Nancy Lundblom (Blizzard)
I think it is wonderful that we are able to connect with the current administration and faculty at Hialeah High. I want to welcome them to our website and am glad they are interested in HHS history. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the Alma Mater was written by Mr. Logan Turentine who was the band director. It was sung at sporting events, pep rallies and on other special occasions. I met a a graduate of the first graduating class at the annual Hialeah Spring Fling this past April, who told me that the graduation classes of 1958, 59, and 60, voted to adopt the Thoroughbreds as the school mascot, and changed the original school colors from Garnet and White to Red and Blue. This was something I had never heard before and can't verify but I thought it was interesting so I'm passing it on.
There was no air conditioning when we there, so all windows were kept open and yes, it was as hot then as it is now. Not only that but we had dress codes that required girls to wear dresses below the knee and boys long pants and shirts with collars. No sneakers were allowed. With open windows sometimes mischief makers took advantage. One day in Spanish II, our teacher had to leave the room for a few minutes and Scott Davis and Ronnie Loehide collected all our text books and threw them out the window. Luckily our teacher, Mrs. Sejor, took it as a joke and made them go down and collect them. By the way, we were on the second floor!
Mr. Pease, our principal, was only known to those few students who got in trouble. I know I never spoke to him the whole 3 years I was there. We did have guidance counselors and Assistant Principals who interacted more often with us. We also had some really good teachers that gave us advice.
I don't remember any food fights in the cafeteria but we did have fun at lunch. It was a time to socialize and play practical jokes. By the way, the cafeteria ladies actually cooked in those days. (No microwaves). Although we weren't supposed to leave the school grounds it was impossible for everyone to fit in our rather small cafeteria, so many students did go off campus for lunch.
The thing that really stands out in my mind was that we had a lot of school spirit. We used to hold pep rallies in the patio by the old cafeteria and the cheerleaders would get on the roof. For really big games the entire school would walk to Milander Stadium for the rallies. It was not unusual to have the stadium filled with overflow behind the fence in the end zones during games. The Miami Herald once called Hialeah " the field of noise."
It seemed like there was something for everyone if you wanted to participate. We had numerous service clubs and special interests from art to academics, sports, future farmers, dance, auto mechanics, etc. I have nothing but fond memories of Hialeah High School and made many lifelong friends there. I hope it is the same for today's students.
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