I attended Valley High School for four years (1966-1969). Then, after getting my degree in English Secondary Education from Ohio University, I taught there for many, many more years. Some things just accurately represent the Valley High School flavor. Everyone who attended the school can relate to these things as they look back upon their Purple days.
Here is the my own Top Ten List of Valley High School Experiences. Feel free to comment and add your own universal Valley items to the list. I tried to generalize so that the entries fit a wide spectrum of those who had attended the school over the years. A new Facebook group has been established by students called "If You Went To Valley, You Remember..." It is fun. Catch it at https://www.facebook.com/groups/177013645702435/ Hope you all enjoy the Top Ten List.
The Top Ten Valley High School Experiences
10. You loved wild costume dress days filled with pep rallies, ballgames, and after-game-dances.
9. You found your way around Rose Hill, The Bottoms, Miller's Run, Clarktown, and Peach Orchard without a GPS.
8. You often got bored and looked out of your classroom window to catch a peek of the beautiful Southern Ohio Correctional Facility.
7. You looked forward to viewing homely Sweathearts, and you heard classmates call the homecoming event a "bomb fire."
6. You sat in the hallway with your head between your knees and wondered why tornado and fire drills were always announced before they happened.
5. You understood that attending the Scioto County Fair and going to the Scioto Breeze were critical high school rites of passage.
4. You always wondered why if the school colors were purple and gold, every school design was emblazoned with purple and a mellow yellow.
3. You were tardy for the thirtieth time and finally wore out the excuse "Lucasville-Minford Road was gridlocked because of Swap Days."
2. You sang repeatedly "for us to win we'll try," and you didn't question the goofy grammatical phrase or attempt to determine what it really meant.
And, the number one, Valley High experience...
1. You stared at the gray meat of the old-fashioned hamburger you were about to eat, and you wondered what animal you had been served.
I love number five, which, in my opinion, should be number one. Going to the Scioto Breeze Drive-in was definitely a "rite of passage"!
ReplyDelete#9 WAS MY FAV NO GPS WE ALWAYS NEW WHERE WE WERE GOING :0)WE WERE AWSOME LIKE THAT!!
ReplyDeleteFrank...your multiple-colored Afro wig was a favorite accessory to see on dress up/spirit days. it should be donated to the Smithsonean.
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to add: lock down drills were en vogue at Valley WAY before they were common protocol in school emergency plans now. this was due to the prison breaks from SOCF... Just simply "lock down" the school: chain the doors.