100 YEARS OF GLENDALE HIGH SCHOOL
Claudia Peschiutta
1952-53 -- SKULL BOARD FORMED
The Skull Board was formed to coordinate the school band and the
Nitroettes.
1952-53 --- SCIENCE CLUB FORMED
The Science Club was formed for students interested in all fields of
science.
1957 -- NIXON SPEAKS TO STUDENTS
Then-Vice President Richard Nixon made an appearance at Glendale High.
1959 -- BASKETBALL TEAM SETS RECORD
The 1959 GHS basketball team scored 2,111 points, setting a school
record. The team won 32 of 33 games and brought home the CIF title.
Darrell Sutherland, No. 11, was the team’s star player. He would later
become a major league baseball pitcher.
1961-62 -- LETTERMEN COME TO CAMPUS
The Lettermen, the popular trio made up by Tony Butala, Bob Engemann
and Jim Pike, visited the campus, where they performed their 1961 hit,
“When I Fall In Love.”
1964 -- FIRE DAMAGES SCHOOL
A fire allegedly set by an arsonist caused major damage to the school.
Some classes were moved to temporary quarters while the facility was
rebuilt.
1964-65 -- ‘NEW’ SCIENCE PROGRAMS INITIATED.
The biology and chemistry programs were replaced by Biological
Sciences Curriculum Study and Chemical Educational Material Study
programs.
Biology began to be “treated from the ecological approach.”
The approach to chemistry changed dramatically. “The program is based
on understanding and reasoning, rather than memorization,” said the 1965
Stylus.
1965 -- DYNO-TUTORING PROGRAM STARTS
The program was formed for students to provide free tutoring to
struggling students in different academic subjects.
1966 -- RECONSTRUCTION BEGINS
Work began on a major overhaul of the school, opened in 1924. Summer
saw the demolition of the auditorium and boys’ gym. In August,
construction started on new buildings. The project would allow the school
to take in 2,200 students.
-- NAVOLANIC AWARD ESTABLISHED
Alumnus Pat Navolonic, a stellar student who served as ASB president
and established the school’s honor code and Key Club, died while
volunteering at an orphanage in 1965 in France. In his honor, the Pat
Navolonic Memorial Award was established the following year. The award is
given to one Glendale High senior every year and recognizes excellence in
academics, athletics, character, leadership and community service.
1966-67 -- GHS ENTERS THE COMPUTER AGE
The IBM program expanded. Computers were used to set the school
schedule. Progress reports and report cards were generated by computer.
Teachers and counselors used computers to keep records.
1967 -- FACULTY SENATE FORMED
In its first year, the Faculty Senate took on issues such as progress
reports and assemblies.
“This group, made up of a representative from each department, seeks
to further academic excellence and to improve faculty-student relations,
school participation, and other areas related to the profession.”
1967-68 -- CAMPUS UNDER CONSTRUCTION; BELL TOWER TORN DOWN
Construction workers, bulldozers and dirt lots could be seen all over
campus as school reconstruction continued.
The famed Glendale High bell tower, which decorated the cover of
several yearbooks over the years, was torn down. The tower, with its
clock and tiled roof, had been a school symbol since 1924.
The 1967 Stylus said the upheaval on campus brought school sprit down.
“ ‘The pond in the Senior Glen is dry. That hollow space on Broadway was
our auditorium. That pile of dirt over there used to be our parking lot.
But, those things are gone forever.’ Such was the cold reality of life at
Glendale High School this year,” wrote Student Body President Steve
DiMundo. In an effort to boost school spirit, old traditions, such as
Bermuda Day and the Beard Growing Contest, were revived. Other projects
included painting “practically every paintable surface” in red and black,
the school’s colors.
1968 -- RECONSTRUCTION COMPLETED
The $8-million project was completed in the spring. The new school
included two three-story class buildings, a two-story administration
building with a 20,000-volume library, a boys’ gym with seating for 1,600
people and a girls’ gym.
There was also a two-story building for business, a science and home
economics class, another building housing the cafeteria and cosmetology
program and a single-story music building.
1968 -- W.A.R. CLUB FORMED
With hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops fighting in the Vietnam War,
students began the “We’ll Always Remember,” or W.A.R. Club.
K eith Dickenson started the group in which members would correspond
with servicemen from the Glendale area. There were 250 students in the
group during its first year.
High schools and colleges around the nation formed W.A.R. groups based
on Glendale’s model.
1971 -- STONES BREAKS RECORD IN HIGH JUMP
Dwight Stones set a state record in the high jump. He would later set
a world record with a jump of 7 feet, 7 1/4 inches and compete in three
Olympics.
1972-73 -- SURFING CLUB FORMED
More than 30 students joined the Surfing Club, which took trips to
local beaches and traveled to Mexico. One of the club’s members was
listed in the 1973 Stylus as “Lightning Bolt.”
1973 -- ‘G’ ON HILL RAZED DUE TO COMING OF FREEWAY
The white lime “G” on the hill above where the Glendale (2) Freeway
runs today was razed by bulldozers during the freeway’s construction.
The 1974 Stylus proclaimed “G-Hill Lives On.”
Though the “G” was not supposed to be replaced until December,
Glendale athletes scaled the hill the night before the Glendale-Hoover
game and replaced the famous letter.
1973-74 -- STUDENTS DEAL WITH ENERGY CRISIS
“Whether real or contrived, the energy crisis had a definite influence
on most students at Glendale High this year,” said the 1974 Stylus.
Car pools became popular and parking spaces were more plentiful. The
junior prom was held close to home “to save people the added expense of a
journey to downtown L.A.”
1974-75 -- GYMNASTIC TEAM ESTABLISHED
Dianne Doi coached the school’s gymnastic team in its first year.
1979 -- SCHOOL HIGH JUMP RECORD BROKEN
Lee Balkin broke a school high-jump record set in 1971 by Dwight
Stones and set a state record with a jump of 7 feet, 3 1/4 inches. He
went on to UCLA, where he earned All-American honors and was the PAC-10
champion.
-- TENNIS PLAYER WINS CIF TITLE
Tennis player Kelly Henry won all of her 42 matches and earned the CIF
title. Henry was also named CIF singles champion three times.
1981-82 -- STAR WARS MANIA HITS CAMPUS
The 1982 Stylus reported the formation of a Deforest Han Society,
under the leadership of student Julie Hassenmiller.
“The Deforest Han Society ... is very interested in the promotion of
the Star Wars saga. Their goal is to free hero Hans Solo from his state
of carbonic freezing and to alert the GHS student body to this problem,”
said the yearbook.
The society’s members could allegedly be found “in the quad, playing
war games.”
1984 -- GLENDALE HIGH TRACK GREAT ELECTED TO U.S. OLYMPIC HALL OF FAME
Glendale track great Frank Wykoff was elected to the U.S. Olympic Hall
of Fame.
As a senior in 1928, Wykoff broke a world record in the 100-yard dash
with a time of 9.4 seconds, according to the Explosion. The time was not
recognized because meet officials believed the stop watches had
malfunctioned.
The week after the fateful meet, Wykoff tied the world record in the
event. This time, the record was not acknowledged because of the absence
of international officials.
The day after he graduated, Wykoff competed for a spot on the U.S.
Olympic team.
He would go on to become the first man to win three Olympic relay gold
medals.
Wykoff ran in a sprint relay with Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe at
the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The men set a world record with a time of
39.8 seconds.
1985 -- GLENDALE HIGH GRAD NAMED NFL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
A star basketball player while at Glendale High, alumnus Duane Bickett
later played football with the Indianapolis Colts and was named an NFL
Rookie of the Year.
1985 -- UNDEFEATED BASKETBALL TEAM WINS CIF CHAMPIONSHIP
The 1985 basketball team won all of its 28 games and took the CIF
championship. The team was coached by Steve Keith.
Rich Grande, the team’s leader, was named CIF Player of the Year.
1990 -- FOOTBALL TEAM EXCELS
The varsity football team went 10-0. Junior Pathlon Rucker led the
state in scoring with 30 touchdowns.
1992 -- 11 BARRED FROM GRADUATION FOR DISTRIBUTING RACIST FLIERS
Eleven seniors were barred from participating in graduation ceremonies
after allegedly distributing racist fliers on campus in June.
1992 -- JUNIOR BECOMES FIRST STUDENT MEMBER TO JOIN BOARD OF EDUCATION
Junior class President Armen Panossian in October was named the first
non-voting member of the Glendale Board of Education by an
inter-high-school student council.
1992 -- FOOTBALL STAR KILLED DURING ROBBERY ATTEMPT
Star senior tailback Shawn Cole was shot by an off-duty sheriff’s
deputy in Van Nuys during a robbery attempt, police reports said. Cole,
who had recently been kicked off the football team and transferred to
Daily High School, was allegedly carrying a BB gun during the November
incident.
1993 -- LOCKERS REMOVED FROM CAMPUS
Citing security and maintenance concerns, then-Principal Jim Gibson
requested the removal of the nearly 3,000 lockers on campus.
1993 -- STELLAR FEMALE ATHLETE GRADUATES
Jenny Dalton, recognized as the most outstanding female athlete in
Glendale High history, graduated after having earned several titles,
including All-CIF honors in volleyball, basketball and softball.
She had also been named Pacific League Player of the Year in the three
sports.
While playing at the University of Arizona, Dalton set eight NCAA
softball records.
1994 -- STUDENT KILLED WHILE LEAVING HOMECOMING DANCE
Junior Lilia Barajas died after she and her date were hit by a car
while leaving a homecoming dance held in November at The Castaway
restaurant in Burbank. Police interviewed hundreds of students and sent
letters home to parents in an effort to find the driver.
1995 -- DISTRICT DROPS PLANS FOR EVENING HIGH SCHOOL
Lack of student interest led the Glendale Unified Board of Trustees in
May to cancel plans to open what would have been one of the state’s first
full-time evening high schools. Only 34 students signed up for the
program, which was meant for 200. The program was considered a way to
ease overcrowding on campus.
1995 -- GLENDALE BECOMES FOUR-YEAR HIGH SCHOOL
As part of the district’s conversion to four-year high schools,
Glendale High welcomed a ninth-grade class of about 800 students. An
$11-million, 38-classroom building was opened to accommodate the influx
of students.
1996 -- TWO STUDENTS KILLED BY FATHER
Counselors are called in to meet with students after senior Roobina
Avanesian and her sister, Rita, a sophomore, died in February, in a fire
set by their father. Jorjik Avanesian also killed his wife and four other
children. He was later convicted of the crime, considered the largest
mass homicide in the city’s history, and sentenced to life without
parole.
1996-97 -- EXPLOSION WINS JOURNALISM AWARDS
The Explosion earns the Gold Crown Award from the Columbia Scholastic
Press Assn. and the National Newspaper Pacemaker Award from the National
Scholastic Press Assn. Glendale High was one of only three schools in the
nation to win both awards that year.
1997 -- GHS GRAD DIES AFTER BEING HIT BY BASEBALL
Shortly after graduating, Julius Riorfrir died from injuries suffered
when a baseball struck him in the head during a warmup for his American
Legion baseball team. About 500 mourners attended his funeral in June.
2000 -- AL GORE VISITS CO-PRINCIPAL GLORIA VASQUEZ.
Co-Principal Gloria Vasquez hosted then-Vice President Al Gore during
a visit to Southern California in May. Culinary arts students prepared a
breakfast feast for the well-known Democrat.
-- GLENDALE HIGH STUDENT DIES AFTER CAR CRASH.
Junior Maria Podpomogova was killed by injuries suffered in a
September car accident. She and three other teens were traveling in a car
on the Colorado Street onramp of the Golden State (5) Freeway when the
vehicle lost control and crashed into a tree. A 17-year-old boy, who was
not a student at Glendale High, also died.
-- BELOVED TEACHER DIES SUDDENLY
Instructor Rick Wilson died suddenly in August due to polycondritis, a
rare disease that attacks the body’s cartilage. Students and staff
members mourned the death of the popular math teacher.
2001 -- SCHOOL WINS BRAVO AWARD
Glendale High arts program received a BRAVO Award from the Performing
Arts Center of Los Angeles County in February. The award recognizes
educators and schools that have used the arts to enhance education,
strengthen creativity and build teamwork among students.
-- DANCE/DRILL TEAM WINS NATIONAL AWARDS
Members of the Dance/Drill Team win five national championship
competitions.