Throwback Thursday #29 – Sports and Extracurricular Activities

Welcome back to Throwback Thursday. Last week we took on childhood cures with Lauren. This week we are going to discover a little more about how you spent your extra time. We would love to have you join us – all are welcome.

• Write your own post sharing your memories and leave a pingback to this post in the comments.
• You can use the photo above in your post to make it easier to find.
• Tag it with #TBTMemory or #IRememberWhen.
• If you do not wish to write your own post, feel free to tell your story in the comments below.

This week’s prompt is: Sports and Extracurricular Activities

I think I am back in school this week as my graduating class is preparing for our 50 year reunion. I have been perusing yearbooks and realize just how few things I was involved in. More about that below. But there were a few and I loved them all.

You can use the questions that follow to spark your memories or you can answer them as they stand. It is totally up to you.

1. Did you belong to any clubs?
2. Did you stay after school for activities? If so, how did you get home?
3. We’re you involved in sports? If so, which ones? Were you good at them, mediocre, or at least trying?
4. What was your favorite school related sports or physical activity?
5. Did you hold any leadership roles in school?
6. Did you play football, basketball, or some other sport or were you a cheerleader?
7. Did you travel after school, on weekends, or in the summer for any activities?  Where did you go?
8. Did you receive letters, awards, or certificates for your involvement?
9. Did you belong to any organizations that were not associated or sponsored by your school?
10. Were you on any school committees such as yearbook, prom committee, etc.?

My post follows:

---

US Government, 4H Emblem, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons

The earliest activity I remember in school was as a member of 4-H club. This club was developed to encourage rural youth to learn practices related to farm and farm homemaking roles through hands-on experience. The 4 Hs stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. I was in elementary school. I remember being on a 4-H float in the town parade and having meetings during school but that’s about it.

 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, President’s Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons

Then I remember the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. I seem to remember this as associated to President Kennedy, but many presidents were involved in this program. We had physical exercises to do which were validated by a teacher, and then we received certificates and patches (if I remember correctly) when we achieved our goals. The one exercise that stands out in my memory was the flexed arm hang. This exercise for girls was used in place of pull-ups for boys.

In sixth grade we started having field days at school. On those days, the school spent the entire day outside doing track and field exercises. I was a pro at the standing broad jump and the 50 and 100 yard dash. I continued with track until I got into junior high school when I joined the band.

My high school years were tough. My mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer which was extremely difficult to deal with. I maintained some of my activities, but honestly, when you face losing a parent at that age, nothing else seems very important. I faded into the background.

In junior high and into high school, I spent most of my extra time in the band room or the art room. Our band was well known regionally and we traveled all over the northeast during the summer. We were in every parade in the area and performed on opening day at the theme parks. We played at the football games and traveled to competitions usually taking first place. My two favorite trips were when we went to Virginia Beach and then when we went to Ontario, Canada. I played flute in the concert band and was in the color guard in marching band.

We did a lot of fund raising in the band. Anything we could do to raise money for band trips we would tackle. We sold candy, we painted house numbers on curbs, and we painted Chriatmas scenes on storefront windows. Anything to raise a few dollars!

When I was a freshman, a group of us went with our science teacher to her church for Easter services. She was a member of a Greek Orthodox church. I am not sure how or why this happened – I would almost bet it would never happen today. This teacher went to the school board and got permission to offer a class after school on the Bible. Sounds unbelievable, right? Well, she constructed it as a course called The Bible as Literature. It was a small group of about 10 students and as I recall, it only lasted a year or so.

In high school, I was in the Latin Club – yep! It was at that time I became involved in Civil Air Patrol. We met one night a week and there I made friends from other schools. We had weekend bivouacs serving as practice for real emergencies. If there was a downed small aircraft, we set up camp and became an extension of the search and rescue mission. It was one of my favorite activities while in high school.

I was not popular in school. I spent more of my time with people from other schools. Those last few years were hard for me, but these activities helped me get through it all.