Senior Assembly

This article was taken from the Class of '78 time capsule.
But...nobody knows who gave the speech!   Do you remember?

It's hard to believe we are already graduating.  It's been such a Long Time, being that we started here in 7th grade.  Just think, we are the first class to graduate that started here in the 7th grade.  I can still look back over the years to 7th grade as if it were yesterday.

Our 6 years all started right here in the auditorium.  We were welcomed to our new school.  It was scary meeting all the new people and being in a new place.  I can still remember how terrible the water tasted in the drinking fountains.  Sort of half oil and half dirty sand.  During those first days, there were piles of boxes sitting all over.  No desks but lots of boxes.  And the grounds around Hanford were full of sagebrush, tumbleweeds, rocks, and gophers.

When 8th grade came around, so did the big time parties.  We had parties over at Patty Noordhoff's, Janet Finnigan's, Colleen Ferguson's, Lori Caverno's, Mary Lloyd's, Mike Maffeo's and Kirk Wheeler's.  Those were pretty big times!  Most of the 8th grade boys enjoyed playing hard to get (sitting around playing pool, which was very big back then) while the girls all wanted to dance.  That was okay, though, because most of the girls spent their time tumbling (that's doing gymnastics) in the middle of the living room.

And then there was the weather...I don't know if Sharon Bonham remembers all the rain in 8th grade or not, but I do.  In 8th grade the height of good times was Matt Snyder and associates getting Sharon and throwing her in puddles after it had rained.  Yes, that used to be a real exciting event.

Now 9th grade was a romantic tear with square dancing in P.E. and that all-time romantic play in English, Romeo and Juliet.  It was great taking a bus ride out to the Center to see the movie.  I remember all the cake bets placed on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders.  If you were for the Steelers, you won all the way!

Who can forget those prophetic 9th grade favorites:  Kit Welty and Kirk Wheeler grinned their way to Cutest Smiles; Best Looking were Dana Lindsey and Eric Brodzinski; Sweetest were Susan Dahl and Dave Van Tuyl; Favorite Teacher was Mr. Burleigh; Best Dancers were Lynne McCoy and Matt Snyder; Best Personality were Maury Valett and Janet Finnigan; Flirt and Wolf were Jill Richey and Roger Hale; Wittiest were Fran Campbell and Dan Harwick; Most Athletic were Becky Slember and Brian Iller; Best Dressed were Margo Cannon and Andy Bennett; Romeo and Juliet were Kevin Herrin and Teri Howard; and last but not least, were Most Artistic, Judy Metzger and Kurt Kocher.

I can remember how exciting it was when 9th Grade Party came around.  Our first semi-formal dance where we got to vote for such crucial things as colors and songs.  And then going out for dinner for the first time was a memorable event, especially when your Dad had to drive!  Then wondering if your date really had enough money for dinner.

Finally, into the high school our Sophomore year (that's sophomore with an "O" in the middle).  Our first election yielded class council:  Brian Iller - President; Paul Mayer - Vice President; Sue Heid - Secretary; Susan Dahl - Treasurer; and Kit Welty - Activities Coordinator.

With leadership like that, is it any wonder that the sophomore class won the Christmas Tree decorating contest?  I think the biggest difference in our sophomore year was where our lockers were located.  Remember sitting around in the "mixing area" after we all got at least 3 people in our lockers?  The Hanford D.B.A. was really at its best that year, with all-time classic cheers lie "See that basket, see that rim; This is Hanford High School gym.  D.B.A. will be your host; Now get ready for the roast!"  I can remember how hard it was for any athletic teams or organizations to get money for things since our A.S.B. was in surprise debt.  But the girls gymnastics team, under the leadership of Det Wagner, Lynne McCoy, Patty Noordhoff, Judy Metzger and Gina Vetrano managed to raise $2,500 to buy equipment.  Using the good determination they used out on the floor, I can see how they did such a good job raising the money.

When we cruised into our Junior year then, amazingly enough were the junior officers: Paul Mayer - President; Diana Sutherland - Vice President; Sue Heid - Secretary; Patty Noordhoff - Treasurer; Lynne McCoy - Activities Coordinator; Robbi Ann Slater - Junior Representative.

One highlight of the year was the junior boys came through with a crushing victory over the seniors in the annual Junior-Senior football game.  Kurt Kocher managed to recover a fumble in the end zone to clinch a victory.  And did you know who the two most outstanding juniors (voted by Masonics) were?  Well it was Paul Mayer and Kim Hopkins.  Probably the biggest excitement that year was our basketball team.  They were Mid-Valley League champions, took Regionals in Yakima, and managed to grab 3rd in State in fun-filled Tacoma.  I can never forget all the excitement and fun that year; even the Tri-City Herald gave us some good articles.  One was titled "Hanford has New High".  That year we also had a very good spirit week.  The Class of 78 won the hall decorating contest, of course.  One thing I won't forget about our Junior year was that it meant starting to think about college (what...me really study?) and that meant the time-honored tradition of the Washington Pre-College Test.  Ugh!  That was 3 hours of silence and #2 pencils at C.B.C.  That wasn't the funnest thing I ever did.

Finally!  Once again Paul Mayer is Class President.  The other Senior class officers were:  Pete Gedde - Vice President; Sue Heid - Secretary/Treasurer; Diana Sutherland - Activities Coordinator; and Kash Van Cleef - Elections Manager.

This year the senior men and women both beat the juniors in the Junior-Senior football game and Powder Puff game.  Decisive victories establishing our supremacy early in the year, of course.  The Homecoming game had a little extra excitement itself this year.  At halftime, the royalty were brought out by horses; the only problem was that the horses got a little excited and turned a bit wild, scaring Kit Welty and Lynne McCoy very much.  There were, however, the comforting words of advisor, Mr. Campbell, who kept saying "Keep smiling".  Around this time of year a lot of seniors made the road trip to Pullman for W.S.U.'s Homecoming game and to see the Doobie Brothers.  It was great times!  And you know their crowds are a little bigger than ours, and a little rowdier!  Under the A.S.B. leadership of seniors Matt Snyder, Cori Snyder, and Karin Bowersock, the A.S.B. debt was finally paid off on December 23rd.  Some Christmas present for everyone.  Now the A.S.B. can start buying things for the Student Body to enjoy.  Too bad we won't be around to see it.  Hanford tried it's first musical this year, and it was outstanding.  Godspell brought crowds of admirers to our auditorium to see the fine actors and actresses perform.  I can still hear Pete Gedde bellowing "Prepare ye the way of the Lord".  Of course, this was the year we acquired our new mascot name from the wits across town...The Hanford Seagulls!  But as they were laughing at their joke, Seagull Falcon Varsity did outscore Col-Hi Varsity by 2 points.

In April of this year there was a hotly contested article in the Tri-City Herald concerning the educationally-deprived students at Hanford.  I can assure you, looking around at what's happened here today, that we have some of the brightest, most talented, educationally-deprived students in the state!

Only thing I can't understand, is why didn't I receive anything?!