HISTORY OF ZEPHYRHILLS HIGH SCHOOL

Highlights of 1974

ZHS Graduates 106 Seniors, Many Awards Are Presented, Zephyrhills News, June 27, 1974

Pasco County School Superintendent Raymond B. Stewart gave diplomas to 106 graduating Zephyrhills High School seniors in graduation ceremonies Tuesday night.

A 2-day rain let up enough for the blue-gowned seniors to file into the gym and did not start again until the ceremonies were completed.  

Assisting Stewart were ZHS Principal James E. Davis and School Board Member, Bonnie Zimmer, District 2 (Zephyrhills).

Also present on the blue and white platform were School Board Chairman Leon E. Milton and the Reverend James H. Erickson, pastor of the Church of the Nazarene, who gave the invocation and benediction.

Van McKenzie, 1972-73 Student Council President and a sophomore at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, was also on the platform of dignitaries for his part in the awards ceremonies. Carrying batons with streamers in the class colors, Jeffrey Travis and Valedictorian Gerald Eysaman led the seniors into the gymnasium. The main stage was decorated with blue and white carnations with polka dot ribbons and a large sign in the background proclaimed the graduation in black letters decked on either side by the school’s bulldog mascot in orange and black.  

Organist Ray McLellan played the organ prelude prior to the graduates’ entrance and used “Pomp and Circumstance” as the processional.

Following the addresses of Salutatorian Armondo Maniscalco and Senior Class President Brenda Kendrick, Principal Davis presented awards to seniors.

David Bailey and Miss Kendrick were recognized as best all-around boy and girl. Maniscalco and Miss Kendrick received the activities award; Bailey and Susan Sunka were recognized for the most school spirit; Eysaman and Miss Kendrick received the citizenship awards and Bailey was recognized as most athletic.

Nancy Lail was announced as the winner of the Delta Kappa Gamma teaching scholarship which is given annually at the graduation ceremonies. Van McKenzie, acting on behalf of the Karl Y. Wickstrom family of Miami, presented a Leadership and Friendship plaque and a check for $100 to Salutatorian Maniscalco as the senior who through those traits most honored the memory of Karl G. Wickstrom, a ZHS student who was killed in a bike-truck accident in July 1972.

McKenzie received the first Karl G. Wickstrom memorial last year.

Salutatorian Speaks

Class Salutatorian Armondo Maniscalco said Zephyrhills graduations seniors should not be “Too Busy to Be Free.” 

Graduation is one time when we pause to reflect on the quality of our lives. This poem by Curtis Simpson is appropriate for our consideration:

We’re always talking,

Always moving,

Never pausing to notice God and His words,

Listening could bring us a whole new life,

A whole new being,

But we talk and move,

And never listen,

Never Listen,

Never open our ears,

Our minds,

Our hearts,

To God.

This poem surely speaks for today. How true the words are. Many of us are truly tied to today’s problems. How many people are working to buy another new car, that new house or working towards that long overdue vacation? We are so concerned with our personal possessions, that we do not realize that we are prisoners to materialism. We are becoming programmed machines that carry out the same everyday routines, we become blind to our surroundings and we ignore our fellow man, Maniscalco said. We all have the opportunity to bring forth a change. We graduates, as young adults, have the chance to determine whether or not we want to have the same role in life. We have the opportunity to change this.

I am not suggesting that we are to escape from everyday realities, we can be free to maintain our personal identities and still fulfill our educations, he explained.

Now you have the chance to rediscover life, to rediscover God’s world, to enjoy life once again and not put an over emphasis on wealth and possessions. Some of the happiest people are the ones who are able to enjoy life. Instead of existing to obtain more and more material goods, these people have the ability to perform their part in society and not try to escape it. They can enjoy life and find the time to wonder at even the smallest overlooked beauties in God’s world. Even in a fast moving society, they can still enjoy the surrounding world. Over a century ago, William Wordsworth noticed that man is too busy for life:

The world is too much with us, late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away….

The realization of life, not just existing is the beginning point of a new life. Don’t sit back and be an observer, but have a zest for life. John Masefield states in one of his poems:

Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song,

Better the world with a blow in the teeth of a wrong.

Laugh for the time is brief, a threat the length of a span.

Laugh and be proud to belong to the old proud pageant of man.

We must love life for life is short.

We must have a purpose in life, for the time we have is short. We are so tied to our responsibilities, that we are blind to the pain and destruction in the world. People are much too busy to help their fellow man, Maniscalco said.

Too often we become so engrossed in our own problems and responsibilities that we overlook our family, friends and our fellow man. Many times, we are confronted with numerous family problems.  Sometimes we then begin to lose our individual identities. In one of Carl Sandburg’s poems, the speaker says,

I earn my living. I make enough to get by and it takes all my time. If I had more time I could do more for myself and maybe for others. I could read and study and talk things over and find out about things. It takes time. I wish I had the time.

We can make the time if we really so desire, we can begin to enjoy life. Then we will be able to help ourselves to help others, and to start the beginning of a better world.

We should be “Proud to belong to the old proud pageant of man.” We must dedicate our lives to improving the quality of life for ourselves, as well as mankind. This is our purpose.

“To have a purpose means to have a goal. But to find that goal means to be free.”

Class President’s Talk

In her address Class President Brenda Kendrick explained some of the differences for seniors under the 45-15 school year plan.

“We all know, this has been a hectic as well as exciting year for the seniors Many have had the privilege of graduating early and beginning their higher education or beginning a career much sooner than usual,” Miss Kendrick said.

“All of the members of our class are very unique. The students are ambitious and show many high qualities. Some have developed skills that will prepare them for jobs after graduation and others have plans for a higher education,” she said. “Our class will produce teachers, nurses, architects, pilots, computer specialists, and agricultural majors. We will all join together to become a part of the work force in this country.

“We are no longer the future generation. We have arrived. We are now qualified to step out into the business or educational world and create a world for the betterment of us all. We have gained a hopeful outlook on life as a result of our educational experiences created by our instructors. All the members of our class have been anticipating this very moment and wondering what the next few years will bring for them,” she said.

“We must have goals—many goals—which we wish to achieve in our lifetime and strive for each one because everyone here is capable of obtaining their goals.

“We all must aim for a purpose in life, to achieve something great and acquire determination from our inner being and from fellow students. We are fresh and youthful in the eyes of the world and we must take a decisive step during the dawn of our new life.

“Class of 1974—yes, we have a world for each of us; but we need a world for all of us, Miss Kendrick said.

Valedictorian Address

Action must be backed by determination and goals. Valedictorian Eysaman told the graduating class and their families and friends attending the ceremonies.

“Too many of us live life chasing rainbows and submissively waiting for dreams,” he said. “We, all of us, need to open our eyes and minds to the realities of life. The idealistic worlds of Sir Thomas Moore’s Utopia or Voltaire’s El Dorado are fantasies. The Jonathan Livingston Seagulls and Don Quixote’s do not exist in reality. They too are fantasies, created through the imagination. The characteristics they depict, of both dreaming and doing are rare –almost non-existent.

“To be an individual one must determine his ideals; he must pursue them and persevere absolutely and without doubt. His ideals must also be based on the real world or he will, as did Don Quixote, find himself fighting windmills. Life is not lived in a world of fantasy; life is lived in the world of cold harsh reality,” Eysaman said.

“To become detached from the present in the hope of a future abundant with daisies and sunshine can no longer be accepted; it has accomplished nothing. We as citizens of the world must recognize our responsibilities and act on them. Our lives can not be ones of radical insurrection or passive resistance, or as Henry David Thoreau said—“lives of quite desperation.”

“We must work for a better tomorrow, and when we do we must do it with honesty, sincerity and in our full and complete perspective of our values. As students, many of us did not do this. We allowed ourselves to dream and wander aimlessly unbounded, usually without purpose. We are no longer those naïve students and must not continue without direction. We are being plunged forward into an adult world and to survive we must act reasonably and maturely,” he admonished.

“In the past how many times did we, without thought or judgment, attempt to conquer a rainbows or capture a dream and discover in the end, after much disillusionment and disappointment that we had failed miserably? Failures are cast aside and lost in the commotion until they dare to challenge life earnestly.

“We must have convictions and purpose, for only with determination can we hope; hope to show meaningful expressions of our own existence,” Eysaman said.

Following Eysaman’s address, Stewart presented the graduates with their diplomas and Mrs. Zimmer changed their tassels. As the graduates left the platform, they were given a class flower by the Junior class ushers. After Reverend Errikson’s benediction, the class left the gym to the strains of “March of the Priests.” Ushers all members of the Junior class, Rebekah Bleich, chairman, Patsy Arnold, Steve Clark, Ron Dunagan, Shirley Hill, Byron Jones, Sally McKee, Dale Maggard, Judy Padgett, Gerry Phillips, Sherrie Peacock and Mel Williams. The class flowers were donated by Citizen’s Bank of Pasco and Bank of Zephyrhills presented the graduates with wallet-size plastic diplomas. Jim Coleman provided the sound system.

ZHS Students Receive Awards, Zephyrhills News, June 1974

Twenty-four Zephyrhills High School students were named to the Society of Outstanding American High School Students during the school’s Awards Day assembly Friday at 7 a.m. in the Gym.

Named to the society were Cynthia Dauber, Walter Pop lick, Jane Clark, Cathy Tulles, Nancy Laic, Carl Hill, Brenda Kendrick, Debra Nelson, Daniel Richwine, Susan Sunka, Rhonda Marlette, Armondo Maniscalco, Vicki Wells, Robert Cox, Steve Clark, Jan Rooks, Cheri Wynne, Theresa Robinson, Doug Lail, Cynthia Cowling, Randy Bahr, Gerald Eysaman, Jaye Mattison and Sylvia Miller

Seniors Brenda Kendrick and Gerald Eysaman received the William H. Danforth “I Dare You” award and Miss Kendrick, Karen Calhoun, Betty Dobson, Nancy Lail and Armondo Maniscalco were named Outstanding Teenagers of America for 1974.

Awarded Bets Club Scholastic Letters were Mary Daughtery, Johanna Newton, Elizabeth Stanley, Judy Cowling, and Cynthia Wynne.

Debbie Nelson received the club’s $75 scholarship. Cheri Wynne, a junior, was awarded the Mercer University Honor Scholarship. Miss Wynne will attend the Georgia school this fall on the early admissions program.

Brenda Kendrick was recognized as the local winner of the Betty Crocker Search for Family Leaders of Tomorrow and Eysaman received the Reader’s Digest Award to the Valedictorian.

Miss Kendrick and Eysaman also received the School Service Awards.

STAR pupil for ZHS, Cheri Wynne, was recognized and Johanna Newton received an award from the Dramatics Club as its most active members.

Golfers Gary Phillips, Johnny Meengs, and Coach Jim Steele III were recognized for their outstanding play in the WTRS Invitational Golf Tournament.

Dan Richwine was presented a trophy for excellence in Spanish.  Receiving awards for excellence in English were: Gerald Eysaman, journalistic excellence; Dana Riley, creative writing in prose; and City Travis, creative writing in poetry.

Recognized for their high scores on the National Educational Development Test each scored in the upper 10 percent nationally were Scott Boyd, Phillip Howard, James Partin, Cyndi Craig, Johnanna Newton and Elizabeth Stanley.

Physical Fitness awards were presented to Debby Tracey, eight years; Sandy Bahr and Debra Giles, each four years; Sherrie Peacock, two years and Sarah Hammond, Shirley Marbra and Johnanna Newton, all one year.

The American Legion, represented by Chemistry teacher Miss Vivan Johns recognized the 1973 and 1974 Boys and Girls State representatives. This year’s representatives are Rodney Ferguson, Doug Lail, Kurt Malmquist and Cheri Wynne, who was at Girls State in Tallahassee at the time of the Awards Day being held.

Charles Back was named the 1973-74 Outstanding Student Council Member. Receiving Student Council Scholarships of $90 each were Cheri Wynne, Gerald Eysaman, Armondo Maniscalco, Dan Richwine and Brenda Kendrick.

Library Service Awards were made to Tim McCleary, John Bonasera and Rodney Partin. Awarded Florida Board of Regent’s Certificates of Merit were Kathy Ann Bevers, Debra Nelson, Dan Richwine, Armondo Maniscalco and Gerald Eysaman.

Athletic awards for Junior Varsity football were presented to Steve Anderson, Scott Boyd, Jeff Cutler, Don Dean, Mike Dean, Robert Dobbins, Randy Douglas, Kenney Garver, Norman Geiger, Rancy Grace, Alan Jones, Steve Jones, Warren Meyer, Robbie Miller, Doug Nelson, Earl Paul, Larry Roberts, Kerry Ryman, Kevin Ryman, Tim Sanders, Don Spaulding, Kevin Struble, Randy Tiley, Wesley Wallick, Gary Woolfolk and George Zobrist.

Junior Varsity Basketball Awards were to Charles Back, Jack Fitzgibbon, Lennie Bahr, John Fries, Don Dean, Kenny Garrard, David Reagan, Mike Dean, Russell Jackson and Dale Hamann.

Boyd, Cutler, Bahr, Roberts, Don Dean, Steve Kennedy, Miller Newton, Tyrone Oliver, Kerry Ryman and Clay Whitworth received recognition for their participation in J.V. Baseball.

1972-73 Cheerleader Captain Susan Sunka and Debbie Woolfolk received their second year bars. Nancy Deem, Carolyn Cox, Betsey Dobson, Sally McKee and Shelley Palmer received their cheerleading letters.

ZHS Marching Band Invited To Virginia Apple Blossom Parade, Zephyrhills News, September 20, 1974

Community-wide fund raising project will soon get underway following Pasco County School Board approval of plans for the Zephyrhills High School Band to attend the 1974 Shenandoah Valley Apple Blossom Festival May 4-6 in Winchester, Virginia.

Band Director, Paul Steuart received the festival invitation August 30 from Cave Jenkins, Grand Feature Parade Director, and Board approval was announced Tuesday.  

This year’s Festival included a pageant, sports banquet, Gay 90s Night, rock concert, county music features, concert and marching band competition, a fireman’s parade, and the Grand Feature Parade which will include the Zephyrhills High School Band and its 1974 edition. Bandmaster Steuart told the News the 100- piece band also would tour Washington, D.C. as well as Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown historic sites in Virginia.

ZHS Band In Contest, Zephyrhills News, May 5, 1974

Final arrangements are nearing completion for the long awaited trip by the Zephyrhills High School Band to appear in the annual festival parade Saturday during the Shenandoah Valley Apple Blossum Festival in Winchester, Virginia.

The band will leave Friday afternoon from the Lakeland railroad depot under rather hectic circumstances; the band must leave Zephyrhills at 5:30 a.m. Friday and travel to St. Petersburg for an 8 a.m. performance in the State Band Contest Finals.

The speedy loading and return to Lakeland will be timed to the minute, according to Bandmaster C. Paul Steuart, who told the News the 102 students making the excursion will be joined by 14 chaperones and three children at the Lakeland depot.

In addition to appearing in the Apple Blossom Festival parade (no, readers, it is not the Cherry Blossom Festival, as so many of you have been trying to advise us), the band will tour the nation’s capital and also Colonial Williamsburg and Mt. Vernon (George Washington’s home) in Virginia, before returning home Wednesday of next week.

Will Visit Congress

Monday, Congressman Bill Gunter (D., Orlando), whose fifth district includes Zephyrhills, will meet the band at Florida House, the restored home which is being developed by the State Commerce Department, as a headquarters for Floridians visiting the capitol.

Congressman Gunter will then direct the band members on a tour of the Capitol itself, with stops to see both the house and senate in session.

The band will travel on a special Am-Track train in special cars, Bandmaster Steuart hopes. Luggage and instruments will be in special baggage cars, one equipped with shelves on which uniform bags can be laid out flat.

There will be a dining car and the band members will eat their evening meal Friday on the train. Coming back the student will have breakfast on the train and a box lunch will be boarded for them at Jacksonville the band arriving back in Lakeland at about 2 p.m. Wednesday to board buses for the return to Zephyrhills about 3 p.m.

Chaperones Listed

Bandmaster Steuart will be joined by Mrs. Steuart and his two children and Band Boosters President and Mrs. Jim Ferguson will be taking a younger daughter along. Other chaperones will include Assistant Principal Melvin Denard and Jim Steele of the faculty, Mrs. Ruth Flack, Mrs. Caroline Bodiford, Mrs. Virginia Ramsey, Mrs. Vee Gibson, Mrs. Helen Calhoun, Mrs. Frances Thomas, and Mrs. Marianne Bennett, all from the Band Boosters.

ZHS Names 24 Honor Students To Outstanding Student Group, Zephyrhills News, May 16, 1974

Honor students from Zephyrhills High School were tapped today for membership into the nation’s leading high school honorary.  The Society of Outstanding American High School Students, announced

James E. Davis, principal today.

The following students have been awarded the honor: Armondo Maniscalco, Rhonda Marlette, Susan Sunka, Daniel Richwine, Debra Nelson, Brenda Kendrick, Carl Hill, Nancy Lail, Cathy Tullis, Jane Clark, Walter Poplick, Cynthia Dauer, Sylvia McBee, Jaye Mattison, Gerald Eysaman, Randy Bahr, Cynthia Cowling, Doug Lail, Theresa Robinson, Cheri Wynne, Jan Rucks, Steve Clark, Robert Cox and Vicki Wells.

These students are now participating in The Society of Outstanding American High School Student’s annual awards program which offers over $800,000 in renewable college scholarships. The scholarships consist of unrestricted cash awards to colleges of the student’s choice and renewable annual scholarships to leading colleges and universities across the nation. The Society of Outstanding American High School Students awards program is one of the largest of its kind in the country.

ZHS Junior is Chosen As Star Student, To Attend Girls State, Zephyrhills News, April 25, 1974

A Zephyrhills High School Junior, Miss Cheri Wynne, was announced this week as the winner of double honors.

She was announced as the selection of the American Legion Auxiliary as the girl to attend the 1974 Girls State in Tallahassee in June.  Her running mates were Karen Hughes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Hughes; and Mary Ann Welch, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Welch.

 And she was announced as the school’s Star Student for 1973-74 as named by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

First Tennis Team, Zephyrhills News, April 14, 1974

Zephyrhills High School’s first girl’s tennis team began this year. They are: No. 1 Singles: Sherrie Merrill; No. 2 Singles: Linda Aurie; No. 3 Singles: Jan Rucks; No.4 Singles: Janice Lauderbaugh; No.5 Singles: Cheri Wynne; No.2 doubles: Bonnie Merrill and Sandy Bahr and No. 1 doubles Team: Sherrie Merrill and Linda Aurie and No. 5 Singles also: Diane Ravello. Coach is Mrs. Connie Brown

Dogs Defeat Tigers But Then Lose; Now 3 Home, Zephyrhills News, April 14, 1974

Bulldog baseball spirits received a shot in the arm Friday night when the home-standing Canines blasted out seven hits and capitalized on eight Dunnellon errors to win 13-1 in a game shortened by the 10-run rule.

But then Coach Wally Brown’s team had to come down to face reality, and traveled to Inverness and a match with the Mid-Florida Conference champions.

They played a good game against the powerful Hurricanes, however and lost only 0-4.

Three home games now await the Brownmen, as they host Wildwood Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and Berkeley Prep on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

The Dogs are not 4-5 in conference play and 4-8 overall.

David Bailey pitched against Dunnellon and the team was led by Dan Lauderbaugh with a double and Bill Grogan with two hits in four trips. Lloyd Henry started out the action with a 2-run single in the first inning. He leads the team in batting with a .364 average.

Bailey had seven strike-outs in five innings, walked only a few and showed good control in pitching his best game to date.

Baccalaureate Service Sunday for 111 in ZHS Class of ’74, Zephyrhills News, June 20, 1974

Baccalaureate services for the 111-member graduating class of Zephyrhills High School will be Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at First Methodist Church.

John R. Huff, Associate Pastor of the First Baptist Church, will be featured speaker for the inspirational message entitled, “Dare to Be Different?”

Ray McLellan will be organist and senior class will enter to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Invocation will be by Reverend W. K. Richwine, pastor of the Branchborough Assembly of God, and special music will be by Dan Benham, music and youth director of First Baptist Church, who will sing, “I Quietly Turn to You.”

ZHS Principal James E. Davis will give the welcome and announcements and Senior Class Sponsor, James Steele III will introduce the speaker.

Reverend Richwine will also give the benediction and the recessional will be “March of the Priests, played by McLellan.

Ushers will be members of the sophomore class with Charles Back as chairman. Others are Terry Martin, Genie Daffer, Barbara Zobrist, Greg Mills, Christina Spoto, Kevin Ryman and Carla Burkam.

The class of 1974 has announced its colors, blue and white, and its flowers, blue and white carnations. Graduates this year will wear blue robes. Motto for the class is, “we have made a world for each or us; but we need a world for all of us.”

Brenda Kendrick is president and Armondo Maniscalco is Vice President of the Class. Faculty Sponsors are Scott Johnson, David Camper, Caroline Marlette, Lillian Johnson, Steele and Huff.

Love Is…Prom Breaks Tradition But Keeps Others, Zephyrhills News, May 30, 1974

There were many things traditional about this year’s Junior-Senior Prom presented Friday night in Municipal Auditorium by the Junior class of Zephyrhills High School in honor of this year’s graduating class.

Traditionally the music was loud and contemporary—the band was called “Alias Fox”—and traditionally the decorations—supervised by Jan Rucks and Cheri Wynne—were beautiful.

In keeping with tradition the refreshments were delicious and also as traditional many couples left early in order to keep dinner engagements at Central Florida restaurants.

But one tradition as old as the ZHS prom itself, was not observed this year. For the first time in the school’s 64-year history, a Prom Queen and King were not crowned. Theme for the prom was “Love Is…The Prom,” and so it was announced that each girl is queen and each guy is king.

Refreshments prepared under the supervision of Jan Rucks assisted by Teresa Robinson, were served by 12 sophomore servers, including Johanna Newton, Christina Spoto, Carla Burkham, Tina Stone, Barbara Zobrist, Debra Giles, Earl Boyette, Charles Back, Keith Reeves, Randy Douglas, John Fries and Gary Woolfolk.

Two sheet cakes, a fruit bowl and hors d’oeuvres were served, as was punch from a champagne server loaned for the occasion by Joie Chitwood Chevrolet, Crystal Pure Water Co. donated punch concentrate.

Flowers and gifts by Terry assisted with the decorations. Junior Class Sponsors from the faculty included Carolyn LaCour, Vivian Johns, Joyce Snow, James Bailey and Don Woods. Almost 100 couples enjoyed the beautiful evening, for which the weather was perfect and the romantic traditions of Prom Night were enjoyed by all.

Three Delegates Named to Attend Legion Boys State in Tallahassee, Zephyrhills News, May 23, 1974

Three Zephyrhills High School junior have been named to attend the 1974 session of the American Legion-sponsored Boys State, scheduled to begin June 23 in Tallahassee.

Hal Copper, Kurt Malmquist and Doug Lail, whose parents are Mr. and Mrs. Carl I. Copper, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Malmquist, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lail, respectively comprise the trio.

They were selected by a Zephyr Post 118, American Legion committee composed of Legionnaires Lucy Mae Knox, Carl Lippincott, and Max E. Cook, which also named Rodney Ferguson, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Ferguson and Stephen Clark, son of Mr. and Mrs. John T.V. Clark Jr. as alternates.

New Student Council Officers, Zephyrhills News, June 13, 1974

Elected to serve as the officers of the Student Council for the next school year at Zephyrhills High School were on the five students pictured above, who will be installed Friday at Awards Day and will take office July 9. They are new president, Johanna Newton who won over Robert Cox and Scott Massey; Vice President Cyndi Craig who won

election over Teresa Robinson and Scott Boyd. Others were Sherry Pelfrey, Recording Secretary who won election over Kathy Zeibler; Thor Wickstrom, Treasurer who won over Fred Rhoda and Melody Wheeler; and Barbara Zobrist, Corresponding Secretary. The elections were Tuesday and Wednesday of last week and involved spirited campaigning, speech-making, rallies and voting on voting machines loaned by Pasco County for the occasion.

Horticulture Fan Is New Teacher At Z’hills High, Zephyrhills News, July 4, 1974

Miss Madonna Sue Jervis, a former resident of Indiana, will teach social studies at Zephyrhills High this year. Miss Jervis received her bachelor of science degree from Taylor University in January. At Taylor she was active in the Student Education Association, the National Education Association and the Junior Horticulture Society.

Her student teaching includes practicum at Madeira Beach, Florida and she taught U.S. History, World History, Geography, Government, Economics and Sociology at Heritage High School in Monroeville, Indiana.

Dog Cagers Host Greenbacks in First Home Cage Battle Friday, Zephyrhills News, December 1974

The first game of the Zephyrhills High School Bulldog basketball season will be Friday night, and hometown fans are expected to turn out in big fashion to see the all-new Orange and Black squad in action.  Groveland, a newcomer, to the ZHS schedule this season will provide the opposition, with a Jayvee game starting at 6:30 and the varsity game at 8 p.m. With head Coach Dave Camper are his three returning lettermen, Doug Lail, Scott Boyd and Eric Pirttima.

ZHS Band Plays Saturday in District Marching Event, Zephyrhills News, November 21, 1974

Zephyrhills High School band directed by C. Paul Steuart, will travel to Winter Haven Saturday to compete in the District 7 Marching contest held annually for bands throughout the state.

The Zephyrhills band will take the field at 8:10 p.m. as the last Class CC band in the district contest.

Fans from Zephyrhills will also enjoy seeing the new Memorial Stadium at Ave. C. and southeast Sixth St. Admission to the contest, in which 14 bands will participate, is $1.

Opening the musical evening is the only Class C band, Frostproof at 7:30 p.m. Following will be Mulberry, St. Cloud, Ft. Meade, and Zephyrhills, all CC bands at 10 minute intervals.

Zephyrhills will be followed by the Class B marchers from Osceola, Lake Wales and Bartow and the Class BB bands from Pasco Comprehensive, Auburndale and Hernando County.

Class A Kathleen will march at 9:20. Class AA Lakeland at 9:30 and host Class AA band Winter Haven at 9:40 p.m.

The Zephyrhills band will depart the school grounds at 4 p.m. with uniform and instrument band inspection scheduled at 6 p.m.

If the band receives a “Superior” rating in the marching contest and a “Superior” in the district competition, ZHS will be eligible to compete at the state level this spring, bandmaster Steuart said.

Band members who went to Washington last year can now pick up their pictures and records made from the final concert of the year, Steuart said. The pictures and records are available in the band room.

Zephyrhills Student At Illinois Honored for Her Scholarship, Zephyrhills News, November 21, 1974

A 1971 graduate of Zephyrhills High School has been named to the nation’s most distinguished scholastic group, Phi Kappa Phi. Marlies Gerber, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Gerber, owners of Sunnyside Mobile Home Park, is one of 42 out-of-state students at University of Illinois at Urbans-Champaign who will be initiated today (Thursday) Miss Gerber now in her final semester of her senior year is currently taking graduate courses along with her undergraduate hours in her major field of study, mathematics. She hopes to earn her masters degree in June. She was salutatorian of the 1971 ZHS graduating class and an honors student at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

1974 Zephyrhills Bulldogs from homecoming feature of Zephyrhills News, 1974

Dirk Padgett, Robbie Miller, Kevin Ryman, Herman Vollrath, John Fries, Tom Fuller, Cliff Howell, Dan Spaulding, Don Dean, Earl Paul, Randy O’Steen, Richard Abbott, Dale Hamman, Ronnie Dunagan, Don Poplick, Wendell Maples, Jim Kelly, Phillip Fries, Earl Boyette, Richard Kretschmar, Terry Martin, Warren Meyer, Wade Cutler, Wayne Lewis, Richard Burkam, Dale Maggard, Jeff Kinsman, Kirby Toomer. Coacher: Terry Martin, Alan Knight, Dave Camper.

1974 Homecoming Royalty, Zephyrhills News, October 24, 1974

Miss Karen Hughes was chosen by her fellow classmates to reign as the 1974 Zephyrhills High School Homecoming Queen.

The halftime coronation ceremonies were a highlight of the football game with Dunnellon Friday night. Others on the field at the climax of the ritual were Carla Burkam, sophomore maid; Dirk Padgett, Homecoming King; Christi Spoto, Princess; John Fries, Prince and Nancy Dockery, Freshman Maid.

Victory! Bulldogs End Losing Streak, Zephyrhills News,

Beat Dunnellon 10 to 6 in Battle At Homecoming

You could hear the celebration almost all the way downtown Friday night after the Zephyrhills High football team ended the state’s longest losing streak (22 games plus one tie) by defeating Dunnellon in Homecoming 10-6.

So excited were the fans that they stayed around Krusen Field an hour after the game ended, some dancing on the gridiron to records played over the speaker system.

But Coach Alan Knight, jubilant as he was at game’s end (he fell to the turf and beat his fist on the ground), is looking ahead toward this week’s tough clash with the Crystal River Pirates.

“I wouldn’t want to take a thing away from the boys and their win, but we face a really tough opponent here Friday night, and it will require all of our effort to come up with “back-to-back” victories,” he said. Predictions that the Bulldogs would win big over the weaker Dunnellon didn’t come true—in fact the Dogs had to tussle to hang on to their win, and many believe if the game had lasted another five minutes they might have blown it. Probably the main reason was over-confidence; everyone it seems had been telling the Big Orange Machine it would pulverize the Tigers, and Homecoming fever had the team “peaked” a few days early, the coaches believe. But perhaps that same weakness—over-confidence—may work in the Canine’s favor this weekend, for Crystal River will be coming to town with many reasons to be over-confident.

Many Satisfactions

Although there may be a feeling of disappointment that the team tallied only one TD despite some other opportunities, Coach Knight cited several satisfactions, such as the running of junior Warren Meyer and the kicking game of sophomore Robbie Miller, whose extra point and field goal were the difference in an otherwise 6-6 score. Knight also was pleased with John Fries’ play as the new veer-offense quarterback. But Wade Cutler, back in action for just one game has been lost for the season with what it is expected x-rays will show are town knee ligaments, and because of a few cases of flu the Dogs will be at less than full health Friday night. Wayne Lewis will be used as a blocking back in the offensive backfield.

The 1974-75 ZHS Bulldogs, Zephyrhills News, December 5, 1974

The 1974-75 ZHS Bulldogs—Posed for a group picture to kick-off the 1974-75 basketball season are these members of the Fighting Bulldog team. Kneeling from left to right, are: Mel Williams, Kenny Gerrard, Randy Douglas, John Fries, and Eric Pirttima. In back, from the left: Coach Dave Camper, David Regan, Randy Tilley, Bill Grogan, Scott Boyd, Russell Jackson and Doug Lail.

Dogs Go on Road After Pair of Losses; Coach Lauds Canines, Zephyrhills News, January 31, 1974

No doubt about it, the Zephyrhills Bulldogs basketball team ran up against a sensational opponent Friday night when Lake Weir came to town, going back home with a 81-47 victory.

But despite the score, the Dogs played brilliantly for three of the four quarters, and as well, in fact that the hometown fans gave them a standing ovation at the end of the first half.

That same spirit was on hand Tuesday night when, although the Wildwood Wildcats rolled to an easy 86-63 win over the canines, fans backed their squad to the limit and again applauded their hard-fighting team.

Coming up this week will be two road trips the first to Santa Fe Friday night and the other to Inverness to play Citrus High on Tuesday night.

Coach Dave Camper’s team lost to Santa Fe in December and to Citrus two weeks ago, but both games were rather close ones.

The head Bulldogs wastes no words in praising Lake Weir, the odds-on favorite to win the Mid Florida Conference this season and probably to do very well in the state tournament.

“They are very tall, extremely quick and really outstanding. We did very well to be just nine points down at the half, and to be just 14 down at three quarters,” he said.

But when Paul Regan fouled out in the fourth frame, the Dogs lost their main rebounding and inside shooting punch, plus a press by Lake Weir caught the Dogs without their main anti-press weapon-Regan.

“I was really proud of the team and so were the fans,” Camper said. “We had planned to slow the game down, but when we saw how well we were keeping up, played a faster game instead,” he observed.

Camper noted Scott Boyd played especially well for a freshman with eight points. Regan was high with 22 and Doug Lail was held to nine by the tough lake Weir defense.

Cage Wars Resumes, Zephyrhills News, January 3, 1974

The Zephyrhills Bulldogs will return to cage wars Friday night when they play host to Dunnellon in a Mid-Florida loop game. On the Bulldog squad are: Robert Devonshire, Gary McCullough, Eric Pirtima, Larry Green, and Dale Maggard. As well as Doug Lail, Scott Boyd, Paul Regan, Bill Grogan and Russell Jackson and John Fries. Coach is Dave Camper and Managers are James Munger and Byron White.

Golfers Lose In Opener To Citrus, Zephyrhills News, January 31, 1974

Garry Phillips, playing No. 1 man, shot a hot 1-over par 37 to take medalist honors in the opening match of the new season for Zephyrhills High School’s golf team Tuesday on the home course, but the Bulldog linksmen were defeated by Citrus of Inverness 174-181.

Playing No. 2 was Steve Turner. No 3 was Jeff Artabasy. No 4. was Steve Jones and No. 5 was Colbert Marshall. The match does not count in the Mid-Florida Conference standings, according to Coach Jim Steele. Next outing for the Dogs will be when they host Howey-In-The-Hills February 8th.