The Great Vega Raffle ~ 1973

This picture was taken in the Fall of 1973. The 1974 model year for GM cars was already out, and the Vega was GM's entry to compete with the flood of imported Japanese small cars. Prior to this, everyone drove big boats of cars -- Detroit (or Oshawa) Iron. A paradigm shift was taking place, and small cars were gaining acceptance, especially in light of the explosion of gasoline prices in the 1970's.

This was one of the most successful fundraisers ever for OCHS. Tickets on the car were a $1. The car retailed for around $2,800 and over 9,000 tickets were sold. I myself had just bought a brand new 1973 Vega that April and I paid $1,978 for it.

Pictured with the car are Gloria Murrant (left) and Judy McLinton (far side of the car).

Girls Volleyball

A shot in the gym of girls senior volleyball. Sitting on the stage, I can recognize (left to right) Kathy Seaver, Judy McLinton and Gloria Murrant.

Christmas Dance and Sunday Morning Oshawa Memories

I received an email about the Downchild Blues Band blog entry from a couple of days ago. In part it read:

"The pictures of Downchild Blues Band are cool. You know what, that was the year that Leo Barrett and I were social conveners on the student council.. I think it may have cost us $500 or $600 to book them for the night. What would it cost today?

All right, keep on posting !!"

Thanks John for that note.

I have a pic of the Christmas Dance and party of 1973.
Left to right are Karen Smegal, Kathleen O'Halloran, Gloria Murrant, Cindy Germanis, Bob Hickey surrounded by all of the girls, Judy McLinton and Helen Rosicki.

And some Sundays, I try to bring memories of Oshawa of the 1970's. I popped this frame of the Oshawa Flying Club just as the aircraft was getting airborne on our Urban Studies Fly Day arranged by teacher Blair Morris.


And I wanted some pics of urban decay in Oshawa. I snapped the pic below on Mary Street of the GM plant there. It really wasn't urban decay, but believe it or not, it was the worst I could find of decay in Oshawa. Sadly, the situation is a lot different now.

And the email brought some other pleasant happenstance. The blog entry profiling Paul Grady brought an interesting present, in the form of a song written by Paul. The subject is Oshawa:

The Streets of the Town

Paul Grady

The streets of this town

Don't boast a Carnaby

No waterways or sidewalk cafes will you see

Just smoke from the factory, blowin' by a lonesome tree

But as I walk down

The streets of this town

Something calls to me

The streets of this town

Do not host royalty

or cause a man to write a symphony

Just honky tonk songs

After one more working day

But as I walk down

The streets of this town

I can see them sway

Cause each house has a light that shines, faithfully

Lights the true way home

For each one of the family

The streets tonight are quiet and serene

And dream a dream of things that night have been

Sitting so humble broken for no happy cause

But as I walk down

The streets of this town

I can see what was

Thank you all for your correspondence and have a happy Sunday.

Girls in the Foyer

Girls in the foyer in front of the office. Left to right: Helen Rosicki, Carolyn Corrigan, Joan Sosin, Gloria Murrant, Pat Kilistoff

Student Council 1973

Back Row: Elsa Lack, Debbie Gagnon, Kathy Taylor, Danny O'Neill, Judy McLinton, Marylee O'Neill

Middle Row: Diane Ciosk, Connor Seaver, John Manley, Gloria Murrant

Front: Don Hamlyn, Joe Neal

Parade of Classmates Continued

Top Row: Gloria Murrant, Jim Nemish, Carol Norrish

Bottom Row: Debbie O'Keefe, Danny O'Neill, Sister Bonnie Ouimet

I Love the 70's

Cheerleaders. Kathy Seaver second from left. Judy McLinton, fourth from left.

Gloria Murrant writes:

To Kathy's right is Karen Smegal and to Judy' right is me - Gloria Murrant.

To which I add:

And beside Gloria is Marylee O'Neill.

Gloria Murrant

Gloria Murrant was a classmate of mine for my entire sojourn at OCHS.

I never really got to know her very well. When you come right down to it, during high school daze, I never inquired deeply as to what made people tick. With maturity, it seems a little more important now.