Next were the well-behaved, well-dressed, "preppy" types, but that word hadn't been invented yet.  The phrase was "Ivy Leaguers," after the colleges in the east.  Button-down shirts, with buttons in the back, too.  A long-forgotten fashion statement were pants with buckles in the back.  Very stylish at the time.  The Ivy Leaguers were a highly social set, and could always be found at the Teen Club or one of the pools.  Helen Spangler (c) and Mike McAlister (r) were voted Best Dressed by the Class of '62.

Somewhere in the strata, but hard to pin down, were the popular kids.  It was usually their personality that attracted others to them, not their achievement in sports, fashion or grades, even though they could overlap into those areas.  Sheer force of personality probably served these people well in later life.

The struggling to find an identity group probably made up the bulk of the school, however, and standing out in a crowd was the antithesis of most kids' aspirations.  Most had just moved to Japan in the last year or two, and they'd move on in the coming year.  They'd try to blend in as best they could, and wear clothes that didn't get them laughed at.  They may have played in the school band or joined the science club or one of the many other after-school clubs.  They'd go home after school, not go out to bars on weekends, never get into trouble and would have a fairly uneventful two or three years in Tokyo.   However, if they discovered how to enjoy things alone, they might have actually experienced more than all the other groups.  There were fascinating things to see and do, but most kids only did what their friends wanted to do, and group decisions are sometimes the most boring.  These are the ones who would be spotted attending a Kabuki or Noh play; or, a performance of classic Japanese music; or, sitting in a perfectly-formed Japanese garden and enjoying the Koi giant goldfish; or, seeing everything they could possibly see in the artistic culture that was everywhere.  There were not many kids who did this, it was mostly adults.

The hoods were a fairly large group, both American and Nisei.  They wore ducktails, wore their collar up, Levis, a white t-shirt with Lucky Strikes rolled up in the sleeve, leather jackets and motorcycle boots and they loved Elvis, Gene Vincent, James Dean and Brando.  There were some major drinkers in that crowd.  There were a few who had big, bad motorcycles, like Norman Nishihira (and I'm NOT saying Norman was a hood .. now that he's found me! .. he was a biker), but not nearly as many bikes as there were at Stateside schools. Unlike many Stateside hoods, they were not an overtly violent group, mainly because of the close watch over all of us by parents, teachers, APs and other military types who were always on the lookout for "trouble" and JDs.  There were some small fights after school, but never .. never .. any weapons, as I can recall.  The Nisei guys knew karate, for the most part, and were not to be screwed with.  I can vividly remember one hood starting a fight with a Nisei kid after school, across the street behind some housing.  The hood got the living shit kicked (and I mean kicked!) out of him in a short few minutes, with 50 people watching.  They were, as a rule, not into the Teen Club scene, and the pool seemed to bore them .. or burn them, since their pasty, white complexion from nightime forays didn't fare well in the sun.  The hoods' social life often revolved around someone's parents' house while they were away.  Major beer drinking affairs.  Or, the Shibuya and Shinjuku bar scene.  Or, beers at the beach.  Whatever the event, the discussion usually came around to "beers" at some point.
 

The 1960 Prom Left to right is Pat Huber and her date Bill Murray,  Pat Hendry (Charlie's date), Charlie Swann, Carrie Hueckstedt, (Tom's date) and Tom Elliot	Sherry Emerson (wearing Bill Murray's jacket) and Dee Smith outside Teen Club 1/25/60

Pat Hendry in either Typing or Journalism class.	Peggy Hopkins .. very attentive ..  Bill Tedards (l) .. not

The front entrance of Narimasu American High School. Grant Heights family housing in the background. Can't you hear the tardy bell ringing?? Run!!	Another front entrance photo from the Sensu yearbook. Do you remember signing your name over every place your picture appeared in the yearbook, as these folks did?

The back side of Narimasu, drenched in snow.	Dr. Hay's Senior English class.  Who can name everyone here? (Chofu HS alums: OK .. Dr. Anastasas, but later.) Guys must be looking to the right at a student responding, because there was no view outside that window.

Senior English with Jack McCue, Al Estes, Spike Megahan,Barbara Krutzer, Tony Edwards, and Dick Fitz. Notice, if you will, high school students actually wearing things around their necks .. I think they were called "ties!"See the larger pic to view Shakespeare's Globe Theatre model on the right.	John Nettles, Lori Gonzales and Margaret Zimmer .. and the distinctive roof of the gym .. during the Nov. 1960 political rally and mock election.

Chemistry class with Mr. Stewart. Who is this (?), Tom McLean's back, Bob Gillum, Margaret O'Hara's back, Bill Herman's back & Mr. Stewart. Two more tie-wearing students, and without being required! Geez! And not one AK-47 or .45 automatic in the bunch!  How times have changed!	Tony Edwards volunteers for an experiment for Mr. Stewart, to answer the burning question: "Is it possible to learn chemistry by centrifugal osmosis?" Edwards prepares for an Astronaut Chair Spin.

'Nasty' Nick Sanders, Rosemary Holland, and Susie Brickhill.  Taken on Bus #37 after the rally assembly.  Nixon/Lodge button.  Lodge?  Huh?  Who?	Dick Fitz on a bus with .. ??  3 to a seat? Think Fitz is still this skinny?

	Brian Killen in front of 253-C, Washington Heights. Wasn't it usually upstairs front for the parents and upstairs rear for the kids' bedrooms? Notice the neat, precise double fold of the short sleeves? That was our trendy fashion statement of the time! Remember?? These last 11 pics are courtesy of Brian, NHS '61.

What? What??!!??  You wanted more in the school section, like everyone's names and the teachers' names and fascinating things that happened there?  Most of our amusement and diversions occurred outside school.  OK, OK, here's a photo from Physics class .. really paying attention .. to the eternal gambling on anything!  This was a dollar bet on which side a 4-colored spinning gyroscope would fall on.  Bored?? Nahh .. it was Physics .. how could that be boring??