Anamosa - A Reminiscence 1838 - 1988

team had a sparkling beginning. finishing second in the
WaMaC and winning the sectional toumament. The
Raider track team of that spring was runner-up at the
Class A State Outdoor Meet at Drake in Des Moines.
The 1966 school year began with discussions of
possible sites for a new high school. By May. voters
were given the choice of three sites: near the existing
high school building on First and Gamavillo Streets. a
Merrimac Acre site. or the land near the Anamosa
Livestock Sale Barn. Seventy-two percent approved the
bond issue and the Merrimac Acre site.
Everett Allamand placed fourth in the 1966 State
Wrestling Toumament.
The band. directed by Robert Warner. attained Honor
Band status in both 1966 and 1967.
The sports area had a banner school year in 1966-67.
They won WaMaC championships in baseball.
basketball. wrestling. and boys golf. It was the best
varsity basketball record in 30 years. The track team
finished third in the State Meet.
An Iowa Supreme Court Ruling of January 10. 1967.
in the case of Ronald Green vs. the Waterloo school
board. said that a school board has the right to prohibit
married students from taking part in extracurricular
activities. This ruling affected a similar case involving
an Anamosa student and the local school district.
By the fall of 1967. the French program. under Elsie
Clark, had grown to the point that a teacher had to be
added in the junior high school to accommodate
freshman students.
The girl golfers played a limited schedule in 1967. but
by the following year they won the sectional
tournament. and placed third in district competition.
The new high school was occupied in the fall of 1968.
and at that time. seventh. eighth and ninth grades were
housed as a junior high school. on what had been the
high school site. The high school included only the top
three grades. James R. Poulter was superintendent.
The Board of Education consisted of James Wild.
George Swanson. Eli Shada. Ralph Barger. Walter
Neppl. John Bailey. D.A. Downing. and Earl Wahl.
The wrestling team won WaMaC crowns in both 1968
and 1969. Jim Huerter iinished second and Dan Rees
third in the 1969 State Wrestling Tournament.
The Iowa Music Educators Convention awarded
Honor Band status to the local musicians in 1969.
The boys golf team captured the WaMaC.
In 1969-70 the girls basketball program was formed
with Dan Reed as coach. That year showed that school
enrollment was up by 70 students. That same year.
St. Patrick's school closed their seventh and eighth
grades. and offered a curriculum for grades 1-6.
This year marked the retirement of Rita McLaughlin.
longtime English instructor and Anamosa High
School's first guidance counselor.
In 1971 the school was allowed to boast of a second
place finisher at the State Wrestling Tournament in
Dean Ellison. while Terry Cunningham placed fourth in
his weight class.
In competition at the Manisphere Festival in
Winnipeg. Canada. the band was awarded a third place.
The next year it was again named an Honor Band.
The new shop addition at the high school was
occupied in February of 1972. Ken Nichols‘ resignation
in July of 1972 promoted Jim Fields from the junior
high school to be the new high school principal. The
concept of a mid-year graduation was approved in
September I972.
The Sadie Street Singers. a select group of musical
performers. began in the 1972-73 school year. Later. a
choreographer would be employed to add dance to the
repertoire ofthe unit.
The production of ‘Calamity Jane‘ began a
cooperative effort of the Drama and Vocal departments
to stage a musical every other year. These events are a
cultural highlight of the school calendar.
A November 1972 board of education meeting
addressed some areas that were the sign of the times.
They agreed to a get-tough policy for students smoking
on school property. They also discussed a policy for
bomb theats. Generally. the policy calls for not
evacuating the building if there is a bomb threat.
The girls basketball team of that year won sectional
and district tournaments. losing out in the regional to
HLV.
Changes in graduation ceremonies were made in
January of 1973 when it was agreed to drop a school
baccalaureate and have commencement on Sunday.
That spring. a policy stating that no spouse of a fulltime
teacher or administrator would be hired on a fulltime
basis was voided because it was not passed in
accordance with board procedure. The policy of new
staff being residents of the district was still in effect
because of action the previous year.
An elementary library was added at Strawberry I-lill
elementary school in the 1973-74 school year. The
same year. Elsie Clark. a former faculty member was
elected to the Board of Education.
Regulations regarding substance abuse became a
part of the code of conduct for athletes. This was the
beginning of the varsity girls’ track program. That year
the boys were 2A State Track Champions.
A policy was begun allowing for free school meals for
those students unable to pay full price.
‘Music Man’ was the choice of the Drama and Vocal
departments for their successful presentation in 1975.
Ken Fearing and the track team brought back
another Class A State Track Championship.
Still another highlight of the spring of 1975 was the
first trip for a large number of our foreign language
students. Carolyn Cueno was the first local teacher to
accompany such a group. The trip. every other year.
continues as part ofthe program.
The Bicentennial year was marked at school by a
mini-Civil War when the Student Librarians proposed
moving Jones County's first bell. brought to Anamosa
in 1853. from the West Elementary School building to
the new high school. Meetings. editorials. letters-to-the
editor. aired both sides of the controversy. The Board of
Education held to their original agreement that. if the
funding was found for the project. the bell could be
moved. Many school organizations contributed. In the
spring the bell was placed in a replica of its original
housing in the foyer of the high school in time for the
graduating seniors to ring it after commencement.
The boys basketball team of 1976 lost to Maquoketa
in a sub-state game at Clinton .
The Vocational Agriculture department had grown to
demand a two-person staff in the fall of 1976.
M. Hugh Shaw became the third principal of the ‘new’
high school.
Gary Shover placed fourth at the State Wrestling
Tournament in both 1976 and 1979. Dirk Downing was
fourth in his weight class in 1977.
The girls golf team put together back-to-back WaMaC
Championship in 1976 and 1977. and competed at the
state level in 1977. Girls varsity softball started
competition in the WaMaC.
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