It’s rehearsal time at the Morenci High School junior class play in 1958. “Three Blind Mice” was to be performed soon at Stair Auditorium. Click on the photo to see the names of those shown. Other members of the cast not in the photo were John Rorick, Mark Knowles, Greg Libke, Jim Huff and Sandra Blaker.

We’ve had a lot of new visitors to the website lately. If you’re one of those, you might not be aware of the folder of old photos. Look for the “Yellowed Pages” category to the right. No, they’re not actually yellow here. I made them black and white.

Before you cheat and click on the photo, take a guess at the names of the Morenci Legionette Drill Team members from 1968. Drillmaster George Vereecke is putting them through the paces in preparation for state competition in July. OK, so you have to first click on it to really see the faces. Just try to ignore the text at the bottom of the picture.

There were 19 girls on the team and the photo caption mentioned that a chicken barbecue dinner was coming up Saturday to earn some cash for the trip.

A seven-inch-plus snow fell in late March of 1968 and brought out this terror gang from Cawley Road.

Maude Chases’s history column mentions big snows on April 6, one from 1886 and one in 1938. No mention of how deep it was, just “very heavy snow.” It happens from time to time. George Isobar spoke of one in the paper this week: a precise 8.2 inches in 1982.

My father’s generation remembers the old Teen Inn as a basketball court used before the construction of Stair Gymnasium. I remember it as the meeting place for Boy Scouts and then as the Teen Inn dance place.

I think the Teen Inn was reorganized in the late 1960s and here are the officers elected in February 1968. Top row: Gary Johnston and Roger Winch. Front: Michelle Pontious and Jamie King.

You might remember that Gary’s band played up there with members Nick Shoemaker, Bob Caster and…one more person.

That second from the left…did she trade in her clarinet for auto parts? This is a Morenci High School band quartet that qualified for state competition at the 1958 district solo and ensemble festival in Lansing.

A woodwind trio (Carol Gibson, Karen VanValkenburg and Kay Marie Hill) and a cornet trio (Susan Whitehouse, Donna Edmondson and Judy Emch) also earned high ratings.

Robert King’s obituary went on the website Wednesday and a day later I received e-mail from his daughter, Pam. That reminded me of the King twins who were in my grade in school, but moved west before the next school year began.

I wasn’t sure how I remembered them after such a short time in school, but Pam said they spend a lot of time summer vacation time back in Morenci with their cousins, Ivan and Jamie King.

I don’t remember the other two sets of girls in the photo, but the Walker boys still live here.

The Jan. 18, 1968, Observer has a photo of Hazel Moore who is retiring as a staff member of Morenci’s Stair Public Library. She served as librarian for only four years, bur she was a trustee since 1946 and often filled in as a substitute librarian. She was instrumental in developing programs for children.

In her retirement letter, she said that she regretted leaving the work that had been such a large part of her life, but this would give her more time to read library books.

What a gas, as they used to say in 1958 when this photograph was taken. Janet Miller of Lyons, seated, was chosen Queen of the Rink for 1958 at Manns Corners, south of Lyons. You can see her attendants are also wearing roller skates. After the crowning ceremony,skating continued until 5 a.m.

Click on the photo to see the names. I’m not sure if I have them in the right order because they weren’t listed in a left-to-right fashion.

I wonder who was crowned the final Queen of the Rink before the annual ceremony came to an end.

This photo is a lot more than just the auditorivm, but that’s the main feature in any view of west Main Street in Morenci. Ed Stair (who later became publisher of the Detroit Free Press) had the building constructed for its opening in 1908. The blue history book doesn’t say much more than that. I remember seeing some old notes scratched into a brick near the back of the building, but I don’t have much more to say, either.

The Observers from the 1960s provide an interesting account of the facility’s closure by the state fire marshal and about the proposed purchase by a country music radio station that almost came about. And, of course, the account of the final decision to have it torn down.

Were you among the crowd when Morenci’s high school was torn down? I must have been off to college. I suppose this was done around 1970. The school was built in 1907.

This was from the era of tight jeans, maybe before bell-bottoms made it to small-town Michigan.

Somehow I attended classes in this building for six years and never was in the right room during a fire drill. I never had the chance to ride the big slide fire escape. It’s not visible in this photo.

It’s swearing-in night at some Morenci city council meeting of the past. I found the photo when I was looking for something and there’s no date in the back.

Joe Schultz (left), Duane Dunbar (to his right) and Jay Funk (right) all served as mayor at one time, so I’m not sure if any of them were getting sworn in for that post or as council members. Reva Clark served on council only.

I remember that Farm Bureau clock on the wall of the old city hall. It probably came from Clair Farquhar’s business.

These people are pledging to uphold the constitution of the United States as well as the city charter. That’s part of the swearing-in wording.

Justin Miller, who must be about 25 years old now, had a close encounter with Santa in 1987. The Observer’s finest photographer ever, Chris Wood, got the picture.

I don’t know if there’s any public Santa visiting planned in Morenci this year. Kids might just have to take a chance and see what shows up Dec. 25.

In Lyons, Santa will make an appearance at the fire hall, as always, after the parade Dec. 8. This year’s parade starts at 5:30.

In Fayette, Dec. 15 is the day for a Santa visit. He’s going to tough it out this year and talk to kids outside on the Village Green.

Ah yes, another passing of the check. Dan Foster on the right is giving the rescue squad (represented by Don Zuvers) a check for $1,714.41 from money earned at a dance and at a coffeebreak. I don’t know what the coffeebreak fund raiser was. Notice the background. Those fake knotholes are still serving as the wall of the Observer’s front office.

Wasn’t the Jabber Jaws a CB radio club?

Quick – what does UNICEF stand for? Wasn’t it something about United Nations something Children’s something Fund? It’s actually United Nations Children’s Fund. The I and E are just tossed in because it’s difficult to pronounce UNCF.

Do children still go out collecting for UNICEF?

In this 1967 photo, we have in the back row Londa Vanderpool (Blue Bird), Rosemary Garrow (Camp Fire Girl), Pam Hanawalt and Terry Pennington. In front are Cub Scouts John and James Lancaster. Mrs. George Shaffer was in charge of this year’s effort.

Jumping ahead one week, I see they collected 143 bucks.

Here we have an exceedingly fine example of the check-passing genre of newspaper photography—a staple of small-town papers across the country.

This is from the Oct. 12, 1977 Observer when Rick Guss (right), manager of Don’s Market, presented a check for $48.63 to Ron Rothfuss (left), athletic director, and Dave Moyer, football coach.

Check-passing photos don’t appear in some papers because they’re so silly. At a paper to the northwest where a former Observer editor serves as editor, there’s a sliding scale of check-passing. It takes a thousand bucks or something to make the front page, $500 inside, etc. I don’t think $48.63 would cut it.