That's My School

No Way! Way!

While working in Wisconsin my wife and I visited the Tacoma area in the spring of 1998. Friends told us that a movie was being made at Stadium.

The following year, there were two women at work who went to dinner and a movie after work each Wednesday.

On Thursday morning they came in chattering about the supposed high school in the movie they had seen — 10 Things I Hate About You.

There is just no way that castle could be a high school!

I went home that evening after saying nothing and found a large post card of Stadium and the Bowl — taken in the 1970’s. I found a frame, took it to work and hung it on the wall in my office knowing that Sharon and Dorothy would notice it immediately — they did.

It was the only time in many years that these two were known to have been completely speechless as I explained to them that it was, indeed, a high school and that I, as well as my three sisters, had graduated from that school.

Larry Otto, Class of ‘61


10 Things I Hate About You

Everyone who was involved

The trailer for the movie

(See if you recognize the people who are now making a living in the business. Including the mathematician in "Num3ers" on CBS.)

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Moments Remembered

Sometimes, it's the small things.

#1

Practicing typing in Mr. Epstein's typing class while listening to the band rehearsing in the bowl.

#2

Taking an advanced English class in one of the little "turret" classrooms from a teacher who had served in the WAC's.

I'm doing my best to get my husband and myself there for the celebration so he can see the Castle and I can enjoy the improvements made over the years.

Since the bowl was "off limits" except for band and football practice, I'd LOVE to attend a concert or ANY event in the bowl!


Barb (Berg) Beil '60

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Sis(ters), Boom, Bah

Cheer on

I am thrilled to celebrate Stadium’s Centennial!

My siblings (one brother and two sisters) and I all attended Stadium High and have fond memories of our time there.

As a matter of fact, all three Nicholson sisters were Stadium cheerleaders….at different times.

• Leanore (Nicholson) Curran 1981
  
• Therese (Nicholson) Kahn 1982
  
• Siobhan (Nicholson) Huber 1988

Is there anything planned specifically for Stadium cheerleaders?

Leanore Curran '81
Renton, WA


Good question!
Anybody want to head up a Cheerleader reunion group?

Let Pati Lynn know at:
Plynn@CelebrateStadium.com

Does anyone else have a family tradition of football, science club, or a 4th generation hall monitors?

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Roof Top View

My close call

As a 1957 grad, I was the stage manager. Not a big thing at all, but it did give me the run of the ''attic'' of the school.

I took advantage of that one nice spring day. I was exploring, and found the trap door to the roof at the very top of the main building. Such a view! The Bay behind and the court yard in front.

So I sat myself down to watch the court yard; legs dangling over the edge of the roof having myself a smoke, a big no-no. When all of a sudden, our vice-principal Mr. Ralph Christy came busting through the trap door yelling:

"DON'T JUMP! DON'T JUMP!''

Well don't you know it scared the peewadin' out of me!!

I didn't know if I should put out the smoke or get away from the edge. Jumping was not in my thoughts at all. I do not like high places and was testing myself and having a ''ciggy butt'' break.

It was all I could do to get away from the edge. HE scared me much worse than sitting on the edge.

It was said a lady in some apartment building somewhere across the way had reported me as a kid who was going to jump!! Good grief. No way!!

Best part is I didn't get punished!! Mr. Christy never said anything about the smoking. !! Whew! I lucked out.

Mike Devlin, Class of '57

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The Floors Roll

I still quake

I was a shy but "sophisticated" (in my own mind) sophomore in the Spring of 1965.

On April 29th at about 8:30 in the morning, I was hurrying to Mr. Harringstad's Biology class on the third floor of the Castle. Not my favorite subject, but I never wanted to be late.

I was out of breath. Three flights of stairs will do that.

I was about three doors away from the room when the concrete floor began to roll like the tides at Ocean Shores.

I grabbed a locker and held on. I don't remember any other sounds ,except for my screams. It was the longest 45 seconds of my life.


Goldfish survives bizarre earthquake

Earthquake rattles Western Washington

Carol (Klippert) Patrick ('67)

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Earthquake of '49

Stadium sways

Pudd (Johnson) Gingrich and I were having lunch in the courtyard when all of a sudden we heard and felt a rumbling.

We turned around and saw Stadium swaying back and forth as if it was a palm tree.

Puddy and I raced to the arches of the entrance to the building until it ended.

It was an unforgettable experience.

We heard later on that day that the kids on the 3rd and 4th floors were crawling along on the waving floors to get out.

This great event is called the 1949 Tacoma-Olympia earthquake. I think I remember it being a 7.0 quake.

Because of the "Quake" the bowl was condemned.

Margy (Clinton) Kemby
Class of 1950

Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources:
Where has Earthquake Damage Occurred in Washington State?

USGS:
Earthquake History of Washington

HistoryLink.org:
Earthquake hits Puget Sound area on April 13, 1949

April 13 is Marvin Alan Klegman Day the anniversary of the 1949 earthquake.

Marvin was an 11-year-old patrol boy who was killed at Lowell Elementary School during the earthquake when he protected 6-year-old student, Kelcy Allen, from falling bricks.


You can see the Larry Anderson sculpture at Lowell school.

Webucator Sept 12, 2003:
Marvin Alan Klegman memorial statue dedicated

RainerRedCross.org:
Marvin Alan Klegman Memorial Award

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Carl Gord

SHS '26

1926 was also the year my dad graduated, Carl Gord.

He went on to WSU, BS Electrical Engineering in 1932. From 1940 to his retirement in 1973, he worked as an engineer for Tacoma City Light.

Born 1908, died 1992 in Tacoma.

Sally (Gord) Kapphahn

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A Family History

Bison rancher

My sister-in-law (class of '57) forwarded this to me as I am a graduate of Stadium's class of 1955.

There is a lot of Stadium history in our family. My step-mother's father is one of the names on the entry plaque of the Stadium students that were killed in WWI, she graduated in 1929, I graduated in 1955.

One of my step-brothers graduated in 1957 along with his wife and another step-brother graduated in 1959.

The folks still live in the Ansonia apartments. Their apartment. overlooks the bowl and the bay and my step-mother keeps me posted as to her "supervision" of the reconstruction. She will be ninety-five this November and still drives herself each day to some luncheon with one of her guilds, clubs, etc, so you can bet that few things go on in the restoration that she is not "involved" in.

I am now in N/W Montana by Glacier Park and have a guest and bison ranch so it is hard to get away to the old alma mater but I definitely intend to make this shindig. Thank you very much

Harold "Hal" Butler,

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Time Flies

Stadium Clock

I acquired this clock in the spring of 1961. I was taking physics, and the teacher asked if anyone wanted this clock. I went home and asked if I could have a clock, and my parents said OK, not knowing how big it was. The next morning I went to the physics teacher before class and asked for the clock. He said that I could have it.

My understanding about the clock was that it was taken out of the school’s office in the 1950’s during a renovation and given to the physics department for pendulum experiments. The department finally got a pendulum to hang on the wall, so the clock was put into storage. In 1961 while cleaning out the storage the clock was found and I acquired it.

Work History:

When I got the clock it was missing the glass in the door, the hour hand, the pendulum weight, and the drive weight. I had it running off and on using makeshift weights

In the 1980’s I knew a clockmaker, and he worked on the clock. He replaced the hands, and found an early 1900’s drive weight, but he had to get a new pendulum weight. It ran for several years after that.

About 2000 I took it to another clockmaker and he took it a part and replaced most of the bushings, and got it running again. I have it running in my living room.

If there are any pictures of the clock in the office, I would like to see them, to verify that this is the clock from the office.

Description:

Height: 4' 7"

Width: 1' 4"

Depth: 5"

Pendulum length: 32", and has a wire running down the back of it. This is an important length as the swing of the pendulum is exactly 1 second, and therefore was be used as a regulator clock.

Face is 12" in diameter and has roman numerals on it.

It has a name on the face of "J. Stolting Co."

John Potter '61

(BTW, here is a picture of the office in 1909)

Here's John's clock with his self portrait.

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Laugh at the World

Clowning around

Just for what it is worth....

My father Dan "Shorty" Miller (1939) used to say he always wanted to be known as "The Class Clown" but that distinction went to his life long best buddy, Buryl "Red" Hunter (1939).

My Dad, however, as a hobby, spent the 50's and early 60's (as often as he could) clowning with the Polack Brother's Circus. He passed away in 1993 taking with him a library of circus knowledge.

Buryl had his own band while at Stadium (Red Hunter's Band) and played a lot of the Stadium and Lincoln school dances. He later played the drums with Louis Grenier's Band at the Top of the Ocean restaurant in Tacoma for thirteen years.

He is still living in Tacoma and gives organ concerts periodically for his neighbors at he and his wife's retirement home.

Charlene (Miller) Kosche (1962)

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Where I met my soulmate

Persistence pays

Stadium has special meaning to me not only because the building is beautiful and it is so different than any other high school in the nation but like many who have gone there, it is where I met my husband.

It was our senior year in high school. I had him in 3 of my classes and noticed that he was very smart but very shy.

I was determined to bring him out of his shell and proceeded to ask him to "go out with me" everyday from December to March.

One time I told him that the group, "Chicago" was playing at Eagles auditorium in Seattle and did he want to go. Of course he said no, but he loaned me the $4.00 it cost to go to the concert (1970)

Finally, he agreed to help me with our Physics assignments. Thanks to Mr. Eastley, we were Physics partners and thanks to my husband, I passed the class!

I have many other stories about our courtship that my husband hates for me to relate so I will not share now, but I can tell you that my fondest memories are of the friends I made and the love I found.

Great teachers like Mrs. Randall, Mr. Jarvitz, Mr Eastley, Mr. Chopp and Mrs. Martindale will also remain close to my heart...



Pati Lynn
Stadium Centennial Co-Chair

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Stadium - Wilson

The morning after:

45th Stadium/Wilson reunion in Tacoma August, 2005.

left to right:

Shari (Elrod) Morphew, Joan (Knightlinger) Cronk,
Anne (Smith) Hamlin, Penny (Wilson) Lightfoot,
Virginia "Gini" (Paine) Drummond

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The Sight of Stadium

A Father's memory

My dad, Carl Peterson, graduated from Stadium in 1949.

While he grew up in Tacoma we ended up in Kirkland where I grew up.

I remember my dad taking our family on a drive one day (probably in the 60’s or early 70’s) and he took us by Stadium so we could see where he went to high school.

When I first saw the school it took my breath away. Never before had I seen anything like it. The field on the bay, the majestic turrets, it was a fairy tale castle to me. Truly amazing! I’m so glad it is being restored and I wish you well on your celebration.


Tami Bettermann

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Castle by the Sound

Administrative style

I have been to Europe, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico and countless other places. Castles I have entered, viewed from near and afar, but none have come close to the "Castle by the Sound."

Seven members of my family graduated from Stadium and I spent three wonderful years at Stadium with friends from Grant and Jason Lee.

My best story happened during my Junior year (1980). My twin Janell and I were walking down the hall near the main entrance one morning and standing in her usual place was the Assistant Principal, Mrs. Emma Walker.

She knew every student by name and would often call you over to make sure that you weren't straying off of the beaten academic path. Well she called the two of us over one day and she said,
"The SAT test will be coming soon, on a Saturday morning, and I expect both of you to be here."

I looked at Janell and she looked at me and then we both just looked at Mrs. Walker.

She then said,
"If you're not here come testing day; I will be by your home to visit your parents."

A statement definitely known to be true, because she didn't hesitate to come to your house.

To avoid her visiting our mother and father we awoke early on a Saturday morning walked to Stadium and we took our place among the group of testers. Waiting by the door was Mrs. Walker with a smile on her face.

We weren't too happy about the idea but we went ahead and took the test.

The fact that an Assistant Principal would even take the time to even care about your education was rare, but later well received. She was the best Assistant Principal I have ever had and I don't ever remember any other AP who knew my name or cared about my academics. As a result, we both graduated from WWU and continued to further our education.

The irony - we both became teachers and later I became an Assistant Principal.

My administrative style? You got it - I learned from the best at Stadium High and my students all 500 were expected to excel!

Mrs. Walker you were the best and thanks for making my experience at Stadium an AWESOME one!!

I hope this story helps :-)

Janice Richison
Senior Coordinator
Instructional Technology
Hampton, VA

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Continuity

Third generation Tiger

My name is Lori Lyman-Losee and I am from the Class of 1997.

I am the third generation at Stadium with my great-grandmother part of the first graduating class.

My paternal grandparents met and graduated from Stadium

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We're all Connected

More memories

My Great Grandfather must have purchased Buetel's Business College from Mary's father, because he owned it under Barger's Consolidated Colleges along with several other business colleges from Tacoma to Walla Walla and one in Idaho,

I'm not sure what year, but, it's interesting to know about Mary.

I have a 1933 Stadium yearbook from my Great Uncle.

Not only did I graduate from Stadium in 1989, but my Father's parents did as well in 1927 and 1931.

While attending Stadium, my Grandfather drew up the blueprints to build their house located on North 7th and Proctor. They have both, unfortunately passed away.

Jodie Heffron '89

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First Grade on ...

Class of '49

Thanks for the information on Mary Rothwell, 98 years young!

We are having a luncheon for the class of 1949 Sept.14.

I am married to Jim Wolfe who is also a graduate of the class of 1949.

Our claim to fame is that we started first grade together at Franklin Grade school on 12th St.

We went to Jason Lee Jr. Hi, and on to Stadium.

He played football for Stadium and participated in all sports offered. We both still play golf at Highland Hill Golf Club, here in Tacoma.

We have lived in the same house for 45+ years and raised our family here. Rather boring, but we love the Puget Sound Area.

Molly (Coy) Wolfe, 1949

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Memories of the Bowl

What do I remember about Stadium?

Wow, this might take awhile.

I remember walking down the stairs from classes and seeing the beauty of the bay, and wondering what Stadium would have been like as a private home;

I remember hearing my footsteps in the corridor, late in the evening, as I rushed to pick-up my choir dress that I had forgotten, and needed for a concert--that was a frightening experience to say the least;

I remember coming back my senior year and not seeing my, nor my twin's, senior picture in my senior yearbook, that was devastating, to say the least--and no one seemed to have cared enough to do anything about it, as we were camp counselors that year;

I remember not wanting to take Biology, how much I disliked the idea of dissecting anything. Luckily my identical twin agreed to allow me to sit in her Biology class for three days, (only the students knew), while she sat in my literacy class. I loved the Biology class, and she, in the process of trying to help me, flunked a very important exam of mine in my literacy class.

As I sit here in New Jersey, I can, honestly, say that I still have fond memories of Stadium High School, so many that it would take me awhile to jot them all down. But I leave you with my fondest memory of the stadium:

On a crisp spring morning, around 6:30 a.m., I would leash up my dog, and we would walk down to the football field. Sometimes I would hear racial slurs, yelled from windows, as I neared the stadium--and sometimes I would face loose Cujo looking dogs that owners would, deliberately, let out of their homes to harass me and my dog. But once I reached the stadium, it was heaven. I would sit down on one of the concrete stairs and I'd stretch, look up at all the stairs behind me, take a deep breath, and then I'd run the stairs, without stopping.

To this day, I have not had such an opportunity to run and enjoy such a view as that of the bay and the school--that view, back in 1980, prior to leaving for college, was short of awesome.

In the past 25 years, since I left Stadium, I have had the unique opportunity of traveling to Sweden, Denmark, London, Switzerland, Africa, and Mexico. And I have yet to see, or visit, a castle as great as Stadium's.

In closing, I thank you for allowing me to reflect on the importance of the castle and our home town.
Sincerely,

Mrs. Janell Richison-Lemma

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