Khrushchev is the Soviet Premier turning the "Cold War"
up a notch. Eisenhower is our President and sends
troups into Lebanon overnight to ease the tension there.
Castro's Guerrillas launch an offensive in Cuba. The USA
lauches it's first man-made satellite. Governor Faubus
shuts down the schools in Little Rock. ELVIS is inducted
into the Army. IT'S---1958!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's our time to enter the halls of Shawnee Mission High
School. East won't open for another year so we find
over 2700 students in those halls made for about 1500.
Most of us have come from four junior highs, Hocker
Grove, Indian Hills, Milburn and Old Mission. Three of
these schools will have new names in 40 years and Old
Mission will be sold to Bishop Miege. Merlin Welch is
our principal and an interesting expert on Kansas
history. Bob Johnson, our Basketball coach, will go on
to be principal of a school down south in the fields and
woods called Shawnee Mission South. Dick Trigg and Jim
Phillips among others will go on to teach some of our
kids well into the '80's at a school called Shawnee
Mission West. Many of our teachers will leave at the end
of the school year to help open Shawnee Mission East and
we will remain here with "North" added to our name.

Our football team will go 5-3. Our sophomore teams are
divided as black (those who will stay at North) and red
(those that will go to East). The red squad will run
over the black squad on a very rainy afternoon. Gary
Lee will spend most of his time in the mud but he will
more than get his revenge on another day. Laura
Richmond is our Homecoming Queen (our own Carolyn
Richmond will follow her two years later). The
basketball team will have it's ups and downs in Bob
Johnson's last year as coach. The sophomore squads are
again divided with about 20 on each squad. The school
play will be "Oklahoma" and "Jahn Ferndern" will take
his place among the seniors in the last year book that
will carry the name "Shawnee Mission".

Our parents can buy the average home for under $12,000.,
a car for $2155., gas for 24 cents/gallon all on an
average income of $4650. (My brother will graduate from
Purdue with a degree in engineering and start working
for a major corporation for $430./month.) The Dow Jones
average has jumped to 491.

We are in the "Rock and Roll Era" but some of the top
songs will include "The Chipmunk Song", "Gigi","Witch
Doctor" and "The Purple People Eater". "Gigi" will be
the picture of the year. The winning speed at the
"Indy" is now up to 133.79 miles/hour.

Don Davis