Memoirs
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Posted On: 05/14/2010
Year: 1963-1967
Mr
I went to Harper from 1963 to 1967. I am “retired” now and have been a little nostalgic lately. I thought this may bring back some memories for someone out there. Although high school is a different experience now than it was when I was at Harper, it was and still is a valuable experience in one’s life….the education is valuable too! Some of the strongest memories for me were the racial tensions that were around then. Chicago was in the middle. Harper was about 50% white and 50% black then. I remember Dr. King marching thru Marquette Park in the summer of 1966 and being locked down at Harper because of mounting racial violence in the neighborhood. I remember sitting in the Auditorium for Study Hall period when the news of the JFK assassination came. It was 8th period. On the lighter side, I remember that the boys swam naked in the pool during P.E. classes on M-W-F and the girls swam in tank suits on Tu-Th. I’m still not sure why! Harper had one of the best basketball teams in the city then. I remember being let out of school early and taking a CTA chartered bus to various Harper football games---Calumet is one I remember. I remember only a few teachers and classmates names. I don’t have any of the year books. Most of my close friends went to St. Rita High, when it was at 63rd near Western Ave. My friends and I lived near Marquette Elementary School. That’s where I went from K to 8th grade. I remember that there was only 4 minutes between class periods and the pushing and shoving in the hallways. During nice weather, I remember P.E. being held on the gravel grounds to the south of the school building (before the expansions were built) and doing push ups in the gravel and picking gravel out of my hands afterwards. We played baseball and football there during P.E. I also remember a lot of cigarette smoking, especially during lunch periods. People sat on the windowledges outside and smoked. (I never smoked.) Besides the school cafeteria, there were 3 Ma and Pa stores on Wood St. that sold school supplies and lunch. Lunch in the cafeteria was 37 cents with white milk and 38 cents with chocolate milk.
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