Apr 20 2009 - memories of April 1984 edition
As I mentioned earlier in the month, I would be looking back at the glory days of the Sunrise Mountain area, as the 25th anniversary of my most successful year at Eldorado High School will be coming to a close six weeks from now.
The year 1984 was a great time for me - even though two of my good friends have moved on at that time - Andrea, who returned to Orange County; Clark High School's Vanessa Caramanica, who went to Europe on a foreign exchange program; and Dan Bennett, who moved to Sacramento (he returned a year later). Shawn was also on her way out, as she exited Eldorado towards the end of April. At the time I didn't know the reasons for her bailing, and that somewhat hurt me a bit as I was real close to her during that time. Living in Henderson was one factor, and her future husband Alan was another, plus she had some issues with her back too - so a lot was going on with her at that time. I have no resentments; I knew that one day Shawn and I would hook up again - and we did six months later at Sundevil Stadium; but it took almost two years to meet up again (1986). And I became a close friend of her family afterwards. We lost touch after '97, but I'm sure we will meet again...someday soon.
As far as with my other friends - I do remember a time we had a get-together at the Paddlewheel - it was an event that was sponsored by KLAV and it was a month-long event whereas the ten major high schools in the Las Vegas Valley would hold these end-of-school-year get togethers at the Paddlewheel. Don't recall who was there, other than maybe Connie Scordato, Pat Geary and Britta Carlson; I do know that most of the '85ers as well as the 86 and 87ers were there too.
The yearbook signing party - that was a historic moment in its own right. I was the first, and probably the only underclassmen to have been invited to join the '84 group to start the party. I do have to give them credit, most specifically to Darryl Goalen, Shawn Dreitzler, LaResa Spendlove and Mike Brown - these group of people helped me out in '82 when I was an up-and-coming newcomer, and I thank them for that.
The teachers I had, for those of you who wonder, were Jack Schnepp (theatre), Mike Mundt (drafting), Coach Stephens (US History), John (?) Turner (Math - he was a newcomer, and did a very good job too), Coach Bright (English III - wonderful teacher and one of my favorites too), and James Kirk (Environmental Science - no not Captain Kirk, but he was a good guy).
Let us not forget the crazy list of characters too - Harry O (rest in peace), Tiny the hall monitor, the late great Richard Paulin, our principal, that goofy driver's ed teacher James Alexander, and of course the late Bill Hollingsworth - the athletic director at the time.
And of course the great classes of 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. It is these four classes that made the 1983-84 school year the most memorable of all. From the football games at the stadium, to the International Scout, from John Eckert's defection to Valley High School to my rise to stardom, and from the days of going up to restore the E on Sunrise Mountain to spraying shaving cream at everybody towards the end of the year, and from hearing Coach Stephens scream his lungs out at the Sportatorium to that truck that would play that Dukes of Hazzard horn (the one that the General Lee would play) in the early going. This was the best time ever. To those of you who are at Eldorado today - you guys have no idea what it was like 25 years ago; and YOU can do the same if you want to. But sadly, from what I've heard from a few friends, its not the same anymore. I had a bad vibe about that when I drove by the school in 2003, and I think that would be the case when I come to Vegas later this year to visit the school.
There a lot to say about that time, and so many memories I have with great people like Pat, Ott, Shawn, Brenda, Andrea, Bart, Danny, Gina, Jason, good heavens - a list as long as hearing Jim Perry explain what prizes a player won on Sale of the Century. Its too much - enough to write a book quite actually.
With that said - I'll talk more about that great time in my next installment.
Have a safe week everybody.
Rob
The year 1984 was a great time for me - even though two of my good friends have moved on at that time - Andrea, who returned to Orange County; Clark High School's Vanessa Caramanica, who went to Europe on a foreign exchange program; and Dan Bennett, who moved to Sacramento (he returned a year later). Shawn was also on her way out, as she exited Eldorado towards the end of April. At the time I didn't know the reasons for her bailing, and that somewhat hurt me a bit as I was real close to her during that time. Living in Henderson was one factor, and her future husband Alan was another, plus she had some issues with her back too - so a lot was going on with her at that time. I have no resentments; I knew that one day Shawn and I would hook up again - and we did six months later at Sundevil Stadium; but it took almost two years to meet up again (1986). And I became a close friend of her family afterwards. We lost touch after '97, but I'm sure we will meet again...someday soon.
As far as with my other friends - I do remember a time we had a get-together at the Paddlewheel - it was an event that was sponsored by KLAV and it was a month-long event whereas the ten major high schools in the Las Vegas Valley would hold these end-of-school-year get togethers at the Paddlewheel. Don't recall who was there, other than maybe Connie Scordato, Pat Geary and Britta Carlson; I do know that most of the '85ers as well as the 86 and 87ers were there too.
The yearbook signing party - that was a historic moment in its own right. I was the first, and probably the only underclassmen to have been invited to join the '84 group to start the party. I do have to give them credit, most specifically to Darryl Goalen, Shawn Dreitzler, LaResa Spendlove and Mike Brown - these group of people helped me out in '82 when I was an up-and-coming newcomer, and I thank them for that.
The teachers I had, for those of you who wonder, were Jack Schnepp (theatre), Mike Mundt (drafting), Coach Stephens (US History), John (?) Turner (Math - he was a newcomer, and did a very good job too), Coach Bright (English III - wonderful teacher and one of my favorites too), and James Kirk (Environmental Science - no not Captain Kirk, but he was a good guy).
Let us not forget the crazy list of characters too - Harry O (rest in peace), Tiny the hall monitor, the late great Richard Paulin, our principal, that goofy driver's ed teacher James Alexander, and of course the late Bill Hollingsworth - the athletic director at the time.
And of course the great classes of 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987. It is these four classes that made the 1983-84 school year the most memorable of all. From the football games at the stadium, to the International Scout, from John Eckert's defection to Valley High School to my rise to stardom, and from the days of going up to restore the E on Sunrise Mountain to spraying shaving cream at everybody towards the end of the year, and from hearing Coach Stephens scream his lungs out at the Sportatorium to that truck that would play that Dukes of Hazzard horn (the one that the General Lee would play) in the early going. This was the best time ever. To those of you who are at Eldorado today - you guys have no idea what it was like 25 years ago; and YOU can do the same if you want to. But sadly, from what I've heard from a few friends, its not the same anymore. I had a bad vibe about that when I drove by the school in 2003, and I think that would be the case when I come to Vegas later this year to visit the school.
There a lot to say about that time, and so many memories I have with great people like Pat, Ott, Shawn, Brenda, Andrea, Bart, Danny, Gina, Jason, good heavens - a list as long as hearing Jim Perry explain what prizes a player won on Sale of the Century. Its too much - enough to write a book quite actually.
With that said - I'll talk more about that great time in my next installment.
Have a safe week everybody.
Rob
posted by Robert @ 8:13 AM
1 Comments:
At July 12, 2009 at 4:04 PM ,
Brittany*Marie said...
Do you remember a man named John Shaddy? I'm not sure of the dates that he attended, but he would have been a student in the years you've written about.. He dated a girl named Heather.. He was 19 (i think) as of October 24, 1986.. Do you know who I'm talking about?
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