School Story:
I, personally, have a lot of great memories of Allen High. I was involved in the NJROTC program and I remember the early morning drills to prepare for our annual inspection and, how, for three years I was a squad captain, I guess you could call it that, of 2nd Platoon. I remember taking attendance every morning and reporting to the Platoon commander, with a salute, either in or out of uniform. Besides this, I also made many friends in ROTC and had lunch with them, talked with them and all of us, no matter who we were, were all facing a unknown future ahead of us. Still, though, my time in NJROTC was great as was my time at Allen.
I remember some of my teachers. Mr. Hentis, who hated guidance counselors. I had him in the St. Cloud Building. Mr. Yani, my English teacher who was also the Baseball captain for Allen's Baseball team. Mrs. Heidrick who loved my work in 9th grade English, Mr. Fisher. Who could forget his lectures on American Foreign Policy, my favorite class by the way. Mr. Sabler, who taught government. Ms. Brita who taught me computers on an Apple MacIntosh. Mr. Dotterer, who taught Western Civilization. Chief Taylor, who loved Idaho and told us, once in a while in class that: "Pennsylvania Sucks!" He was from Idaho.
Yes, these were great years at Allen, and years of change. I remember the Iran Contra scandal and how students wore t-shirts that said: "Ollie North for President". The Berlin Wall coming down, Operation Desert Storm. Our infamous helicopter landing at J. Birney Crum Stadium my freshman year. The pep rallies, the school spirit as the hallways were decked out in yellow and blue and large canvases of paper that students painted on them saying such things as: "Go Allen, Beat Dieruff!" Yes, these were wonderful days to be at Allen High.