NewsDalhart High School: Then and Now
Dalhart High School: Then and Now By Jonna Bridgman As I began to think about the many changes that have happened through the years in the local high school, it was so overwhelming that I almost didn’t start writing. I have been a substitute at the high school for several years, so I have some insight on the students involved today. My first classes in DHS as a student were in September, 1960. Yes, back then school started after Labor Day. My dad had died just six weeks prior to school starting and I remember being confused about what to write after “parents.” Back then, only the student went to school and enrolled himself. I’ll start with football. Back in the day, only the varsity were called “Wolves.” JV teams were called Lobos or even Coyotes. We had pep rallies before each game. Now, they are only before each home game. Our pep rallies occurred in the auditorium. At some time after 1962, they were moved to the gym. A “twirler” was part of the band. Back in the 50s one twirler used a lit baton. It was quite a display! I wasn’t in the band, but there were twirlers and they always put on a good show. The cheerleaders wrapped crepe paper around the goalposts on the football field. That practice was stopped long ago. I belonged to the pep club. We rode a bus to the out of town games. While on the way, we took turns backcombing each other’s hair in the bouffant style of the day. It took a lot of hairspray for that style and the bus driver had to breathe it all! Before the homecoming game, the junior class sold mums. These were made with real flowers and usually fell apart before the end of the ballgame. Now, only small shops make artificial corsages and garters. The cheerleaders sold ribbons before every game. On these ribbons were words relating to the opposing team and hopes of having the winning score. Cheers come and go. Not even the old “Two bits, four bits…” is known by students today. The “playoffs” don’t mean what they used to. Back in the “old days,” only one team from each district went to the playoffs. That team had to win the district, which often meant beating every other team in the district. Sometime after the football season of 1962, more teams from each district had the privilege of going to the playoffs. All this was because of some obscure statewide rule change. The clothes worn by students and teachers have changed tremendously. In the early sixties, girls could not wear pants to school. Our teachers dressed professionally. Now, not only do girls wear pants, but some pants have holes. Hoodies are very popular today. Although not an item of clothing, backpacks have become necessary. These aren’t for textbooks, but for the Chromebook each student is issued at the beginning of the school year. The day of many textbooks for every student is history. My years at DHS have gone from the day of very starched can-cans to ragged jeans for the girls. In between these times were miniskirts, go-go boots, tie die, Calvin Klein jeans, bell bottoms, leg warmers, tux shirts, shoulder pads, and everything in between. In the past boys wore Levi 501 jeans, button down Polos and today either long pants or shorts. I have seen boys in shorts in 0 degree weather! Hair styles for girls have gone from bouffant, to BIG hair, and then finally just long. Boys hair styles have been short and neat to long. For a while, the mullet was in. Whatever the latest teen style is, adults usually don’t approve. Pledges are still said at the start of the second period. I don’t remember reciting the Texas pledge during my student days. After the pledges, there is a moment of silence. Anyone may choose to pray at this time. Long ago, prayer was broadcast through the PA system. The classes at DHS have changed tremendously. During the 1960-61 school year the choices included business, home ec., chorus, bookkeeping, shorthand, mechanical drawing, and shop. None of these are available now. There are CTE (Career & Technology Education) classes which prepare a student for a trade that does not require college. Some are culinary arts, law enforcement, floral design, auto tech, and welding. During the “old days” students would be in big trouble for chewing gum. Even more trouble would be if a kid was caught sticking gum under a chair or desk. If a student (usually a boy) did something more serious, he would be taken to the vault and get swats by the principal. Those swats could be heard all over the building! I will name only two incidents because the students are now dead. A boy shut a girl in her locker. When classes started, she could be heard screaming. That boy made a trip to the vault. Another time, a boy was accused of flooding the ag building. When he was interviewed by the cops, he said: “Nope, I was with the boys cutting down that tree.” This is probably not true–just one of those small town rumors. Today, a student caught vaping or even using illegal drugs can spend time in DAEP, which is a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program. This is the very worst punishment with a student wearing a white t-shirt and spending the time in a cubicle. No more swats in school. It is debated whether this is good or bad. Young love! Throughout history young people have imagined themselves “in love.” A few years ago I asked some girls if a boy still gave his steady girlfriend his class ring. The answer was “no.” They didn’t even know what the term “going steady” meant. I know that today there are couples very fond of each other because I see them talking in the halls and possibly holding hands. Many couples have gone on to marry, with good results. I even saw in the 1954 DHS yearbook/annual Janice Lucas Lovelady’s and Lee Lovelady’s pictures right next to each other. (How often has that happened? Of course their last names were next to each other alphabetically.) They went on to marry and enjoyed a long happy life together for 57 years. True, not all high school sweethearts go on to marry or even stay married. I know I missed many couples–I can’t begin to name them all. From the first days of high school in Dalhart, girls took home economics and boys took agriculture. Girls could belong to a club called FHA, or Future Homemakers of America. No girl today wants to be just a homemaker. Boys belonged to FFA (Future Farmers of America.) FFA still exists, but girls can join. [Note: It is now just called “FFA” instead of “Future Farmers of America.”] When our old high school was built around 1952, there were no bathrooms upstairs. I don’t remember it being a problem. I guess students’ bodies are different today. Not a class period goes by but some boy or girl has to go. For a few years there was even an app for a student to request a hall pass to go to the bathroom or some other location in the school. Today it is common for a student to call a staff member by their first name or even a nickname. We had a biology teacher named Mr. Swirczynski. Some boys would call him Swirzo but not to his face! All teachers were Miss, Mrs., or Mr. Since the early 1960’s, the local high school has been in three buildings. The first I remember was on the eight hundred block of Oak. At the start of the school year 1986-87, a new building was finished on 16th Street. In 2008 the newest building was occupied on a new street, Spirit Trail. Recently I was with a small group of educators and happened to mention that my high school years only included sophomores through seniors. Freshmen, or ninth graders, were in junior high. All this seemed perfectly normal to us. We even had junior high graduation. The high school building that burned in 1949 housed freshmen through seniors. When the Oak Street campus was built, only sophomores through seniors attended. The State Board of Education decided that freshmen didn’t need to be with seniors. At some point, the Oak Street building was enlarged and once again four years of students could attend together. Another activity which was great fun for us back in the 1960s was dragging main. This involved driving or riding up and down main street (Denrock) and honking at friends. One day, we had an assembly at school. The cops were there and told us that the honking had to stop because it was disturbing some adults. I heard that one boy wrote “honk” on a posterboard and held it out the window of his car when meeting friends! Through the years this fun gradually disappeared, probably because of the price of gas. A fun time for us and years before was Kid Day. The seniors dressed up in clothes like they wore when they were much younger. One year a senior wore a diaper to school and thus, that activity ended. An exciting activity of the school year was when the annuals, aka yearbooks, arrived. Back in the day, this happened close to the end of the year. The whole student body would gather in the cafeteria for the “annual signing party.” One can go online and look at old yearbooks through the XIT Museum website. Quite often you will see where someone signed their picture in the annual that was scanned. Through the years it seems that there will always be tragedies that take students’ lives. In the early fifties, there was a wreck that took out four at once! In almost every decade, either war, a wreck, or other accident kills students. Much has changed with the present classes at DHS, but much has stayed the same. Students still like to have fun, and there is still a bonfire during homecoming. Students still “fall in love” and fall asleep in class. Parents and educators still worry about their students. These students are the future and we as adults need to always support them. 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