The Bettendorf High School
Growl Vol. 49 Issue 1
Friday, October 5, 2012
3333 18th St. Bettendorf, IA 52722
Old newspapers rediscovered by students show 60 years of BHS by Callie Heiderscheit Staff Reporter
Finding the papers It was only the first week of school
when we in publications discovered the true meaning of old news. But unfortunately, before any of the
Which ones to keep
eyes began filling with former times.
Clearly the time had come to transition to stage two. One paper was to be kept to represent an entire year of events, games, and student life. Choosing just one newspaper that was to embody an entire
Memories from the past “Did you guys know we used to have a synchronized swimming team?” said one. “Yeah, and gymnastics too. They went to nationals in ‘73,” replied another.
They saw the faces of the nominees for the year’s sweetheart and wondered who was crowned victorious in the end. actual publications could progress we had some work to do around the room. . One of the jobs seemed simple: Organize the old newspapers. It most certainly was not simple. Locked within the rectangular arms of a filing cabinet slept 60 years of BHS’s documentation in black and white. “All right, well, these are the old papers. They need to be organized. Keep only one from each year. One. You can do that,” Ms. King, our advisor, said. She left them with only a parting “Good luck,” and whole bunch of neglected newspapers.
about those involved with the play and what it would be like for the class of ‘66 to have been able to see it.
Hard to choose just one The choosing of a designated newspaper of the year was not a decision easily made. It, often times, became simpler to place the burden of the choice on the opinion of others. The idea of carelessly throwing out a paper, which held such importance to those who made it, was unsettling.
The idea of carelessly throwing out a paper, which held such importance to those who made it, was unsettling.
Brianna Klablunde, Alex Connor, Sarah Dixon, Callie Heiderscheit, and Michael Conner sort through a decade of papers. 365 days of time was hard to swallow. But still, it had to be done. The kids draped their arms around the most massive pile they could handle, and began to waddle their way back into the hallway.
Organizing, organizing . . . First things first; address the question of what to do. No particular starting point seemed fitting when dealing with the organization of hundreds of papers. Eventually it was settled that the papers would first be organized by the decade. The crew spent the next three days of class camped out in the hallway. “Eighties!” one would say. The designated paper-sorter would place the document accordingly. “This one’s a nineties! Oh, and here’s another eighties!” “Fifties,” said one sorter Dana Waterman views a particularly suddenly. The well-oiled decorated paper from the year 1983-84. machine that had been arranging newspapers so seamlessly just moments before completely halted. Sixties was first. The process The group congregated around this rare was underway, beginning with the artifact and took turns revelling at the ancient separation of years within the decade. pages. That was the only fifties paper found. . “We can all just take a pile. A year, I mean. Three days later came the Then, we can all decide on our own which conclusion of mindless systemizing. paper to keep and which ones to throw Six uneven piles of the voices from out,” one student suggested tentatively. the past lay before them. The tower And so it began. Each student sifting of seventies teetered roughly two and sorting through an array of topics and a half feet off the ground while and events to choose only one final the fifties had just one lone paper. paper. Some years contained nearly 20 papers, others held far less. Their
Especially when it seemed that every paper had something spectacular to offer. Whether it was the Pepe’s Taco ads (three for $1.30), learning that Bettendorf used to have a pre-homecoming school bonfire tradition (only to be forgone because of an ecological campaign), or finding a photo of Mr. Earp laughing while leaning against a pillar outside of the pool, it seemed every single newspaper had something worthwhile. And when phase two had finally been completed, the group stood back to view their reward once again. Like the time before, the newspapers had been placed into their fitting piles. But seven piles had now turned to two, and the unevenness had become much more significant.
As the process became smoother, a mutually understood language was developed. Each paper’s temporary title was its front-page headline. In order to separate one from another, papers would be referred to as “Spring Sports State Prospects Grow” or “Synchronized Swim Show Held; a First at BHS.” Those which were rejected were placed into a forever-growing pile which was referred to as “the uglies.” The measly pile of winners was disheartening when placed The significance next to the m a m m o t h Sixty years have pile of uglies. been documented During the impressively through period spent the eyes and pens filtering through of kids like us. the papers, the These papers team felt they remind us how some Growl editor Megan Sanchez shows had achieved changes can happen how different a newspaper from 1966 a sense of the so impossibly fast, and one from 2011 look. times they and in such an obvious were reading fashion, while other about. They forms of change are saw the faces of the nominees for the so gradual that one would never notice as year’s sweetheart and wondered who it occurs throughout the accumulation of was crowned victorious in the end. years. These papers hold such significance They read the headline “New Additions in teaching us how not to make the to Be Added to BHS” and pondered mistakes of our past (we’re talking to you, which hallway, that they might be passing legwarmers and afros) and also give us an thoughtlessly every day, was a thrilling illustration as to how to move forward. addition to those living through its creation. Or maybe they’re just the best place to find They read the words: “Don’t forget your dad wearing a polyester leisure suit. to see Miss Gorgeous Gams!” Thinking