# Okay, high school in the late '70s **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2000, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883 "2000-03-16T19:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/21 "2000-03-17T16:00:00Z")
Shag carpet. Good one **Diane** – forgot about that one. Got some more, though: [list] [li]8 Tracks. (My God, how could we forget about 8 tracks!)[/li][li]Those awful color schemes. (Who here grew up with an avocado green or harvest gold kitchen).[/li][li]Speaking of color schemes, lime green and orange everywhere. Anyone have lime green or orange shag carpet? We had both![/li]Streaking! ---
**Author:** ![Vestal\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5e9695/32.png) [@Vestal\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vestal_Blue)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/22 "2000-03-17T16:45:00Z")
I _still_ Have my Puka shell necklaces! Ahhhh, memories! BTW, I’d given up the SDMB for Lent, but after I started dreaming about a dopers’ convention, I KNEW I was in serious withdrawal! 🙂 * * * VB Some people say that cats are sneaky, evil, and cruel. True, and they have many other fine qualities as well. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/23 "2000-03-18T06:22:00Z")
Like Bricker, Spoke, and a few others, my high school years straddled the 70s and 80s – 78-79 to 81-82. Disco was definitely a junior high phenomenon for me. By early high school I’d moved on to 60s rock and early 70s heavy metal, and by the middle of my sophomore year I’d pretty much thrown that over for punk/new wave and various other more eclectic tastes (I became a big Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross fan at about this time, for example). I even overcame my disco/dance music aversion enough to enjoy Kid Creole and the Coconuts. On high school band trips, I frequently found myself in boombox duels with the Loverboy/Styx/Lynyrd Skynyrd contingent, countering with everything from the Clash and Sex Pistols to early Squeeze to the Modern Lovers (the Walkman was introduced while I was in HS, and was too expensive for me for the first couple of years, and besides, inflicting your tastes on others was part of the point). Apparel: what about pitching-sleeve shirts (long sleeve t-shirts with a solid white (usually) body and colored sleeves; running shoes even among those of us who rarely ran except to chase down an errant Frisbee toss. I was as likely as not to be wearing a Clash t-shirt with my Dad’s early 60s vintage Army fatigue jacket over it, occasionally topped by a plaid scarf in winter, or flannel shirts; my senior year we moved to a new town, a small farm town in the Delta, where I took to wearing a gray herringbone tweed sport coat, white dress shirt, and narrow solid color knit ties, with various band and record label buttons on the coat – anything to further mess with the heads of the other kids and teachers there. Among the things I didn’t wear that I saw all around me: down vests (particularly orange ones in the deer-hunting areas I lived in), wide-wale corduroys, Jordache jeans, etc. I suppose the Trans Am and Firebird were the characteristic vehicles of the age, but the Chevy Monte Carlo/Buick Regal/Olds Cutlass and whatever the Pontiac equivalent was were pretty much the thing as well in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the time. For some reason, however, the parentally owned and maintained Dodge Dart was the most common vehicle in my set; had the misfortune of having to drive a '75 Dart myself through most of my high school years, until I finally rebelled, learned to drive a stick, and assumed my dad’s old '74 Datsun B210 hatchback, which served me well throughout my college days. Midnight movies: living in a college town, the local theaters had a habit of playing things like Rocky Horror or that godawful Pink Floyd movie with all the bubbling mud flats or _The Last Waltz_ at midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. ## Better living through chemistry: gobbling the old formula of Primatene tablets as a cheaper, legal, OTC alternative to speed (Hunter S. Thompson was my idea of a role model at the time). * * * “Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common.” _–Satchel Paige_ ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/24 "2000-03-18T06:47:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by rackensack: > \*\*I took to wearing a gray herringbone tweed sport coat, white dress shirt, and narrow solid color knit ties, with various band and record label buttons on the coat… Oh, that was me, too! I collected band buttons like you wouldn’t believe. I had a wall hanging at home that had my collection proudly displayed… and I’d wear three or four on any given day… with the sports coat and thin tie… I’d haunt the import records section of stores for The Cure, Ultravox, U2, Tears for Fears, OMD… - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/25 "2000-03-18T06:55:00Z")
Recently at Salon Magazine one of my coevals - too young to be a hippie-era boomer; too old to be a .com millionarie, went on a crying binge about missing out on either trend. I couldn’t comisserate, because by the 70’s the rednecks were done beating you up for having long hair, yet Mexican dope was still 25.00 an ounce (or an outrageous 45.00 for spendthrifts who’d only accept Colombian). ``` BTW (maybe off the thread) I recently watched the 20-year re-release of "Midnight Express." In 1979 it was an indictment of 3-world justice: Billy Hayes is given a life sentence for a few pocketfuls of hash,endures prison beatings and (attempted only once but not consumated, and only after Hayes had been in for several years) rape. Today in the modern USA, people get life for pot, beatings are called "counselling sessions," and you'll probably have to wait only hours, not years, to receive your first gentleman callers. No, I sure can't commiserate with people my age who think they missed out on something good. ``` * * * Your deep sea diving suit is ready, me brave lad. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/26 "2000-03-17T19:19:00Z")
Class of '83! How about chukka boots, men’s hair parted in the middle and feathered on the sides, double knit shirts or those shirts with scenery on them. Or how about cars the size of New Hampshire. The roller skating rink. The Banana Splits. ---
**Author:** ![Odieman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a87d85/32.png) [@Odieman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odieman)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/27 "2000-03-17T20:08:00Z")
## As another decade straddler (Class of '81), here are a few more items. TRS-80 computer with 4k memory and a tape drive Cool… A friend with a used Vega. President Carter. New Wave Music (I was too scared to be the town punk). Velour tops. Funky looking glasses with heavy frames. The final tour of the Who. Friday Night Videos. Eating a new food called the Taco. Cherry Whiskey. New Coke. OHH MY GOD (as Arnold Horshack) I’m an old fart (sigh). Keith You want brilliance BEFORE I’ve had my coffee!!! ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2000, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/28 "2000-03-17T21:58:00Z")
Bricker: > [@](#): > > Oh, that was me, too! I collected band buttons like you wouldn’t believe. I had a wall hanging at home that had my collection proudly displayed… and I’d wear three or four on any given day… with the sports coat and thin tie… Funny thing . . . I hadn’t thought about those buttons since high school (seemed a little too un-hip by the time I started college), but two weeks ago my parents came down for a visit on my son’s birthday. My mom’s been gradually dumping off all the stuff my sister and I left at home – each time they come down to visit, she brings another box or two of books or other small odds and ends she’s cleaned out of a drawer somewhere. This time, it was a box with all the old buttons that had survived. Haven’t actually looked through it yet, but may have to tonight when I get home. > [@](#): > > I’d haunt the import records section of stores for The Cure, Ultravox, U2, Tears for Fears, OMD… We only had the one record store in Fayetteville, Arkansas that carried anything in the way of imports or other non-mainstream music. Then, just before my senior year, we moved back to a small town in the Delta that had nothing – the nearest record store was 20 miles away in Jonesboro, and that was a mall store which, though the staff was fairly hip for the time and place, still had nothing much to offer. About three weeks after we moved, I noticed a sign going up across the street from the mall with the same name and logo as the store I’d frequented in Fayetteville. Turned out to be one of the former employees of the Fayetteville store who’d decided to strike out on his own and had obtained permission to use the same name and logo. I spent the better part of the year outside of school hours hanging out there. Since he didn’t have the huge existing inventory of used stuff that the other store did, he emphasized imports and other hard-to-find stuff, which suited me fine. ## I did occasionally find cheap cool stuff in odd places – _The Velvet Underground_ and Television’s _Marquee Moon_ on 8-track in a Wal-Mart for a quarter each; one of the first Flamin’ Groovies LPs on vinyl in a Sears store (for 50 cents), the U.S. RCA Ducks Deluxe disc in a cutout bin somewhere. * * * “Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common.” _–Satchel Paige_ ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/29 "2000-03-18T00:07:00Z")
Damn, now I wish I had gone to the KISS concert last weekend to relive the Summer of '77 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/30 "2000-03-18T00:32:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Sentinel: > > Bell bottoms, especially on the girls – where they were _tight_ in the hips and butt and flared out to cover the feet. Girls then and now look so cool in good bells! (Guys suck in the average bells.) EWWW!!! Personally, when I see someone with bellbottoms that cover their feet, it makes me picture their LEGS ARE THAT SHAPE. Sort of like elephant feet/legs below the knee. I think bell bottoms are one of the most unflattering thing to ever grace the lower half of the human body. BLEAH!!! * * * – From an actual catalog: “Disco balls create an enchanting, dazzling effect of light shafts, adding movement and glamour to any occasion” _the Abrams’ bris was certainly memorable_ O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/31 "2000-03-18T06:35:00Z")
70’s Mood rings Tennis ball pop can cannons Actual fireworks that did something neat Plaid pants with flaired bottoms Hip huggers Short shorts Hawian shirts Platform shoes Those old style tennis shoes for gym class Chevy Impalas Reverb stereo equipment. Super balls Big lights on the trees and houses for Xmas Charlie Brown TV Cartons were new Sidd Croft saturday morning shows Color TV Counsel Cabinet stereo’s about 8 feet long Bicycles like in the PeeWee Herman movie Cats Cradle with string and another person Attending Memorial Day services and visiting graves of relatives Actual wicker picnic baskets and plastic plates you had to take home and wash All pop came in glass bottles or steel cans Hamms Beer Bear “From the land of sky blue waters.” Budman for Budweiser beer Black lights and floresent posters on the walls Beatles Black Saboth Credance Clearwater Revival “Riders in the Sky” the song “The Edmond Fitz Gerald” the song Sachrin is all the rage for dieters Made in Japan, then Tiwain, never China CB radios Walky Talkies Transistor radios with the ear plug You could still fix things that broke cheaper than buying a new one “Organic Gardening” by “Rodale Press” is starting to pick up steam. Zoos kept animals in cramped cages You weren’t recorded every where you went Bald Eagles and many birds were in trouble because of DDT use Love Canal? Amityvile Horror Childern of the Corn Holloween movie series Manned rockets still went up and people watched The phone was rotory You could drive on a road at night and not meet anybody ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/32 "2000-03-18T11:36:00Z")
Forgive my ignorance but what is a “Puka Shell Necklace”? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/33 "2000-03-18T12:02:00Z")
Rotary phones! Orange shag carpet! Lime/avacodo green linoleum! That was my house! ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/34 "2000-03-18T19:03:00Z")
these are on the 70’s/80’s line: “I’m With STUPID -\>” t-shirt and rainbow “Mork” suspenders. * * * “Love Story? There’s two things wrong with that movie: No Smokey, and no Bandit!” – Eric Forman, _That 70’s Show_ ---
**Author:** ![purrplebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@purrplebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purrplebear)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/35 "2000-03-18T20:57:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Icerigger: > **Forgive my ignorance but what is a “Puka Shell Necklace”?** Well, they are a kind of small shell, usually white, tan or a light brown/beige and they were usually strung on a string, many of them together, and occasionally with other shells or beads mixed in. I can still remember VB’s necklaces, 🙂 I had several too,and we would sometimes wear them on the same day to school, and my brother would pick on us for it, he wouldn’t wear them at all. 😉 his loss… Oh, yeah, how could I forget! My older brother and I shared a Chevy Impala convertible, shiny black, and often fought over who’s week it was to drive…_sigh_ memories… * * * Don’t make me come down there. God ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883/36 "2000-03-18T21:23:00Z")
Did anybody have a school song for commencement ceremonies? For eighth grade graduation we plagiarized the melody and some of the words to The Carpenters, “On Top of the World” (they were big in 78)and the merry tune went like this: Such a feeling is coming over me, there is wonder in most everything I see, not a cloud in the sky now the time has gone by and were now on our way to future dreams. So all good things must come to an end, now is time for gratitude we send, Eastside it has been fun thanks to each and everyone now it’s time to say good-bye to all our friends… We are the class of 78 looking back upon the years we have many reminiscent tales to tell, of the friends we have made and the plans (or as some of us sang, girls or boys) we have laid, Eastside we would like to thank you tonight… A Masterpiece [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-high-school-in-the-late-70s/14883.md?page=1)