Nicholas+Stevenson+Interview+Transcript

Full Interview Transcript

Q: Today’s graduating class is about 600 kids. How many kids would you say is in your graduating class? A: To the best of my memory around 250. Q: You said you were in tumbling club. Can you describe that? A: Tumbling club was like gymnastics would be today. Doing all sorts of somersault and twists and jumps. Q: Was tumbling club just for males or was it for males and females. A: The tumbling club was just for males. Q: What did the females do if they wanted to do something similar? A: I think they had archery. I don’t know really. Q: You mentioned junior jams and parades and stuff. What were some of the big things that the kids prepared weeks before and went to? A: Yes they were always a big deal. Students put most of the things together with the supervision of the teachers. And it was always an enjoyable atmosphere because we looked forward to them. Q: Did you guys make floats and stuff? Did you go to that extreme? A: Yes we did and they had parades for Hobo Day, that’s what they called it, and there were numerous floats and a lot of the kids rode them with cars and stood on the floats and made a lot of noise. Q: Where did this take place? A: From Belleville West Main Street and went up to the square and pretty much dispersed there, and they had a big rally on the steps of the court house. And the Hobo day was always a rally for the East vs. West game on Thanksgiving. Q: How close did you live to the school? A: Probably about 2 and half miles. Q: Did you ever walk to school? A: Several times. The buses were shut down because of the weather and we did walk. Did you go with like a few of your friends? Yes. We got there one time when the power was out and about 6 inches of snow and the buses weren’t running. We walked to school and then found out there was no school. Q: When the men started coming back from the military after World War 2 was the recovery time hectic for the society? Was it intense? A: No, it wasn’t really very hectic. It was a time prosperity because everyone was getting back that came home from the war and getting married doing all those kinds of things. It was a very busy time for the society. What about the jobs? Q: The prices of gas were slim. Was that a problem for anyone you know? Like the prices? A: No because gasoline was like 20 cents a gallon. And that was real reasonable. Q: What did you do for a living? A: My father was a carpenter and all of his life he worked as a carpenter. Q: All right, the dances back then like the sock hops and stuff can you explain some of those? A: Well the stocking hops were usually held home basketball games and it was in the girl’s gymnasium and one of the girl’s clubs mainly sponsored the dances. And of course you had to dance in your socks. Q: How many of those would you say you attended? A: Three or four. Q: What was the all time biggest school activity during your high school years, like what was the one thing everyone talked about for years and years, and you had to go to? A: That was the Hobo Day parade. Q: The gyms you said were separated for boys and girls. Was that just how things were? Was that common? A: That was pretty common back then.

Q: You said that for the dances the dance wear was very casual like compared to today’s pictures that you probably see like of prom pictures and stuff like that, how casual were the dances? A: Well, it was very casual, jeans. The types of dress you would probably wear to a basketball game because most of the dances were after the games. So whatever you had on, that was it. Q: The cafeteria food, how would you describe that? A: Well, I thought it was well prepared, very filling, and reasonably priced. Q: What was your favorite meal? A: Gees, spaghetti. Q: How many variety choices did you have? A: Well every day they had something a little bit different, but some days it was a sandwich type of thing and the next day it was potatoes with some meat, vegetables, and they even had a fish choice on Fridays. Q: Was West in open or closed campus? A: It was closed campus. Q: Did you guys have to walk outside to get to your other classes? A: Yes we did in rain or snow or whatever. Q: There was a principal, assistant principal, a dean for the boys and girls. Would it have been a surprise if they had a dean for boys and girls? A: Yes it would have been a big surprise. Q: And the security. Hearing the stories you hear today about the bus fight and the bomb threats, what would the reaction have been back then? A: Those things were usually handled at that level right there if something did happen, but there was no “so called” school bus, there was public transportation. So, I never did witness a fight in that regard, like what we hear about nowadays. Q: Were there any police or security in the school. A: No there was nothing. Q: No cameras or anything? A: No, no cameras, no police, no check ins, or anything like that. Of course we didn’t have to worry because nobody brought things to school to harm anybody. Q: Did you every skip school? A: Yes, I did. Q: What did you do when you skipped school? A: Well, a couple of us, my friends and I, we decided to play some cards one day. And of course we got caught. Q: Did you go back that same day? A: No, but we got called on the carpet the next day because they wondered why we were only gone for a half day. Q: PE uniforms did you have any? A: No. We did not have a regular uniform for PE, just what we brought from home. Usually shorts and a shirt. Q: Did the girls wear shorts or skirts? A: Shorts, yes. Q: What were the most popular classes for women and what were the most popular classes for men? A: I think most of the popular classes for women were, I would say, the English type classes with the rhetoric and more into composition type things, and for the boys, science classes. Q: You mentioned future farmers, can you explain that a little bit? A: Well the future farmers was actually a club Future Farmers of America and they had a teacher and most of the guys that were involved were farming or came from farms. They usually ended up in this class and agriculture class. And there was a considerable percentage back then that were guys that went into that. Q: Was it a recommended class or was it just suggested by people if you lived on a farm, or something? A: I think that it was just suggested. Q: The HyNews, how popular would you say the HyNews was when you were in school? A: It was very popular and very well read and I think very well put together. The staff worked hard at it and students all kept up with the news. Q: The sports or chorus classes, what would you say was the most popular sport/class? A: I would say football. Q: How many kids, would you say, would try out or go out for football? A: I would say at least 50 to 75. Q: Did you try out for football? A: Yes. Q: What year? A: Probably 49 and they didn’t take me because I wasn’t big enough. Q: How many of the clubs do you think you could name and how many kids would you say were in them? How popular they were? A: Well, it’s hard for me to name all of the clubs because I wasn’t really involved in them, but all of the, almost everybody had some club affiliation. Q: What were your grades during your high school years? A: Bs and Cs and some A’s, which I know I could have done better. I was a slacker. Q: So what would you say was your best class? What came to you really easy and you did they best in? A: Math and geometry were ones I liked the best and did the best in. Q: Do you remember the teacher? A: Mrs. Guthrie. Q: Were there any honors classes available at Belleville West? A: Yeah there was and the classes went to the people who were destined for college. Q: Looking at the new Belleville west building, would you make any changes to it? A: Yes, I would. I would like to see it architectural because I think it looks more like a prison with the design right now besides there is no fence around it. Q: What are your thoughts on the inside? A: On the inside, I think it’s very functional, adaptable, and very nice inside. Q: What are your thoughts about the uniforms for today’s schools? A: Well I’ve always been in favor or uniforms because I feel that everyone needs a sense of identity which it does give you when you wear a uniform everyone kind of knows who you are and where you’re from, and I think in today’s world it is important. Q: Do you think it would be a problem to let the uniforms out of the rules and have them wear whatever they wanted to again? A: Yes, I really feel that the uniforms are a mark of distinction. Q: Did you date a lot in high school? A: No, I did not. I was usually busy with schoolwork and working and studying. Q: What were some of the date places couples would go for dates? A: Well, there wasn’t a whole lot to do other than go to the movies, maybe go out and get a bite to eat, drive around town, if you had a car, and maybe go to one of the high school games or something like that. Q: You said you were a tumbler, how did the tumbler take part in the basketball games? A: Well, we would about three or four times a year, at the basketball games, we would pull the mats out on to the floor at half time. We were the half time show. So between us and the cheerleaders, we entertained everybody, and of course the dancers helped a little bit too. Q: Did you break any bones or anything doing that? A: No, I did not fortunately. There were several of them that got broke. Q: During half time shows? A: No usually just in practice and in workout. Q: What was the most difficult maneuver that was done by one of the tumblers? A: That was trying to do back flips. Q: Were you able to do one? A: Barely. Q: How much time would you say that you spent on your homework during an evening? A: I averaged about 2 hours and if I did half to skip a night usually then I had to make of that the next night. Q: Did you have any study halls during the day? A: Yes, we did and that helped out on study time, but we had just an hour every day in study hall where we could work on our homework or anything we needed to do, like research. And sometimes, once in awhile, it would work out with your time where you could get another hour or half an hour so you could have 2 hours. Q: The library is a popular place for us to go today, was that available to students to walk in and study? A: No, that was not available unless you wanted to just go in and check out a book because someone always had study time every hour and they usually filled up the library. Q: What were they favorite types of TV shows? Were they soap operas, comedy, what was the most popular and what was your favorite? A: Most of the shows back then were comedy type shows and musicals. I recall Dinosaur show was very popular. Q: Were there lots of board games that you and your friends would play? A: Yes at home, not so much with my friends, we would play a lot of board games. Scrabble, Monopoly, that type of game. Q: What would you say is the most exciting about being a senior in high school? A: Most exciting thing there is that you feel like you are on top of the world and your really going to have all this passed you really soon and its exciting because you really keep thinking about what the future is holding for you at that point. And that really puts a lot of excitement in your life. Q: What would you say today is a great piece of advice for seniors today? A: The best thing I can tell everybody is that it takes a lot of work and keeping your nose to the grindstone and trying to do the right thing and you’ll make it. Q: What was the hardest year in high school, freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior? A: I think my freshman year was the hardest. Q: Why would you say that? A: Well I think in the adjustment sense coming from a grade school and getting into high school trying to meet new friends and adjusting to a complete different type of regiment than what you ever had before. Q: What kind of grade school did you come from into high school? A: I went to a parochial grade school. With nuns, real nuns. Q: Were they all your teachers? A: They were teachers. Q: What was the name of the school? A: St. Teresa. Q: How many kids would you say were in your graduating class in 8th grade? A: About 20. Q: So you went from a really small school to a big school and you said freshman year? A: Yes that was some of the difficult things because not all of the class went to the same high school. I went to a public high school and some went to a catholic high school so I had to make a lot of new friends. Q: What would you say is the most popular degrees kids were trying to get in high school. What were they aiming for? A: Well I can only speak for the boys along that line. Most of them were extremely interested in science at that time because the space program was just beginning to kick off and of course during the war the war had ended with an atomic bomb, and so physics and science were the uppermost in most of the boy’s mind. Q: Have you been to a class reunion since graduating? A: I haven’t missed any. Q: You haven’t missed any? A: No, I’ve enjoyed each one. Q: What were they like, what did you guys talk about? A: Well of course we just talked about the old times, but we still have a small group that on the first Monday of every month we get together for breakfast and this is a lot of the class officers are usually there and we get maybe 20 to 25 sometimes on a good day. Q: What would you say, over all, were you content with your high school years? A: Yes I was. I was very content. I wouldn’t change a thing. Q: How would you say was the atmosphere in Belleville west? A: Well I think the atmosphere was very congenial and very nice and actually they seemed like they were very nice helpful to the students. Q: Did you like the campus at the time? A: I did, I really liked the campus. I thought it was very pretty and well kept and very functional. Q: Was there a favorite part of the building that you and your friends like to hang out at? A: Mostly the outside, when the weather was good. We could sit around and enjoy each other’s company. Q: Did you have any classes that you took during the year that were your favorite or not favorite? A: I enjoyed my math classes, like algebra, geometry, very much and I also enjoyed the physics classes, the science that was involved with the physics. Q: Would you say that you were active with your 4 years in school? If so, how did you participate? A: I was fairly active. I was into some sports. I was out for track and in several plays and mixed chorus, choir, and of course the tumbling club. Q: What would you say is your overall favorite memory of Belleville west? A: Well all of the good friends I made, I had some of the teachers that I made good friends with also. Q: Who was your favorite teacher? A: I think my favorite teacher was my math teacher, Mrs. Guthrie. Q: Where there any changes to the school that you liked or didn’t like? A: No I don’t think there was anything I didn’t like. Q: Were you able to decide what your major would be during your high school years? A: No, I did not have any goals at that time when I graduated. Q: Today, West and East are big rival schools and it’s very intense when you go to the games and stuff, was there a rivalry for west during your high school years? A: Yes there was, our big rivals in sport were East St. Louis Flyers and there was football game held every year on thanksgiving day and of course the Hobo Day parade which was a rally which led to the thanksgiving day parade and even the big rally up at the square, but East St. Louis was our big rival. Q: Did you work directly after high school or go into the military or anything? A: Yes I did. I worked evenings and weekends while I was in high school, and then I started an apprenticeship right when I got out of high school for several years. Then I went into the military, into the army and was stationed in Milwaukee, in a nike missile site. And I was there for 2 years, came back, and was granted my apprenticeship and became a journeyman. Q: What was the fashion during your high school years? A: Well the fashion was naturally a little bit different. The girls had long skirts, ankle length skirts, and bobby socks, and penny loafers, and the boys: one of the trends was what they called peg pants, or peg jeans. They were tight around the ankles; you couldn’t buy them that way. You had to have them tailored. So that was pretty much what they guys wore. Q: Did you or your family have a car during your high school year? A: Yes, our family did. I did not have one of my own. To drive to school, I had to take the public transportation, but my family did have a car and I could use that for family use only. Q: Was the school air conditioned when you went there. A: No it was not. There was no air conditioning in the school. It was pretty miserable sometimes. Q: What kind of classes did you take throughout the years? A: I did take math classes, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and of course the science line: physics, biology, and all of the enlgish and required subjects. Q: Were the students required to take a physical education class? A: Yes they were. If you were capable and usually in the winter time, they stayed in the gym and played basketball or volleyball. In the summertime, there is baseball or they would run the track or something. Q: For your freshman year at west today, you have to take one semester of a health class. Did you guys have a health course that you took? A: Yes we did and that was a required class. I think it was for the whole year. Q: How were the proms when you went to school? A: Well the proms were very exciting. They were pretty much planned and put on by the students. It was a junior and senior prom and the theme was all put together by the students and the decorating was all done right there in the gymnasium.