Head up, head down and turn around! Anything to alleviate the doldrums in class in the 1970s at RFH.

Oh, to be in class at RFH and daydreaming of the sun and some fun outside the classroom on a dismal, dank day kind of like today.

That’s usually what happened in any given class on an inclement day. Still is, but there are no free periods anymore at RFH. There were in 1974, though. And this class full of freshmen was likely thinking about the foul weather outside along with that classic Mustang parked in the parking lot.

Without computers and cell phones, there was always illicit communications among bored students back in the day. Any way would do. And the fun, sort of undercover to break the tedium and stir craziness ensued. Always.

Remember those days? There was note passing, giggling and restless daydreaming. “Pay attention!” was a very common chide among RFH teachers. Let’s face it, passing notes and trying to talk in class was a lot more obtrusive than hiding a phone (or not) under a desk and texting with muted notification sounds.

If only …

In this classic shot from an April day in 1974, one girl (Merrall Dey) is trying to give the heads up on something. What could it be? She’s definitely not paying attention to the teacher. Which class could this be? It’s in a classroom by the parking lot. That’s for sure.

It looks like the student behind her is about to take a snooze, head back, or has already nodded off. The one in back of him it seems has his eyes on the prize of a car outside. Joy ride? Hmmmmm … No licenses in this class of freshmen.

It’s a good bet that some quality note passing was going on here. So, did you pass notes in class? What was the most prized note of yours that got confiscated and read aloud by the teacher? Hmmmmm … Do tell!

And psssst … pass a secret!

** Thanks again to the fabulous George Day for this look back at RFH! **

— George Day’s photos are for exclusive publication on R-FH Retro.

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