George Rogers Clark High School opened in the Fall of 1963 and has graduated thousands of high schoolers in Winchester.
Throughout the years, there have been many changes. GRC has evolved in various ways. Many alumni loved different things about GRC that do not happen
anymore; maybe we should bring some of them back?
Mary Margaret Chenault Miller from the class of 1977 says she loved how GRC taught students formal and informal etiquette back in the 70s.
She remembers how the girls dressed up very lady-like with white gloves as they invited the boys to tea where they learned how to drink tea in a formal setting.
“It was called the requirement of etiquette, the Great Gatsby Dance,” Mary said. “We learned how to set the table formally and informally with all the silverware and glasses.”
Identical twins Josie and Jennie Crawford from the Class of 1986 have two different events they think should be reintroduced into GRC.
Josie thinks that we need to embrace the idea of pep buses, especially with tournaments coming up. Back in the 80s, pep buses were all the rage.
“The students on board would have a pep rally on wheels on the way to the destination,” Josie said.
Jennie said that talent shows would be a wonderful event to bring back to GRC.
“I personally believe that talent shows are a good source for kids to express their creativity, plus it’s just a whole heck of a lot of fun,” Jennie said.
1992 graduate Susan Bishop says that she loved the simple dances that GRC used to throw.
“We had some fun school dances where we wore our jeans or you could wear sweats,” Susan said. “It had to be appropriate that as long as you were covered, you could go. It was just a good old-fashioned dance.”
Ashley Reed from the Class of 2008 says that we should bring back the use of disposable cameras to capture memories instead of our phones.
“We loved taking pictures, especially the last day of school while signing each other’s shirts and yearbooks,” Ashley said.
Katie Combs, a graduate from the Class of 2020 thinks that spending time with her friends in the halls before the bell rang was something she loved and memories she will always cherish.
“Sometimes, it was the only time I would see my friends all day, so having that time together helped to keep our friendships strong through the years, even when we didn’t have classes together,” Katie said.
2023 graduate Dallas Hall said he loved when the whole school gathered together in the arena to watch a movie.
“I know when we did it, we watched High School Musical and everyone was just vibing to the songs and having a good time,” Dallas said.
GRC is going to continue to change and evolve in different ways, but that doesn’t mean that our school hasn’t already provided opportunities for fun, joy, and entertainment.
This piece is to show the evolution as a whole and to appreciate how our school has grown over these past 63 years.
This story first appeared in our February print newspaper.
