The Class of 1970

In the fall of 1969, newly built Lake Forest High School welcomed its first students. Cobbled together from Felton, Frederica and Harrington districts; students who were previously Green Devils and Lions came together to become Spartans. The seniors, the class of 1970, would be the first graduates of Lake Forest School District.

I wasn’t there, but in a way I was with them because I too was of the class of 1970 in another state, 300 miles away. So I’m going to refer to them as “our class”.

These were exciting times. Our class was full of hopes and dreams. We knew that anything was possible. After all, that summer we sat glued to our TVs on a hot July evening and watched Neil Armstrong take that “giant leap” on the moon. We walked on the moon, man!

It was that hopefulness that caused us to believe in Richard Nixon. We all wanted peace. Our songs were about love and peace and harmony. We counted on him to put an end to the war in Viet Nam.

It was a time of muscle cars and short, short skirts. What kids wore to school in those days, looked nicer than anything they would wear to church today. Crisp button down collar shirts for the boys. Plaid jumpers and skirts for the girls. Did I mention how short the skirts were?

In 1970 the number one song was Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel and the number one movie was Love Story, though Patton took Best Picture honors.

Lake Forest High School’s 92,650 square feet facility opened at a cost of around $2.5 million. Today’s prices would push a school that size to around $28 million. It was built on 156 acres purchased for $70,150. Now there’s a good deal. The program from the dedication ceremony says it was designed with flexibility for “group instruction of various sizes, economy coupled with durability, beauty without luxury, adaptability for future expansion and possible curriculum changes.”

If you’ve ever wondered what the heck that is that covers the exterior walls, the program describes it as “troweled aggregate (stone chips embedded in plastic) on concrete-coated, heavy-duty dry wall.” I’ll bet in its day, that finish was stylish and modern looking. Now it looks tired. We’ll see if we can’t get some brick to take its place someday.

And, oh yes, with modular heating and cooling up on that flat roof, the design was thought to be superior to having a central boiler. Each zone could be kept at different temperatures. Nobody expected that all those roof units would require hundreds of holes in the roofing, which I’m told, led to some chronic issues in the early years with leaks.

I recently had the opportunity to flip through the 1970 year book which made me smile. The 125 seniors of the class of 1970 was an exceptionally good looking group. They were athletes and musicians and poets and farmers. I’m sure they’ve gone on to make their mark on the world.

They’ll be getting together soon for their 40th Reunion. Welcome home. And on behalf of the Lake Forest Board of Education, thanks for being first. You just might have been the best.