Ah, 1970. Would that we could savor memories of that year in America. I was 15 years old. An impressionable age. I'd come home from school and watch the TV network news. We only had access to "Huntley and Brinkley" in our neighborhood for a long time. "Chet and David" filled us in on U.S. war activity. The war theater was in Vietnam.
We were supposed to care about the "body count" of the enemy versus our own "body count." We'd literally see numbers on the screen.
I was 15 and considered naive by most people. But I knew from early-on that this war was needless, tragic and unforgivable. I never sensed anything positive about the war from my father. If anything his attitude tended the other way. Mostly I remember him saying "that war is a bad deal." But as a WWII veteran, I think he felt he had to be restrained. He would not want to second-guess his government and its military. These entities obviously felt the "war effort" was justifiable.
Why?
"Don't tell me, I don't give a damn," went the old song lyrics.
We all ought to "give a damn" but then we should be given some reasons for why we were doing it. Years passed. Today I think the Internet would be the tool for making us realize in pretty short order that it was folly.
You might not believe how risky it was to come out and openly oppose the war, for a long time anyway. The war supporters were like the Trump supporters of today, totally fixed in their thoughts, no receptiveness at all to naysayers. And my father as an employee of the government - he was a University teacher - might have felt his own self-interest could be affected if he spoke out as a contrary voice. Frankly I don't think it was his nature to do that anyway.
You might wonder: why wouldn't the people in government be a little smarter? To use the current vernacular, "it is what it is" or "it was what it was." "Let Daddy do his work" as "Dr. Evil" said to his son "Scott." Sometimes I guess we just have to go with the flow.
The year 1970 had its charms here in Morris away from the distress of macro matters. Our high school at its present location was still shiny-new. We were still bursting our buttons over the gym at the school. Our previous gym may have had its "charms" but it was a little like the type of gym from the movie "Hoosiers." Cyrus stayed that way for a long time.
The new high school gym opened in 1968. It was the cat's pajamas but it has been retired for varsity basketball purposes. Time marches on. Our school referendums pass one after another these days. I remember the complete opposite situation in the 1960s. The memories slowly fade. Some of us still remember the new school proposal that included a pool. I guess that was rather a flashpoint.
In 1970 we saw the curtain opened for the concept of the "school musical." What a neat thing to reflect upon now, right after we enjoyed the spectacular MAHS offering "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" with the uniquely gifted Jennie Odello in the lead role. (I'll whisper to you that she does not like to be called "Jennie-O.")
The kids put on the show four times. Through it all I could reflect back on when Morris High School launched this concept in '70: the "school musical" or actually "all-school musical."
We had a new theater instructor who was one of those go-getters. His name: Mike Johnson. Eventually he was one in a group of teachers who were placed on "unrequested leave" due to declining enrollment. Mid-'80s I think. The teachers got pretty defensive after that.
Johnson worked with choir director Judy Hjembo. "Oliver!" was presented at the old school auditorium, the "art deco" auditorium, remember? Talk about a place that had its charms. It really did. It was kind of a shame to see it go. It was one of those auditorium/gym combo arrangements. Our varsity basketball was there before 1968. This was where our 1955 team climbed to the state tournament in the one-class system. It does not matter to me that we got clobbered in state. It was a super accomplishment. I learned about it from Bill Coombe who was our seventh grade history teacher.
Bill was Morris athletic director in 1955. Our varsity football field got named for him. The field has since been retired in favor of "Big Cat." Location was next to the old school in a part of town that was once such a hub for public activity. I'm sure you remember the expansive playground. You'd see Little League baseball practice there in summer.
And of course at around fair-time, you'd drive by on East 7th and see the football team in pre-season practice. East 7th Street was once the main entrance to Morris from the east. The Dairy Queen was along there in the days when a small cone would cost a nickel and a large one a dime! Kids would run down the hill from school to the neighborhood grocery store, called "Stark's." It later became Budig's.
I of course attended "Oliver!" the ground-breaking musical at Morris. And of course I was impressed.
Johnson went on to direct a number of high-achieving one-act plays here. One possible problem with him was that he was attracted to theatrical works that were rather "rarefied air," and what do I mean by that? Well, "esoteric." Not what you'd generally consider "crowd-pleasers." And I think the public would have eventually called for a shift in priority to the "crowd-pleasers." IMHO it is inappropriate to consider such productions "lowbrow," even though there is a segment of academics who would say, for sure, that they are. IMHO Johnson was a member of that segment.
I remember when the school hired Sue Hauger and it was immediately clear that she had no bones about the crowd-pleaders. I heard at least one teacher demur on this, to rather scoff at it, and that was the art guy Leonard O'Koren. Today I think we feel it's just fine to go with the well-known stuff even if some might say it's"lowbrow" or some such thing.
As for "Oliver!" it had what I sense was a left wing political bent. Oh and that was just fine in 1970. The whole decade of the '70s was pretty good for the "liberal" cause. So much the opposite of today!
What made so many of us fight Nixon and the Republicans? My pastor at First Lutheran in Morris was a total Nixon Republican. I couldn't "make nice" with him today. The Cambodia invasion happened in 1970. It was the year of the Kent State shootings. In May, four students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State during an anti-Vietnam war protest.
Think of the scale
In 1970 there were 334,600 U.S. troops in Vietnam. You know what's haunting? To call up an old Bob Hope TV Christmas special from YouTube. Bob, this wasn't WWII any more. Maybe the "greatest generation" wanted it to be, but it wasn't. Maybe that was the whole problem.
The young generation in 1970 had some serious issues with their parents. But many years later, that of course was completely forgotten and love took over. Because why not?
Mike Johnson fell in line with a certain clique of teachers here, I write with a smile. What to call them? Maybe the "Dave Holman clique." They could be charming people and with a sense of humor to be sure. But their attitude could be kind of cynical. Naturally I'm cynical myself. I liked the group but I'm not sure they set the best example. I would bet they were not on the favorites list for our superintendent Fred Switzer.
The teaching staff as we got into the 1980s began losing touch with what was really in the best interest of students. I won't even type "IMHO" with that because I just think it was true.
A disconnect?
1970! A turbulent year in macro terms, yes, but full of love and excitement here in Morris. The school musical was an escape for us from the macro tragedy of the war. There was only so much we could do. Actually there was nothing we could do.
In 1970, 162,746 U.S. military personnel were conscripted through the "draft." Could you imagine today's school parents putting up with such a thing? I mix with people in the school commons area after a concert, notice all the people brimming with contentment and high ideals, and always I think to myself "you people have no idea what it was like in a bygone time."
I have white hair. I do understand. I have white hair and I still remember Mark Lammers as "Fagin!" in "Oliver!"
Here are photos from the musical:
Addendum: I state in the post that people considered me naive when I was junior high and even into high school, but I have noticed something fascinating since. When I talk with people who I knew then, they give me the impression that they think I really did understand everything going on around me. I was never invested in any one group or activity. So maybe people just sensed I was a good observer.
- Brian Williams - morris minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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