History

The history of the Class of 1980.

It all started back in the Fall of 1997. We all met for the first time on Sophomore Orientation Day. We knew very little about the school then, but we had a lot to look forward to. After learning our way around and meeting a few teachers, we settled down to the "exciting life" of being sophomores. We soon learned that we upperclassmen had been waiting for us, for the sole reason of giving us what they received as sophomores -- torture. But we lived through it and it was a pretty good year after all. Homecoming that year has been forgotten by most of us. All anyone can recall is that a pretty blonde named Susan Dutka was crowned queen. We beat Bay in Football that year and won the county championship, which Rutherford had not done for a while. Also, to prove that our students possess brains as well as brawn, we won the Jaycees' High School Quiz Bowl. But I must admit, we were glad to see the year end because we were tired of being sophomores.

Words connot describe the fun we had our Junior year. When we became Juniors, we had an entirely new sophomore class and we gave them what the Class of Seventy-nine gave us. Many new opportunities opened to us as Juniors. We got to order class rings, there were better classes we could take, we finally met most of the teachers, and we knew our way around quite well. Football season started and we packed the stands to cheer our team in victory and in defeat. Homecoming was exciting for us that year. On the Junior Class float, our first real class project, we had a great success. We had more than enough people there day and night and were rewarded well for our efforts. Our float, entitled "Aquaman" won first place in the maxi-float category. Following a week of festive activites, Cheryl Burton was crowned Rutherford's last Homecoming queen of the Seventies. We lost to Mosley in football that year, and with the loss went our shot at the county title. However, Bay High beat Mosley so we still had a chance at a tie. No one in Bay County thought we could beat Bay except us, and we were right. Thanks to Mike Ritter's field goal in overtime, we beat Bay for the second year in a row. In December our class rings came in and we fought in line to get ours first. It was three months before we stopped flaunting them in front of the Sophomores. The band went to the Great American Marching Band Festival that year which was a great honor, because only a few bands from the entire country were invited. The band that year, as every year, glided though local and state competition proving that "The Pride" is unparalleled. The ladies of Rutherford did well that year in the Junior Miss competition. Kathy Williamson tied for the scholastic award, Kim Adkins was first runner up, and Allison Hamill was the 1979 Junior Miss Panama City. In April, Rutherford was the top school in the nation. The Quiz Boal team retained their titles by again winning the championship with no noticeable contenders. As our Junior year came to a close, we began to notice something, our friends from the Class of '79 were acting abnormal. We learned what it was about on Senior Recognition Day. We hated to see them graduate but we still wanted our chance at being the Senior Class.

"Smile, look this way," said the photographer as he snapped our senior portraits. We had finally made it. We had lived through the oppresion we received as sophomores, and through the parties we went to as juniors, and now we were seniors. The first few weeks of school were great. We laughed at the new sophomores walking around like lost lambs with their school maps, and at the juniors who, to us, were still sophomores. Football season started and we again packed the stands. We screamed for out team from the very first tick of the clock. And not long after the frist tick of the clock, Rutherford scored its first touchdown of the season. Junior Tony Pennywell ran pack the opening kickoff of the season for a touchdown. In the second game of the season, the band from the opposing school became lost on the field and our band show was cut short. But it didn't matter, bcause three minutes of "The Pride" was much better than twelve of the other band. A few games later the state press ranked us as one of the top 20 teams in the state. However, the dreams this brought soon faded as Dothan proved theat they could play better in the rain, and we lost a hard fought battle. One of the brightest events of the season was when the Ramettes changed into their "Hot Pink" outfits. Ah, what a pleasant surprise! We lost to Mosely, but it was awful close. We had them at first, but then they beame fired up and beat us. Homecoming rolled around and everyone soon became bored stiff at twisting and poking napkins. The floats looked great and the parade was terrific. We were all tense that Friday night, awaiting the announcement of our Homecoming Queen. Joanne Wood was first runner up, and the Homecoming Queen for 1979-1980 was Darlene Vickers. There couldn't have been a better choice. Two weeks later we faced a game against Bay High and a challege that we had never faced before. We had the opportunity, for the first time, to beat Bay three years in a row. We had no problem in doing just that, and 21-0 win over the Tornados was a great way to end the season.

Basketball was just as exciting. The team swept through the county competition with a record of 6-1. In the three games with Mosley, the Rams outscored them by a total of 63 points. The team suprised many sports writers in the district playoffs as they grabbed the runnerup spot.

At the wrestling matches we stood and cheered, and cheered our team straight through an undefeated season. Many of the sports writers and broadcasters thought that this wrestling team was the best team of any kind to ever come from this area. One of the most memorable experiences at Rutherford was looking accross the gym at the crowds from Bay and Mosley. Their faces had looks of anguish as they both lost to the only team they knew they couldn't beat.

Our Quiz Bowl team won again and they became the first team ever to win three straight championshpis. So we again proved our dominance in all areas.

When the semester changed, we changed. We began to realize that soon we would be out of school. After March 14, we realized it even more. As April slipped by, May came and we went to our last prom. Senior Recognition Day passed and we began to get nervous. Then came Graduation.

Our Senior year could not have been much better. For the matter, none of our years at Rutherford could have been better, despite the fact that we were the first class that had to have 17 credits instead of fifteen to graduate, that we had no Grad Night, and that we were bombarded with new attendance policies. We had fun, never saw a loss to Bay High on the football field, we won every Quiz Bowl Championship, our clubs rallied together in April every year to prove we're the best at raising money for Cancer, and the choir swept through many of their competitions with superior ratings. "The Pride", of course, was beyond comparison, they were magnificiant.

Twelve years of struggling for the grades, and trying to outsmart teachers is over.

Greg B. Terry
Senior Class Historian
Class of '80