VHS choir provides musical opportunities
By Salena McDonald
Under the direction of Mr. Ward
Nelson, since 1967, the VHS choir has
provided musical opportunity for talented
VHS students and entertainment for the
community.
Mr. Nelson’s long range goals for the
choir have been to get the students to
listen to each other and to improve their
music reading skills. He has sought to
broaden their musical horizons by having
them experience and learn to appreciate a
greater variety of music than what
they’re used to listening to on the radio
and at home.
Groups have performed compositions
ranging from the jazz of spirituals to the
symphonic sounds of classical pieces.
Swing, pop and novelty music have also
filled the practice room and auditorium.
Auditions are not a part of getting into
chorus. The group is open to anyone in
high school who wishes to join.
Tor a school the size of Vernonia, I am
impressed with the quality of singing,’
said Mrs. Kathy Sevig, VHS instructor
and avid music appreciator.
Most of the class’ time is spent
preparing songs for the concerts to be
performed throughout the year. Ther» are
usually five, including presentations to
the grade school and high school student
bodies, the Christmas, Popcorn and
Spring Concerts.
In addition to concerts, choir members
participate in a variety of activities.
Every spring, the choirs for schools in the
Northwest League assemble for the Choir
Festival. Each school performs two or
three pieces for an adjudicator, for whcih
they receive a rating, then all the students
form one large group to sing several
selections, under that adjudicator,
usually, a director or professor from
Serving Vernonia since 1933
Vernonia High School
Vol. 47, No. 6
By Lila Harrison
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Brooke Crowston (1981). Two have also
participated in All-State. They were Bev
Armstrong (1971) and Dave Jackson
(1980). Dave Proehl is the only VHS
musician that has participated in All
northwest Choir. He did so in 1981.
Mr. Ward Nelson directs the VHS choir at the recent Popcorn Concert. Their next performance is the Spring Concert, May 12
Preparations
for Spring Prom
underway
Juniors are rushing about preparing for
the upcoming Spring Prom being held in
the VHS gym at 8:00 pm on May 23.
Rain Forest Fantasy is the theme this
year. Living in a Fantasy is the theme
song.
Brenda
Bodenhamer,
Salena
McDonald,
Cindy
Miner,
Wendy
Morishige and Vickie Pitt are the
princesses that will reign over the 1981
Spring Prom.
Troubador was selected as the
entertainment. The band works out of
Eugene, playing as warm-up for several
concert stars. Their first album will be
released later this summer. Thorgen
Brown, one of the students who helped
select the entertainment, remarked,
‘They’re a versatile band. They can play
almost anything, and play it good.’
Mrs. Sally Harrison has been hired to
cater the event. She plans to serve
refreshments including chips, dips,
vegetables, crackers and cheeses.
Tickets are $8.50 a couple and $5.00 a
single. Tickets must be purchased soon
to ensure that attendance will meet the
limits, otherwise there will be no prom.
another school of university.
Members have also participated in
various honor groups such a Music In
May, All-State and All-Northwest Choirs.
Three members from the VHS choir
have participated in Music in May, Dave
Jackson and Dave Proehl (1980) and
April30,1981
League Band Festival to be held at VHS
By Brenda Wuest
Evening performance of the Northwest
League Band Festival will be held at
7:00 pm on May 13 in the VHS gym. Mr.
E. L. Cooper, Forest Grove High School
band director will conduct the massed
band.
This annual event is sponsored by the
Northwest League Association is
designed to give students a chance to
learn from one another and to perform
with a large group.
Black Horse Troop, Variation Overture
and Battle Hymn of the Republic are the
pieces that the band will perform.
In addition to the performance by the
entire group, each school participating
will perform one of its own pieces. VHS
band will play Second Suite in F for
Military Band and Coat of Arms March.
music and art
Spring Concert combined
effort of art departments
By Brooke Crowston
Spring Concert time is here, and it will
include not only the band and chorus, but
also exhibits by the industrial arts,
advanced art, photography and home
economics classes.
Introduction and Fantasia, Second
Suite in F for Military Band, Instant
Concert, Beguine Festival and Coat of
Arms March are the selections that the
VHS band will perform.
VHS Chorus will sing Adormus Te,
Psalm 150, Alleluia, For the Beauty of the
Earth and Soon Ah Will Be Done.
Spring Concert will begin at 8:00 pm of
May 12, in the VHS gym, but all are
cordially invited to come before that time
to browse through the displays.
Industrial arts classes will be
displaying wood working projects, leather
crafts, jewelry, silk screen prints,
architectural house plans and several
other projects.
Art classes will be showing silk screen
prints, water colors, pottery, block prints
and ink drawings.
Photography class will display photo
collages, and the home-ec department will
display
several
costumes
they
constructed for the production of Bye,
Bye Birdie, the high school spring
musical.
Ted Groves will
be remembered
VHS students and staff were saddened
to learn of the death of Mr. Ted Groves,
Channel 6 news producer. Mr. Groves
dies of a heart attack on April 2 at the age
of 44.
Mr. Groves was a cousin of Bill and
Nancy Eckland of Vernonia. He and his
family visited Vernonia frequently.
He was interested in VHS sports,
having sent camera crews from Channel 6
to film various VHS activities including
Homecoming
1978,
the
State
Championship Basketball Team of 1979,
as well as other activities.
Mr. Groves attended Portland State
University with Mr. Gary Curtis, VHS
athletic director and head boys’
basketball coach.
VHS has definitely lost a friend with
the passing of Mr. Ted Groves.
Science classes investigate
On Monday, March 9,1981 at 11:25 am,
Dave Proehl was shot to death in room 2
with a .38 special during Mr. Brian
Montgomery’s fourth period general
science class.
According to an eyewitness, Dave
Proehl walked into the room, looked up at
the globe, then out the window. He asked
Mr. Montgomery who was in his car. Mr.
Montgomery said no one was supposed to
be. Dave said,‘Hey Buddy! Want to get
away from that car?’ Then I heard a shot
and he fell to the floor.
With the help of several witnesses and
the evidence that was found, the class
come to the conclusion that Brenda
Wuest was a strong suspect in the staged
murder, but due to the lack of evidence,
Brenda could not be convicted.
Each of Mr. Montgomery’s general
science classes conducted a separate trial
using the same evidence and witnesses,
and all found Brenda guilty.
‘Even though each class had a verdict
of guilty, in my opinion, each was a mis
trial due to lack of inconclusive evidence,’
said Mr. Montgomery, the defendent’s
attorney.
Mr. Montgomery arranged this activity
to build interest and knowledge in crime
detection and forensic science. With the
help
of
the
Vernonia
police
department, the classes conducted full
scale investigations.