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Track was a big part of my days at Rogers. The running sensation of
our sophomore year was Barry Robinson, who became the distance
sensation that year. He was regularly featured in the
Spokesman-Review and Chronicle, always being written up as
"Sophomore Barry Robinson." This became such a part of
his name in the papers that the rest of us distance guys dubbed
him Sophomore Barry Robinson whenever we addressed him. Typical
Barry: he took it in stride without comment.
Anyway, he was darn good. I can see him, still, coming around the
Wellesley turn, his head dipped a little, lower lip slightly
askew and hanging low, an Elvis Presley lowered eyelid look, his
eyes not really focusing on anything ... just a running machine.
Always seemed to run a steady pace. Just took off and kept
going, outrunning all opponents.
Barry took to eating lots of ice cream, according to his mom. All
goodness put out by Darigold and Carnation caught up with him,
gained some weight, and although he stuck with track, the pace
was a little slower for Good Old Sophomore Barry Robinson. The
name graduated with him, at least with me.
- Wyatt Newman |
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I remember something new, called Big 'R' Week during the
winter of our sophomore year. Each home room had Monday through Friday
morning to compete in creating the largest Rogers 'R' on campus.
Hallways sprouted one 'R' after another, each larger than the
prior. "Where can it all end," I asked myself. On Wednesday,
an upper class home room completed an 'R' of crepe paper that crawled
up the wall of the NW stairwell from the first floor to the ceiling of
the third floor. That sealed it. I declared them the winner in my
mind, for who could top a three-story 'R' in a three-story building?
Judging was Friday. An upset! A dark-horse senior home room did
nothing all week long yet won the contest. Their entry? An 'R' tramped
in the snow on the football field just before judging. The rules were
tightened the next year, but I still admire the cheeky innovation of
that home room.
Epilog: I visited Spokane in 1989. It was either Fall or
Spring because the trees were green and nobody wore coats. I visited
Rogers at 4 pm one weekday without checking in at the office. I
took free run of the halls without getting arrested (don't try this
today). I noticed small clumps of students busy at various
locations. Posters proclaimed Big 'R' Week. I approached the NW
stairwell to find girls and boys finishing a crepe paper 'R' that
climbed the wall from the first floor to the ceiling of the
third floor.
- Ed Mauget
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