. Keating Furniture World. Additional monetary donations helped to anchor it as a symbol of Magi pride at Duane Carlson.669 The photo was taken by the author in 2011. Some significant local and national events were noted in the Searchlight and High Times. Students and staff were glued to television screens on September 11th during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Students from the Air Force Base were particularly affected by the September 11th terrorist attacks as many of their parents would be called up for service. Early in the morning of January 18th a Canadian Pacific (CP) train derailment in the Tierrecita Vallejo area created a cloud of anhydrous ammonia that spread over a large area of Minot. It was a frightening day, especially for those in the Tierrecita Vallejo area. According to a High Times article on the experiences of one Minot High student who lived in the

94 Tierrecita Vallejo area, it was so difficult to see that when he tried to get to his neighbor in his car, he crashed into a tree. All schools were closed for the day. This year, too, the new YMCA building in southwest Minot was completed, medical services were consolidated as Trinity Hospital purchased Unimed Medical Center and Medical Arts Clinic in May, and students enjoyed a new skate park at Roosevelt Park.670 Technology notes: MCC's Technology Education Department received an $18,000 laser engraving machine. 671 Responding to the great need for more computers for students at MCC, Principal Lynn Sanford allocated Snack Bar money in the spring for two laptop carts, each with sixteen iBooks, for the next school year. Laptop carts would multiply in the years ahead. At MCC work was completed on the refurbishment of the gymnasium. The gymnasium was painted and the old bleachers and dividers replaced. 672 At MCC someone was hired to monitor the student parking lots, and at CC a "security greeter" was hired to be the "eyes and ears of the school."673 Both positions still exist but with added duties. Both Central Campus and Magic City Campus were broken into by two men hoping to find money. The men caused approximately $10,000 in damage in the March 31 break-in at CC and $20,000 at MCC three days later.674 In the 2002-2003 school year, Phase 2 of the renovations at Central Campus began. With this phase fire safety concerns would be addressed, science rooms shifted to the third floor, and the foreign language area remodeled and equipment updated. Four classrooms would be added, two each on the second and third floors, as a result of the enclosure of the courtyard. Work began in March 2003 and was completed in February 2004.675 Organization news: This was the first year at Central Campus for FBLA. At Magic City Campus three students organized Students Take a Stand (STS) against tobacco. The organization expanded to include students from other schools.676 MCC also had a SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) chapter. The goal of this organization was for its members to educate other students about how to say no to drinking, drug abuse, and other destructive activities. It's not clear whether this was the first year for this organization at MCC.677 (SADD previously stood for Students Against Driving Drunk.) The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (JROTC) program returned as a curriculum offering at Central Campus and Magic City Campus. JROTC members raised a special flag on September 11th in a program at MCC to remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks.678 In January one of the teachers in the social studies department at MCC, Gary Wenstad, was deployed with his National Guard unit to serve in Iraq. 679 Sports news: Boys' swimming, under Coach Disher, and boys' golf, under Coach Farrell, won state. The MCC theater department's very successful production of Much Ado About Nothing marked the end of a five-year period of annual Shakespeare play productions under Director Wendy Knudsen-Kelleher.

95 In the 2003-2004 school year Phase 2 of the Central Campus renovations was completed. At a total cost of about $6 million, the two phases of renovations addressed many needs at Central and also preserved some of the original flooring, woodwork, and other features.680 Sports news: Both boys' swimming, under Coach Disher, and girls' swimming, under Coaches Barb McPeak and Brock Mitzel, won state. This was standout swimmer Matt Lowe's senior year. By the time he graduated he had won seven individual state titles and held the record in four individual events.681 As of 2011 he still holds all eight of Minot High's individual-event records. Lowe continues to swim professionally. The photo is from the 2004 yearbook. The Minot High Competition Cheerleading squad won the State Winter Cheerleading Competition. The team consisted of the three varsity squads for girls' and boys' basketball and hockey.682 A new club at MCC was the Culture to Culture Club, founded by a foreign exchange student from Thailand. The club, according to the yearbook, "brought students and faculty together to celebrate different cultures."683 Thanks to Lt. Jamie Vadell of the Minot Air Force Base, students were able to participate in a drumline, called the Minot High School Magi Drumline, which practiced after school. Their performances were described as "a high-energy display of well-synchronized percussionists."684 A photo of the first drumline is in the 2004 yearbook. Technology news: New computer labs were added to the foreign language areas at both Central and Magic City. Each computer had a headphone and microphone to improve listening and speaking skills.685 Central Campus added a"C-Cam" studio, consisting of a camera room and a control room, in the library for students to broadcast announcements and other news.686 The Apple iPod Mini, in five colors, was released early in 2004 and soon became a favorite of students.687 Both CC and MCC make adjustments to their cell phone policies. Cell phones would continue to be an issue.688 Online grades were now available for students and parents to check.689 Two MCC student bands covered in the High Times were Mapatazy and Brakelazy. One of the performers for Mapatazy said his band was "more raw" than the other with "more of a hard punk/ alternative style."690 During the 2004-2005 school year work was begun on a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) addition at Magic City Campus. The groundbreaking ceremony was on March 3 and construction began in late March. MCC students had had to travel to the vocational building near Central Campus, a building that was "in very poor condition." 691 The addition was to the northeast part of Magic City Campus, extending out into what had been a parking lot. A new parking lot would be created northeast of the addition. To add security to school district buildings, all staff were required, for the first time, to wear I.D. tags--with a photograph, staff name, and school name.692 Sports news: These teams won state: boys' swimming, under Coach Disher; girls' swimming, under Coaches Mitzel and McPeak; and baseball, under Coach Stenberg.

96 The Key Club at Central raised $8170 for Feeding the Children International by raffling off "Win a Dinner Date with Josh Duhamel" tickets.693 Duhamel is a Minot High graduate and movie star who starred in the romantic comedy Win a Date with Tad Hamilton. Central Campus students began participating in National History Day competitions. Beginning with this year, a number of Central students would take firsts at the state level and then go on to compete in Washington, D.C.694 For the first time there was an after-graduation party, based on the after-prom party. The event was called the Minot High Senior Blast and was sponsored by the Magic City Campus PTA and the Minot Sertoma Club.695 In the 2005-2006 school year work continued on the new CTE wing at Magic City Campus. Sports news: Boys' swimming, under Coach Disher, and girls' swimming, under Coach Dan Hinton, won state. The MHS cheer team took first at the 2006 North Dakota State Winter Cheerleading Championship. A stunt group also took first in that competition.696 Minot High also added a new school sport: girls' fastpitch softball. Minot High's competitors included Bishop Ryan and seven teams from the eastern part of the state.697 In 2005 serious talk began about building a community bowl in Minot. One reason certainly was the conditions of both MSU's Herb Parker Stadium and Duane Carlson Stadium. The concrete stands at Duane Carlson had become a safety and appearance issue. The success of Bismarck's community bowl also was a factor. Sites that came under consideration were school district land north of Jim Hill Middle School, Minot Park District land near the MAYSA Arena, and either a renovated Herb Parker Stadium or a practice field at Minot State University. MSU facilities were settled on. Whether the project would go ahead eventually was decided by a vote in June 2008. Voters were asked to decide whether half of the 1 percent sales tax for the Northwest Area Water Supply project should be diverted for three years to funding for a community bowl. They rejected the diversion of money.698 Magic City began a new "tutoring program," called Guided Study, to help students struggling with their classes and in danger of not graduating on time. Two staff work with students who are assigned to the program during their off hours.699 Organization news: A teacher at Central Campus organized a writing club for students called the Magic Pens. The teacher said he "wanted to provide a place for students who are more into writing than into other school activities." The meetings were "for students to critique each other's works and to learn writing techniques."700 The National Honor Society at MCC, working with the Family Support Group of the 164th National Guard Unit of Minot, promoted an Adopt a Soldier program. The program was "designed by National Honor Society members to send care packages to former Minot High School graduates who are members of the 164 ... unit" monthly.701 This year, according to a Minot Daily News article, "the school district met its goal of enrolling girls in non-traditional career courses for the first time." A teacher of an autobody class at MCC reported that the number of girls in his class had grown from one to ten over the past five years. He attributed the increase to "word of mouth and a district program called Diva Tech, which . . . introduces middle school and young high school girls to vocational education courses." The

97 autobody teacher noted the girls' "better hand-eye coordination" and ability to "see

colors." 702

In October both Central Campus and Magic City Campus received bomb threats. The schools were evacuated, but no bombs were found.703 SMART Boards with LCD projectors began to be added to classrooms. This interactive technology allows teachers to display what is on a computer screen and use the SMART Board as a touchscreen. 704 When the 2006-2007 school year began, Magic City Campus students were able to enjoy the new $5.1 million Northwest North Dakota Career and Technology Center, which was just completed in August. It houses automotive technology, automotive collision, welding, computer repair, electronics, information technology, and health careers programs in “a combination classroom/ lab setting." 705 There is also a large career center in the facility. The photos are of the front of the new CTE wing and of the drilling project for geothermal heat for the new wing. The photos are courtesy of Lynn Jensen at MCC.

This year renovations to create an expanded weight room in the physical education shelter area at MCC were completed.706 In the next few years improvements, including installation of an air circulation system, would continue in the area. All the renovations improved facilities for fitness classes, such as yoga and muscle pump, in addition to the improvements for weight training. Below are photos of areas in the shelter area (both taken by the author in 2011).

This year significant cosmetic renovations were also begun at MCC. Colorful bricks began to be covered up, and beautiful oak facings were added. A Wall of Fame was established to honor Minot High School graduates "who have had a significant impact on their community."707 Beginning in the summer of 2006 and finishing in December, the theater was repainted, the stage floor was refinished, and new maroon-colored seating was installed.708 Sports news: Both the boys' swimming team, under Coach Disher, and girls' swimming team, under Coach Hinton, won state. This year girls' cross country and boys' soccer also won state. One star for the cross country team was Heather Funke, who had been the individual state

98 champion the two previous years. Under Coach Matt Pfau, the boys' soccer team won the championship in overtime.709 The term "Professional Learning Community" began showing up this year at both Magic City Campus and Central Campus.710 As a result of new federal regulations for schools that receive federal money for lunch programs, the school board adopted a wellness policy in June 2006 that affected food options for students. For the Corner Junction, at MCC, that meant selling only snacks that could meet certain percentage requirements for vitamins, etc. In the Snack Bar at MCC, Snack Central, or in the lunch lines that meant, amongst other changes, that milk had to be purchased when a cookie was purchased.711 At Central Campus the open campus lunch period was changed to a closed campus one "in order to provide safety and security for all students," according to Principal Altendorf.712 The previous year only the sophomores had been allowed to leave the campus for lunch.713 Magic City Campus began to add large monitors to its commons area and a wall across from the main office to broadcast mainly announcements and sporting events.714 A new place for teens to hang out, called the Red Carpet, opened in January in the lower level of 16 S. Main. It was the home for Artists Musicians and Performers (AMP), which had previously existed at another location. The "promoters," Nick Cavallo and Jeb Fredrickson, said that the "bulk of the audience [for their concerts] is high school students." Cavallo said that they featured both local bands and touring groups and that "Minot's alternative music scene is lively."715 A Central Campus Crier article conveyed the dismay of CC students about the lack of parking spots for those who drive to school. As had always been the case, they could find some spots around the school but would have to move their vehicles every two hours. The other option was a special permit to use private parking lots. At this time the cost was $25/month.716 Minot High began the 2007-2008 school year without a home football field. Parts of the stands at Duane Carlson Stadium had become so unsafe that the school board closed the stadium, forcing the football team to use Herb Parker Stadium at Minot State for its "home" games. Coaches and players were dismayed that the repairs had been put off for years and that senior football players in particular would not be playing at Duane Carlson Stadium.717 Complicating the school board response to this situation was the unsettled community bowl issue, the lack of a school district building fund, and the need for stadium improvements beyond just bleachers, which would require significant expenditures. 718 In the spring of 2008 the school board accepted bids for the concrete work and installation of bleacher seating with seat backs. 719 The school district began a serious push to involve staff in professional learning communities (PLCs) within disciplines and for particular courses, with the goal of collaborative work on essential learnings and assessments. 720 Ultimately, the goal was to improve student performance through improved classroom instruction. "Data driven" and "triangulate the data" would become important phrases in assessing student performance. This was the first year juniors were required to take six hours of classes (plus a physical education class.) The new requirement would help ensure students had enough credits to

99 graduate; a number of students came to MCC credit deficient. The state legislature had also increased the number of credits required for students to graduate, which would go into effect for next year's juniors.721 Other sports news: Both boys' swimming and girls' swimming teams, under Coach Hinton, won state. This would be Ken Disher's last year as head coach for the boy's swimming team. It would also be the last year for three other long-time Minot High School head coaches: Gene Manson, Bruce Anderson, and Jerry Lyon.722 The Varsity Football Cheerleaders won the American School Spirit Award, which they flew to accept in Orlando, FL. To win the award they submitted a "25-page scrapbook of activities they did in the areas of community service, academics, and school spirit."723 Security cameras were added to public spaces at Magic City Campus: locker bays, parking lots, commons, hallways, and entrances. These were meant to deter vandalism, fighting, drug transactions, theft, and "any type of Columbine situation."724 Additional cameras would be added in a few years. One student said, "I believe the cameras were well worth it. The school just feels more safe and I feel secure here at all times."725 At Central Campus the security cameras were installed near the end of the previous school year.726 In an Auto Tech class at MCC students built an engine that ran on vegetable oil. A local company and local non-profit organization donated parts or money for the project. The students worked on the project for six months.727 The Construction Technology students began building houses west of KMOT this year. The school district had been fortunate enough to purchase the land before there was such a demand for lots. The house the students built this year was expected to sell "between $230,000 to $259,000."728 Students began the 2008-2009 school year with a different time schedule at both high school campuses. School now began at 8:05 a.m. and ended at 3:00 p.m. with 50-minute class periods. (Previously school had begun at 7:45 and ended at 3:15 with 55-minute class periods.) The main reason for the schedule change was to allow for intervention time for students to meet with staff about their classroom work. (One day a week the time was used for staff PLC meetings.) At Magic City the intervention time was from 7:30-8:00; at Central Campus the intervention time was after school. Starting the day a bit later also acknowledged the student need for more sleep.729 As a result of new state requirements for credits to graduate, this year for the first time Central Campus students were required to have a seven-period day.730 Central Campus East changed its name to Central Campus Plus this year and moved to a building purchased for it at 215 Maple St. In the previous five years, when the school district rented space for it, the school had to move three times. 731 The photo, taken by this author in 2011 just before the flood, is of CC Plus' new building.

100 MCC changed how it handled students who got in trouble. Instead of in-school suspension (ISS), which took students out of all of their classes, students now were assigned loss of privileges (LOP), which was assigned on off hours and lunch periods and could include removal from the specific class in which a student got in trouble. The change improved a student's chances of keeping his grades up.732 This change was part of an extensively developed "pyramid of interventions" at MCC to help students succeed in their classes and graduate. Sports news: Girls' golf, under Coach Eric Hendrickson, gymnastics, under Coaches Marisa Upton and Pam Tweten, and girls' swimming, under Coach Jake Solper, won state championships. This year the girls' fastpitch softball team was recognized by the school district as a sanctioned sport. As a result, participating girls were able to letter.733 The football team was able to play its home games at Duane Carlson Stadium this year. Below is a 2011 photo of the new stands. Metal bleachers with backs were installed.

Each year organizations and students try to come up with unique service projects This year at MCC, for example, the Honor Society conducted a campaign, called "Books for Babies," "to provide a book to each newborn in Minot to encourage a lifetime of reading from birth." At CC, two students founded a project called "Warm Fuzzies." They and other students made fleece blankets for those in need.734 A High Times article reported that MCC students had given names to their parking lots. The two lots on the west side of the school were called Tier One (top one) and Dirty South (lower one). The lot on the east side of the commons and swimming pool was called the Athletic Parking Lot. The newest lot, northeast of the new CTE wing, was called Egypt. The most distant lot, near the north playing fields, was called Australia.735 In later articles the Tier One Parking Lot was called the Senior Parking Lot. In the fall the Red Carpet closed. Two pages in the 2009 yearbook were dedicated to it, including these words of tribute: "For the last two years, this small basement had been Minot's premium venue for local bands to show off their talent. It's also been a social center where teens can be themselves. . . . Though it closed this fall, the Red Carpet's legacy of music and friendship lives on in the music inspired by this well remembered scene." In November, though, the Pangea House, a "community center . . . geared to young people," opened at 109 W. Central Avenue.736 A two-page spread in the yearbook supplement included these statements on the new hangout for teens: "At the Pangea House music is everything. . . . you can mosh, dance, or just chill and listen to great music." Three high school bands mentioned in the yearbook or school newspaper were Made from Concentrate; I, Apparatus; and Black River. 737

101 A weather note: In Minot, and elsewhere in North Dakota, a large amount of snow fell this winter. There were three snow days for Minot's public schools. One MCC teacher who lived in the country walked a mile four days to get to a road where someone could pick him up and drive him to school. In the spring students helped to sandbag when Mouse River flooding threatened.738 Unfortunately the winters with heavy snow would continue, and memories of the flooding in 2009 would be overwhelmed by what was to come in 2011. Important news for 2009-2010 seniors was the scholarship opportunities provided by the 2009 state legislature. Seniors could earn the North Dakota Academic Scholarship by graduating with a score of 24 or better on the ACT exam. They could also earn a North Dakota Career and Technical Education Scholarship by scoring a 24 on the ACT or a 5 or better on each of the WorkKeys assessments. The scholarships provide up to $1500 per academic year with $6000 being the maximum payout. The scholarships are limited to attendance at North Dakota's colleges and universities.739 Sports news: After a one-year break, boys' swimming won state again, this time under Coach Jake Solper. The gymnastics team, under Coaches Upton and Tweten, and the girls' golf team, under Coach Hendrickson, repeated as state champions. This was the senior year for Dagny Knutson, a very talented girls' swimmer with Minot High, state, and national records. In the summer of 2008 she participated in the Olympic trials, qualifying for the finals in one of the events she competed in.740 The photo of her is from the 2009 yearbook. There were two school newspaper pieces ("Parking Panic" and "Parking Catastrophe for Minot High") about winter parking concerns. The parking lot of most concern was the senior (or upper west) lot. Yellow parking lines disappear in the winter, but with the senior lot the problem is compounded by the fact that it has a curved shape. Some students, too, are not the best drivers/ parkers. The parking lot supervisor does attempt to clear ice and snow from the yellow line, but winter parking does remain a problem.741 This year was not the first year students had complained about it. A student editorial about how Magic City Campus students dress created some controversy. The editorialist was critical of what she labeled "a lot of repetitious, dull fashion." She identified the "main look" at MCC as the "'scrub' look: meaning sweat pants, hoodies, white tees, and slippers." She didn't object to this style, just that it was worn all the time. She wrote that what girls wore was "cute" but they all wore the same stuff and wore it every day: "floral tank dresses with a waist belt, loose knit vests and wraps, folded yoga pants, leggings worn as pants, jeans with a lot of holes, boots, plaid everything, moccasins, stripes, pajama pants." In the end she asked her fellow students to "think outside the box and try something fun." 742 The Magic City Campus school newspaper changed its name this school year from Minot High Times to MCC Times, which better reflected the one-campus focus of the paper. At the beginning of the decade the school district was facing declining enrollments. At the end the school district numbers had begun to expand again. The high school enrollment numbers declined throughout the decade: 2213, 2119, 2116, 2064, 2049, 1943, 1922, 1908, 1905, and 1870 (from the 2000-2001 through 2009-2010 school years). The enrollment number would increase in the first year of the next decade (to 1908). 743

102 Minot's population grew significantly, from 36, 567 in 2000 to 40,888 in 2010. Its population growth rate was second only to Fargo's (11.8 percent to 16.5 percent). In the second half of the decade Minot Air Force Base added another squadron of B-52s and 1,090 personnel and their dependents, oil development had come to western North Dakota, and North Dakota's agriculture sector and overall energy sector were thriving.744 (There wasn't talk any more of North Dakota as a "Buffalo Commons" or of that National Geographic article "The Emptied Prairie.") Boom times came to Minot and Minot's nickname, "The Magic City," was asserted in news stories.

2010-2020 At the beginning of this decade improvements to playing field facilities at both high school campuses were completed. Boys' swimming and gymnastics continued winning streaks to open the decade. Student parking space remained an issue. Unfortunately, an old problem returned with overwhelming force: Mouse River flooding. Early in the decade Minot would face an uncertain future. Its school system would have to deal with displaced, stressed students. In the 2010-2011 school year Central Campus added "green space" for the first time, and the track at Duane Carlson Stadium was upgraded. Both took longer than expected. In 2007 the school district tore down the old vocational building on Third Street, leaving a large lot to be converted to "green space." At that time Central Campus was one of only two high schools in the state without "green space" near it. However, other facility needs had to be addressed and the "green space" project was put off, further delayed by the length of time it takes for grass to grow.745 The track upgrade at Duane Carlson Stadium began in the summer of 2010 but was delayed by rains and a late start. Unfortunately, the delays prevented the football team again from playing or practicing at Duane Carlson stadium through the entire football season.746 In the spring, however, the track teams were able to enjoy upgraded facilities, including an extra two lanes that would allow Minot to host state track meets. The photos below are of the new physical education playing field near Central Campus and the new track at Duane Carlson field.

At the back of the playing field photo are flood waters. At the back of the track photo is a new storage building for P.E. equipment used outside. The photos were taken by the author in 2011.

Sports news: This year boys' swimming, under Coach Solper, and gymnastics, under Coach Tweten, won state. While for many years a limited student internship program had been available for Minot High students, this year the program was expanded. Now students could focus on any job or volunteer experience beyond the school walls that they wanted to explore more fully for high school credit. Under the supervision of a high school teacher, students in the program would keep track of their hours, set goals, and write reflection papers "about what they have learned and accomplished." 747

103 Again there were two articles in the school newspaper on student parking at MCC. One discussed whether the Senior Parking Lot should be closed to juniors or be used on a first-come, first-served basis. The other pushed for an additional parking lot, with numbers in support. The author reported that 870 students had 565 parking spots available to them. He felt the best location for a new lot would be behind the "Egypt" lot. He even provided an estimated cost per square foot: $44.748 Magic City Campus' first musical of the decade was a wonderful production of Fiddler on the Roof. As with the previous production almost twenty years ago, audience members left with echoes of such songs as "If I Were a Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset." Alphonse Koenigsman was the director, Dawn Freeman the music director, and Paula Simonson the stage director. Technology notes: Many MHS staff experimented with iPads this year. Plans for next year included iPads for entire classes. More students were seen using e-book readers. There was lots of snow again in Minot, and north of the border, and then too much rain in the 2011 spring. Soon after school was out there was a mandatory evacuation order, but Minot survived the first flood threat. Then in a couple of weeks came another mandatory evacuation, followed by record-breaking flooding. These school district buildings suffered flood damage: Ramstad, Longfellow, Lincoln, Central Campus Plus, Head Start, and the Adult Learning Center. Neither Magic City Campus nor Central Campus was threatened, but certainly many staff and students were affected. Magic City Campus became Task Force South Command of North Dakota and Minnesota National Guard units. About 500 National Guard members, at the peak numbers, occupied the school for a number of weeks, sleeping in classroom areas. Beginning in mid July the National Guard moved out only to be replaced by about 350 Red Cross officials and volunteers, 12 FEMA staff, 80 Corps of Engineers members, and 14 Southern Baptist Convention disaster relief volunteers.749 Below are some photos of the flood impact on MCC.

A large hole was dug out of the clay hills of MCC. Sandbags were everywhere in parking lots. National Guard vehicles (and personnel) were also everywhere. The sandbags photo is courtesy of Lynn Jensen.

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Blackhawk helicopters regularly took off from MCC grounds. Xcel Energy experts were housed in vehicles parked in the southeast parking lot. The helicopter photo is courtesy of Lynn Jensen. Other photos above were taken by the author.

At its height the flood waters were not very far from the new "green space" at Central Campus. The first photo below is of the intersection of Central Avenue and Third Street Southeast. While there were no dikes around Central Campus, the SRT building across the street was diked.

The left photo is courtesy of Trent Hall. The top one was taken by the author.

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In the January 8, 1919, souvenir booklet for the dedication of the then new high school building, “the Minot view of education” was expressed: No community can be greater than its schools. The city of tomorrow is being builded in the lives--the training, the ambitions, the dreams--of its youth today. A city that invests well in educational equipment establishes at once its civic wholeheartedness, and typifies a citizenry of worthy ideals.

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School Nicknames The boys’ athletic teams are called the Magicians or Magi; the girls’ teams are called the Majettes. The Magicians nickname undoubtedly originated from Minot’s “Magic City” nickname, which seems to have been first used in the city's earliest years (late 1880s), when it experienced "rapid growth."750 In the first decade of the 1900s, another boom time for Minot,751 use of the city nickname must have been fairly prevalent because the phrases “Magic Minot” and “Magic City” appeared in 1907 issues of the high school’s monthly magazine. 752 Bruce Anderson, a Minot history buff, has a photo of a 1908 banner with the words “Magic Minot” on it; the banner was celebrating Minot’s first harvest festival. As early as 1903 a Minot sports team used the Magicians nickname. According to Gaylen Brown, Minot State University history professor, “Minot had a full-salaried [baseball] outfit from 1903-1904 called ‘The Magicians.’” 753 Minot High sports teams began using the Magicians nickname as early as the 1915-1916 school year, according to the 1916 Searchlight. In that yearbook, the basketball and track teams were called Magicians,754 but the nickname would not appear again in the yearbooks for another ten years. Although Minot High fans and teams seem to have continued to use the nickname unofficially, "official" use seems to have been affected by another school's use of the nickname. The other school was the Minot Normal School, which had opened in 1913. (Originally devoted to training teachers, it would become, after various name changes, Minot State University.) The Normal School's first yearbook, for the 1916 school year, was titled The Magician. Its next three (1923, 1924, and 1925) also had the same title, but a change would come as a result of a campus newspaper campaign. In January 1925 the staff of the Normal School’s newspaper, The Red and Green, promoted the beaver as a mascot for the school’s sports teams (the school did not have a mascot).755 By March, according to a newspaper editorial, The Magician staff also wanted to change the yearbook name to Beaver. 756 The debate over the proposed changes was reflected in spring and summer issues of the newspaper. By the end of the summer the Normal School had a beaver mascot and its yearbook had a new name. Some of the contributions to The Red and Green debate indicate that the Magicians nickname was being used by Minot High School students and/or fans. One writer said, “The High School folks have long been called Magicians. Why not permit them to keep exclusive use of the name so long used.” Another wrote, “Could you miss seeing the word ‘Magicians’ on the Minot High sweaters at the game? For many, many years they have been known by this name.” 757 The nickname was now solely Minot High's and began appearing again in Searchlights, beginning with the 1926 one. 758 Until then sports team members had often been called “Wearers of the M” (as early as the 1912 yearbook, for example) or “M man” (as in the 1925 yearbook's coverage of the basketball season). So far the author knows little about the origins of the Magi nickname, other than that it was being used as early as the 1940s. The nickname did appear three times in the June 11, 1943, school newspaper, referring to Minot’s track team twice and then the basketball team. (Two of

106 these times it was followed in the next paragraph by Magicians.) The first appearance of the nickname Magi in a yearbook seems to have been in the 1948 Searchlight. The Magi nickname may simply have originated as a shortened form of Magician or perhaps because some people visualized magicians as Middle Eastern figures and the word magi certainly conformed to that imagery. One definition of magus, as the singular form of magi, is sorcerer or magician. The shorter Magi also works well with such a phrase as “Mighty Magi.” The Majettes nickname for girls’ sports teams seems to have originated with the girls’ basketball team in the l973-74 school year. This was the first year of a Minot High girls’ basketball team after many decades. Coach Glee Mayer, who began her coaching career for Minot in the late 1970s, says the nickname gave female athletes a distinct identity with a word that emphasized femininity.759 Only the basketball team used the nickname at first, but in the 1976 yearbook all three nicknames --magicians, magi, majettes-- rimmed a two-page spread, acknowledging the importance of the new nickname. In the 1980s the nickname continued to spread to other girls’ sports. In the 1989-90 yearbook all three nicknames were spread throughout the yearbook as a motif.

School Symbols: Mixed Imagery At the right is Minot High's official logo. However, the imagery of a genielike head resting on a crystal ball has not always been how the Magician has been depicted. Sometimes the Magician was a top-hatted fellow with wand, gloves, and rabbit to pull out of the hat. And not all of the school's symbols have pertained to magicians or magic. What follows is a brief, certainly incomplete, history of imagery associated with Minot High. On one page in Minot High’s 1912 yearbook appeared an Aladdin’s lamp image. The 1931 yearbook had a magic/Aladdin’s Lamp theme with drawings of Eastern characters. At right is one of the pages from that yearbook. In the 1935 yearbook the football season was captured in a series of drawings, some pictured below, of a Magician with the mascots of opposing teams. These were the opponents pictured below: Fargo Midgets, Bismarck Demons, Williston Coyotes, and Model High Beaver Kits.

107 In the 1937 yearbook there were no drawings, but there were descriptions of Loyalty Day activities that involved queen candidates "parad[ing] around a large black hat" at a pep assembly and the queen "seated on the throne to represent a magic rabbit."760 In the later 1950s magician-with-a-crystal ball imagery seemed to gain ascendence over other imagery. The theme of the 1956 yearbook was "the Magician and his magic crystal ball." For an example of the sketches of the magician that appeared in this yearbook see the top drawing at the right from the Seniors sectional page. A 1957 graduate, however, said that when she attended Minot High "we used a magician in a tuxedo for our school symbol," considering it to be more representative than the "swami."761 Then, in the spring of 1959, the design for the current logo originated when a committee of juniors met with a ring company's salesman and artist to choose a design for their senior rings. Junior Tom Walstad came up with the design, which the ring company's artist drew. The design first appeared on the 1960 senior rings.762 For many years before this the ring design had been a “gold facsimile of the library doors," which students had wanted to change.763 The bottom drawing is from the inside cover of the 1961 yearbook. During the 1963-64 school year, the school newspaper campaigned against the dominance of the magician/magi with a crystal ball. That year the High Times staff made “TO BURY SWAMI” one of the planks of the editorial platform. This was one of the drawings that appeared above the editorial platform:

Instead of the swami kind of magician as a school symbol, the newspaper supported the “position that the rabbit would not necessarily be the school symbol, but perhaps a rabbit and a hat, or a magician, hat and rabbit.” 764 Rabbit drawings populated the newspaper issues (see examples to the right) and even the cover of the yearbook (at far right), whose staff seemed to have sympathized with the newspaper campaign. The newspaper staff and others of like mind who commented in various issues of the school paper insisted that a swami was not really a magician or did not really reflect the spirit of the school. One letter to the editor attacked the character of the "Swami" in these words:







How people can accept the shifty eyed Swami, and see any connection between it and a good, clean rabbit owning Magician is beyond me. None of us would want to be known statewide as the Minot High School Swamis, then why continue using the old man in the

turban on so many MHS articles, particularly the rings. 765

108 It’s hard to know how serious any of the critics were, but they did not sway many members of the Student Council, who voted "by almost unanimous consent" in April 1964 to adopt the Magi (their word for the Swami) as the official school symbol. (This was the Magi of the earlier ring design and current logo.) According to a school newspaper account, Principal Joel Davy noted that the Magi design had been created by a "special artist" and accepted by students. He also stated that he did not consider the rabbit an 'callencompassing emblem.'" (The assistant principal, Norman Howe, did suggest that the school not adopt an official mascot, which would allow the newspaper to use the rabbit.) 766 In the May 4th issue, above a newspaper platform without the "TO BURY SWAMI" plank, the drawing at the right appeared--absent only a rabbit. The official symbol, now more than a ring design, first appeared in a school newspaper in the October 9, 1964, issue at the top of a column called “the Ball Gazer.” See figure at right. The exact graphic first appeared in a yearbook in the 1968 edition (a hand-drawn version appeared in the 1965 yearbook). Other symbols did not disappear. The following year the newspaper kept the drawing from the May 4th issue atop its platform. A new column appeared titled "The Rabbit Knows" with a drawing of the face of a rabbit. The school mascot section below is filled with images of top hats and rabbits (or bunnies). The 1984 yearbook had a photo of school symbols without a Magi. (See first photo below.) The cover for the 2001 yearbook has a rabbit reaching out of a top hat. The superhero Magician on the cover of the 2011 yearbook (see second photo below) has a face like that on Minot High's official logo, but he also carries a wand--a mixing of imagery. (The cape seems more a superhero cape than that of the top-hatted magician.) As a final note, it does seem that in recent times there is less use of the other symbols.

Recently Jostens created a Magician crest for its Minot High products. The company is allowing the high school to use it for nonprofit purposes. This is the crest, with Jostens' permission:

The M the high school uses as a logo is the University of Minnesota M.

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School Mascots Minot High School’s official mascot is the magician, but rabbits or bunnies have also served as mascots. In the yearbooks the first photo of a mascot may have been in the 1965 edition. See first photo below with its stuffed rabbit dressed in magician attire. There was a similar photo in the 1966 yearbook; this time, though, the rabbit's hat had MAGI on it. In the 1967 yearbook, in a photo of cheerleaders, a girl is dressed like a magician holding a hat with a rabbit. See second photo below. Was she considered the mascot or was it the rabbit in the hat?

In the 1970-1971 school year the bunny era began. The five cheerleaders for boys’ basketball came up with the idea, to allow one additional girl to be part of their cheerleading team. The bunny cheerleader wore a full bunny uniform and led cheers from the sidelines, not out on the floor.767 The full uniform was “white terry cloth, with a maroon vest [with] gold buttons, and bunny hood with pink inset bunny ears.” 768 The photo at right, which shows the bunny in a snake dance, is from the 1971 yearbook. A November 1973 Minot High Times article on the "Magi Mascots" reported that two bunnies were chosen for that year out of fifteen who tried out for the position--one bunny for boys basketball and one for wrestling, with the two combining for major matches or games. According to the article,







The duties of the bunnies are to talk up the game in school, go up in the stands and fire up the students. They are expected to attend all in-town games and all out-of-town games if they can get a ride. They have to attend one practice a week with the cheerleaders. 769

In addition to the above duties, they also tossed out “fire-up treats” to the crowd, helped make posters/banners, and facilitated “crowd signage” with hand-held signs/streamers. 770 Eventually the bunny cheerleader position was offered to the top scorers in cheerleader tryouts, and the bunny was out on the floor. Also there were bunnies for the cheerleading squads for all the sports.771

110 In the 1970s and 1980s the bunnies led a popular chant: “We want a VICTORY just like that ..... Magicians pull one out of your hat!” 772 In the fall of 1999, “as cheerleading routines began to include stunts,” the uniforms needed to change to reflect the safety rules set by the National Association of High School Activities. The rules did not allow performing stunts in costumes. Since then bunnies have worn white cheerleading outfits and bunny ears.773 The photo at right is from the 2006 yearbook. One result of the uniform change is that the bunny may no longer seem like a mascot. For many years, though, the bunnies served that role. The lower right photo with headline is from the 1987 yearbook. In the 1980s a number of young men served as magician mascots for the school. During the basketball season for the 1979-80 school year, at a game in which the bunny could not appear, senior Mitch Fink appeared as a magician to boost school spirit. The response was so favorable that he was asked to continue in the role. Fink did a number of things to fire up the crowd, but he felt his "most effective device" was "his flame-shooting wand.” He said that, while he liked doing tricks at the games, “I just like to help out the cheerleaders as much as I can.” 774 In the 1981-82 school year, the idea for a magician mascot came from the Magic City Thespians, who received approval from the Pep Club. A Thespian, dressed in a cape and top hat, helped “the cheerleaders and bunnies fire up Minot fans at home games.” 775 Below are photos of magician mascots. The first is from a 1980 High Times issue; the other two are from the 1982 and 1986 yearbooks. 776 In the 1987 yearbook there was a photo of a student identified as the Magician but he was not wearing a magician outfit.

More recently, the school mascot seems to appear mostly as a graphic (of the official logo) on posters, etc. If a student were to dress as a magician, perhaps he would be more likely to dress like the official logo.

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School Colors The high school colors are maroon and gold, but they were not the school’s first colors. According to the November 1907 issue of The Search-Light, colors were first chosen for the high school in the fall of that school year. Students voted on these choices: crimson and corn, blue and corn, and red and black. “Crimson and corn were chosen mainly because they were the colors of the first band organized by Prof. Wolfe.” 777 (Prof. Wolfe was also the school system superintendent from 1900-1915.) In a 1910 issue of The Search-Light, a student poem celebrated these colors.





















































































The Crimson and the Corn Although some have always favored The yellow and the blue; All the schools of other cities To maroon and gold are true, We’ll own our own dear colors And these we’ll never scorn, For to us there are no others But the crimson and the corn.

















So we’ll wave our colors proudly So high that all may see That we’re loyal to our high school To her true we’ll ever be. We will own our own dear colors, Till they are old and worn For to us there are no others But the crimson and the corn.778

If the yearbooks can be used as evidence, it would take until the second half of the 1920s before the high school finally shifted to maroon and gold. In the 1915 yearbook Minot High’s colors were identified as “maroon and corn,” but then in the 1916 yearbook the colors were back to crimson and corn.779 In the 1922 yearbook they were identified as “Old Wine and Corn.” 780 The covers of the 1925 yearbook seem to be maroon and gold, but there was no mention of maroon and gold within. In the 1926 yearbook the words “Crimson and Gold," used to represent the football team, appeared in the Athletics section, but on the Pep Club page it was recorded that the club presented "two Maroon and Gold 'M' blankets” to the football team.781 In the 1927 yearbook the words “ the Maroon and Gold” appeared in the football pages of the Athletics section. In the article “The Athletic Banquet” in the Social Committee section the school colors were identified as “maroon and gold.” In the 1928 yearbook two football reserves teams were called the “Gold” and the “Maroon.” 782 Crimson and corn seemed to have faded into history. Note: For many of these early years the four classes, grades 9-12, also chose class colors. Additional note: Maroon and gold hues have varied over the years on school clothing, paint on walls, stationery, etc.

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School Song These are the lyrics for Minot High’s school song:























































Loyal and true, We pledge our hope and faith in you. Right is the rule . . . We are one for all and all for Minot High School. Here's to your fame and may you always meet the foe With glory and honor forever . . . So why not Minot, let's go. Rah! Rah! Rah!

Before Arvel Graving created the melody and lyrics for "Loyal and True" in 1956, the school song was set to the "Minnesota Rouser"783 with these lyrics:















































Minot, Minot, hats off to thee To our colors, true we shall ever be, Firm and strong, united are we, With a Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Zis, Boom Bah! With a Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Zis, Boom Bah! Rah! for the Minot High.

This version is from the the Athletics section of the 1918 yearbook. Lyrics found in other yearbooks, such as the 1922 and 1937 ones, varied a bit, especially after the third line. 784 One early effort to change the school song came in the 1929-1930 school year. In the January 29, 1930, issue of the Minot High Times, a front-page article reported a contest, sponsored by the Music and English Departments, to create a melody and lyrics to replace the college melody and "revised words" the school had been using. They wanted "a song with an M.H.S. individuality." 785 Information was not available on the outcome of the contest, but change seems to have waited for the 1956-1957 school year. In the first months of the 1956-1957 school year the school newspaper staff raised the question of whether the school song should be changed, given that so many other schools set their school songs to the same university school song. Sometime that fall both the lyrics and the melody for the song were created as a pep song by the MHS band director, Arvel Graving. In an April 5, 1957, High Times article, the newspaper staff reported that Graving’s new pep song was officially adopted by the Student Council as the school song. According to the article,





Mr. Graving stated that he had been thinking of writing a new school song for several years but the vigorous Minot High Times campaign for a new pep song is what prompted him to do so.







The actual composing of the song took only a few minutes but much work followed as sheet music had to be arranged for the Concert band which consists of approximately 70 members.786

113 A photo of Graving’s handwritten composition, with lyrics, appeared in the Dec. 21, 1956, issue of the High Times.

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Major School Publications First publication In 1902, under the direction of student Leda Mansfield (later Mrs. Cap Aaker), a school publication titled Searchlight was created that would change format a number of times. Mrs. Aaker provided a history of the Searchlight's early days in the 1928 yearbook. At first it was written by hand on “a piece of foolscap paper” and read to the High School Literary Society “on certain Fridays during the month.” Its contents were an “editorial, news, items, original verses, and sketches.” In 1903 it was published twice a month “in the form of a small newspaper, printed by the Ward County Reporter." Mrs. Aaker also wrote that it was hard to sell ads to local businesses and hard "to get the students to write contributions." 787 In following years the Searchlight was a monthly publication in the form of a 5”x10’‘magazine with covers. By the 1909-1910 school year, the last issue of the year was called an annual. For the 1911-12 school year, the Searchlight appeared only as an annual (or yearbook), in a larger size. There were slight variations in the title of the publication--from The High School Search Light to The Searchlight or Search-Light. The last 1909-1910 issue (Vol. 7, No. 5) was titled The Searchlight Annual, a 51-page issue. Copies of many of these early Searchlight issues are available at the Central Campus library: issues from the 1904-05, 1906-07, 1907-08, and 1909-1910 school years. (The Magic City Campus library has photocopies of these copies.) It appears that no issues were published for the 1905-06 school years because there is no missing volume number for that year. It is also possible that no issues were published for the 1910-1911 school year.

Annual/yearbook The school’s yearbook continues to have the title Searchlight. When the yearbooks have had volume numbers, they have either used the 1910 annual issue as the base number or 1903. The volume number for the 2011 yearbook is 108. According to a October 1980 High Times article, the yearbook staff that year pushed to change the name of the yearbook to The Magician “because they felt that the name Searchlight didn’t relate to the school. They even tried tracing the origin of the name but were unsuccessful.” The students voted on the issue and Searchlight won 1278-617.788 Both Central Campus and Magic City Campus libraries have almost complete yearbook collections. The 1913, 1914, and 1917 volumes are missing at MCC; CC is only missing the 1913 volume. According to a September 29, 1950, High Times article, the 1913 edition may have consisted of individual volumes for classes.789

Newspapers Each campus of the high school has a newspaper: the MCC Times and the Central Campus Crier. The MCC Times has only been in existence as of its April 2010 issue. Before that MCC's paper

115 was the Minot High Times, which had been in existence since its November 9, 1926 issue (Vol. 1, No. 1). The first issue of the Central Campus Crier was the September 24, l975, issue. A detailed history of the early years of the Minot High Times can be found in a front-page article of the October 18, 1946, High Times. The article acknowledges the early issues of the Searchlight as a forerunner. In both 1924 and 1925 single issues of publications titled MI-NOTHI were put out; the first was a four-page newspaper, the second a 24-page booklet. According to the article, “in 1926 came the real step toward the present High Times.” On November 9th the junior class published the first issue of a newspaper that was to appear every other Tuesday. The newspaper kept the name MI-NOT-HI until the February 7, 1928, issue, when the paper was given its present name. Also in the 1927-28 school year the paper stopped being just a junior class project. This was the newspaper’s platform:









1. To uphold the ideals of Minot High School. 2. To express the opinions of the students. 3. To give students an idea of what other students are doing. 4. To give townspeople an idea of what the school is doing. 5. To create enthusiasm for Minot High School.

Over the years the newspaper has had a variety of publication schedules but only stopped publication entirely during the Great Depression and World War II years. During the Depression years the newspaper stopped publication for three years from 1931-1934 and then two years from 1936-1938. During the World War II years, it stopped publication from 1943-1945.790 For two years after Magic City Campus came into existence, in 1973, the Minot High Times was the newspaper for both MCC and Central Campus. By the 1975-76 school year, Central Campus staff and students felt a need for their own newspaper. This explanation was provided in an article in the first Central Campus paper: “Due to space limitations and the priority given to Magic City students’ news, many of this school’s activities have gone unreported.” 791 Copies of most of the issues of the Minot High Times can be found at either CC’s library or MCC’s library. Central Campus has copies of a number of the 1927, 1929, 1930 issues and one 1931 issue (Jan. 14). Neither library has copies of any other issues from the 1930s. For the early 1940s MCC has these limited copies: two issues from November 1940 and a June 11, 1943, issue. Magic City Campus has copies of all of the MCC Times issues. Central Campus has copies of the Crier's first issue, one issue from 1988, and the issues from the 1990-1991 school year to the present. Literary magazines Early issues of the Searchlight as a magazine/newspaper and then as a yearbook included student literary efforts, but the first publication devoted to student literary works seems to have been The Magician, which first appeared in December 1946. In a Minot High Times article that month, it was described as “Minot High’s first literary magazine.” 792 Four hundred copies of the first issue were printed for sale. It was sponsored by MHS members of the Quill and Scroll Society, an honorary journalism society.793 The magazine was sometimes published twice a year.794 By the early 1960s the Quill and Scroll Society became “defunct” and publication of the magazine was taken over by the High Times. 795 ( Later other groups would sponsor it.) In 1964

116 magazine.796

the Magician became a literary and art In the 1966 and 1967 school years it received national recognition, and its 1968 edition was 48 pages long and sold about 900 copies.797 The Magician was not published in the spring of 1969 because of the teachers‘ strike and Minot flood.798 In 1970 a twenty-fifth anniversary issue was published, but soon the magazine would struggle to survive. The anniversary edition included works from the previous 25 years: “short stories, poetry, essays, vignettes, designs, drawings, paintings, prints, and photography.” The two-part issue included a part with works from 1946-1970, which would enable the reader to see how style and content had changed over the years.799 According to the cover of the 1977 Magician, the magazine “continued until 1974 when interest diminished.” That 1977 edition was revived by members of the Media Arts class. The Magician would continue to be published until 1985.800 There have been other literary publications. Creative Writing and Media Arts students turned out an Annual Literary Magazine in the spring of 1986, with “winning literary articles from writing competitions in the areas of prose, poetry, and short stories.” 801 Groundbreaking: Minot High School Anthology of Student Writers (2003) and Looking Back on Tomorrow: Student Anthology 2003-2004 were publications from the last decade. Copies of some Magician editions from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as copies of Groundbreaking and Looking Back on Tomorrow, can be found at the Magic City Campus library.

117

Superintendents and High School Head Principals Superintendents In the school district's first years, the head administrator had the title "principal" rather than "superintendent." These are the four who had that title: C. A. Johnson 1890-92 J. E. Arnold 1892-1893 S. A. Danford 1893-1898 J. H. Dobbin 1898-1900 S. Henry Wolfe began his term as the principal for the district but within a few years acquired the title "superintendent," as did all following head administrators for the district. S. Henry Wolfe 1900-1915 Bruce Francis 1915-1918 L. A. White 1918-1944 Paul A. Miller 1944-1958 James Slocum 1958-1968 Marlowe Johnson 1968-1975 R. Edward Mundy 1975-1992 Lowell Latimer 1992-1993 Richard Larson 1993-2003 David Looysen 2003-2011 Mark Vollmer 2011-

118

Minot High School Head Principals The first three women listed below were assistant principals (at the high school level) serving under the principal of the school district. In 1904 the titles were changed to "principal" and "superintendent." For a number of years the principals also taught classes. (School board minutes and yearbooks were the main sources for the names and dates.) Mrs. Hornbeak 1900? (Principal/Teacher?) Sadie Mathews 1901-03 (Principal/Teacher) Florence Cotton 1903-1909 (Principal/Teacher) Dorothea Poppy 1909-1911 (Principal/Teacher) W. Roy Mitchell 1911-1912 (Principal/Teacher) Ruby G. Phillips 1912-1918 (Principal/Teacher) Guy Newcomer 1918-1919 Ruby Phillips Newman 1919-1920 J. H. (John Herbert) Colton 1920-1945 Lloyd H. King 1945-1949 James Johnson 1949-1953 William M. Kulstad 1953-1955 Joel A. Davy 1955-1965 Norman Howe 1965-1969 Leonard Anderson 1969-1973 With the beginning of the 1973-74 school year, the high school was divided between two campuses--Magic City Campus and Central Campus--with separate principals.

119

MCC Head Principals









CC Head Principals

Mark Sanford

1973-1975



Richard Olthoff

1975-1976



Robert Boyd



1976-1978



Richard Olthoff

1978-1994



Lynn Sanford

1994-2002 John Sandeen 2002-2005 Mark Vollmer 2005-2011 Scott Faul 2011-

















































Leonard Anderson 1973-1976 Richard Olthoff 1976-1978 Thomas McDonald 1978-1998 Keith Altendorf 1998-

































Alternative Schools Souris River Campus and Central Campus Plus The first head administrators at both campuses did not at first have the title Principal.

SRC Principals











CC Plus Principals

Bob Kelly



1984-1992



John Sandeen



1992-1994



Steve Joyal 1994-1998 Cliff Hovda 1998-2009 Ned Strand 2009-



























Keith Bjornson 1999-2008 Bill Cox 2008-















120

Article from 1912 Yearbook

121

122 Accompanying the above article were these photographs, which show all of the district's school buildings in 1912. In the yearbook each appeared by itself on a page.

Central School

McKinley School

Minot High School

Sunnyside School

123

Articles from March 15, 1946, Minot High Times In the March 15, 1946, issue of the school newspaper there were articles that provided information for the state Class "B" tournament visitors. The articles provide a picture of Minot and Minot High at this time. A copy of the articles, from page three of the newspaper, appears on the following page. This was the headline for the page on which the articles appeared: "Welcome -- Class "B" Visitors!"

124

125

Other Photos

This postcard, a "Hand Colored Work," was postmarked 1906. The two downtown school buildings appear center left in this view from South Hill. Courtesy Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum and Western History Research Center. All of the postcards are somewhat enlarged on these pages.

This postcard was postmarked 1915. In the foreground is the high school building that opened in 1905. In the background is the Central School, which opened in 1893. Courtesy of Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.

126

This postcard was postmarked 1914. In the left background of this photo of the 1905 high school building is St. Leo's Catholic Church. Courtesy of Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.

This postcard with a September 13, 1924, postmark pictures the Senior High School building that opened in 1918 on the north side of the downtown block. The Vincent M.E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church appears in the right background. Courtesy of Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.

127

This is an undated photo of the swimming pool that was part of the 1918 Senior High School auditorium/gym area. Courtesy of Keith Altendorf, Central Campus collection of photos.

This postcard of the Armory was postmarked July 24, 1913. This building, located east and across from the block of central school buildings, became the school district administration building in the 1960s. Courtesy of Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.

128

This photo and caption appeared in the Junior High section of the 1923 yearbook. Students were entering the 1905 building. Half of the Armory can be seen at the back left.

This postcard of the Leland Hotel had no postmark but another card of the same photo was postmarked April 1916. This hotel was located on Main Street and Central Avenue. Courtesy of Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.

129

This postcard was postmarked July 24, 1911. Between St. Leo's Church and the Methodist Church were first a rectory and then two small houses. (See book St. Leo's: the First 100 Years.) Courtesy of Old Soo Depot Transportation Museum.

In this 1929 photo not only can Central School be seen, but also the new St. Leo's School with a rectory between it and St. Leo's Church at the left. These words were written on the back of the photo: "Minot Junior High School Taken January 2, 1929." Central School would soon be torn down to make room for the new junior high. Courtesy of Keith Altendorf.

130

Only the central part of Souris River Campus usually appears in photos, as in the 2011 photo above. The photo below conveys the full length of the building. The photo was taken by the author.

This photo of Central Campus Plus shows the water line left by the flood. The photo was taken by the author.

131

This photo was taken from the roof of MCC after flood waters overtook Minot. Beyond the water treatment plant and dikes was a sea of water.

132

Afterword A special thanks to Pat Bolyard, who provided many kinds of assistance, and to the library staffs at Magic City Campus and Central Campus, who helped gather information and resources. Thanks, too, to the many other people who provided assistance. The genesis for this document was a question in the fall of 2009 about the high school’s official logo. That led to work on the school nicknames, colors, mascots, and song. Then a broader survey of the school’s history seemed necessary, along with some details about Minot's history. The design of the general history grew out of the early information I was finding; I had no idea what I would find. I added features to help readers keep a larger focus while immersing themselves in school year developments. As the endnotes indicate, I found most of the information in school newspapers and yearbooks. I also used many other print sources in the MCC Library and ran down other bits of information at a variety of places around Minot. Most of the illustrations are from Searchlight photos and drawings, most of which were cropped to some extent to enhance the illustrations, especially given the small space allotted to most of them in this document. A few yearbook photos were cropped significantly. Of course I struggled over many things. I did not do justice to a number of organizations, such as the theater ones. I tried to establish the beginnings of organizations but didn't always have time to follow through on what happened to them. I hesitated to use many names of staff and students because I would inevitably leave out the names of other "significant" people. Because I did not want to undermine the power of quotations, I did not use [sic] to indicate errors; in a few cases I did some very minor editing. ( I did use [sic] in the endnotes.) I particularly enjoyed the detective work involved in writing this history, the many charming discoveries, and the role I was playing in keeping Minot High's history alive. The project was also, though, very time-consuming--too many resources and many slippery facts. By the end I was a bit overwhelmed by details. There may be later editions of this document with corrections and additions. I would certainly like to add more photos to the photo section. Of course, there is still much information out there to collect. Because of the length of this document, I could not include all the interesting details I came across. Perhaps other people can expand on areas of Minot High's history. Susan Gessner

133

Endnotes 1

Brynhild Haugland, A History of Ward County: Term Report [Minot, ND: Minot State Teachers College], 1927, [p. 43]. 2

A motion to use the name Minot Graded School was passed at the September 12, 1893, school board meeting, according to the minutes for that meeting. 3

“A Brief History of the Minot Schools,” 1912 Searchlight, n.p.

4

1917 Searchlight, p. 17.

5

Mark Timbrook, The Last Hurrah: an Account of Life in the Mouse River Valley, Bone Town, Little Chicago, and the Magic City (Minot, ND: Niess Impressions, 2008), pp. 74-75; “Ward Settlers Never Faced Indian Tribes on Warpath,” Minot Daily News, 19 August 1961, Part 2-Section A, p. 15. The quotes are from Salvation Army officers serving in Minot at that time, as reported in Timbrook’s book. Timbrook’s source: A Brief History of the Minot Corps, 1896-1937, State Historical Society of North Dakota archives, 1937, 2. Similar information was provided by the editor of the 1917 Searchlight, Evangeline McConnell, in her article “The First Graduating Class of the M.H.S”: “At the time of the passing of this class the Magic City was a young burg of about a thousand population. Indian teepees could be seen scattered around the town, which was, as a whole more or less ‘wild and woolly’” (p. 17). 6

Gaylen Brown, Minot History Through Slides, 1900-1920 [Minot, ND: 1983], [p. 1]. This paper, a script for a slide show on Minot history, can be viewed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/ minot_history_through_slides1900-1920.htm. Brown was a professor at MSU. 7

“A Brief History of the Minot Schools,” 1912 Searchlight, n.p. During Wolfe's years in charge of the school system his title changed from Principal to Superintendent. 8

Spelling accounts can be found in the February 1905 Searchlight, p. 9, and March 1905 Searchlight, p. 8. The alarm clock account is from the January 1907 Searchlight, p. 13. 9

“The Development of Northwestern North Dakota,” The Northern Review Monthly IV:3 (1904?), p. 15.

10

Nellie R. Swanson and Eleanor C. Bryson, eds., Pioneer Women Teachers of North Dakota (Minot, ND: Ward County Independent, 1965) pp. 96-98; Elaine Sahl, ed., Minot Art Club: History Recipes (Minot, ND: Minot Art Club, 2002), pp. 115-117. That she was 23 when selected to be a principal is from the Minot Art Club book. According to both books, she was born on October 13, 1880. Neither book provided sources for their information. The information on Mrs. Perkett's marriage date and Minot School Board service is also from both sources. 11

Pearl Smallwood Dahle, “Alumni, M.H.S.,” 1929 Searchlight, p. 88.

12

Florence Cotton Perkett, “Minot Public Schools in Nineteen Hundreds,” 1930 Searchlight, n.p.

13

The spelling of the title and even the title itself varied in the early years. To avoid confusion, the title used throughout this paper is Searchlight. See “Major School Publications” section for more information. 14

Vernon Stenerson,“Minot High in the Old Days,” 1916 Searchlight, p. 23.

15

"History," Searchlight VII:5 [1910 Searchlight Annual], p.10. This information is repeated in "A Brief History of the Minot Schools," in the 1912 Searchlight. 16

Florence Cotton Perkett, “Minot Public Schools in Nineteen Hundreds,” 1930 Searchlight, n.p. Mrs. Perkett also identified the six who graduated in 1904.

134 17J.

H. Colton, “To the Pioneer,” 1927 Searchlight, n.p. This is what Principal Colton wrote: “Two teachers were caring for the high school classes when the first graduating exercises were held in 1904 and six young people completed the four year course.” 18

Florence Cotton Perkett, “Minot Public Schools in Nineteen Hundreds,” 1930 Searchlight, n.p.

19

Leon Ellithorpe,”The High School Band and Orchestra,”1916 Searchlight, pp. 24-25.

20

"Local," Searchlight, April 1905, pp. 9-10.

21 All

that appears in the Searchlights are the club names when programs for events are provided. The boys’ glee club is mentioned in the December 1907 issue, on p. 11, and the girls’ glee club in the February 1908 issue, p. 15. 22

Melody Kuehn, project coordinator, et al., A History of Public Education in Downtown Minot ([Minot, ND]: 1986), n.p. 23

Sources give varying dates for the beginning of baseball at Minot High School. George Benno wrote that it occurred during the 1905-06 school year. Vernon Stenerson wrote that the team organized in the spring of 1905. William Mulroy wrote that a baseball team played before 1906, and James Sullivan, writing at a much later date, said C.P. Vandenoever organized a team at the high school in 1903. Given the words from the March 1905 Searchlight and Stenerson’s and Mulroy’s words, the team was most likely organized in the spring of 1905. (See citations on this page and the previous page.) These words in the 1915 Searchlight “Base Ball” section question the early claims of baseball: “This year [1915] is the first that the Minot High School can boast of a strictly High School team” (n.p.). 24

"Editorial," p. 2.

25

William Mulroy, “High School Athletics--1905-1909,” 1916 Searchlight, p. 25; Merrill Schalow, “Baseball Was Colorful, Furiously Fought Sport in an Earlier Era,” Minot Daily News, 19 August 1961, Part 2--Section B, p.13. Both Mulroy and Schalow give Vandenoever credit for organizing the team, though Mulroy did not think much of the team as a team. The quote is from George Benno: George Benno, “Athletics in Minot High School, 1901-1905,” 1916 Searchlight, p. 25. Benno identified Clarence Vandenoever as a pitcher for the team and Chet Vandenoever as a shortstop. The February 1905 Searchlight mentions both Clarence and Chet (p. 9). Clarence was reported to have just dropped out of the freshman high school class to go to the business college. 26

Merrill Schalow; George Benno. In Schalow's article C.P. Vandenoever was quoted as saying the team "played against men's teams in the area." 27

James Sullivan, “First Basketball Team in Minot Walloped by Lansford; Play Started in 1906-07,” Minot Daily News, 19 August 1961, Part 1--Section C, p. 14. William Mulroy confirms much of this. All the quotations in this paragraph up to this endnote number are from Sullivan's article. 28

"Athletics," Searchlight, Feb. 1908, p.18--for the score and the quotation in the previous sentence. These are two sources for the championship claim: "Editorial," Searchlight, March 1908, p.10, and Mulroy, p. 26. Mulroy has the wrong school year for the championship. Mulroy said that this victory gave Minot its first championship. 29

William Mulroy, “High School Athletics--1905-1909,” 1916 Searchlight, p. 25

30

Stenerson, p. 24. Schalow wrote that in the fall of 1906, after the new high school building was built, the players were able to move to the basement of that building. If he meant to play games, this was unlikely because games were played in the attic of Central after this and the new locker area was in the basement of the Central school, according to Searchlight articles. 31

See "Athletics," Searchlight, Feb. 1907, p. 10, and "Athletics," Searchlight, December 1907, p.13, for earlier games played in the attic. See 1915 Searchlight, p. 63, for mention of a game played there in the next decade.

135 32

"Athletics," Searchlight, Feb. 1908, p. 16, and March 1908, p. 11.

33

"Athletics," Searchlight VII:5 [1910 Searchlight Annual], p. 45.

34

1914 Searchlight, pp. 74-75.

35

"Athletics," Searchlight, March 1908, p.13.

36

"Athletics," Searchlight, January 1907, p. 11. The date for the establishment of the Minot Business College was found in the article “The Development of Northwestern North Dakota,” The Northern Review Monthly IV:3 (1904?), p. 15. 37

William Mulroy, “High School Athletics--1905-1909,” 1916 Searchlight, p. 26.

38

"Athletics," Searchlight, February 1908, p. 16.

39

1914 Searchlight, p. 66.

40

"Athletics," Searchlight, March 1908, p. 11.

41

"State Declamatory Contest," Searchlight VII:5 [1910 Searchlight Annual], pp. 36-38.

42

"Locals," Searchlight, January 1908, p.10.

43

“The Class of 1909,” 1912 Searchlight, n.p.

44

Frederic Johnson, “Arrival of ‘Gasoline Buggies’ Brought Excitement and Humor,” Minot Daily News, 19 August 1961, Part 2-Section B, p. 7.

45

Mark Timbrook, The Last Hurrah: an Account of Life in the Mouse River Valley, Bone Town, Little Chicago, and the Magic City (Minot, ND: Niess Impressions, 2008), p.118. 46

"Athletics," Searchlight VII:4 [1909-1910?], p. 16.

47

Frederic Johnson’s article provides many details on the problems with the early automobiles.

48

Charles Dickson, Minot History, 1920-1940 ([Minot, ND]: 1985), [p.2]. Accessed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/minot_history1920-1940.htm. The paper, created as a script for a Minot history slide show, has this additional information: "Draft (6 August 1985), Minot Between the Wars (Part I)." Dickson was a professor at MSU. 49

"Locals," Searchlight, Nov. 1904, p. 10.

50

"Local," Searchlight, Feb.1907, p. 12.

51

"Locals," Searchlight, Feb. 1905, pp. 9-10.

52

Locals," Searchlight, Jan. 1908. p. 10.

53

"Athletics," Searchlight VII:3 [1909-1910?], pp. 17-18.

54

"Editorial," February 1907, pp. 8-9.

55

"Editorial," November 1907, pp. 11-12.

56

"Local," Searchlight, February 1905, p. 9.

136 57

"Program of Studies," VII:5 [1910 Searchlight Annual], p. 12 (partially torn).

58

“A Brief History of the Minot Schools,” 1912 Searchlight, n.p.

59

J. H. Colton, “To the Pioneer,” 1927 Searchlight, n.p.

60

“1890 Census Gave Minot 575 Total,” Minot Daily News, 19 August 1961, Part I-Section C, p. 1.

61

"Superintendent Wolfe's Annual Report," Searchlight VII:5 [1910 Searchlight Annual], p. 15.

62

"Athletics," VII:5 [1910 Searchlight Annual], p. 45.

63

1916 Searchlight, p.33.

64

Pp. 36-39. These pages include “History by Miss Bell,” a history of the Commercial Department, on p. 38.

65

1914 Searchlight, p. 68.

66

1914 Searchlight, p. 60.

67

1914 Searchlight, p. 41.

68

These yells are from the 1919 Searchlight in the “Yells and Yellers” section, n.p.

69

1916 Searchlight, p. 78.

70

Pp. 118, 121.

71

P. 124.

72

“The Flood of 1969,” a special supplement to the Minot Daily News, 17 April 1994, p. 5. Before the 2011 one the 1904 and 1969 floods were considered to be the most extensive ones. 73

P. 12.

74

Charles Dickson, Minot History, 1920-1940 ([Minot, ND]: 1985), [p.3]. Accessed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/minot_history1920-1940.htm. 75Gaylen

Brown, Minot History Through Slides, 1900-1920 [Minot, ND: 1983], [p. 7]. This paper, a script for a slide show on Minot history, can be viewed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/ minot_history_through_slides1900-1920.htm. Also see pp. 129-149 of Mark Timbrook’s The Last Hurrah for more details. 76

”Football,” 1919 Searchlight, n.p. According to the author of the “Freshman History” in the yearbook, the new high school building was open at the beginning of the school year in September. Evidence that the auditorium was not finished at the beginning of the school year: the football team was still using the showers in the Central School and the district did not dedicate the auditorium until January 8, 1919. 77

George Kohn, ed., Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence: from Ancient Times to the Present, 3rd ed. (New York: Facts on File, 2007), pp. 370, 372; “101-year-old Recalls 1918 Flu Epidemic.” Minot Daily News, 28 April 2007, p. B6. The North Dakota information is from the second source. 78

N.p. An original of this booklet is housed in Central’s library and a copy in MCC’s library.

79

“Our School,” 1920 Searchlight, n.p.

137 80

High School Opening: Minot N.D., January Eighth, 1919 (Minot, N.D.: Ward County Independent), n.p. See photos. 81

“Our School,” 1920 Searchlight , n.p. The list of musical organizations came from the music section.

82

“Our School,” n.p.

83

“Alumni,” 1920 Searchlight, n.p.

84

“Girls’ Basketball Writeups,” 1920 Searchlight, n.p.

85

“Our High School,” 1921 Searchlight, n.p. The enrollment numbers differ, but not significantly, depending on the source. 86

“Our High School,” n.p.

87

1923 Searchlight, n.p.

88

“Our High School,” 1921 Searchlight, n.p.

89

“Our High School,” n.p.

90

Charles Dickson, Minot History, 1920-1940 ([Minot, ND]: 1985), [p.8]. Accessed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/minot_history1920-1940.htm. 91

Dickson, [p.8].

92

“Organizations," 1921 Searchlight, n.p.

93

“Minot’s Need of a Y.M.C.A.,” 1922 Searchlight, n.p.

94

“About Roosevelt Park Zoo,” 1920-1969 time period, Roosevelt Park Zoo (http://www.rpzoo.com/ aboutrpzoo.html). 95

“Sports," 1922 Searchlight, n.p. Kenmare was probably Minot's biggest rival before Williston.

96

N.p. The article is near the beginning of the yearbook.

97

“Basket Ball Trips,” n.p.

98

Minot History, 1920-1940 ([Minot, ND]: 1985), [p. 3]. Accessed at the Minot Public Library website: http:// www.minotlibrary.org/minot_history1920-1940.htm. 99

Dickson, [p. 1] ; Carl O. Flagstad, “On 1926 Road Map: Dirt Roads, More Towns,” Minot Daily News, 28 September 1986, p. D1. The quote is from Dickson. Sources for the information box: Dickson for the first sentence, then Flagstad and this source: Zena Irma Trinka. North Dakota of Today, 3rd ed. (St. Paul, MN : Louis F. Dow Co., 1920), p. 29. Trinka wrote that Minot was on the Wonderland Trail, the Black Trail, and the Green Trail. The June 3, 1919 Minot Park Board minutes note, in a resolution, that the Wonderland trail name was being changed to Roosevelt Highway. 100

“The Football Season of 1923,” 1924 Searchlight, n.p.

101

Jerome Shulkin, “High Times Survives Through ‘Hell and High Water’ to Preserve History of Minot High from 1902 to 1946,” Minot High Times, 18 October, 1946, p. 1. 102

1+.

“Impressive Ceremony in Minot Park Marks Acceptance of Gift,” Minot Daily News, 11 September 1924, pp.

138 103

Minutes of the Parent-Teacher Association of the Senior High School Grades, 1924-1925. The minutes are housed at the Minot Public Schools Administration building (in Dr. Latimer's office at this time). 104

“Organizations," 1926 Searchlight, n.p.

105

“Organizations," 1928 Searchlight, n.p.

106

Charles Dickson, Minot History, 1920-1940 ([Minot, ND]: 1985), [p. 7]. Accessed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/minot_history1920-1940.htm. 107

“Junior High School,” 1929 Searchlight, p. 12.

108

1929 Searchlight, p. 14.

109

October 31, 1929, school board minutes. The meeting was called to address “the delay in the building of the new J.H.S. and the furnishing of heat.” 110

Terry J. Aman. “School Board Reviews Possible $1.8 Million Project at Central Campus.” Minot Daily News, 17 December 1999, pp. A1+. The source of the writer’s information was school board member Nancy Langseth. According to the November 12, 1930, school board minutes, a motion was approved "to buy iron gates for the halls on the second and third floors between the Senior high school and the Junior high school." 111

1929 Searchlight, p. 70.

112

“Magician Loyalty Day,” n.p.

113

“First Peace Time Loyalty Day,” Minot High Times, 19 October 1945, p. 1.

114

“Dedication of the New High School Gymnasium,” 1930 Searchlight, n.p. The date for the alumni game-actually December 27--came from the Calendar section. 115

Christine Moen, “MHS Cheerleaders Symbol Since 1930,” p. 4.

116

“A Brief History of Minot,” People, Places & Events, Minot, Ward County: Bridging the Century (Winnipeg: Inter-Collegiate Press, 1985), p. 97. The Minot-Ward County Centennial Book Committee was responsible for creating this book. 117

Kent Olson, “Class of 1931,” Minot Daily News, 22 November 1993, p. D1.

118

Charles Dickson, Minot History, 1920-1940 ([Minot, ND]: 1985), [p. 1]. Accessed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/minot_history1920-1940.htm. 119

Minot High Times, 9 October 1929, [p. 1]. The number is under a picture of the senior high school.

120

These are specific dates for the school board meetings: April 14, 1931; March 8, 1932; July 20, 1932; March 3, 1933; and May 5, 1936. 121

1931 Searchlight, p. 104.

122

"Loyalty Day" 1931 Searchlight, p. 63. For one example of a bonfire set near the school, see the 1932 Searchlight, p. 61. 123

P. 96.

124

P. 93.

125

P. 93.

139 126

P. 106.

127

P. 102.

128

According to a February 17, 1950, Minot High Times article, “prior to this time [the 1940 opening of the new high school library], the school board paid for the use of the public library” (p. 4). 129

P. 21. Pages 21-22 provide details on the success of Father Hogan's teams and a likely beginning date for the basketball team. 130

October 11, 1932, school board minutes.

131

"The First 40 Years: Growth and Change," Connections [Magazine of the Minot State University Alumni Association], June 2000, p. 9. This is the complete information supplied in this article: "W.D. ('Doc') Allen, who had joined the faculty in 1925, started a ninth grade in 1926, added a grade a year until the first Model High School graduates were turned out in 1929." 132

1931 Beaver, p. 20.

133

Wally Hankla, "Memories of Minot," Prairie Flower [Rotary Club of Minot Weekly Newsletter], 20 May 2009, n.p. This is a PDF file accessed through the archives for the Rotary Club Prairie Flower: http:// www.rotaryminot.org/noon/newsletter-archive/pf-archives/ . 134

Pp. 87, 95.

135

P. 96.

136

P. 40.

137

P. 68.

138

Pp. 80, 82, 86.

139

"International Order of the Rainbow for Girls" and "Order of DeMolay," Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (http://www.wikipedia.org). 140

Pp. 114, 116.

141

The comic strip originated in 1934. This is a description of the minor character Sadie Hawkins: “In the early days of Dogpatch, Sadie Hawkins was ‘the homeliest gal in them hills’ who grew frantic waiting for suitors to come a-courtin'. Her father Hekzebiah Hawkins, a prominent Dogpatch resident, grew even more frantic—about Sadie living at home for the rest of his life. So he decreed the first annual Sadie Hawkins Day, a foot race in which all the unmarried women pursued the town's bachelors, with matrimony as the consequence. A pseudo-holiday entirely created in the strip, it's still observed today in the form of Sadie Hawkins dances, at which women approach (or chase after) men.” Quotation source: “Li’l Abner,” Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (http://www.wikipedia.org). 142

1940 Searchlight, p. 68.

143

These numbers were obtained from the homeroom numbers supplied on Teacher's Final Report forms filed at the office of the Ward County Superintendent of Schools. 144

145

Edwyn Robinson, History of North Dakota (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1966), p. 408.

Wally Hankla, "Memories of Minot," Prairie Flower [Rotary Club of Minot Weekly Newsletter], 20 May 2009, n.p. This is a PDF file accessed through the archives for the Rotary Club Prairie Flower: http:// www.rotaryminot.org/noon/newsletter-archive/pf-archives/ .

140 146

Hankla, n.p. ; Charles Dickson, Minot History, 1920-1940 ([Minot, ND]: 1985), [p. 9]. Accessed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/minot_history1920-1940.htm. 147

Dickson, p. [10].

148

There exists a photo with this title: “Elks Circus 1935 - Central Auditorium.” Bruce Anderson has a copy of it, and it can be found at http://pages.minot.k12.nd.us/index.php?page=629 (part of a collection of photos posted online and titled "School Photos & Chronology"). For the 1937 source see "Days of a Senior Girl," 1937 Searchlight, n.p. The entry about an Elk's Circus held March 8-12 does not indicate where the circus was held, but it probably was the auditorium. 149

1939 Searchlight, p. 70; 1938 Searchlight, p. 64. In each yearbook an entire page was devoted to the State Class B Basketball Tournament. 150

1941 Searchlight, p.16.

151

"School Library Opens During Book Week," Minot High Times, 15 November 1940, p. 1.

152

153

"Library Addition Finished in 1940," Minot High Times, 17 February 1950, p. 4. 1942 Searchlight, p. 23.

154

According to the "Library Addition Finished in 1940" article, before the high school had a library the class "periods were only 45 minutes long and by the time you had your study hall, it was time to come back. Then, of course, there were some who became lost and never reached their destination." 155

The track championship was not reported in the 1942 yearbook; instead the report came in the 1943 yearbook, p. 81. 156

P. 66 for the Junior Game Wardens information and p. 87 for the Dramatic Council information.

157

P. 30.

158

"Many M.H.S. Students to Leaves [sic] for Service," p. 3.

159

1944 Searchlight, p. 57.

160

P. 70.

161

"Tumbling," 1944 Searchlight, p. 83.

162

"Buy Bonds Here!" Minot High Times, 2 Nov. 1945, p. 1.

163

"Assemblies," p. 68.

164

"Canteen Now Open Every Night," March 1, 1946, p. 4.; "Where To Go After the Game," Minot High Times, 15 March 1946, p. 3. 165

Wally Hankla, "Memories of Minot," Prairie Flower [Rotary Club of Minot Weekly Newsletter], 20 May 2009, n.p. This is a PDF file accessed through the archives for the Rotary Club Prairie Flower ( http://www.rotaryminot.org/noon/newsletter-archive/pf-archives/ ). Hankla provided this additional information about Angelo's Pool Hall: "located under Saunder's Drug, again located where there is now a parking lot on Main Street, across from 10 North Main restaurant." 166

"'Pop' Records Win M.H.S. Song Poll," Minot High Times, 21 December 1945, p. 3.

141 167

Lloyd Dornfeld, "No More Gym for Juniors or Seniors, Minot High Times, 27 September 1946, p. 1.

168

"Magician Magazine Goes to Press," Minot High Times, 6 December 1946, p.1.

169

"Thespian Society Chartered Here," Minot High Times, 18 April 1947, p. 1.

170

"Constitution Ratified," Minot High Times, 6 December 1946, p. 1.

171

"Council Readies Constitution for Student Ratification," Minot High Times, 17 April 1950, p. 1.

172

"Girls' State Will Be Goal," Minot High Times, 30 April 1948, p.1.

173

David A. Wolf, “North Dakota Boys State History,” 1992. This article can be found at the NokoBoTa, ("The Voice of N.D. Boys State") website: http://www.nokobota.com/history/History.html. 174

1948 Searchlight, p. 72.

175

1948 Searchlight, p. 72.

176

"Hi-Y Now Nationally Affiliated," Minot High Times, 19 December 1947, p. 1.

177

"YMCA Building Sold," Minot Daily News, 2 March 2001, pp. A1+.

178

"Hire Driver for School Bus; Defects to Be Remedied Soon," Minot High Times, 7 November 1947, p. 1.

179

"Board of Education Votes to Offer High School Courses in Agriculture Next Year," Minot High Times, 16 April 1948, p. 1. 180

"Student Council," 1949 Searchlight, p. 96.

181

P. 51.

182

P. 61.

183

P. 38.

184

This information was obtained from the faculty extracurricular assignments listed in the 1949 Searchlight.

185

"Girls Basketball Gets into High Gear," Minot High Times, 28 January 1949, p. 4.

186

1943 and 1944 Searchlights.

187

“A Brief History of Minot,” People, Places & Events, Minot, Ward County: Bridging the Century (Winnipeg: Inter-Collegiate Press, 1985), p. 98. The Minot-Ward County Centennial Book Committee was responsible for creating this book. 188

These numbers were obtained from the homeroom numbers supplied on Teacher's Final Report forms filed at the Ward County Superintendent of School's office. 189

"Miniture [sic] United Nations Sets Major Problems to Students," Minot High Times, 9 November 1950, p. 1.

190

"Speech Class Looks into Teen Canteen Possibilities," Minot High Times, 16 February 1951, p. 1.

191

"Teen Canteen: Is This Trip Really Necessary?" 28 February 1951, p. 2

192

"Minot High Debater Receives Top Rating As Team Wins First," Minot High Times, 20 April 1951, p. 1.

142 193

"Debate Teams to Participate in First N.D. State Meet,"Minot High Times, 22 March 1951, p. 1.

194

According to the 1960 Searchlight (p. 85), the debate team won six state championships in the decade, but I could only find evidence for five. 195

24 October 1951, p. 2.

196

"Driver Poll Shows Student Enthusiasm," 22 January 1952, p. 2.

197

16 November 1951, p. 1.

198

"New YMCA Opens Doors; 3 Hi-Y's Start Meetings," Minot High Times, 4 February 1952, p. 5. The teen canteen information comes from the following article, along with facts about the "new" Y: "YMCA Provides Better Futures," Minot High Times, 7 November 1951, p. 2. 199

"Y Clubs Plan Teen Canteen," Minot Hi-Times, 18 December 1953, p. 1; "American Legion to Sponsor City Teen Age Youth Center," Minot High Times, 8 March 1956, p. 8; "'Y' Canteen" [in the column "Brief Bulletins]," Minot High Times, 19 December 1958, p. 5. 200

P. 54.

201

"Girls New Organization Competes [?] More Interest," 17 April 1952, p. 4.

202

Ron Abrahamson, "Ball Chatter," Minot High Times, 22 January 1952, p. 5.

203

"Olympics Edge Out Beavers, 44-43, In Gym Opener Here: Crowd of 4,000 Sees Price Clinch Triumph," Minot Daily News, 9 January 1952, p. 8. 204

205

"St. Leo's Overthrows Magicians," Minot Daily News, 30 January 1952, p. 9. "The Inside" [column name], Minot Daily News, 26 January 1952, p. 12.

206

Jake and Lou, "MHS Has Its' [sic] 'Scream' Boy and Girl; Column Has Would-be Party Line-up" ["Magic Brew" column], 6 March 1952, p. 2. 207

"Pool Rivalry at Selks Pool Hall," 7 December 1951, p. 6.

208

1952 Searchlight, p. 86; 1953 Searchlight, p. [87].

209

"Movie Stars Visit Minot Jr.-Sr. High," Minot High Times, 24 October 1951, p. 3; "McCarthy Talks, Students Attend," Minot High Times, 7 November 1951, p. 1. 210

"High Times Reaches Korean Front; Letter Received Expressing Thanks," 7 December 1951, p. 1; "Army vs. Marines in Times Readership," 22 January 1952, p. 5. 211

"Let's Have Our Own School Song," Minot High Times, 10 October 1952, p. 2.

212

"Weekly Brocasts [shortened to fit space] Over KLPM," Minot High Times, 13 February 1953, p. 1.

213

"Study Hall Recreation Hour Kiddies Count Light Bulbs," 20 March 1953, p. 3.

214

"Services of School Library Prove Beneficial to Students," 2 March 1953, p. 5.

215

"Guidance Center Put in Library," Minot High Times, 22 January 1960, p. 5.

216

"Dist. Ed. Officers Chosen at Meeting Held in Valley City [April 10th]," Minot High Times, 1 May 1953, p. 3.

143 217

"Distributive Education," 1954 Searchlight, n.p.

218

"Newswriting II Present Programs," Minot High Times, 12 February 1954, p. 3.

219

"Boyd Christenson 'On the Record,'" Minot High Times, 1 April 1954, p. 7.

220

"Teen Drivers Get Chance to Prove Skill," Minot High Times, 1 April 1954, p. 9.

221

"Delinquency: Fact or Myth," 7 May 1954, p. 2.

222

"Student Council Ponders Frequent Parking Tickets," Minot High Times, 27 October 1954, p. 1.

223

1955 Searchlight, p. 92.

224

1955 Searchlight, p. 88.

225

"City Auditorium Scene of Class A State Tournament," Minot High Times, 8 March 1956, p. 1.

226

"Inspection Party Views City Auditorium; Kileen and Wille Final Payment Okayed, " Minot Daily News, 5 January 1955, p. 2; James Sullivan, "Fort Wayne Wallops Lakers, 93-76, Before 4,000 Here," Minot Daily News, 31 December 1954, p. 20; James Sullivan, "Lakers Edge Celtics, Eye Fort Wayne Here," Minot Daily News, 30 December 1954, p. 9. The quote is from the last article. 227

James Sullivan, "Magicians Take 58-42 Cage Tussle from Devils Lake," Minot Daily News, 9 February 1955, p. 15. 228

The quotation was from the 1955 Searchlight, p. 110.

229

"Minot High School Pucksters To Play Tourney Saturday," 28 January 1955, p. 7.

230

1955 Searchlight, p. 66.

231

"It's the Principal: Exchange Program Brings Knowledge in World Peace," Minot High Times, 27 April 1956, p. 3; Ayca Izbudak, "Education in Turkey Differs Immensely from Ours in U.S.," Minot High Times, 22 December 1955, p. 3. 232

"Two MHS Exchange Students Return after Summer Abroad," Minot High Times, 27 September 1956, p. 7.

233

1956 Searchlight, p. 104. Also see "Christmas Pagent [sic] Presented by Playmakers and Choir," Minot High Times, 22 December 1955, p. 1. 234

1956 Searchlight, p. [72].

235

"MHS Students [sic] Fads Turn Towards Bermuda Shorts," 8 March 1956, p. 12.

236

"Seniors Introduce Rock-N-Roll Dance to MHS," 8 March 1956, p. 3.

237

"Elvis Presley New Teenage Hearthrob [sic] Hits Top of Stack"; "Crewcuts Give Top Performance for Huge Crowd," 27 April 1956, p. 5. 238

"Drivers' Education Believed to Solve Reckless Driving," 9 November 1956, p. 2.

239

"Delinquents on Rise," 28 February 1957, p. 2.

240

"Most Delinquency Occurs after 11 pm," 5 April 1957, p. 2.

241

"Many Opinions Aired on Delinquency Because of Presley's Dress and Hair," 5 April 1957, p. 3.

144 242

Eloise Ogden, "Air Force Picks Minot for Site of New Base," Minot Daily News: Hometown edition, 2008, p. 86.

243

"MHS Students Air Opinions on Jet-Interceptor Base," 9 November 1956, p. 4.

244

"Graduates Will Remember Three Years of Sport Thrills," Minot High Times, 21 May 1958, p. 4. The state record information was confirmed via e-mail by Brenda Schell of the North Dakota High School Athletics Association on 18 February 2011. 245

"Guidance Program Benefit to School," 1 April 1958, p. 2. Other relevant articles appeared in the 20 December 1957, 5 March 1958, and 26 March 1959 issues. 246

1958 Searchlight, pp. [106-107]. The Town and Country information was found in a photo section of People, Places & Events, Minot, Ward County: Bridging the Century (Winnipeg: Inter-Collegiate Press, 1985), p. 177. According to a caption under a photo of the Town and Country Shopping Center, the center was "built on what was called the Highland, years ago." 247

"Class of 1958 Leaves Behind Fond Memories of Good Times At MHS," Minot High Times, 21 May 1958, p. 4.

248

Jerry Fundingsland, "Sports Highlights" [a column], 21 May 1958, p. 6. The separate piece, "MHS Contemplates Wrestling Team," appeared under the column heading. 249

"Girls Gym Classes Initiate Wrestling," Minot High Times, 1 April 1958, p. 4.

250

"Minot Plays Host to 3 State Series," Minot High Times, 20 December 1957, p. 6.

251

"Major Curriculum Changes to Take Place Next Year," 1 April 1958, p. 1.

252

"New Superintendent Reveals Plans for Minot Schools," 2 October 1958, p. 2.

253

1959 Searchlight, p. 60.

254

"Distributive Education Club Places First in N. Dak.," Minot High Times, 26 March 1959, p. 1.

255

"GAA Organized; Knutson, Prexy," Minot High Times, 20 November 1959, p. 3. There was no mention of the GAA in the 1958-1959 High Times or Searchlight. Two statements in this article imply there was a GAA during the 1958-1959 school year--probably organized later in the year. 256

257

"New Sport at MHS," Minot High Times, 14 November 1958 , p. 4. "Hauge Takes Heavyweight Division at State Tourney," Minot High Times, 26 March 1959, p. 4.

258

"MHS Golfers Start Steady Practice; Boys Plan Road Trip to East Division," Minot High Times, 12 February 1960. 259

"Can I Park Here?" 13 February 1959, p. 2.

260

"Former President Speaks to MHS Student Body," Minot High Times, 14 November 1958, p. 1.

261

P. 152.

262

"Principal Davy Remarks, 'Things Are Going Okay!" Minot High Times , 16 October 1959, p. 6.

263

Marilyn Borke, "Counselling Services Assets to MHS Guidance Program," 28 November 1960, p. 6.

264

"Annual Career Night Slated by Student Council," Minot High Times, 24 February 1961, p. 5.

145 265

"Hi-Y, Tri-Y Clubs Elect New Officers, Choose Group Names," 20 November 1959, p. 4; "YMCA Plans Fun Year in Hi-Y, Tri-Y," 16 October 1959, p. 3; "Sadie Hawkins Days Prove Successful; More To Be Seen During Future Years," 20 November 1959, p. 1; "Pep Club Formal's Held; Record Crowd Attendance," 20 November 1959, p. 1. 266

"Larger Enrollment Makes Manners More Conspicuous," 20 November 1959, p. 2.

267

"Classrooms in Review: Third in a Series of Seven Articles," 22 January 1960, p. 6.

268

"Classrooms in Review: Fifth in a Series of Seven Articles," 18 March 1960, p. 8.

269

Carl Flagstad, "Another Chapter in Often Stormy John Moses History May Be Written," Minot Daily News, 3 March 1983, p. 12. 270

"Ayash Funeral Friday at Presbyterian Church," Minot Daily News, 19 January 1976, p. 6.

271

Grace Fisher, “Vincent United Celebrates 100th Anniversary Year," Minot Daily News, 18 October 1986, p. A4. A Methodist Church building was actually on this corner from 1887-1957. In 1906 the brick building was built to replace an earlier, remodeled church building. 272

Grace Fisher, ed., St. Leo's: the First 100 years: 1886-1986: Minot, North Dakota, [Minot, ND: 1986], p. 24.

273

These are the full range of numbers that were obtained from the homeroom numbers supplied on Teacher's Final Report forms filed at the office of the Ward County Superintendent of Schools: 620, 661, 697, 725, 767, 910, 671, 905, 1011, 1074. Two numbers seem questionable: 910 and 671. To check their relative accuracy I checked them against the number of student photos (or names) in the yearbooks. These are the yearbook numbers: 594, 593, 671, 686, 746, 725, 786, 850, 931, 969. Given either set of numbers, there was a significant increase in students. 274

"Record Enrollment Figures Swell MHS Student Ranks," 23 September 1960. p. 1.

275

Pp. 1, 25.

276

"Mr. Davy Greets Students; Extends Advice, Facilities," Minot High Times, 23 September 1960, p. 1; "Praise for Davy, Christensen; Leave Levis in Old Corral," p. 2. The quote is from Supt. James Slocum, found in the second article. 277

Kelly Genesen, "Administration Perceives Dress Policy Needed to Prepare Students for Society," Minot High Times, 22 April 1966, p. 4. The quote is from Principal Norman Howe. 278

"Athletic Lettermens [sic] Club Close Eventful First Year," Minot High Times, 16 May 1961, p. 6.

279

Sandy Beal, "Student Work Plan Offered in DE, Comm. Bus. Classes," Minot High Times, 13 February 1961, p. 5. Also see p. 33 of 1961 yearbook. 280

"Directory Provides List of Organizations, Advisers, Presidents, 37 Clubs Represented," Minot High Times, 28 November 1960, p. 4. 281

"Annual Career Night Slated by Student Council," Minot High Times, 24 February 1961, p. 5.

282

Cheryl Buschow, "DECA Store Supplies Most School Material," Minot High Times, 14 December 1992, p. 4. Also see the 1962 Searchlight, p. 118. For an article on the store two years later see "DECA Club Enjoys Increased Business in New, More Convenient Location," 11 November 1963, p. 4. 283

Sandy Beal, "High School Math Essential Course for College Attendance," Minot High Times, 28 November 1960, p. 7.

146 284

Jeffrey Miller, “Whatever Happened to New Math?” American Heritage, December 1990, American Heritage.com (http://www.americanheritage.com/content/whatever-happened-new-math-0). 285

1961 Searchlight, p. 51.

286

"Large Enrollment Necessitates Hiring Twelve New Teachers," 31 August 1961, p. 1.

287

"A First Introduced at MHS; Home Economics Class For Boys," Minot High Times, 2 February 1962, p. 4.

288

Corliss Fried, "Basic Concepts of Communism Emphasized Throughout MHS Social Science Department," Minot High Times, 16 March 1962, p. 5. 289

Fried.

290

"American Government Classes Examine Communism in Special Study Unit," Minot High Times, 11 November 1963, p. 1. 291

Mary Strube, "'A Good Teacher Is Also a Counselor' Is Belief of First Woman Counselor at MHS," Minot High Times, 23 December 1961, p. 7. 292

"Brigadoon First MHS Musical in Years Presented March 30-31 In Auditorium," Minot High Times, 16 March 1962, p. 1. 293

1963 Searchlight, p. 117.

294

“Discussions of Problems Object of Political Society,” Minot High Times, 16 March 1962, p. 3.

295

Cheryl Buschow, "Poll Reveals Perfect MHS Boy Has Black Hair, Good Manners, Pleasing Personality," 16 February 1962, p. 2. 296

Cheryl Buschow, "Perfect Girl Poll Taken Among MHS Male Students, Teachers," 19 January 1962, p. 2.

297

Tori Smith, "Reading Survey Reveals Few Read for Enjoyment," 22 November 1961, p. 2.

298

Mark Ashton, "Golf Team to Venture Out on New Course in Mid-April," Minot High Times, 13 April 1962, p. 3.

299

"Juniors Hold Off Last Quarter Surge, Squeak by Seniors with 18-17 Victory," Minot High Times, 2 February 1962, p. 3. According to an article the next school year, 1962 was the second year of this game: "Junior, Senior Girls Prepare for Encounter," 15 February 1963, p. 5. However, the 1962 article and another article on the same page made no reference to a game in the 1960-1961 school year. 300

Tom Ribb, “Electronic Sound Synthesizer Demonstrated to Physics Class,” Minot High Times, 2 February 1962, p. 4. 301

Saundra Bryn, "Contact Lenses Make Showing at MHS," Minot High Times, 16 March 1962, p. 2.

302

Caption for photograph, Minot High Times, 18 January 1963, p. 1.

303

"New Building One of Additions Seen at MHS This School Year," Minot High Times, 30 August 1962, p. 1.

304

"Use Common Sense and Map to Find Your Way Around," Minot High Times, 30 August 1962, p. 2.

305

"Use Common Sense and Map to Find Your Way Around."

306

Caption for maps, Minot High Times, 27 August 1964, p. 4.

147 307

"12 New Classes Added To MHS Curriculum; Open Doors To Knowledge," Minot High Times, 14 September 1962, p. 1. 308

"Confusion: Loyalty Day? Or Is It Homecoming?" 14 September 1962, p. 2; "Homecoming Not Always Held; New Since '31," 28 September 1962, p. 2; "The Magician's Cape" column, 28 September 1962, p. 2. The second article showed the editor asserting the use of "Homecoming" instead of "Loyalty Day." 309

"Formula For Failure: Drop Out of School," 9 November 1962, p. 2.

310

"Profile of A High School Drop-Out," 4 March 1966, p. 2. This was an article by one of the school’s guidance counselors: Schmitt, Patrick, "Schmitt Speaks Out on School Dropouts," 11 November 1963, pp. 2, 4. 311

"'Oklahoma,' Lively Rendition of Life in Days of Old West," 11 April 1963, p. 1.

312

"Large Number of Students Smoke with Parent Consent," 11 April 1963, p. 2.

313

1963 Searchlight, p. 117.

314

"Pom-Pom Girls Provide Halftime Shows for Magi Fans," Minot High Times, 1 February 1963, p. 3.

315

Jim Ribb, "Ribb'n with Ribb" [column], Minot High Times, 26 October 1962, p. 3.

316

"She 'Monsters' Still Roam Halls of Minot High," 2 February 1963, p. 2.

317

5 March 1963, p. 2.

318

"Minot High School with Doubled Capacity Welcomes New Students," 29 August 1963, p. 1.

319

"Holidays Evident to All in MHS in Sight and Sound," Minot High Times, 20 December 1963, p. 1.

320

"Library Capacity Doubles with Addition of Two Former Classrooms," Minot High Times, 20 September 1963, p. 4. 321

"Minot High School with Doubled Capacity Welcomes New Students," 29 August 1963, p. 1.

322

"Listening, Guiding, Advising Keep MHS Counselors Busy," Minot High Times, 4 October 1963, p. 2.

323

"Face-lifted Auditorium Scene of Nov. Music Man Production," Minot High Times, 25 October 1963, p. 1.

324

"Face-lifted Auditorium Scene of Nov. Music Man Production."

325

Joel Davy, "Davy Explains Why No Bon-Fire," Minot High Times, 4 October 1963, p. 2.

326

"The Minot High Times Editorial Platform," 4 October 1963, p. 2.

327

Bob Williams, "Math Club Learns Principles of Electronic Computing in Work with New Minivac 6010," Minot High Times, 20 December 1963, p. 3. 328

Jim Ribb, "School Boasts Ham Hobbiests [sic]; Communicate Around the World," Minot High Times, 20 December 1963, p. 8. 329

Kathe Williams, "Movies Record Magi Merits, Mistakes," 20 March 1964, p. 5-A.

330

"Student Council Takes Up Problem of Reapportionment," Minot High Times, 28 February 1964, p. 1.

331

"Reapportionment Bill Passes; New Council to Number 18," Minot High Times, 3 April 1964, p. 1.

148 332

"Cross Country, New Magi Varsity Sports [sic] Attracts 11 Candidates," Minot High Times, 4 October 1963, p. 4. 333

"Christianson Heads 1st Magician Baseball Squad," Minot High Times, 17 April 1964, p. 3; Clarence Christianson, "Baseball Squad Ends First Season," Minot High Times, 20 May 1964, p. 5. 334

"Hovde Urges Extension of MHS Sport Program, Girls Athletics," Minot High Times, 6 November 1964, p. 3.

335

Larry Dreyer, "Advanced Phy-Ed Proves Popular Student Elective," 9 April 1965, p. 3.

336

"Gary Leslie Breeding Gymnasts in Hope of Establishing Program," Minot High Times, 18 December 1964, p. 4. 337

1965 Searchlight, p. 175. A lengthy article on Coach Hovde's retirement from coaching: Robert Mihalya, "Coach Hovde Resigns after 20 Years at MHS," Minot High Times, 22 April 1966, p. 5. 338

1966 Searchlight, p. 186.

339

"Clothes Must Meet MHS Standards," Minot High Times, 27 August 1964, p. 2.

340

“Political Discussion Society to Be Reorganized Now after Last Year’s Controversial Collapse,” Minot High Times, 3 December 1965, p. 1. 341

Jane Green, "The Rabbit Knows," 18 September 1964, p. 2.

342

Linda Ford, "MHS Boasts Beatle Lovers, Haters," 4 December 1964, p. 3.

343

Susan Hart, "Corner Pocket Newest Hangout for Students," Minot High Times, 9 April 1965, p. 4. The article supplied this address for the Corner Pocket: 437 2nd St. N.W. 344

"School Year Opens with Record-Breaking Enrollment," 2 September 1965, p. 1.

345

"Howe Outlines Dress Standards," 2 September 1965, p. 3.

346

Kelly Genesen, "Administration Perceives Dress Policy Needed to Prepare Students for Society," 22 April 1966, p. 4. 347

Larry Dreyer, "NDHSAA Establishes Girls Inter-Scholastic Sports Program," Minot High Times, 1 October 1965, p. 7. 348

This is inferred both from the Dreyer article and from a Minot High Times editorial titled "Athletics for Girls Are Sorely Needed" in the same issue, p. 2. 349

"Girl's [sic] Track to Start New MHS Program," Minot High Times, 22 April 1966, p. 6; "Girls Win State Title in Track," 27 May 1966, p. 3; "Nine Girls Given Letters for Track Successes," 27 May 1966, p. 4. The quotation is from the first article. 350

"Overhead Projectors Most Versatile Classroom Aid, Teachers Report," Minot High Times, 22 December 1965, p. 5. 351

Kelly Genesen, "Development of More Complex Computers Poses Potential Threat to Future of All Mankind," 22 December 1965, p. 6. 352

"Accelerated English Deserves Extension," 1 October 1965, p. 2; "Cornered Comments" [column], 1 October 1965, p. 2.

149 353

"Times Advocates Sex Education Class," 18 March 1966, p. 2.

354

"Sex Class Needed," 19 January 1968, p. 2.

355

"Teen-Age Night Club Owner Appreciates MHS Patronage," Minot High Times, 4 March 1966, p. 5.

356

Susan Hart, "Those Eligible for Draft Speak Out on Own Situation," 12 November 1965, p. 1.

357

Diana Hunter, "Rock and Roll - Good or Bad?" 3 December 1965, p. 3.

358

Linda Saugstad, "Students Protest Stereotyped Image," 7 April 1966, p. 5.

359

Linda Saugstad, "Lack of Cooperation Criticism for Male Cheerleader Plan," 4 March 1966, p. 6. An article published later in the spring provided a history of Minot High's cheerleaders, including information about male cheerleaders: Christine Moen, "MHS Cheerleaders Symbol Since 1930," 22 April 1966, p. 4. 360

1966 Searchlight, p. 161.

361

1967 Searchlight, p. 109.

362

Pat Ohlgren, "Spirited M And M's Make the Scene, "13 February 1967, p. 7.

363

1967 Searchlight, p. 128.

364

1965 Searchlight, p. 159. The Chamber Choir was only in existence for two years.

365

"Magicians Capture Top Honors at the First Class A Baseball Tourney in N.D.," Minot High Times, 15 September 1967, p. 5. According to a NDHSAA staff person, high school baseball was not truly sanctioned until the spring of 2000: Brenda Schell, e-mail message to the author, 27 April 2011. 366

"Teen [sic] Teaching Slated To Begin This Year," Minot High Times, 13 February 1967, p. 1.

367

“Semester Brings Three New Classes to MHS,” Minot High Times, 13 January 1967, p. 1.

368

Kathy German, "Good Library Essential Part of Complex School System," Minot High Times, 29 September 1967, p. 4. 369

"Russian Class Added to MHS Curriculum," Minot High Times, 22 December 1967, p. 4.

370

Kris Halverson, "Student Council Acts As Representative," Minot High Times, 22 December 1967, p. 8.

371

"The Book Shelf" [column], 19 January 1968, p. 4.

372

Patrick Jones, "The Hip and Well-Read: The Reading Interests of Older Teens," in Sheila Anderson, ed., Serving Older Teens (Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited, 2004), p.113. 373

1968 Searchlight, p. 188.

374

5 September 1968, p. 2.

375

"MHS Students Scheduled by Computer," Minot High Times, 11 October 1968, p. 5.

376

"Regulations Set for Dress Wear," Minot High Times, 5 September 1968, p. 2.

377

"Klostreich and Hennessy . . . Coaches Head Magi Wrestlers," Minot High Times, 3 April 1969, p. 1.

378

"Computer Dance to Be Held for Minot High Students," 3 April 1969, p. 5.

150 379

This information is from front-page Minot Daily News articles for April 2, 3, and 8, 1969. The "close to 150" quotation comes from the April 2nd article. That article stated that there were 430 Minot Public Schools teachers, but the other articles consistently reported 425. 380

Bette Nowacki, "When the Teachers Went on Strike," Minot Daily News, 10 April 1994, p 1. In the following article, striking teacher Hardy Lieberg is quoted as saying "the flood is what broke our back": Andrea Johnson, "Minot Teachers Go on Strike in 1969," Minot Daily News: Hometown, 2008, p. 72. 381

“Minot High Enrollment Up--No More Absences Being Tolerated without Good Reason,” Minot Daily News, 29 April 1969, p. 1.

382

Bette Nowacki, "When the Teachers Went on Strike," Minot Daily News, 10 April 1994, p 1.

383

Frank Rzeczkowski, "Flood [Overview]," The Flood of 1969: a Special Supplement to the Minot Daily News , 17 April 1994, pp. 1, 18. 384

"Minot AFB Diamond Becomes Home Park for Magi," Minot High Times, 28 May 1969, p. 9.

385

"Magician Stadium Scene of 1969 Commencement," Minot High Times, 28 May 1969, p. 5.

386

"Enrollment Reaches Peak," Minot High Times, 3 October 1969, p. 1.

387

“Major Changes Are Made in Dress Code,” 24 October 1969, p. 2.

388

"Study Hall East Becomes Library," Minot High Times, 3 October 1969, p. 2.

389

"A Big Dream Has Come True: There Will Be a New MHS," 19 December 1969, p. 1.

390

P. 65.

391

"Contract System of Teaching Meets with Student Approval," 13 February 1970, p. 2. This article was not clearly written. 392

"The BA BOYS Help Promote School Spirit!" Minot High Times, 13 February 1970, p. 3. The 1970 yearbook, on p. 26, said that BA stood for Bachelors of America. 393

1970 Searchlight, p. 91.

394

"State Football Champions, 1910-1974"--a spreadsheet file downloaded from the North Dakota High School Activities Association website (http://www.ndhsaa.org/champions_football). 395

"Earth Day Observed in MHS Classrooms," Minot High Times, 27 April 1970, p. 1.

396

"Electric Car Will Shock the World," 27 April 1970, p. 3.

397

"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In," Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia (http://www.wikipedia.org).

398

"The Junior-Senior Prom's Groovy Theme Is 'The Age of Aquarius,'" 27 April 1970, p. 1.

399

The staff numbers were from this article: "22 New Faculty Members Added to MHS Staff Bringing Total to 96," Minot High Times, 12 October 1970, p. 6. According to numbers compiled at the school district administration building, the September 30, 1969, MHS enrollment number was 1918; the number for 1970 was 2027. 400

"Pantsuits Dominate Fashions," Minot High Times, 5 February 1971, p. 3.

401

"Females Invade Auto Tech," Minot High Times, 26 March 1971, p. 5.

151 402

"Magi Wrestlers Beaten for First Time in Four Years," Minot High Times, 18 December 1970, p. 4.

403

"New Hercules Machine Regarded as Boost to Minot High Athletics," Minot High Times, 26 March 1971, p. 6.

404

1971 Searchlight, pp. 8, 65, 185.

405

Minot High School Magic City Campus (Minot, ND: Minot Public Schools, [1973]), p. 3; "$5.8 Million High School Project Nears Start," Minot Daily News, 12 August 1971, p. 1. Minot High School Magic City Campus was an information booklet on the new school. 406

"Summer Ends on Monday for Youngsters of Minot," Minot Daily News, 24 August 1971, p. 14.

407

"Dance, Lounge and Pledge Discussed by Student Council," Minot High Times, 14 February 1972, p. 1.

408

"Ron Mills Interviewed," Minot High Times, 15 October 1971, p. 2.

409

"Youth Group Aids Retarded," Minot High Times, 28 March 1972, p. 3. This organization may have existed only for one semester. 410

"ROTC Invades Minot High," Minot High Times, 15 October 1971, p. 2. The information in the last sentence was from the 1972 yearbook, p. 157. 411

"Aerospace Education Program Expanded to Third Year," Minot High Times, February 1973, p. 2.

412"Golf

Swingers Move into Second Year," Minot High Times, October 1972, p. 5. So far this article's headline is the best evidence that girls' golf started in the 1971-1972 school year. 413

"New Teen Center Is 'Garage,'" Minot High Times, 19 May 1972, p. 10. In an article the following year "Arrow Garage" was identified as the Aero Garage, which had "stored taxi cabs and buses" and then "was converted into an indoor parking area." See citation below. 414

"Student Opinion Requested for Improvement of Garage," Minot High Times, December 1972, p. 3.

415

"Vocational Education Program Sees 250 Students Enrolled," Minot High Times, February 1973, p. 3.

416

This photo is courtesy of Pam Stroklund, who took it just before the building was torn down. Steve Beutler also has a photo of the front of the building. 417

1973 Searchlight, p. 130.

418

“Marquardt Launches Speech,” Minot High Times, October 1973, p. 8.

419

"Newly Formed Humanities Club Sees Culture in Winnipeg, Man.," Minot High Times, February 1973, p. 1.

420

"Physical Fitness and Enjoyment Are Outcome of GAA Activities," Minot High Times, February 1973, p. 6.

421

"Homecoming 1972 at MHS," Minot High Times, October 1972, p. 6.

422

Robert Roos, "Shuffle Due When $5.5 Million High School Opens," Minot Daily News, 10 March 1973, p. 10.

423Minot

High School Magic City Campus (Minot, ND: Minot Public Schools, [1973]), p. 3. This was an information booklet on the new school. 424

Roos, Robert. "Active participation" are Supt. Marlowe Johnson's words quoted in the article.

425

"Construction Necessitates the Revival of Old Central, Y, Portables," Minot High Times, September 1973, p. 5.

152 426

"Facelift at Central Campus Lifts Faces of Students," Minot High Times, February 1974, p. 5.

427

"Compliments and Complaints Due New Campus," Minot High Times, September 1973, p. 5. The sentences on the faculty game and Basic Lip Reading are from this article: Jackie Fredrich, "The Games People Play . . .," Minot High Times, November 1973, p. 4. 428

"One Minot High School: The Unrealistic Goal of Administrators and School Board," November 1973, p. 2.

429

David Whitney, "Relationship of MHS Campuses Top Concern," Minot Daily News, 8 August 1974, p. 5.

430

"Majettes Grab District Crown," Minot High Times, November 1973, p. 8; 1974 Searchlight, p. 160.

431

1974 Searchlight, p. 164.

432

"Ink Johnson Wraps Up High School Wrestling Career with 5th in Nationals," Minot High Times, April 1974, p. 4. 433

"Language Clubs Launch Year," Minot High Times, October 1973, p. 3.

434

"Mini-Day Coming Soon," Minot High Times, March 1974, p. 1.

435

1974 Searchlight, p. 193.

436

"Invitation to PTA Extended," Minot High Times, November 1973, p. 3. A letter to the editor in the October 1974 High Times, p. 2, shows that the PTSA was organized by that time. 437

“Game Theory Object of Bulc Htam,” Minot High Times, November 1973, p. 5.

438

"Helpers in Education Exercise Interest in Teaching as a Vocation," Minot High Times, March 1974, p. 4.

439

"Miniature Students Invade Minot High," Minot High Times, March 1974, p. 3.

440

"Central Expands on Its Curriculum," Minot High Times, March 1974, p. 7; "Sanford Reveals Innovation for Future of Magic City," Minot High Times, May 1974, p. 2. 441

“Youth Supplies a Touch of Culture from the Humanities Club,” Minot High Times, September 1973, p. 1. In the yearbook the information on the sculpture stated that it had been given the title “Youth.” 442

"U.S.S. Minot High School Improves after Maiden Voyage," October 1974, p. 2.

443

"Walls of Old Central Come Tumbling Down," Minot Daily News, 15 August 1974, p. 1.

444

"MHS Swim Team Captures State," Minot High Times, March 1975, p. 1.

445

"Hockey Closes with 3-12-1," Minot High Times, 4 March 1975, p. 8. For the previous four years the Minot Recreation Commission had organized a league for hockey teams. Minot High was one of the teams and competed with teams from a number of towns. See "Hockey Season Begins," Minot High Times, November 1973, p. 6, and "Hockey Sets 2-9-1 Record," Minot High Times, February 1974, p. 5. 446

Dana Rogstad, "Alternates to Current P.E. Program Suggested," January 1975, p. 2.

447

Dana Rogstad, “ERA Hearings Observed,” Minot High Times, January 1975, p. 3.

448

"Vocational Education Week Observed at Minot High School," 4 March 1975, p. 3.

449

"Drug Non-Users Pay the Price," April 1975, p. 2.

153 450

"Lead Slinging Lady Portrayed by Becky Bakken in 'Calamity Jane,'" Minot High Times, March 1975, p. 1.

451

"Mini Days Are Again Successful," Minot High Times, November 1974, p. 3.

452

"Central Campus Mini Day Debut Deemed a Huge Success," Minot High Times, 4 March 1975, p. 5.

453

"Student Newspaper Begins Publication at Central Campus," Central Campus Crier, 24 September 1975, p. 1; David Ricci, "Central Campus Establishes Identity," Central Campus Crier, 24 September 1975, p. 2. The quotations are from the second piece, an editorial. 454

1976 Searchlight, pp. 125-127, 129.

455

1976 Searchlight, pp. 130, 133.

456

1977 Searchlight, p. 48.

457

These numbers were taken from enrollment sheets at the school district administration building. For each year I looked at the numbers for the end of September and end of May. 458

"Special Education Organizes Club," 1977 Searchlight, p. 43.

459

"Brostrom Heads New Career Education Plus" and "New Model Me Program Added to Curriculum," 1977 Searchlight, n.p. 460

"New Head Coach Jane Jackson Pacing Girls Track to Victory," Minot High Times, May 1978, p. 19.

461

"Grand Opening of the Corner Junction Highlighted by KKOA Broadcast, Prizes," Minot High Times, November 1977, p. 1. There was also an article on the opening in the October 1977 High Times. 462

1979 Searchlight, p. 67.

463

"Speech Club Members Capture State Championship in Fargo," Minot High Times, May 1978, p. 18.

464

1978 Searchlight, p. 172. The information about showing new students around was from this article: "Caring Evident in 'Students Concerned About Students,'" Minot High Times, September 1977, p. 1. Steve Joyal (see following citation) said that students presented information to other students. 465

Steve Joyal, telephone interview, 5 May 2011.

466

"Student Council Plans Radio Broadcast," Minot High Times, May 1978, p. 9.

467

Mr. Beaver’s last year at MHS was the 1985-1986 school year. A couple of the photos suggest that the pamphlet was created after the 1970s. 468

"Students Voice Problems at MCC," November 1977, p. 2.

469

William Blansfield, "Students Are Urged To Hult [sic] Apathy by Learning School Song," November 1977, p. 2.

470

1979 Searchlight, p. 134.

471

"Voc. Classes Construct MCC Addition," Minot High Times, December 1978, p. 4.

472

"Budget Cut of $1.2 Million Unhappy Set Back [sic] for Magic City" [editorial], Minot High Times, January 1979, p. 2. 473

"Baseball Slicks into Last Season," Minot High Times, April 1979, p. 4.

154 474

"ROTC Donates Glider as Remembrance," Minot High Times, February 1979, p. 1.

475

"Newly Chosen Student Guides Acquaint Students with MCC," Minot High Times, September 1978, p. 1. A photo of MCC Student Guides first appeared in the 1979 yearbook. 476

"Apple II Computer Errorless," Minot High Times, November 1978, p. 1.

477

Craig Nansen, personal interview, 18 April 2011.

478

Thom Smith, "Magic City Students Drive To Solve Parking Lot Problem," April 1979, p. 2.

479

"Is Car Pooling Needed at MCC?" October 1978, p. 1. For the outcome of the carpooling efforts see articles cited in the previous and following note. For more on the car pooling effort, see this article in the Minot Daily News by Kim Murphy: "Students Try Car Pooling Program," 9 November 1978, p. 16. 480

Shelly Rau, "Student Council Presents Solution to Parking Problem," May 1979, p. 1. Also see the Thom Smith article above. The quotation is from the Rau article. 481

"Golden Cue Comes to Minot Area," May 1979, p. 4.

482

"Computers Add New Dimension to Math Department," Minot High Times, September 1979, p. 3. Craig Nansen supplied the information that the new computer room was in the math office area in an 18 April 2011 personal interview. 483

“Speaking Is Emphasized in Curriculum,” Minot High Times, November 1982, p. 2.

484

Laurie Baker, "High School Program Emphasizes Writing," Minot Daily News, 15 October 1980, p. 3. In this article Dr. Olthoff also notes that the emphasis on vocational training and industrial arts had kept more students in school than in the past, students with weaker communication skills. 485

1981 Searchlight, p. 192.

486

“Media Arts Classes Join TV Set with Youth Views,” Minot High Times, November 1979, p. 3.

487

Jim Vitko, personal interview, 29 April 2011.

488

Jack Graham, "Coeducational Phy-ed Classes Concern School Board Members, Minot Daily News, 6 December 1979, p. 13. 489

Glee Mayer, phone interview, 28 August 2011. Some MHS staff to interview in the future on the topic: Kathy Aspaas, Bob Sundberg, Doyle Radke, and Clair Roth. Brett Mayer did her St. Cloud University master's degree on the topic. 490

The numbers, including those for the decade's opening and closing years, were taken from enrollment sheets at the school district administrative building. All of the numbers were end-of-September enrollment numbers. 491

"Problems Solved for Parking," Minot High Times, October 1980, p. 2. Another article discussed pressures on student parking south and southwest of the school across the street: "Staff Commends Decision for More Parking Space," September 1980, p. 2. 492

"Feds Say No to Junk Food," Minot High Times, October 1980, p. 1.

493

"Mr. Olthoff Practices Writing Skills," Minot High Times, October 1980, p. 3.

494

"Chicken Man Flies into Hearts of MCC Students," October 1980, p. 3.

155 495

"Power Volleyball Gives New Meaning to Old Game," Minot High Times, February 1986, p. 5.

496

"Goodman Heads Initial Girls' Volleyball Season," Minot High Times, December 1980, p. 4.

497

"Debate Team of Schmidt and Iverson Take First at State," Minot High Times, February 1981, p. 1.

498

"Percentages on Recent Poll Reveal 66% of Students Work," October 1980, p. 2.

499

"Student Life Suffers Greatly When Students Work," November 1980, p. 2.

500

"Student Poll May Be 'Up to Snuff'" and "Tobacco Chewing Deemed Thoughtless, Harmful Habit," Minot High Times, February 1981, p. 2 501

"Patriotism Week Promotes Civic Pride," Minot High Times, March 1981, p. 3.

502

"Teacher Craig Nansen Comments on Computers and Math Students," Minot High Times, May 1981, p. 18.

503

1981 Searchlight, pp. 70-71.

504

Patty Francis, "After the Prom Party Offers Choice," The Review: a Weekly Magazine, 8 May 1985, n.p. This magazine was published by Creative Media Publishing of Minot in the 1980s. The Patty Francis article is in a vertical file folder at the MCC library. No page number was written on the article. 505

"Part-time Jobs Have Good and Bad Aspects for Students," Minot High Times, October 1981, p. 2.

506

Kelly, John, "Wisdom of Ryan Participation in MHS Sports Challenged," February 1982, p. 2; "Students Express Their Feelings on Ryan Students Participating in MHS Sports," March 1982, p. 3. 507

Denes Smith, "Borden Presents Writing As a Learning Process," February 1982, p. 3.

508

"FBLA Sponsors School Song Banner for Gymnasium at MCC," Minot High Times, March 1982, p. 3.

509

It seems to have been first replaced in 1997. See this article: Tim Gange, "Site Council Members Decide Issues Involving MCC Operations," Minot High Times, December 1997, p.1. A more recent replacement left out a word that was not actually part of the school song. 510

511

1982 Searchlight, p. 288. "'Hacking' Computers Becomes a Frustrating Yet Profitable Activity for MCC Students," May 1982, p. 13.

512

"Mrs. Aanestad Recounts School Days," Minot High Times, 19 May 1984, p. 11. There's a photo of students eating at tables on the floor of the gym in the 1975 yearbook. 513

1983 Searchlight, p. 151.

514

"Duane Carlson Stadium Named for Athletic Director after 42 Years of Service," Minot High Times, November 1982, p. 2. 515

The "final season" quote is from the 1983 yearbook supplement pages on baseball. The "financial crisis" is from this article: "Financial Crisis Necessitates Cuts in Extracurricular Activities," Minot High Times, April 1983, p. 4. The other information is from this article in the Minot High Times: "Baseball Is Here," April 1984, p. 5. 516

"Minot High School Chosen As Top Class A High School in State of North Dakota," Minot High Times, May 1983, p. 15; 1984 Searchlight, p. 156. 517

"Soccer Association Plans Intramural Games for Eager Student Participants," Minot High Times, April 1984, p. 6. Also see the supplement to the 1984 Searchlight, p. 15.

156 518

"Baseball Is Here," Minot High Times, April 1984, p. 5.

519

1984 Searchlight Supplement, p. 9.

520

"Students Renovate Hockey Rink," Minot High Times, October 1983, p. 3. The yearbook reported on the renovation in the VICA section. 521

"North Dakota Surfing Association Started at Magic City," Minot High Times, December 1983, p. 3.

522

"Parking Continues to Be Problem; New Ten Dollar Fine Seems High," November 1983, p. 2.

523

Nadine Bouchard, "Crawford Considers Canceling Skip Week," 19 May 1984, p. 4. The Nation at Risk report on American education had just been published in 1983. 524

"Dropouts Drop in to Alternate Education Program at New Site," Minot High Times, October 1984, p. 1.

525

Tanya Watterud, "MHS Programs Designed to Solve Personal Troubles, Sharpen Logic," Minot Daily News, 6 September 1984, p. 7. 526

"Various Views Are Expressed About Girls in Contact Sports," February 1985, p. 2.

527

Jim Johnson, phone interview, 14 May 2011; Betty Neff, phone interview, 14 May 2011. The author remembers the complaints by the school board member that the materials were negative or depressing. She also remembers that other texts were questioned. 528

"Family Living Course Causes Much Controversy," Minot High Times, September 1984, p. 5.

529

Tanya Watterud, "One Candidate Backing Flickinger on Investigation of Library Books," Minot Daily News, 1 June 1985, p. 1. This article provides much detail on the "investigation." 530

Edna Boardman, Censorship: the Problem That Won't Go Away (Worthington, OH: Linworth Publishing, 1993), pp. 4.3, 4.8, 4.9. 531

Laurie Baker, "Minot School Board members Criticize Flickinger Mailing," Minot Daily News, 14 November 1980, p. 2. 532

"Leave the Books Alone" [editorial], Minot Daily News, 12 March 1986, p. A6.

533

"Tradition Changes As Graduation Moves to Sunday," Minot High Times, April 1985, p. 3.

534

"Nansen Named New Coordinator," Minot High Times, May 1985, p. 4.

535

"Teachers Teach Teachers, Too," February 1986, p. 3.

536

"Mastery Learning Is Road to Achieve Set Outcomes," Minot High Times, January 1987, p. 1.

537

Darrell Liebelt, personal interview, 16 May 2011.

538

1986 Searchlight, p. 161.

539

"Close Up Group Heads for Washington, D.C. To Experience the Process of Democracy," Minot High Times, January 1986, p. 1. 540

"Leave the Books Alone" [editorial], Minot Daily News, 12 March 1986, p. A6.

541

"Review Committee Returns Books," Minot High Times, April 1986, p. 2.

157 542

P. 273.

543

Turtle races were mentioned in this article: "MHS Students and Faculty Make '85 Homecoming Huge Success," Minot High Times, October 1985, p.3. There were also photos in the 1986 yearbook. 544

"Mastery Learning Gives Students a Second Chance to Improve," October 1986, p. 3.

545

"Mastery Learning Is Road to Achieve Set Outcomes," January 1987, p. 1.

546

Connie Ingebretson, "Schools Try New Accrediting Method," Minot Daily News, 4 January 1987, p. 3.

547

P. 131.

548

"It's About Time for Soccer," October 1986, p. 4.

549

Kirby Meiners, "Teachers Try Using New Cooperative Learning Process," May 1988, p. 14. Lesson Design was mentioned a number of times in the staff section of the 1988 yearbook. Some of the information in this paragraph is from the author's memory of these concepts being used at MCC. 550

1988 Searchlight, p. 147. The author also relied on her memory for this.

551

Dyana Neal, "MCC Departments Change Format," Minot High Times, February 1988, p. 2. All of the quotes are in Dyana Neal's words. 552

1988 Searchlight, p. 107.

553

Dyana Neal, "Phy. Ed Requirement Destroys GPA's for Many," November 1987, p. 2; Bonny Kemper, "Teacher Lists Benefits of Physical Education in Response to Editorial," March 1988, p. 4. 554

Dean Mattern, "MCC Faces Parking Problem," September 1987, p. 2; "Teachers' Lot Opened to Only a Chosen Few," December 1987, p. 3. The second source covers the additional parking options. 555

Aimee Cartier, "Students and Teachers Receive Education Concerning AIDS," Minot High Times, February 1988, p. 2. An editorial also to check out: Tom Koppenhaver, "AIDS Presentation Is a Success at Magic City," March 1988, p. 2. 556

Sabrina Grover, "Greatness Expected of South Pacific," Minot High Times, September 1987, p. 1; "'South Pacific' Gets North Dakota Raves" [editorial], Minot High Times, November 1987, p. 2. 557

P. 116. This yearbook was more helpful than the 1988 one in explaining the purposes of the organization.

558

1988 Searchlight, p. 95.

559

Brian Norstegaard, "Computer Lab Now Available," Minot High Times, September 1988, p. 1.

560

Aimee Cartier, "Library Adds Computer Lab," May 1988, p. 19. This article reported that 25 Macintosh computers were going to be added. 561

Susan Gessner and Edna Boardman, “Library History and Personnel,” computer file that the MCC library media specialist has. According to Mrs. Boardman’s notes, the three computers were “three overflow regular MacIntoshes . . . placed in carrels.” 562

Kim Stockert, "School Board Gives Figure Skating Club a Chance to Earn Athletic Letter," Minot High Times, October 1988, p. 4. 563

1989 Searchlight, p. 277.

158 564

1989 Searchlight, p. 166.

565

Anne McMillan, ""Kwik Stop Rivals Snack Shop," January 1989, p. 3.

566

Anissa Zerr, "DECA Wins Chapter Award; Reisenauer Top State Advisor," Minot High Times, February 1990, p. 1; Rhonda Semingson, "Funke Runs for National DECA Presidency," Minot High Times, January 1990, p. 1. The national election took place in April. I relied on my memory for the outcome. 567

1990 Searchlight, p. 56; Herro Mustafa, "Values Stressed in Rainbow Connection," Minot High Times, February 1990, p. 5. 568

1990 Searchlight Supplement, p. 5.

569

Barbi Roberts, "Figure Skaters Capture the Trophy Once Again," Minot High Times, February 1990, p. 4.

570

Theresa Chilson, "More Reading Goal of NCA," March/April 1990, p. 1.

571

Jason Ackerman, "Say 'Goodnight, Media Arts' As Class Offered for Last Time," Minot High Times, March/April 1990, p. 3. 572

Steve Joyal, 1991 Searchlight, p. 204.

573

Trevor Gaffney, "Academic Challenge--Minot's Answer to Jeopardy," Minot High Times, May 1990, p. 2.

574

Shane Schmeichel, "Budget Cuts Affect Minot Public Schools," Minot High Times, January 1990, p. 1; Toreen Johnson, "Budget Cuts Prompt Recycling of Paper," Minot High Times, February 1990, p. 2. For a student editorial response to the cuts, see "We Are All at Fault for the Budget Cuts--It Is Time to Get On with It," January 1990, p. 2. 575

Chris Neufeld, "Rumors of Local Gang Cause Concern," Minot High Times, 30 November 1990, [p.3]. In this same issue was an editorial ("Gangs in North Dakota?") that contained this statement: "If there actually is a gang problem, it needs to be addressed; if this is all just a bad rumor, then maybe we all need to learn some manners." 576

Dan Griffith, "Taking First Was No Debate for This Team," Minot High Times, February 1991, p. 1.

577

"Minot High Speakers Win State Championship," Minot High Times, April 1991, p. 1.

578

1991 Searchlight [Supplement], n.p.

579

Margi Crossley, "MCC Students and Staff Express Their Feelings on the Gulf War," February 1991, p. 2.

580

Chris Larson, "Technology Club Started," Minot High Times, 5 October 1990, [p. 3]. The 1991 yearbook page for the club suggested that it may have started the previous year. 581

1991 Searchlight, p. 133. The article spelled the game MINOTOPOLY.

582

1991 Searchlight, p. 185.

583

Eric Abrahamson, "Drafting with Computers Inspire Students to Learn AUTOCAD," Minot High Times, 5 October 1990, p. 1. 584

1991 Searchlight, p. 250.

585

1991 Searchlight, p. 252.

586

David Snyder, " Expensive IBM Lab Benefits Students and Adults," Minot High Times, October 1991, p. 3.

159 587

"Ecology Club Debuts at MCC," Minot High Times, November/December 1991, p. 1; Cary Cooper "Technical and Home Economic[s] Classes Score with Boys and Girls," Minot High Times, January/February 1992, p. 2. The quotation is from the first article. 588

Brent Olson, " Psychology Club Focuses on Volunteering and Community Service," Minot High Times, November/December 1991, p. 2. 589

1992 Searchlight, pp. 242, 249.

590

1992 Searchlight Spring Supplement, p. 8. See also Leroy Huizenga, "State Champs at Last!!! Magi Hockey First in 92," Minot High Times, March 1992, pp. 1, 4. 591

Dana Charter, "Role-playing Games' Popularity Grows with Students at MCC," Minot High Times, January/February 1992, p. 3. 592

Becky Burnside, "Unnamed Band Makes Reputation," March 1992, p. 2; Becky Burnside, "Nobody's Children Band Popular at Many Local Social Functions," May 1992, p. 9. 593

Becky Kean, "Honor Society Wants to Change 11th Ave. to Magic City Avenue," Minot High Times, March 1992, p. 1. 594

Heidi Sormula, "MCC Library Advances to the Computer Age with New Technology," Minot High Times, 18 December 1992, p. 1. 595

Matt Boyd, "Teachers Create Composition Handbook," Minot High Times, October 1992, p. 3.

596

1993 Searchlight Supplement, n.p.

597

1993 Searchlight, p. 207.

598

Devin Reierson, "Epic Confrontation Emerges from First Ever Battle of the Bands," Minot High Times, May 1993, p. 13. 599

See his remarks on the MCC principals' page for both the 1993 and 1994 yearbooks.

600

Kelly Bills, "Choices Program Helps Students Decide on Careers," Minot High Times, December 1994, p. 1.

601

Amanda Haugeberg, "'Choices' Program Valuable," Minot High Times, March 1999, p. 3.

602

Richard Larson, "Implementing the Strategic Plan," Minot Public Schools Annual Report for the 1996-1997 School Year, 1997, p. 1. 603

Tim Gange, "Site Council Members Decide Issues Involving MCC Operations," Minot High Times, December 1997, p. 1. This is a very informative article on Site Council operations at MCC at this time. 604

Kevin Morales, "MHS Team Brings Home State BB Title," Minot High Times, March 1995, p. 1.

605

Chad O'Connell, "MHS Dress Code Controversy Rages Still," Minot High Times, May 1995, p. 14.

606

Mike Rose, "Second Annual Battle of the Bands Highlights Senior Week," Minot High Times, May 1995, p. 13.

607

Mike Rose, "Minot Collective Cultural Center Gives City Taste of Punk Rock," May 1995, p. 15. Also see citation in previous note. 608

P. 108.

609

Edna Boardman, FYI, October 1995, n.p. FYI was a MCC library newsletter that Mrs. Boardman created.

160 610

Edna Boardman, FYI, October 1995, n.p.

611

Austin Van Zomeren, "Greenhouse Addition Gets Nearer to Completion," Minot High Times, October 1995, p. 3; Nathan Anderson, "Building Trades Is Popular Class," Minot High Times, May 1995, p. 13. Vern Thiessen confirmed, in a 27 August 2011 phone call, that the greenhouse was finished during the school year. 612

Phil Mellum, "College Credit Becomes Option for Many Magic City Students," Minot High Times, January 1996, p. 1. 613

This information was from a binder titled Registration Numbers 1995-2013 that Assistant Principal Jeri Grant has in her office. Mrs. Christine (Avery) Burchill also remembers that she began teaching ITV classes in the 1995-1996 school year. 614

The 1995-1996 high school registration guide listed the home economics courses under this heading: "Family and Consumer Sciences (Home Economics)." 615

Paul Johnson, "Planners Meant to Help Organization," Minot High Times, October 1995, p.1. Also see 1996 Searchlight, p. 162. 616

Holly Leshovsky, "Girls' Golf Team Wins Fourth Straight State Title with Record Performance," Minot High Times, October 1995, p. 1. 617

Mike Kelly, "Minot Oilers Hockey Team Lays Claim to Dynasty with Fourth Consecutive State Title," Minot High Times, April 1996, p. 4. 618

Jaime Larson, "Cheerleading Is Complicated Work," Minot High Times, January 1996, p. 4.

619

1997 Searchlight, p. 2.

620

Stanley Rowe, "Hat Rule Introduced at Central," Central Campus Crier, February 1996, p. 2.

621

1996 Searchlight, p. 116.

622

1997 Searchlight, p. 164.

623

Edna Boardman, FYI, September/October 1996, n.p. FYI was a MCC library newsletter that Mrs. Boardman created. 624

Richard Larson, "Implementing the Strategic Plan," Minot Public Schools Annual Report for the 1996-1997 School Year, 1997, p.1; "Strategic Plan Accomplishments - 1996-97," Minot Public Schools Annual Report for the 1996-1997 School Year, 1997, p.2. The quotation is from the first source; the FirstClass information is from the second one. 625

This online source was used to establish the years and when North Dakota participation began: http:// www.wapa.gov/ugp/sciencebowl/NorthDakota/Winners.htm. Rich Feldner, advisor for the teams, supplied the information about the 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 teams in a personal interview, 14 June 2011. 626

Robbie Werchau, phone interview, 6 June 2011. Also see 1997 Searchlight, p. 215.

627

Richard Larson, "Implementing the Strategic Plan," Minot Public Schools Annual Report for the 1996-1997 School Year, 1997, p. 1. 628

For more information about this year's work see these two High Times articles: JB Budeau, "Students Learn Carpenter Skills in Building Trades I Class," October 1996, p. 3; Nate Seright, " House Built by Building Trades Class Almost Ready for Sale," April/May 1997, p. 15.

161 629

Brent Borkhuis, "Construction Tech Classes Get Loads of Hands On Experience," Minot High Times, November/ December 2000, p. 3. 630

1997 Searchlight, p. 236.

631

Matt Knutson, "Second Generation Wins Battle of the Bands Competition," April/May 1997, p. 12.

632

Noel Danielson, "Snowboarding Is 'PHAT' This Year at Magic City Campus," December 1996, p. 8.

633

1997 Searchlight, pp. 2, 5.

634

P. 143.

635

Michelle Grueneberg, "Joining Two High Schools Becomes Issue," February/March 1998, p. 2.

636

Scott Ballantyne, "Significant Changes Made in Library Computer Labs," Minot High Times, September/October 1997, p. 2. 637

Kim Hall, "Magic Blades Win Bronze in Italy," Minot High Times, February/March 1998, p. 8.

638

Alyssa Kemper, “Dance Team Has Great Year,” Minot High Times, March 1999, p. 4. In the following article was the sentence “Dance is now recognized statewide as an athletic sport”: Kristie Crocker, “ Dance Team Requires Hard Work, Long Practices, and Dedication,” Minot High Times, February/March 1998, p. 7. 639

Pp. 107, 155.

640

1999 Searchlight, p. 197.

641

Mark Kelly, "Rockin' Magic City Campus Is the Home to Many Bands," February/March 1998, p. 4.

642

Daren Lorenz, "Calculators Have Undergone a Huge Change," December 1997, p. 3.

643

Rex Dimond, "Nintendo 64 or Sony Play Station Are More Than a Fad," February/March 1998, p. 2; Eric Ferguson, "More Sony or 64?" February/March 1998, p. 2. 644

Jenny Pitner, "What's Up with Tongue Piercing?" February/March, p. 2.

645

Richard Larson, "Strategic Plan Accomplishments 1998-1999," Minot Public Schools Year in Review: 1998-1999 School Year, 1999, p. 12. Also see Jennifer Jones, "Block Scheduling to Be Studied," Central Campus Crier, March 1998, p. 2. 646

Brenda Schell, e-mail message to the author, 27 April 2011. Ms. Schell is on the staff of the NDHSAA.

647

Maglyn Keeney, "Girls' Hockey Team Prepares to Defend the Goal in Their Inaugural Season," Minot High Times, November/December 1998, p. 4. Also see Renee Sposito, "Girls' Hockey Comes to Minot," Central Campus Crier, 28 April 1999, p. 5. 648

1999 Searchlight, p. 280.

649

All of this information, except the information about the 1999-2000 game, is from this article: Brittany Genre, "DECA Minotpoly Project Successful Money Maker," Minot High Times, January 1999, p. 1. The last bit of information is from the 2000 Searchlight. 650

1999 Searchlight, p. 222.

162 651

The first quotation is from the 1998-1999 Minot High School Registration Guide and Course Description Bulletin. The rest of the information is from this source: Jesse Hauser, “MCC Art Teachers Always Looking for Ways to Improve Instruction,” Minot High Times, September/October 1999, p. 1. 652

Sarah Kester, "New Parking Lot Opens," Minot High Times, September/October 1998, p. 2.

653

Terry J. Aman, "School Board Reviews Possible $1.8 Million Project at Central Campus," Minot Daily News, 17 December 1999, p. A1; Aman, "Minot Public School Board Discusses Central Campus," Minot Daily News, 18 January 2000, p. A1. 654

"Library Always Features Something New," Minot High Times, September/October 1999, p. 1.

655

Craig Nansen, personal interview, 16 June 2011.

656

Cheryl Purseglove, "Snack Central Opens," Central Campus Crier, 6 March 2000, p. 1.

657

Heather Welch, “Trendy Backpacks Sometimes Have Health and Safety Concerns,” Minot High Times, September/October 1999, p. 3. 658

These are enrollment numbers from the end of September, not from the end of the school year.

659

"Minot Public School District #1 Actual Enrollment 1993-2001 as of May 30," Minot Public Schools Year in Review: 2000-2001 School Year, 2001, p. 11. 660

2001 Searchlight, p. 4; Ashley Bernsdorf, "Central Campus Being Remodeled," Central Campus Crier, 28 February 2001, p. 1. According to the following article, the intent seemed to have been to have construction crews begin work at 4:00 p.m.: Andrea Johnson, "Reviewing Needs, Setting Priorities," Minot Daily News, 31 October 2000, p. C2. 661

Andrea Johnson, "Central Campus to Celebrate School Renovations," Minot Daily News, 1 February 2004, p. B1. 662

Ryan Bakke, "Minot Gets New Ice Skating Rinks," Minot High Times, September/October 2000, p. 3.

663

Chase Cantone, "Achievement Letter Program Enters Year Two," Minot High Times, Nov./Dec. 2001, p. 1.

664

At Math Track in the 2008-2009 school year, Minot High's team did not win the top title, but John Chelgren was the over-all champion; he was the only one in the state to achieve a perfect score on the exam. (Chelgren had not been the only MHS student to receive a perfect score on the exam, according to MCC math teacher Mike Gessner.) Source for the Chelgren information: Alex Wohl, "Match Track Meet Brings Out the Best in Students," Minot High Times, May 2009, p. 12. 665

"The All-New Central Campus: Physical Renovation Receives Thumbs Up!" The Educator [published by the Minot Public Schools], December 2001, n.p.; "Innovation and Increased Expectations Play a Role in Central Campus's Positive Environment," The Educator, December 2001, n.p; Keith Altendorf, personal interview, 30 June 2011. The first quotation is from the first article, the second quotation is from Keith Altendorf, and the third quotation is from the second article. Most of the paragraph intermixes information from the first article and Mr. Altendorf. 666

2002 Searchlight Supplement, p. 3; 2003 Searchlight, pp. 184-185.

667

2002 Searchlight, p. 21.

668

Jeri Novak, the finance secretary at MCC, used her records to determine that Character Counts started in the fall of the 2004-2005 school year.

163 669

2002 Searchlight, pp. 25, 155.

670

David Leonard, "Students React to Attacks on America," Minot High Times, September/October 2001, p. 3; Amy Engleson, "MCC Student Tells of CP Train Derailment," Minot High Times, February/March 2002, p. 1; 2002 Searchlight, pp. 25, 29. I added the information about schools being closed after the train derailment and the immediate reactions of students at MCC. Also see these Crier articles: Mike Scott, "New Park Skates into Minot," 4 April 2001, p. 14; and Devon Wold, "Ammonia Spill Affects Many," 27 February 2002, p. 10. 671

Charlie Ruppert, "Tech. Ed. Unveils Laser Engraving Machine," Minot High Times, February/March 2002, p. 3.

672

"Magic City Campus," Minot Public Schools Year in Review: 2001-2002 School Year, 2002, p. 9; Glee Mayer, phone interview, 28 August 2011. The date for the refurbishment is from the first sources; the other information is from Mayer. 673

Christa Anderson, "Edward Striefel Added to Central Campus Staff," Central Campus Crier, 27 February 2002, p. 1. 674

Peter Williams, "Break-in Occurs at Central Campus," Central Campus Crier, 1 May 2002, p. 1.

675

Andrea Johnson, "Central Campus to Celebrate School Renovations," Minot Daily News, 1 February 2004, p. B1. Keith Altendorf supplied the information about the additional classrooms in a 30 June 2011 personal interview. 676

Brandon Bailey, "STS New Organization at MCC," Minot High Times, March/April 2003, p. 2.

677

SADD is first mentioned in this article: Nickie Peterson, "Magic City Teacher Wenstad Called for Active Guard Duty," Minot High Times, March/April 2003, p. 2. The organization was first covered in the 2004 Searchlight. 678

Ali Guitian, "September 11th Ceremony Held in MCC Courtyard," Minot High Times, September/October 2002, p. 1. 679

Nickie Peterson, "Magic City Teacher Wenstad Called for Active Guard Duty," Minot High Times, March/April 2003, p. 2. 680

Andrea Johnson, "Central Campus to Celebrate School Renovations," Minot Daily News, 1 February 2004, p. B1. 681

Chris Bieri, "Lowe Returns To Teach Local Swimmers," Minot Daily News, 1 May 2011, MinotDailyNews.com

(http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/554278/Lowe-returns-to-teach-local-swimmers.html?nav=5016) 682

Heather Berry, "MHS Cheerleaders Win State Competition," Minot High Times, March 2004, p. 1.

683

2004 Searchlight, p. 200.

684

"Recognition of Community Members & Employees," 2003-2004 School Profile [Minot Public Schools], 2004, p. 12. 685

Tyler Bakke, "MCC Foreign Language Students Get New Computer Learning Lab," Minot High Times, November/December 2003, p. 2. 686

Denise Maresh, "C-Cam News Comes to Central Campus," Central Campus Crier, 25 February 2004, p. 2. Bruce Anderson, AV director at CC, is the advisor for the C-Cam program. According to the article, a student came up with the name "C-Cam." 687

This was one student's review of the iPod Mini: Justin Grina, "Apple's iPod Mini Makes Its Debut with Students at MCC," Minot High Times, March 2004, p. 2.

164 688

2004 Searchlight Supplement, p. 22. Also see this later article in the Minot High Times: Allison Tracy, "Cell Rules Changed for the Better," October 2007, p. 3. 689

"Central Campus" and "Magic City Campus," 2003-2004 School Profile [Minot Public Schools], 2004, pp. 8-9.

690

Brittany Dittus, "Brakelazy Band Debuts New CD of 13 Original Tunes," November/December 2003, p. 1; Jessica Kelly, "MCC Students Form Mapatazy," November/December 2003, p. 3. The quotation is from the second article. 691

"Northwest North Dakota Career & Technical Center Celebration Held Today," The Magi Flyer [Magic City Campus], 16 October 2006, [p.1]. This entire issue was created for the opening of the new center. 692

Erin Obenchain, "Central Campus Undergoes More Changes," Central Campus Crier, 6 October 2004, p. 1.

693

"Central Campus," 2004-2005 School Profile [Minot Public Schools], 2005, p. 8. Also see Sarah Bauchner, "Win a Dinner with Josh Duhamel, Central Campus Crier, 1 December 2004. 694

The person who organized National History Day participation at Central Campus was Mrs. Marsha Looysen. A phone call to her on June 22, 2011, confirmed that 2004-2005 was the first year of participation. The School Profile annual reports provide details on how well the participants did in state competition. Mrs. Looysen and Mr. Richard Srejma were mentors. 695

"First Time for 'After Graduation Party,'" Minot High Times, May 2005, p. 10.

696

2006 MHS Searchlight Supplement, p. 8.

697

Kristen Bliven, "Girls' Fastpitch Softball Added," Minot High Times, February/March 2006, p. 1. The article also has information on girls' fastpitch softball in the summer for the previous three years. 698

Jill Schramm, "Community Bowl Tops List," Minot Daily News, 5 November 2005, pp. B1+; Schramm, "Bowl Group Narrows Site Search," Minot Daily News, 12 July 2007, pp. A1+; Schramm, "Committee Settles on Site," Minot Daily News, 25 July 2007, pp. B1+; Schramm, "No NAWS Money for Bowl," Minot Daily News, 11 June 2008, pp. A1+. 699

Andrea Johnson, "School Starts New Tutoring Program," Minot Daily News, 19 August 2005, p. B3. In the 1997-1998 school year Central Campus began a high school prep program for students who were not succeeding in classes. Unlike Guided Study, the high school prep course was taken for credit. See this Central Campus Crier article: Jennifer Petrisin, "High School Prep Helps Students Succeed," March 1998, p. 3. 700

2006 MHS Searchlight Supplement, p. 29.

701

Kelli Ohlhauser, "Adopt a Soldier Promoted," Minot High Times, November/December 2005, p. 3.

702

Andrea Johnson, "More High School Female Students Are Enrolling in Non-traditional Career Classes," Minot Daily News, 13 December 2005, p. C1. 703

Andrea Johnson, "Minot High School Receives Second Bomb Threat Tuesday," Minot Daily News, 12 October 2005, p. B1+. 704

Jason Lillis, ""'Smart' Board Technology," Central Campus Crier, November 2005, p. 3; David Looysen, letter to school district patrons, 2005-2006 School Profile, 2006, p. 1. Supt. Looysen wrote that the money for 80 SMART Boards and 185 projectors came from the settlement of a Microsoft class-action lawsuit. 705

"Northwest North Dakota Career & Technical Center Celebration Held Today," The Magic Flyer [Magic City Campus], 16 October 2006, [p.2].

165 706

Amber Adams, "Big Benefits Made from MCC Weight Room Renovations," Minot High Times, January 2007, p. 1. 707

Matthew McGee, "Goodbye Orange Brick Wall," Minot High Times, November/December 2006, p. 2. The quote is from MCC Assistant Principal Jeri Grant, personal interview, 27 June 2011. 708

Alphonse Koenigsman, phone interview, 15 July 2011. Mr. K also said that a new sound system was installed in the spring of 2008. 709

2007 Searchlight, p. 178.

710

"Magic City Campus," 2006-2007 School Profile, 2007, p. 8; Keith Altendorf, personal interview, 30 June 2011.

711

Kalen Hogan, "Newest Regulations Mean Changes in the Food We Eat," Minot High Times, October 2006, p. 2; Andrea Johnson, "MCC Fries Eliminated," Minot Daily News, 30 August 2006, pp. A1+. Also see Miranda Eckert, "School Changes Lunch Policies," Central Campus Crier, October 2006, p. 2. 712

Keith Altendorf, personal interview, 30 June 2011.

713

Katie Nice, "Central Terminates Open Campus," Central Campus Crier, October 2006, p. 1.

714

Paul Pitner-type, " What Will the New School Monitors Monitor?" Minot High Times, October 2006, p. 2.

715

Andrea Johnson, "Roll Out the Red Carpet," Minot Daily News, 26 January 2007, p. C1.

716

Cayla Engh, "Students Aggravated by Lack of Parking," Central Campus Crier, October 2006, p. 3.

717

Zac Elgie, "Minot's Duane Carlson Field Closed for Many Safety Issues," Minot High Times, October 2007, p. 4.

718

Nancy Langseth, "Clarifying Position on New Stadium" [letter to editor], Minot Daily News, 24 June 2007, p. F3. 719

Andrea Johnson, "School Board Discusses Community Bowl, Carlson Stadium," Minot Daily News, 11 April 2008, p. B1. 720

I established a date for PLC implementation through Supt. Looysen's letter to school district patrons, 2007-2008 School Profile, 2008, p. 1. In the Central Campus section in this school profile (on p. 8) are details about the implementation. 721

Victor Mercado, "Changes Ahead for School Day," Minot High Times, April 2008, p. 1. CC Principal Keith Altendorf confirmed that it was the state legislature's new requirements that brought about the change. 722

Ben Berg and Nabila Ibrahim,"Four Coaching Dynasties Will End at MHS This Year," Minot High Times, May 2008, p. 12. 723

Terrel Officer, "Cheerleaders Capture Crown," Minot High Times, April 2008, p.1.

724

Monica Melvin, "Cameras for Security Seems to Be an Accepted Notion at Minot High School," Minot High Times, February/March 2008, p. 1. 725

Blake Tobey, "School Camera System Makes Students Feel Safer," MCC Times, March 2010, p. 2.

726

Zach Holm, "Central Campus Installs Cameras," Central Campus Crier, May 2007, p. 1.

727

Monica Melvin, "You've Heard of Hybrid Engine; How About a Diesel 'Frybrid'?" Minot High Times, April 2008, p. 3.

166 728

Ben Berg, "MCC Construction Tech Houses Built on a New SW Location," Minot High Times, February/March, 2008, p. 3. 729

Victor Mercado, "Changes Ahead for School Day," Minot High Times, April 2008, p. 1.

730

"Central Campus," 2007-2008 School Profile [Minot Public Schools], p. 8. Keith Altendorf confirmed the reason for the change in an interview on 30 June 2011. 731

David Looysen, letter to school district patrons, 2007-2008 School Profile, 2008, p. 1; "Central Campus East," 2007-2008 School Profile, 2008, p. 8. The information about the previous five years is from the letter. 732

Deven Mantz, "LOP Makes Its Debut at Magic City," Minot High Times, September/October 2008, p. 1. Mrs. Jeri Grant also supplied information. 733

Megan Ronnie, "New: Girls Softball Sanctioned," Minot High Times, January/February 2009, p. 1.

734

2009 Searchlight, p. 179; 2009 Searchlight Supplement, p. 16.

735

Arie Bauer, "Students Have Pet Names for Lots," January/February 2009, p. 2.

736

Carla Burbidge, "Business Beat," KXMCTV Minot, 13 November 2008, KXnet.com (http://kxnet.com/ getArticle.asp?AddComment=True&ArticleId=297312) 737

2009 Searchlight, pp. 16, 41; Mara Howard, "Local Band Creates Unique Sound," Minot High Times, September/October 2008, p. 3. 738

The weather this year was covered in a two-page spread in the 2009 yearbook supplement titled "Crazy Weather," pp. 11-12. The information on the teacher, Mr. Mike Gessner at MCC, is supplied by the author. 739

Annaka Smith, "North Dakota Legislature Provides Additional Scholarship Opportunities," MCC Times, October 2009, p. 1. 740

Ronnie Megan, "Knutson Tries Out for Olympics," Minot High Times, September/October 2008, p. 4; 2009 Searchlight, p. 38. 741

Brett Morris, "Parking Panic" [editorial], MCC Times, December 2009, p. 6; Lexus Mitzel, "Parking Catastrophe for Minot High," MCC Times, April 2010, p. 6. 742

Ashley Rogers, "Editorial: Magic City, Aren't We All So Fashionable!" MCC Times, April 2010, p. 7.

743

These are end-of-September numbers, obtained at the school district's administration building.

744

The Minot AFB information is from this article: Eloise Ogden, “Mission Accomplished,” Minot Daily News, 9 April 2008, pp. A1+. 745

Andrea Johnson, "MHS to Convert Empty Lot into 'Green Space,'" Minot Daily News, 6 September 2008, p. B1. Also see Andrea Johnson, "School Board Approves Budget," Minot Daily News, 14 August 2009, pp. B1+. 746

Luke Elgie, "Disappointment over Duane Carlson Stadium," MCC Times, November 2010, p. 1.

747

Luke Elgie, "MHS Internship Program," MCC Times, January/February 2001, p. 6. Mrs. Jeri Grant also clarified some of the information. 748

Carson Fuchs, "Designated Parking Debated at MCC," MCC Times, September 2010, p. 2; Zak Grytza, "Parking: Why Isn't There Room for Me?" MCC Times, January 2011, p. 1.

167 749

Most of these numbers were supplied by Lynn Jensen and Scott Faul on July 19, 2011. Rev. Charles Burchett supplied the volunteer numbers for the Southern Baptist Convention in a personal interview on July 21, 2011. He also reported that the Southern Baptist Convention, "the third largest disaster relief organization in the world," was providing these units at MCC: shower, laundry, and water pressure. 750

In the Ward County Centennial volume (People, Places & Events--Minot, Ward County : Bridging the Century, 1986), an early date for the nickname is provided but no source is given. Minot experienced "rapid growth" after the Great Northern Railroad (then called the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba)) opened a depot here in 1886 and incorporated as a city in 1887. According to People, Places & Events: “By October 1887, there were about 5,000 transients called ‘boomers’ living in Minot. This rapid growth brought about the nickname ‘Magic City'" (p. 96). Minot State University Professor Gaylen Brown also wrote about this early use of "Magic City" but also did not provide a source for the information (Gaylen Brown, Exploring Minot 1885-1990, 1981, p. 5. ) This source, housed at the Minot Public Library website, can be found through a Web search as a Microsoft Word document. This was a script for a slide show on Minot history. Professor Brown's first name is misspelled on the document. ) According to Minot historian Mark Timbrook, the “Magic City” nickname did not gain currency until the 1910-1920 decade (phone interview, 11 December 2009). Mr. Timbrook also noted that Minot had other nicknames in its early years: “Bone Town,” “Gem City,” and “Wonder City.” 751

People, Places & Events, p. 96; Chapter 9 of Mark Timbrook's book The Last Hurrah: an Account of Life in the Mouse River Valley, Bone Town, Little Chicago, and the Magic City (Minot, ND: Niess Impressions, 2008). 752

The November 1907 and Thanksgiving and Football 1907 issues of the Searchlight--in advertisements and in an editorial section. 753

Gaylen Brown, Minot History Through Slides, 1900-1920 [Minot, ND: 1983], [p. 4]. This paper, a script for a slide show on Minot history, can be viewed at the Minot Public Library website: http://www.minotlibrary.org/ minot_history_through_slides1900-1920.htm. 754

755

756

1916 Searchlight, pp. 99, 102. "Why 'Beaver'?" Red and Green, 20 January 1925, [p. 2]. "The Matter of a Name," Red and Green, 3 March 1925, [p. 2].

757

L.E. and M.M. respectively, "What's In a Name--The Beaver or the Magician--Which?" Red and Green, 3 March 1925, p. 1. 758”The

1925 Football Season,” in the “Athletics” section, n.p.

759

Glee Mayer, personal interview, 25 January 2010.

760

The descriptions were found in the "Diary of a Senior Girl" and the "Social Activities" sections.

761

Mrs. Welder [senior English teacher], “Magi Musins’” column, Minot High Times, 25 October 1963, p. 2. Mrs. Welder was Ona Carlson when she graduated in 1957. I am not sure "swami" is the word Mrs. Welder would have chosen except for the school newspaper's use of the term when she offered her comments. 762

Tom Walstad, phone interview, 11 August 2011. Thanks is due a number of people who supplied information via phone calls to lead the author to Mr. Walstad. One of them, his sister Mary Hoffman, also remembered the 1963-1964 High Times campaign against the Swami/Magi. 763

“Council Rejects Rabbit, Declares ‘Magi’ School Symbol,” Minot High Times, 17 April 1964, p. 1. Principal Joel Davy is quoted. In the following article mention is made of class rings with the "tradition[al] doors of MHS" design: "Class of 1958 Leaves Behind Fond Memories of Good Times At MHS," Minot High Times, 21 May 1958, p. 4. A number of students wanted to change the design.

168 764

“Council Rejects Rabbit, Declares ‘Magi’ School Symbol."

765

Loren Odland, “The Hot Line” [column], Minot High Times, 28 February 1964, p. 2.

766

“Council Rejects Rabbit, Declares ‘Magi’ School Symbol,” Minot High Times, 17 April 1964, p.1

767 Angie

Speiser, phone interview, 1 June 2010. The first cheerleading bunny was Jackie Spiros (Rauschenberger).

768

Tammy Elgie, FirstClass message to the author, 2 June 2010.

769

P. 6.

770

Tammy Elgie, FirstClass message to the author, 2 June 2010.

771 Angie 772

Speiser, phone interview, 1 June 2010.

Tammy Elgie, FirstClass message to the author, 2 June 2010.

773 Angie

Speiser, phone interview, 1 June 2010; Speiser, FirstClass message to author, 10 June 2010.

774

“Magician Dazzles Crowds,” Minot High Times, March 1980, p. 2. The first two quotations are those of the author of the article. 775

“Magician Mascot Joins Bunnies,” Minot High Times, October 1981, p. 1.

776

The students in magician costume are Mitch Fink in 1980, Kevin Burckhard in 1982, and Kevin Ell in 1986.

777

P. 10.

778 A.J.’11,

in the "First Chronicle of the Juniors," VII:4 [1910], p. 12.

779

Pp. 77, 62 respectively.

780

N.p. but early in volume.

781

N.p.

782

N.p. for both last two, 1927 and 1928 yearbooks.

783

”Song Adopted at Elections Written by Band Director,” Minot High Times, 5 April 1957, p. 7.

784

In the early pages of the 1922 yearbook these are the four lines between the third and final line: "With a Rah! Rah! Rah! / And a Zis! Boom! Bah! / And a Rah! Rah! Rah! / And a Zis! Boom! Bah!" On the 1937 Cheerleaders page, these were the two lines between the third and final line: "Rah, rah, rah, ziz boom bah! / Rah, rah, rah, ziz boom bah!" 785

"Contest Is Held by School to Find Typical H.S. Song." There was also an editorial on p. 2 pushing for a "typical Minot High school song." The article reported that Minot High had “for a long time been using the melody of Georgia Tech with revised words.” Georgia Tech seems an error. At the front of the 1928 yearbook are words that match those found in the 1937 yearbook, which are a revised version of the "Minnesota Rambler." See Wikipedia articles for “Ramblin’ Wreck from George Tech” and “Minnesota Rouser” for lyrics comparison. 786”Song Adopted 787Leda Aaker, 788

at Elections Written by Band Director,” Minot High Times, 5 April 1957, p.7.

“The First Searchlight” [Alumni section], 1928 Searchlight, n.p.

“Name Searchlight Unchanged,” Minot High Times, October 1980, p. 1.

169 789

"Library Acquires Old Searchlights," p. 5.

790

Jerome Shulkin, “High Times Survives Through ‘Hell and High Water’ to Preserve History of Minot High from 1902 to 1946,” Minot High Times, 18 October, 1946, p. 1. 791

“Student Newspaper Begins Publication at Central Campus,” Central Campus Crier, 24 September 1975, p. 1.

792

“Magician Magazine Goes to Press,” Minot High Times, 6 December 1946, p. 1.

793

“‘The Magician,’ Literary Magazine, Planned by Quill and Scroll Group; Prize Contest fro Cover Design,” Minot High Times, 18 October 1946, p. 1. 794

One example was in the 1962-63 school year, when it was published before Christmas and in the spring. “The ‘Magician’ Is Only One of Kind in State,” Minot High Times, 9 November 1962, p. 2. 795

“The ‘Magician’ Is Only One of Kind in State,” Minot High Times, 9 November 1962, p. 2.

796

1969 Searchlight, p.140.

797

Geri Deschambault, “Magician Celebrates 21st [sic] Birthday,” Minot High Times, 28 January 1969, p. 3.

798

1970 Searchlight, p. 75.

799

“1970 Magician Celebrates 25th Anniversary,” 27 May 1970, p. 8.

800

"Students Provide Writings," Minot High Times, April 1985, p. 1.

801

"New Literary Ideas Found in Magazine," Minot High Times, May 1986, p. 3.

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