The 1970s

1969-1970 School Year

• Student body fashion of the early 70s

• The Eagle's Eye was awarded an International First Place Award by the Quill and Scroll Honorary Society for High School Journalists. Comments by the judges read, "The paper appears to cover events well and it tackles areas (cycle safety, drugs, parking lot) most other school newspapers avoid."
• February 23, 1970 saw the opening of the swimming and diving pools. There was picketing during construction because the contractors used non-union workers. The cost of the pool was $203,180.
• Last school in the CBL to get a pool
• Swimming was a required class for all non-swimmers. Next year the class will be required for all sophomore boys.
• New pay phone was installed. The old one was getting so damaged that in one week repair bills came to over $1000.

• Señor Juan Mejusto, father of Spanish teacher Caridad Mejusto, came and spoke to the Spanish classes. He came to the U.S. in June as a Cuban refugee.
• Varsity Cross Country, CBL Champs
• Sharon Stuckey, Football Homecoming Queen
• Revision in the dress code allowed girls to wear pants throughout the year
• Carol Redding, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• The speech team put on a radio show that was played over the intercom during 3rd period
• Eagle Marching Band chosen to be the official band of the 1970 Riverside 500 car race
• A committee was formed to beautify the Eisenhower campus. The map showed suggested improvements.

• A complete remodeling job of the cafeteria with a budget of $20,000 was approved by the Rialto Board of Trustees. A student committee observed various cafeterias around the Inland Empire for ideas.
• Junior/Senior prank - tables and garbage cans were stacked on top of each other in the quad in the shape of a pyramid

• Bakers in 1970 (check out the prices)

1970-1971 School Year

• Band was asked to play at the first California 500 auto race

• Campus was open at lunch
• Madrigals performed at the Riverside 500 and Disneyland
• Wrestling, cross country, and varsity track beat Redlands for the first time in CBL
• Evelyn Lambert, Football Homecoming Queen
• First year for swimming and water polo
• Debbie Koenen, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• The Homecoming Parade theme was Ecology and the entrants rode on unusual transportation

1971-1972 School Year

• Students in the homecoming parade

• Students were allowed to register for their own classes
• Sue Palmer, Football Homecoming Queen
• Varsity Cheerleaders went to the National Cheerleading Association and received high honors

• Debbie Fogg, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• Madrigals sang at the opening of the London Bridge at Lake Havasu (the bridge was purchased from the city of London and brought to the United States)

• First annual Talent Show was introduced this year

1972-1973 School Year

• View from Lilac Avenue of the front of the school

• New classes offered in English included Mystery Writers and Chicano Literature
• Laura Assumma, Football Homecoming Queen
• Geoff Sharp excelled in swimming, going to CIF Championships and AAU Nationals
• Konda Mason, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• JV Wrestling CBL Co-Champions
• Established a girls bowling team
• Choir went to Hawaii
• Bob Clarendon played on the football team (later came back to teach at EHS)

1973-1974 School Year

• Student bowlers

• Equal rights influenced the Eisenhower campus
• First year that both males and females trained and competed together in cross-country
• Robin McCrary, Football Homecoming Queen
• Rialto Police and Fire departments played against the students in the annual Donkey Basketball Game
• Stella Marquez, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• Math department introduced a new class on computers - basics in computer programming
• Varsity golf CBL champs
• Students working on homecoming float

1974-1975 School Year

• Eisenhower is one of four high schools in the area that offers classes in how to make jewelry professionally. A ring made by a former Eisenhower student was appraised by on the of the country's top jewelers at $400.
• Because of smog, football practices were delayed until early evenings
• The Eagle's Eye newspaper took up the debate over the Nixon pardon by President Ford
• Welding classes received a $50,000 building in L-5. Sixteen gas welders and five arc welders were installed.
• Girls were still exempt from the lettermen's club
• Ike's motocross team was ranked #1 among the 25 area high schools heading into competition at the Corona raceway
• Debate in the community of Rialto whether Eisenhower needed a football stadium
• Also being debated, whether to allow girls to join the Lettermen's club
• Girls were finally granted athletic letters
• Eisenhower marching band participated in the 27th annual Huntington Park Christmas Lane Parade. This was televised on KCOP channel 13 and viewed by seven western states.
• From the January 17, 1975 Eagles' Eye, by Jeff Cook:
  "One of the most exciting athletes seen at Eisenhower in a long time is Ronnie Lott, a sophomore. He has started in every game in both football and basketball. In football he was named All-Citrus Belt League end. Ron is currently playing varsity basketball and shows great promise. Even though he is the only sophomore on the varsity squad he fits right in with the team because he's been playing with the same group of guys since he was eleven years old in the Golden State Basketball league."
• The Wrestlerettes had creative ideas to cheer on the wrestling team. They decorated pillow cases for wrestlers to sleep on before the first match, they made care packages, and organized "Mother's Night" which honored the wrestlers' mothers.
• Arlene Aragon, Football Homecoming Queen with her homecoming court

• P.E. went coed second semester
• The 2nd period physics class design and constructed an electric car
• The K-building was improved by a wind powered generator constructed by the 3rd period physics class
• Paula Tapp, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• From the April 4, 1975 Eagles' Eye: Eisenhower has sent seven players to major league baseball.
  • Jack Lucas, '62, Houston Colt 45's, now the Houston Astros
  • Bob Rauch, '67, L.A. Dodgers
  • Bill Bates, '70
  • Garry Hudson, '70, S.F. Giants
  • Tom Perkins, '71, Detroit Tigers
  • Dennis Blair, '72, Montreal Expos
  • Pat Zedalis, '73, Oakland A's
• Student Council sponsored Spring Madness with many different lunchtime activities

1975-1976 School Year

• Madrigals dressed for performance

• From the November 7, 1975 Eagles' Eye by Mary Dillon:
  Laurie McBain's, class of '67, book, Devil's Desire has become a best seller paperback. It is now in its eight printing with over a million copies in print. Devil's Desire is set in 19th century England. McBain attended Valley College and graduated from Cal State San Bernardino with a major in history.

• Sharon Lambert, Football Homecoming Queen
• Dr. Wilson Riles, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, visited Eisenhower High School. At the 7th period assembly he was given EHS ASB Card #2. (Card #1 was given to President Eisenhower in 1963.)
• Contract PE involved students taking classes off campus like roller skating, bowling, and skiing. PE was no longer made a requirement for juniors and seniors.
• Sophomore Basketball CBL Champions
• Diana Tennell, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• Steve Blumenthal, Ray Fulton, Dale Linaburg, and Ted Lund qualified for CIF in wrestling. Blumenthal advanced to the semi-finals.
• Eagle's Eye newspaper received an award for being one of the best newspapers, received highest honor ratings by the National Scholastic Press Association and Quill and Scroll (an honor society for student newspapers)
• Rialto continuation classes moved to Henry Elementary after a new state law prohibited such classes from being held on the same campus as the public high school. Henry was renamed Henry High School.
• Despite the expense, graduation was still held on the Eisenhower quad. At the beginning of the year, it was suggested that graduation be moved to Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino. The renting of chairs and bleachers cost the district about $4000 as well as the cost of set up and supervision.
• Air conditioning was again discussed. A manufacturer said neither the roof nor the walls would support air conditioning units.
• Ike baseball team rated #1 in the CIF. However, they lost to Long Beach Jordan in the semi-finals.
• Golden Eagle band performed on Channel 7 on the Red Skeleton Special in April. Eisenhower and 7 other bands participated in two Disneyland parades which were video taped for the show.
• The school board authorized the installation of a $12,000 electronic book detection system in the library

1976-1977 School Year

• Overhead view at the pep rally

• For the first time, guys entered interior decorating class
• Students sold candy bars to help raise money for the new stadium. The money would pay for needed parts of the stadium such as sprinklers, fencing, grading of the track and field, the snack bar and ticket gates. Principal Button stated it should only take about 3 to 4 months to build the stadium and up to 6 months to prepare the field for use.
• The new anti-theft device in the library was given a name after a contest was run in the Eagle's Eye. The winning name - See-More, The Bookie Monster.

• University Program debuted. A set of advanced classes was offered to juniors and seniors. Students received double credit. Classes operated on a rotating schedule where the students visited English for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and history on Mondays and Wednesdays. Fridays would be one hour for each class.
• Laurie Ivans, Football Homecoming Queen
• Nancy Casson, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• Ron Lott was recognized in Joe Namath's National Prep Sports Magazine. He was also named a Parade All-American High School Football Team Member and was the Ken Hubbs winner. He was recruited by over forty colleges, including UCLA, USC, Nebraska, Ohio State, Arizona State and Arizona. On March 8, Lott announced he signed a letter of intent to attend USC.

• Varsity Football team became CBL Tri-Champs
• Water Polo added female players
• Cross Country was first place in CBL and went to CIF finals where they placed 6th place
• Sophomore Basketball and Football and Varsity Basketball were all CBL champs
• Varsity baseball received a #4 pre-season ranking by Joe Namath's National Prep Sports Magazine
• The Eagle mascot in 1977

• New girls' club on campus called Keywanettes, a service club like the Key Club
• The stage band captured 1st place over 47 bands from the southwest area
• Frank and Chuck Assumma ran in the state two-mile finals. Frank was the 1977 state two-mile champ.
• February 17 was groundbreaking for new stadium. Ronnie Lott is in the center of the group. There were many delays in getting started. Eventually the stadium should be able to seat 5000 on the home side and 2500 on the visitor side.

1977-1978 School Year

• Students showing off their Lettermen jackets

• Sybil Cook, Football Homecoming Queen
• For the first time, Ike had a girls cross country team
• Terri Baxter, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• The Little Theatre group went to a competition at the Romona Masqueks Theatre Festival. To prepare, drama students went to various classrooms to perform for criticism.
• Industrial arts made ticket booths, concession stands, partitions for the greenhouse, and rebuilt items destroyed in the fire
• The first soccer club was formed. It was too late to get into the CBL, so an intermural program was formed.
• Installation of the metric track which was named one of the best in Southern California
• Frank Assumma was the 1978 CIF cross country champ and the 1978 CIF mile-champ and the state runner-up in the mile
• Thanksgiving fire caused $500,000 - $1,000,000 worth of damage to the administration building. The cafeteria was used as the admin building while the ticket booth in front of the gym was used as the attendance office.

The remains of the administration building after the fire.

1978-1979 School Year

• Tall flags pose for the photo

• Prop 13 (Jarvis Amendment) was passed - no summer school, some classes and sports were eliminated, school maintenance was cut back, and busing was cut back to a minimum. Counselors were required to teach one period a day. Some teachers were bumped down to work at an elementary school.

• Cheryl Buckland, Football Homecoming Queen
• Starting with the class of 1981 students would need to pass a proficiency. If you did not pass, you were required to take special classes.
• NBC News from New York came to film a news show. Lacey Kendall's father was interviewed for a new TV show called Week End. Kendall's father explained that it had to do with the Gulf Oil company. Gulf was practicing some illegal procedures and was forcing their dealers in the area out of business to convert the stations to self service.

• Motocross adds a girl to their team
• Terri Nelson, Basketball Homecoming Queen
• Cross Country won 3rd straight CBL title and 4th place finish in the CIF 4-A Division
• Chuck Assumma placed first at the CIF 4A finals
• The Assumma brothers had Track records that stood for over 20 years
• Counselors were no longer required to teach one period a day after a law suit won by the Rialto Education Association
• Donkey basketball made a return. Rules for the game: to score, the player had to be on the donkey; to pass the ball, the player had to be on the donkey; if there was a loose ball, the player had to take his donkey with him.
• Students were often late to class once construction on the new administration building began. Fences were set up from the library to the end of the I building.
• A new drill team was formed featuring mopeds
• After spending 20 years in the U.S., Spanish teacher Graciella Calderon was able to travel to Cuba to visit her mother.
• Water polo was dropped as well as sophomore sports, but a soccer team was added. Soccer was coed.

• A Capella choir joined with choirs from all over California at Disneyland at a Christmas concert with Cary Grant as narrator
• Yolanda Townsend was a runnerup in the American Legion area finals speech contest. She was the first student from Eisenhower to make it that far in the finals.

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