A 'first class' member recalls the earliest Rich High days
Thursday, October 16, 2003
As a member of Rich Township High School's first four-year high school class, I write to congratulate the District 227 Board of Education and the Alumni Association for organizing such a comprehensive and well-planned celebration of the 50th anniversary homecoming.
I graduated from Rich High (as we called it then) in 1956. It was a pleasure to read the article by Enika Enigk on the big celebration being held on October 17-19.
In the article, Board of Education member Judy Lohr said that the timing of the 50th anniversary may be a bit confusing (classes actually began in 1952 in a nearby church), and she is right. But after all, a new high school doesn't get born on a given day like a baby!
The important thing is to celebrate the first half century of Rich East, and thus to renew the commitment of the community, teachers and students to make a creative and productive educational experience for Park Forest's young people.
The very act of creating the high school was such a special event that Park Forest earned its first All-America City award in 1954 as recognition for that exceptional community effort. The Star reported the story very well at the time, telling how the cooperative effort of almost everyone in Park Forest had led to setting up and building Rich High in record time.
Of course, in 1952, we freshmen were not aware of how much we owed our parents and the people of Park Forest. We were just delighted not to have to be bused to Bloom!
Judy Lohr told your reporter, "The student body has carried on the traditions set by the first few classes" and I was pleased to read that, for in the fall of 1952, our class was very conscious of being pioneers and in creating a tradition. That sentiment was reinforced in the following three years, as other classes joined us to give life and substance to the new high school.
But our first year was something very special. That's when everything got started. We 118 boys and girls who began classes in the rented church building on the corner of Indianwood Boulevard and Hemlock Street knew we were privileged.
Unlike the kids starting high school in thousands of other districts
across the nation, we faced no sophomores, juniors and seniors to tell
us sternly about the school's history and how to behave. No one to tell
us what the rules were, and then put us to the test to see if we were worthy
of them.
We could not be initiated into the mysteries of Rich High because there
were none yet! A new superintendent, new teachers, new students, and everyone
wondering what to expect.
As the Eisenhower-Stevenson presidential campaign occupied our parents, we were learning democracy by voting for the school colors (green and gold won easily) and the school team name (the Rockets was hotly contested). We voted for a student council, homeroom representatives, cheerleaders. We even voted in a mock election for president (Ike won).
We all had a chance to be a leader in one activity or another, for the field was clear and with no footsteps to follow, we were all pioneers. We in that first class are all proud to have shared that special experience — even those who left Park Forest before graduation.
And we who did stay to graduate in 1956 were conscious all through those four years of the trail we were blazing for others to follow.
We have remained immensely proud of our experience in that first year. As more years accumulated, we also learned how incredibly capable and caring our teachers and administrators were. If we were just normal kids in an exceptional situation, they were exceptional people absolutely dedicated to making the dream of a new high school come true.
They were an even dozen that first year, including Superintendent Baber. As a class, we may not have deserved their dedication, and we probably fell far short of realizing the dreams they had for us. But they created the school, and their shadow falls on all the classes that have followed.
They have my undying thanks for igniting sparks that burn still bright in my heart — respect for others, love of learning, pride in our cultural heritage and the great American democratic values.
I cannot return for the festivities, but I wish the returning alumni, the students and staff, and everyone in the Rich Township community a magnificent Homecoming celebration.
STEVE PHILLIPS
President of the Class of 1956
Versailles, France
2003 Copyright of the Rich High School Class of 1956