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              The SM West Epic Vol IV No 29 May 6, 1966                   

NHS Selects Members; Initiation To Be May 18:  In National Honor Society assembly Wednesday, new members were notified of their selection.  Fifteen percent of the senior class was eligible for nomination; five per cent were nominated in their junior year.      Members were selected by West faculty on the basis of scholarship, leadership, service, and character.      The newly elected members will be initiated May 18 at 8 p.m. in West’s auditorium.  Parents are invited.  A reception will follow.      Students who were elected last year are Mike Blasberg, Steve Bredehoeft, Roger Bruning, Steve Carlson, Joe Carter, Diane Caskey, Pam Corker, Cheryl Daily, Mark Davis, Debbie Doak, Barry Farber, Ernie Hicks, Cindy Houtman, Doug Jackson, Susie Kangas, Kathey Kehr, Linda Kimmel, Kris Krogstrand, Carole Kuebler, Connie Kueter, Linda Ledford, Roy McDonald, Mary Nelson, Vicki Newton, Tom Pavey, Fred Potter, Randy Rudy, Becky Slabotsky, Dale Spangler, Patti Spencer, Jim Stringer, Ralph Topham, Jim Van Hoy, Steve Webb, Mark Willis, Vicki Willoughby, Debby Young, and Trudy Zimmerman.   These members escorted the new members to the front in assembly.

15 Shop Students Place at Emporia:  West shop students placed third in the class AA division at the invitational Eastern Kansas Industrial Arts Fair at Emporia last week.      Those taking a first place in the metal shop division and their projects were John Davis with a fireplace tool set; Jim Vanderwerg with a corner table; Steve Morrison with a tool box; Bill Schneider with a wastepaper basket; and Jim McGee, with a riveting hammer.      Those receiving a superior or excellent rating in the woodworking division were Kan Donley with a record cabinet; Steve Wooten with a globe holder and a tray; Robin Warrem with bunk beds and a night stand.      Second place ratings in the metal shop division were awarded to Fred Lousky, Rick Merriman, Tom Shirk, Mark Swan, Scott Stewart, and Ron Morrison.      Robin Warrem and Kurt LaPlant also received “good” ratings in the woodworking division.      West was invited to enter the fair again next year.

Brown, Kramer Star in ‘Menagerie’ Tonight, Tomorrow:  Tonight marks the opening of “The Glass Menagerie” with Karen Kramer playing Amanda Wingfield.  Tomorrow Beverly Brown will portray Tennessee William’s pathetic mother.      “Mrs. Wingfield has spent her life struggling to bring her children up to face the problems of the modern world.  While in reality she has been living in her dreams of the past, which probably did not exist in the first place,” stated Beverly.      Karen says that “While Amanda complains of Tom’s selfishness, it is actually she who is selfish.  She says that what she is doing is for her children but she is really doing it for herself.”      Bev said that “Amanda wants so badly for her children to be normal, that when they are not it is hard for her to face the reality of the situation.”      “It has been a hard role for me to get into the mood of,” remarked Karen.  This is her first time on stage; however, she did work backstage on “Inherit the Wind.”  “It’s been a lot of fun,” she added.      Karen, who is a junior, is a member of Pep Club and FTA.  She plans to attend Kansas State College at Pittsburg and major in history and minor in English literature.  She would like to become a history teacher upon graduation.      Bev, who is a senior this year, has worked on crews for “Teahouse of the August Moon,” “The Sound of Music,” “Mister Roberts,” and “110 in the Shade.”  She has also appeared in “The Sound of Music,” “Inherit the Wind.” And “Our Town.”      A star member of Thespians, Bev has also served on the Drill team and the EPIC staff, and is a member of Quill and Scroll.  Next fall she will enter Northwestern University to study theater and math; her goal is to become a professional actress.      Besides the cast’s hard work to meet opening night, there has been a group of dedicated crew members striving to give the show a professional touch.  The set is unique in that it has both the exterior and the interior showing.      The décor is highlighted by a mahogany fireplace and art glass lamp.      The play also has a special musical accompaniment which is played throughout the show.  Lighting has special effects in which the light is only on a picture or the glass menagerie.      The costumes crew has been confronted with a problem of extremely quick changes by three of the characters and the complete set of costumes due for the two casts.      The curtain goes up at 8 o’clock and tickets may be purchased at the door.

Students Show Artwork On Bridge May 12 to 16:  An art fair for students at West will be held on the bridge May 12 to 16.  Works entered can include art, crafts, photography, or woodwork.      “Pictures must be limited to five entries apiece.  An entry fee of 50 cents will be charged regardless of how many entries are submitted.  Money collected from the entry fees goes toward a purchase award of the winning picture and framing costs, plus divisional awards.      The winning picture, which will be selected by an outstanding local artist or art educator, will be permanently displayed in the south wing of West.      “We’re expecting approximately the same number of entries that we had last year,” said Miss Caldwell.  “Around 200 entries are anticipated.”

Editorial Column  Prom Situation Is Show, Tale Time by Nancy Clayton:  Many long hours of planning and work are spent in preparation for the prom.  There has been some talk about the number of students that do not take advantage of the opportunity to attend such a fine dance.  Besides those who cannot take outside dates, there is the individual male who cannot afford the evening.      Long ago the prom was an annual dance of fun and frolic, but it does not seem to be quite what it was meant to be.  The competition is tremendous as to the amount of money to spend.  It is more of a game to see who can find the most expensive place to eat, rent the most elaborate car and buy the most booze.      If the junior decorating committee is disillusioned as to the success of its prom for the remaining juniors and seniors, I would bet the situation will not improve.  The only remedy for the problem is each male realizing that he could plan an interesting and exciting evening without going into debt.  Chances are he could find others who would agree with him wholeheartedly.      The idea of the prom has gotten completely out of hand.  It is nothing but a show of material characteristics to supposedly impress others.  Who is going to be interested if everyone else is trying to prove the same thing?  If students are so concerned with exhibiting their monetary funds, then they have missed the boat altogether.      A person is only free when he can be himself in any given situation at any time with any person.

Must Pay Fines To Receive Credit:  Students with unpaid library fines do not receive credit for this year until their fines are paid, according to Mr. John Kiesow, librarian.      Over 600 students owe fines ranging from 2 cents to $34.35.  The largest total of fines is $14.76; other bills due include the cost of books.

Counselor Warns Against ‘Senioritis’:  Toward the end of the school year, seniors often run into problems that they had not realized existed.      One is senioritis, a communicable disease designed to produce lethargy and lower grades.      Mrs. Virnelle Fletcher, counselor, said, “The main thing to remember is to work right up to the end and not to get bogged down.  Sometimes a slip-up in the last few weeks of school can ruin a good record.”      Not having enough credits is another problem that seniors often have.  Any lost credits have to be made up in summer school if the student wishes to graduate.      Mrs. Fletcher advises that one learn self-discipline and proper study habits while in high school in preparation for college.

Seventh Graders Will Attend South:  Shawnee Mission South will open next fall with a student population of sophomores, juniors, seniors, and seventh graders.      The reason for this unique arrangement lies in the fact that Nallwood Junior High School will be unable to accommodate the projected enrollment.  Shawnee Mission administrators feel that seventh graders will create fewer problems with older students than freshmen would.

Library to Feature Room, More Books:  Trips to the library make one wonder why Mr. John Kiesow is hiding behind those stacks of books in front of his desk.      “I’m not really hiding, it’s just that we are re-arranging the library and this is the only place we could find to put them,” explained Mr. Kiesow.  “The books are being renumbered and shifted to another part of the library.”  “Next year we plan to use the conference room to store periodicals and reserve books.  We hope that this move will give us enough for the 5,000 books ordered and paid for under the National Defense Education Act,” stated Mr. Kiesow.  “With the opening of South we expect to have fewer students, more room, more books, and a smoother operating library!” summed up Mr. Kiesow.

Pirates Land May 20 For A Capella Concert:  In the spring drama production, “The Glass Menagerie,” it is mentioned that the gentleman caller was in his high school’s presentation of “The Pirates of Penzance.”  The audience may wonder just what the operetta is about, but they will not have to wonder for long, because on May 20 the A Capella Choir will present the show.      The operetta was written by Gilbert and Sullivan and is a true operetta.  It has only a few lines of dialogue between the songs which tell the story.      The piece is to be presented in concert  form without scenery or costumes.  Several students have singing parts in the production.  The major roles are held by Jon Griffith, the Pirate King; Steve Robinson, Frederick; Dede Washburn, Mable; Steve Johnson, Major-General Stanley; and Ed Coulter, the sergeant.      Mr. William E. Oldham has directed the choir for the performance which will be presented to the public free of charge.   

Varied Activities To Keep Musicians Blowing and Bowing ‘til Graduation:  The last month of school finds the instrumental music department quite busy.  They have been preparing for the last concert of the year on May 13.  It will be the annual Patio Concert, which also includes vocal groups.      Besides preparing for the concert, the A Band and orchestra are going to make a record.  It will be sold only to members in the two groups.      Mr. David Circle, instrumental director, said the record is mainly for the students to have something to remember how they sound now.      On May 29, the orchestra will play for Baccalaureate.  The band will play for graduation exercises on June 2.      To top off the year, The A Band and orchestra are planning a picnic to be held the afternoon of June 2.  The picnic has been an annual event for the two groups and is for members of the band and orchestra only.       

Vikings Enter League Meet Today; Relay Team Captures First at SM:  The Viking track team will participate in the Sunflower League Meet today at Wyandotte Stadium.  The finals begin at 7 p.m.  Tomorrow, West will host the Shawnee Mission West Sophomore Relays open to all Kansas and Missouri schools.      At the Shawnee Mission Relays held April 29, the mile relay team brought home a first place trophy.  The team composed of Roy McDonald (50.6), Greg Burnett (52.4), Jim Stringer (49.0) and Mike Davis (50.9) set a new meet record with a time of 3:23.1.  A first place in a relay guaranteed a trophy as team scores were not kept.      The two mile relay team with Dave Zimmerman running a 1:55.4 half mile took fourth place with a time of 8:07.4.  This time was only five seconds off the first place time.  The 880 and sprint medley relay teams took third in their respective events and the 440 relay team placed fifth.      Ron Musick placed second in both the high and low hurdles with times of 15.2 and 20.2.  Steve O’Hare cleared the high jump bar at 5-8 for a fifth place tie.

Racketeers Defeat Wm. Chrisman:  The Viking tennis team increased their win-loss record to 6-1 in defeating William Chrisman 3-2, on the opponent’s court.  The deciding match was won by Tom Pavey and Dan Cook.  Doubles matches were the only ones played.  It was the first loss for William Chrisman against six wins.      The Vikings’ only loss was to SM East.

Around the Track   Hurdlers Overcome Planned Obstacles by Mike Stephenson:  The 120-yard high hurdles and the 180-yard low hurdles now run at track meets were derived from the steeple-chase races held in the ancient Greek Olympic games.  The watercourses and hedgerows have been replaced by uniform hurdles of the same size and distance from each other.      Ron Musick is the Viking star in both the low and the high hurdles this year.  Ron has managed to place in every race that he has run in this year.  He has also been on the greater Kansas City area track honor roll every week this season.  Ron’s most recent races were at the Shawnee Mission relays at North District Stadium.  He placed second in both the low and high hurdles.

Henry Leaves SM West; Accepts Graceland Offer:  Clayton Henry, West’s basketball coach for the past four years, has accepted an appointment at Graceland College.  The school is located in Lamoni, Iowa.      Henry’s son, Greg, played for the Graceland varsity team this year as did Paul Loving, also a former Viking team member.      A graduate of Graceland and Saint Ambrose colleges, Henry received varsity letters in both baseball and basketball at each school.  In 1949 he received his master’s degree from the University of Iowa.  He also played one year of professional baseball.      Before coming to West, Mr. Henry was an assistant basketball coach and teacher at Wyandotte High School and at SM East.      At the present time, applications are being accepted by the Board of Education for the new head coachship here at West.  The final selection, however, is yet to be made.

SM West To Participate In State-Wide Car Test:  May 2 was the starting day for a state-wide automobile safety check.      Overland Park police and students from West are helping in this project, which will last through May 28.  At West, cars will be checked every other day until May 20.      The cars will be checked for good headlights, rear lights, brakes, exhaust system, tires, turning signals, steering and horn.  Students at West who are participating in checking are: Larry Broockerd, Kathy Neth, Betty Baker, Mike Hardy, Larry Walley, Lee McClenaghan, Tom Flett, Denise Shulte, Jan Sheldon, Jim Bloomer, Skip DeArmey and Ron Cunningham.      The Safety Committee will check the cars after school until 4.      Wednesday the Safety committee took students in a 6^th hour study hall out to check their cars.  This was on a trial basis, and if it works the committee will be taking 6^th and 7^th hour study halls out to have more cars checked.