Ram Stories & Trivia

Ram Memories & Trivia

The Ram horns on WYHS football helmets were the result of AD Ray Schick contacting his old friend Sid Gilman, head coach of the LA Rams, and asking for permission to use the ram horns on the helmets. Gilman gave us permission and that's how we got them, and became the first team in central Ohio with helmet logos. Compare our helmets with those of the LA Rams at that time. The Rams have since modernized theirs.

Thanks to Rusty Wilson (72) for sharing this memory & photos   

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Please send your WYHS MEMORY to: jnturnbull51@aol.com.  

If we have at least 10 new entries by July 31, the funniest memory will receive a choice of WYAA Ram Pride t-shirt, pint glass, mug or pin.

1959 

In 1959 or 1960 someone set off a cherry bomb in the high school auditorium during the noon movie!!  Supposedly, it was in the balcony or tossed from the balcony.  I don’t know how cherrybombs “work” so I can’t adequately explain what happened.  All I know is that there was a grand commotion, and I didn’t get to see the movie that noon. Rats!!  Does anyone remember this and/or know who the culprit was? 

In 1959 WYHS students designed the flag for the Ohio Association of Student Councils (OASC).  WYHS is credited for this design on their home page!    Thanks 1959 RAMS & Joyce Nichols Harkless, 1971, for finding this bit of WYHS trivia! 

1960

Greg Lewis:  The night before we graduated in 1960, Gary Joseph & Rick Neutzling helped me climb up the school flagpole to hang a bunch of stuff from the top.  The cops came by so Gary & Rick left me hanging on the pole.  But the cops didn't see me & I escaped.  Lucky I didn't fall & break something.  I enjoyed & have many fond memories of my classmates.  I hope your life has been as full as mine. God bless you all. Go Rams!

Do you know why our high school was named Whitehall-Yearling?  We all got to vote for either Whitehall High School or Yearling High School.  It was a tie vote so we got both names: Whitehall-Yearling High School!

1962

Mrs. Kitchen - Home Ed Teacher Memories:  I remember teaching home ec at Rosemore and not having a classroom in the first year I taught, 1962-63. Mr. Kumfer, Industrial Technology/Industial Arts in those days, and I shared a room. His classes were all boys, two home rooms and mine were all girls, two homerooms. Probably had 36 students in all. I taught all 7-8 home ec that year and just pushed a cart with wheels. For a first year teacher this was a challenge. I had a son in July after that first year and since we learned to knit slippers, about 20 or more students knit my son, who is now 46, slippers. Quite an achievement for eighth graders. Wonderful memories of my years at Rosemore...and WYHS where I taught home ec through 1965 or so, then Rosemore Home Ec and eventually 18 years in Guidance! Thanks for the good and fun memories .

1964

Garry Stein:  From 1960-64, Grades 7-12 were taught @ WYHS.

1965

Ken Koetz:  During my sophomore year, Earl Hunter, 1965, presented me an MVP plaque for football that he made in shop class.  I was the only player on the football team that didn't have a 'Ram' helmet - none in my size!  Probably a joke but maybe an effort to make me feel more a part of the team.  At any rate I really liked Earl; & by the way, I still have the plaque.

1966

Nancy Ann Koetz:  My funniest memory involved marching band: We were on the field on game night.  The field was very muddy & the mud sucked my shoe right off my foot. The drum major retrieved the shoe & I went on like nothing had happened!  It's a good thing it was a home game & I had extra socks in the band room!

Bob Newlen:  The food fight in the cafeteria our senior year.

1967

Mary Ellen Cox:  My favorite teachers were Mr. Friday in History & Mr. Doe in Biology.

1968

Roy Leggett:  Roy left WYHS his senior year to enlist in the Army & serve in Vietnam.  He received his GED in 1980's.  WYHS Principal Paul Smathers presented to Roy his WYHS diploma in 2016 & NBC Channel 4 covered this story.

1970

Mark Fisher:  I put up an objection to going to graduation and wearing a cap and gown. I guess I was too cool for that. This seemed to upset all the adults; my parents, my teacher and my guidance counsellor who I think even forced me to confront the Vice Principle over it. Bowing to pressure, I gave in. I remember that my cap had a hard time staying on my burgeoning hairstyle and when I strolled out on stage to get my diploma, the damn thing flew off my head and helicoptered down to the football field. So naturally I jumped off the stage to retrieve my recalcitrant cap, my black gown unfurling like a Batman costume, all to a boisterous ovation from the crowd. At least that’s how I remember it.

Vicki Rauch:  Mrs. Ansel from Main Street School had "Ansel's Alley" where if you were in trouble, your desk was in that row.  Luckily I was never in Ansel's alley. LOL  I think she also had the large wood paddle with the holes in it.  She was tough on kids which made her a good teacher.

Valerie Bell:  I was in my hippie phase, wearing mocassins without stockings. Our beloved principal, Mr Strahm, encouraged me to wear socks (in the dress code for boys, but not girls.) He explained how Native Americans lined their mocassins with leaves to absorb sweat and prevent blisters--just as socks do. OF COURSE the next day in the lunchroom I proudly showed him my leaf-stuffed shoes and thanked him for his sage advice. I will never forget the angry flush rising from his collar and the bulging veins on his temples.

Vickie Burris:  Hmmmmmm....going to Baccalaurette a little tipsy from a visit to Lums (darn you Bob and Kayla) and walking past Mr Strahm and saying "Hi Bob"!!!!!! I think he was so shocked - I was so quiet then (don't judge me now!) that it caught him off guard!

Allen Sindel:  I was expelled for having long hair and now I am bald. Lol

1971

David Castle:  In the late 1960's, guys who played music in bands were always trying to grow their out hair.  We used to try to hide from Mr. Strahm, our Principal, not to get busted for our hair being past the collar.  In 1968, a few seniors were kicked out of school by Mr. Strahm because their hair was too long!  

1972

Jayne Lawson:  While walking to Spanish class a cherry bomb went off in a locker about 10 lockers down from where I was at the time.  Books flew everywhere!

Pam Morgan:  I remember in HomeEc 🙄 Class Miss Belt slipped & fell & lost her wig.  Also, once I put a bag of Laughs in my locker, it was comical watching the people trying to see what was in the Locker.  One time I filled someone's locker with balloons I don't remember who that was.  Okay I was a little goofy!!

Larry Pishitelli:  I was proud to have been selected on the last day of school at the final assembly to return to the school all of the forks that our class (of 1972) had stolen all year long from the school's cafeteria.

Steve Quincel:  I remember my first pep rally in the auditorium. I had never experienced anything like that before. The place was packed & when the "Battle Cry" cheer by each class started up the sound was thunderous:  "VICTORY that's the Freshman Battle Cry.  VICTORY that's the Sophomore Battle Cry.  VICTORY that's the Junior Battle Cry.  VICTORY that the Senior Battle Cry"!  I thought the balcony would crumble!  Good memories!  

1973

Don Mar (1973) and I co-founded a group to investigate uses of computing technology to assist high school students/faculty. We had limited time-shared access to the OSU Computing Center via a dial-up ITT combination teletype/paper tape reader-writer operating at 60 bits/second (maximum). Our main programming language was BASIC. We were located in the math classroom on the first floor of the northeast wing. Our advisor/coordinator was Mr Kaiden. Just as with kids today, our primary programming interest was gaming. LOL

1976 (Largest graduating class - 465)

Melinda Brown - Try going to first assembly as a freshman in the balcony sitting on each other's lap! Not enough room for class of 76!

​1978

​Scott Harrison:  For Senior Prank day, a couple of students met at the front of the school to watch the large tree next to the parking entrance get toilet papered.  But, I had a better idea.  I suggested that we 'sell' the school.  So, a group of us loaded into my parent's station wagon and from 11PM to 2AM, we collected and posted about 200 signs 'For Sale' signs on the front lawn of WYHS.  We went to bed with visions of how the morning would begin. But by the time we got to school, the maintenance crew was busy cleaning up the lawn and Ed Houston was fielding calls from very irritated realtors.  Not as we expected but still a fun time. 

Mike Murphy & Leo Knoblauch:  From the Guinness Book of World Records, 1976 edition. Mike & Leo did a chess marathon record of 122 hours in April 1975, at the old Whitehall fire station, to raise money for the American Cancer Society, taking $ pledges per each hour we played and also outright donations.  We were both about 16. It was so much fun to do, and then see us and Whitehall mentioned in the Guiness Book! This was one of many very fun memories I had of growing up in Whitehall in the 70s.  

 



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