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The 1973 graduating classes of Billings Central, Senior, and West are proud to report that a bench funded by all three schools has been installed atop the Rimrocks along the Skyline Trail. It is located a little east of the “Fenceline” area and has wonderful views of the valley. A special thank you to Karen Tanner who spear headed this project. May this symbol of our 1973 classes live on in perpetuity.

T

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In the 1960's the Whitehouse had it's Camelot and in the 1970's Billings Senior High had it's Camelot.

Do you recognize anyone in this "Cast of Characters"?

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As previously noted, after paying for the 50th Reunion, the Billings Senior High School Class of 1973 has donated remaining funds to BSHS Student Council, Community Leadership & Development Incorporated (CLDI), and to Tumbleweed - whose mission is to deliver lasting change to vulnerable youth. 

The donation to BSHS was a well-deserved thank you for the support given to us for the reunion. Funds given to CLDI were added to the donations individual classmates made to CLDI during, and following, the tour of their facilities that was part of our reunion activities. The efforts of CLDI are described in a prior home page post. 

On Tuesday December 5th, Lowell Cooke, Susan Carlson, and Chuck Roberts presented a check, in the amount of $1,150, on behalf of the Class of 1973 to Tumbleweed Executive Director Georgia Cady, and Billings Senior High School Program Manager Quincy Petty at the main Tumbleweed facility in Billings. 

Georgia and Quincy gave a tour of the facilities and an outstanding discussion and explanation of what the people of Tumbleweed do for vulnerable youth. It is definitely worth your time to see this facility and hear first-hand about their efforts and accomplishments. 

Tumbleweed is a community based non-profit that has been around since 1976. They serve homeless, trafficked, runaway, and otherwise at-risk youth, young adults, and their families. The bulk of Tumbleweed’s efforts are: 

Supporting young people who are in, or have been in foster care. Foster care is an unfortunate necessity, and generally positive for the children involved. But it is a difficult way to grow up; some foster children are in true need of help. The children receive funds that go toward education, extracurricular activities, college, and tutoring. The funds also support employment, transportation needs, housing, emotional support, and connections to caring adults. One aspect of the program is to provide housing and assistance for young adults between the age of 18 and 21 who have “aged out” of the foster care system. A statistic that is grim but not surprising is, nationally after reaching the age of 18, more than 40% of the youth who were in foster care become instantly homeless. 

Directly assisting children and young adult victims of human trafficking. Tumbleweed advocates for victims based on their individual needs. Youth and young adults, ages 10-24 years, get behavioral health, medical, and dental services. They can also get educational and employment assistance along with life skills training. Tumbleweed provides expertise and helps in victim identification, assessment, safety planning and service planning. They offer victims advocacy and access to legal help and services. Trafficking can be an invisible problem, but it is more prevalent in Billings than almost anyone can imagine. A sad but true fact is that the overwhelming majority of child and youth victims are trafficked by their families. Think about that. These children and young adults need the help Tumbleweed provides. 

Providing a Youth Resource and daytime Drop-In Center. The Center is for children and young adults up to 24 years old. The vast majority are homeless, living on the street, in parks, on the Rims. The Center lets them meet their basic needs in a low-barrier, safe and secure environment. Basics like: food, clothing and hygiene items, taking a shower, using laundry facilities, getting a haircut. The drop-in center is not a shelter, it provides homeless children and young adults an escape from the elements and, for a short time, a chance to rest and refocus. Tumbleweed works to move homeless youth toward stable housing, employment, education, and wellbeing. This is an impressive facility. Homeless kids need help with such fundamental needs as obtaining a birth certificate, getting an ID, understanding and practicing life skills, getting job-ready. Many need help with addiction. Tumbleweed tackles these needs. About fifty homeless children and young adults get this help every day, about 350 unique individuals per month.

Impressive!

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Do you recognize the building in the above photo? This picture was possibly taken in the early to mid 1940's. The first classes at Senior were held during the 1940-1941 school year.

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Billings Montana History
Rebecca Heimbuck . . .

Before Senior High, the high school in Billings was at Lincoln, then known as Billings High School. As the building became too small for a high school a new one was constructed, on the edge of town. 

Billings Senior High is located at 425 Grand Avenue. The building was started December 26, 1938 and was completed for the 1940-41 school term. The project was part of a PWA grant of $1,110,909.40 of which the grant consisted of $499,909.10. The remaining balance was paid through a school bond. The project had several projects within it, the high school and the building of a new primary/elementary school, North Park. 

The new school would welcome 1300 students into a 52 room building that was “one of the most modern and well equipped high schools in the northwest”. The school had an 1800 capacity. It’s 517 feet across the front and 265 feet deep. It sits on an 18 acre parcel of land counting the athletic field next to it. The design is something called conservative modern style and “extensive use of ornament was avoided”. 

The new school had 24 classrooms, 4 science rooms, an art room, 2 craft rooms, 3 commercial rooms, 2 music rooms, a public speaking room, 3 home making rooms, 5 shop rooms, mechanical drawing room, library, study room, auditorium, gymnasium, cafeteria, and administrative rooms. 

The auditorium could seat 834. The gymnasium that was 50x84 feet and the room could be divided into two sections that measured 45x80. The seating capacity was 2000. 

When Senior High opened, Lincoln became a junior high with the grades 7-9. Senior High still is a school today and is one of five in the Billings area. 

The below postcard was not mailed and therefore is not dated.

Link to article on Facebook Group

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Epilogue - Billings Senior High School Class of 1973 - 50th Reunion

After over a year in the planning that resulted in an extraordinary weekend, the books are finally closed on our 50th Reunion. When it started out, no one had any idea where it would end up. Although the goal was to have a great event, it was just as important that anyone who wanted to attend, would be welcomed and would be able to attend no matter their circumstances. Through the kindness of our classmates and because of the efforts of everyone involved, these objectives were met, and then some!

All of the bills have been paid and remaining funds are being donated to the following charities:

$1,150 - Community Leadership & Development, Inc. (CLDI). Many of you may recall this organization held a South Side tour during our Reunion Weekend. NOTE: Those on that tour rose over $6,000! A Big Thank You! CLDI helps those less fortunate and in need on the Billings South Side. For more information, visit: https://cldibillings.org/ 

$1,150 - Tumbleweed Program. The funds donated to Tumbleweed have been earmarked to specifically help Billings Senior High students that are homeless and in need. For more information, visit: https://www.tumbleweedprogram.org/

$100+ - Billings Senior High Student Council for their efforts to support us.

In addition to the above, funds were available so that we could extend our secure web site "AD FREE" for the next five years! Is everyone ready to get together in 2028? Don't be strangers and please enjoy the website for the next five years so that you may stay in touch. If anyone would like something posted or has information to pass along, please let us know.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone who attended the events and made it very special!  

Billings Senior High School Class of 1973 Reunion Committee: Lowell Cooke, Tim Cranston, Bill Eklund, Susan Lindsey, Leo Litwin, Chuck Roberts, & Randy Freeck.

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Below are photos of the signs that were made by current Billings Senior High students for our Class of 1973 - 50th Reunion. Thank you students!

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As September of 2023 comes to an end,
Nothing can compete with the way it began.
It started, when the Class of 1973 met.
A weekend in Billings, no one will soon forget.
For sport, there was golf, pickle-ball, and a Turkey Shoot.
A Southside Tour, a picnic, and a school tour to boot.
There was a dinner at Hilands on Friday night,
That satisfied everyone’s appetite.
There was tribute to Classmates, that are now gone,
And military Classmates that kept our Country strong.
There was laughter, comradery, and great cheer,
That had not been seen in 50 years.
Old friends and new friends were all delighted,
That they had now been reunited.
On Saturday night, they went to the Zoo,
To meet with West and Central, the “other” two.
The weekend went by, way to fast,
But the memories, will forever last.
The Class of 1973 will always remember,
Two days and nights in Montana, in September.

Were this written for English class in ‘73, is there any way,
The grade could have been an “A”?                    Nah.

Author Unknown

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The photo includes five of the alums who participated in Randy Freeck's spectacular Turkey Shoot: Mark Dahlberg, Dave Stuart, Tim Cranston, Steve Kembel and Randy Freeck. Other attendees included Susan Lindsey Carlson, Debra Harris Allmer, Kevin Allmer and Ann Roecker Cranston. The festive event raised $120 to help defray the cost of the Reunion. Dave, Steve and Randy each won a Turkey Shoot in nail-biting shootouts, while Mark and Tim fought hard for the coveted last-place finish. Thank you Randy!

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Billings South Side Tour Raises $5,000

Our class reunion tour of the Billings Southside raised more than $5,000 for Community Leadership Development Inc. More than 40 classmates and guests participated in the tour.

Organizer Richard Myhre, who announced a $5,000 fundraising goal at the event, reported that one-time donations totaled $4,710 and monthly pledges of support pushed the total over $5,000.

A gospel-based non-profit organization, CDLI provides affordable housing and services for women and young people “in such a way that residents thrive financially, spiritually and relationally.”

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For everyone that was able to attend the 50th Reunion, THANK YOU for being there! Your attendance is truly what made it successful! The BSHS Class of 1973 Reunion Committee is very grateful for your support and it could not have been done without you! A number of classmates said they could not hear or missed our welcome message on Friday night. Below are the notes from that message. Again, thank you or attening and we hope to see you at the next reunion!                                  

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BSHS Time Capsule:

With the completion of the new Gym at Billings Senior High in 1973, a time capsule was encased in the building and was reopened for our 50th reunion. Below is information about the Capsule:

KTVQ in Billings news report about the capsule opening:

     https://www.ktvq.com/news/local-news/billings-senior-high-school-unveils-50-year-old-time-capsule

Information from John Fitzgerald about the Capsule:

Here is what I remember about the time capsule.
 
When the “new gym” was under construction, Dewey Hansen initiated a project to have a cornerstone laid in the gym. Dewey was a history teacher and was advisor to the Yellowstone Key Club, a service group. He thought that a box could be placed in the cornerstone as a time capsule to be opened in 50 years.  The box was placed in 1973 and opened in 2023.

The key club organized the project.  The box was built by the metal shop students.  The key club took suggestions and filled the box with the objects.  We tried to think of things that would be of interest to future students like a yearbook, school play programs, a phone book, a mint coin, and significant newspaper headlines (Spirow Agnew resigns, Secretariat wins the triple crown, Skylab in orbit, etc.).  The box also contains a bracelet honoring a Vietnam POW (Knudson?) who had returned (I think) and was a Senior High alum. The Vietnam war was winding down, but some US servicepeople were still missing in action or POWs.  Bracelets were worn to show support.

There was a ceremony to “seal” the cornerstone in 1973 and the Chair of the school board and Senior High principal who cemented it in.   I was involved as president of the Yellowstone Key club.  In 2022 I wrote to the principal Jeff Uhren at Senior explaining the time capsule and suggesting that it be opened in 2023.  He contracted others and ultimately the administration and Senior High student government organized a ceremony.  David Bartle and I were there to open the box in May 2023 and explain some of the contents.  (Apparently Dave had sent a note to the class of 74 senior high Facebook page about it but he didn’t hear from anyone.). Dave lives in Idaho and I live in Maine.
 
Good luck with the reunion.  Maybe Dave will make it but I won’t be able to. 

John

Time Capsule Contents:

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1973 Billings Weather Extremes

Highest Temperature         101 °F        July 10
Lowest Temperature          -19 °F        January 4
Highest Daily Low              66 °F         August 3
Lowest Daily Low               -6 °F         January 8
Most Daily Precipitation     1.1 inches   September 1
Most Daily Snow               5.6 inches   January 26
Total Annual Precipitation  16.2 inches
Total Annual Snow            77.5 inches

Check the Weather on your Birthday in 1973:

https://www.extremeweatherwatch.com/cities/billings/year-1973

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Billboard Magazine's Top 40 songs of 1973

CLICK on song to listen to!

No.                     Title/  Artist(s)

1. "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" / Tony Orlando and Dawn
2. "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” / Jim Croce
3. "Killing Me Softly with His Song" / Roberta Flack
4. "Let's Get It On" / Marvin Gaye
5. "My Love" / Paul McCartney & Wings
6. "Why Me" / Kris Kristofferson
7. "Crocodile Rock" / Elton John
8. "Will It Go Round in Circles" / Billy Preston
9. "You're So Vain" / Carly Simon
10. "Touch Me in the Morning" / Diana Ross
11. "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" / Vicki Lawrence
12. "Playground in My Mind" / Clint Holmes
13. "Brother Louie" / Stories
14. "Delta Dawn" / Helen Reddy
15. "Me and Mrs. Jones" / Billy Paul
16. "Frankenstein" / The Edgar Winter Group
17. "Drift Away" / Dobie Gray
18. "Little Willy" / Sweet
19. "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" / Stevie Wonder
20. "Half-Breed" / Cher
21. "That Lady" / The Isley Brothers
22. "Pillow Talk" / Sylvia Robinson
23. "We're an American Band" / Grand Funk Railroad
24. "Right Place Wrong Time" / Dr. John
25. "Wildflower" / Skylark
26. "Superstition" / Stevie Wonder
27. "Loves Me Like a Rock" / Paul Simon
28. "The Morning After" / Maureen McGovern
29. "Rocky Mountain High" / John Denver
30. "Stuck in the Middle with You" / Stealers Wheel
31. "Shambala" / Three Dog Night
32. "Love Train" / The O'Jays
33. "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" Barry White
34. "Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose"  / Tony Orlando and Dawn
35. "Keep on Truckin'" / Eddie Kendricks
36. "Danny's Song" / Anne Murray
37. "Dancing in the Moonlight" / King Harvest
38. "Monster Mash" / Bobby 'Boris' Pickett
39. "Natural High" / Bloodstone
40. "Diamond Girl" / Seals and Crofts

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Super Bowl VII  1973
Miami Dolphins  14  -  Washington Redskins  7
Miami’s perfect season 17 Wins  0 Losses
Miami Coach  -  Don Shula
Game MVP – Miami safety Jake Scott
Notable Miami Players:
Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield,
Nick Buoniconti, Mercury Morris

1973 – 70th World Series
Oakland Athletics def. New York Mets
In 7 games – Final game in Oakland
Oakland Coach  -  Dick Williams
Series MVP  -  Reggie Jackson
Notable Oakland Players:
Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, Bert Campaneris
Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, Vida Blue

1973 NBA Championship
New York Knicks def. Los Angeles Lakers
In 5 games - Final game in New York
New York Coach – Red Holzman
Series MVP – Willis Reed
Notable New York Players:
Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed

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Movies Released in 1973

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1973 THE 45TH ACADEMY AWARDS

BEST PICTURE - WINNER
THE GODFATHER - Albert S. Ruddy, Producer
BEST PICTURE - NOMINEES
CABARET -  Cy Feuer, Producer
DELIVERANCE  -  John Boorman, Producer
THE EMIGRANTS  -  Bengt Forslund, Producer
SOUNDER  -  Robert B. Radnitz, Producer

BEST ACTOR – WINNER
MARLON BRANDO  -  The Godfather
BEST ACTOR - NOMINEES
MICHAEL CAINE  -  Sleuth
LAURENCE OLIVIER  -  Sleuth
PETER O'TOOLE  -  The Ruling Class
PAUL WINFIELD  -  Sounder

BEST ACTRESS - WINNER
LIZA MINNELLI  -  Cabaret
BEST ACTRESS - NOMINEES
DIANA ROSS  -  Lady Sings the Blues
MAGGIE SMITH  -  Travels with My Aunt
CICELY TYSON  - Sounder
LIV ULLMANN  - The Emigrants

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Historical Events of 1973

1. January 8^th - Watergate Trial of seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic Party HQ’s begins. May 17^th – Televised Senate hearings begin. Scandal continues all year.
2. January 22^nd - The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in Roe v. Wade.
3. January 23^rd - Peace accord is reached in Vietnam.
4. February 11^th - First release of American Vietnam War prisoners.
5. February 27^th - The American Indian Movement (AIM) Wounded Knee incident starts in Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Ending 71 days later on May 8^th.
6. March 29^th - The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
7. April 3^rd - First handheld mobile phone call made: Martin Cooper (inventor), of Motorola, called Joel S. Engel, of Bell Labs.
8. April 4^th - The World Trade Center in New York City is officially dedicated.
9. April 6^th - Pioneer 11 spacecraft launched.
10. May 5^th - Secretariat wins the Kentucky Derby in 1:59 2/5, a still standing record. On June 9^th Secretariat wins the Triple Crown.
11. June 5th - Billings Senior High School Graduation.
12. June 28^th – Northern Ireland Assembly elections are held for the first time which will lead to power-sharing between Irish Unionists and Northern Irish Nationalists.
13. July 11^th - Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris causing the FAA’s ban on smoking on flights.
14. July 28^th - Nearly 600,000 people attend a rock festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway. (Any of you there?)
15. August 23^rd - A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathize with their captors, leading to the term "Stockholm Syndrome".
16. September 20^th - Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs.
17. September 26^th - Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic.
18. October 10^th - Vice President of the United States, Spiro Agnew, resigns.
19. October 20^th - The Sydney Opera House opens.
20. November 3^rd - 'Mariner 10' rocket launched. On March 29, 1974, it becomes the first space probe to reach the planet Mercury.
21. November 8^th - The right ear of John Paul Getty III is delivered to a newspaper with a ransom note, convincing his father to pay US $2.9 million.
22. November 16^th - NASA launches 'Skylab 4' for an 84-day mission.
23. November 16^th - Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act signed into law.
24. November 27^th - Gerald Ford confirmed as Vice President.
25. December 28^th - The Endangered Species Act is passed.

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