Our class had always considered itself to be a class of champions from our years at Lamar Junior High. And since having a winning football season determined how successful the school year and the Senior class was, our Senior year turned out to be a disappointment at first. The LISD Superintendent was Vidal M. Trevino and Nixon’s Principal was Armando R. Sanchez and the Assistant Principals were Rogelio Salinas and Dr. Arturo Volpe.
The year began with a pleasant surprise as we celebrated our first pep rally and proudly scripted on the gym's center wall was our school's alma mater:
"To thee our Alma Mater, dear old Nixon High, your sacred walls of knowledge, we will glorify As one our hearts aspire to reach a common goal, all hail our Alma Mater; forever green and gold!"
Class 0f '78
We would always be remembered in our school's history by dedicating this special tribute.
The football team that year was led by Seniors Kenny Hickle, Eddie Aguero, Benito Casares, Randy Falk, Lazaro Ferdin, Gilbert Navarro, Alonzo Ramirez, George Rodriguez, Joe Rodriguez, Mario Sanchez, and Lance Villarreal. The head coach was John Reese. The season ended with a disappointing 3-6-1 record. We also lost to our rival Martin by an embarrassing score of 27-0. Our class never saw Nixon defeat Martin in football in the four years we were there, and we always thought that ours would be the year this would happen.
Our basketball team saved the year by winning the district championship, something the school had never done before. A new spirit of accomplishment overtook us all, and now we understood why our class was so great. Led by head coach Jim Harris the Mustangs captured the District 29-AAAA Co-Championship by defeating our rival school Martin by the score of 74-67 for a Bi-District title! The seniors were Felipe Parra, Juan Puente, Tony Escamilla, and Tony Colunga.
Then came the 60 Minutes story. I believe it was Mike Wallace who traveled to Laredo to do a report on how a poor town like Laredo held an extravagant George Washington Birthday celebration, featuring a mostly Hispanic cast of characters. What many people don’t know is that although Laredo is considered one of the poorest cities in the country, it has a significant amount of wealthy families. The class of ’78 had several students who were members of this wealthy circle.
One of the highlights of the Washington Birthday celebration is the night when George and Martha Washington formally present the debutantes into society. Different wealthy men and women from Laredo’s elite represent George and Martha each year. Traditionally the debutantes are the daughters of the members of the Martha Washington Society and are in their senior year in high school. Most of the debutantes in the 1978 Washington celebration were from Nixon’s Class of ’78. They were: Rosa de Llano, Letti Zuniga, Nora Montemayor, Roberta Rodriguez, Nina Neel, Lamar Leyendecker, Nelda Trevino, Celeste Jackson, Letitia Barfield, Emilie Dodier, Margaret “Bubba” Jones, Shawn Young, and Melissa Barrera. In the 60 Minutes story on CBS, Melissa was prominently featured curtseying and thus one of our most beautiful girls was seen nationwide. This event demonstrated how unique and prominent our school and our class truly were.
The Mustang Cheerleaders were Head Cheerleader Linda Henry, and Seniors Mary Margaret Melendez, Cindy Lira, Barbara Arciniega, and Lizette Pierluissi.
Junior Cheerleaders were Deana Flores and Laura Rangel, and the Sophomore Cheerleaders were Maricela Alonzo and Lety Miranda. An observation to make was that Irma Hinojosa was voted as the Head Cheerleader but when the year started, to our surprise, she decided to drop out thus Linda Henry assumed her position.
Mustang Mascot: Shawn Young (The school's first ever mascot)
Senior Golden Spur Staff: Marta Pena, Diana Vargas, Lizzette Pierluissi, Adriana Romo, Laura Castellano, and Aurora Luna.
Senior Brass Buttons: President Bede Leyendecker, Celia Ramirez, Ninfa de la Garza, Zulema Gonzalez, Martha Bruni, Clara Garcia, Brenda Chandarlis, Linda Chandarlis, Irma Benavides, Geraldine Gonzalez, Maria Elena Galindo, Emilie Dodier, Alma Leal, and Brunilda Ponce.
Maria Elena Galindo was elected Homecoming Queen for the Class of 1978. Her court consisted of Letti Zuniga, Linda Henry, Dora Chapa and Barbara Arciniega.
Linda Henry was elected as Football Sweetheart. Her court consisted of Kelly Contreras, Barbara Arciniega, Mary Margaret Melendez, and Marta Pena.
Senior Favorites:
Most Popular: Letti Zuniga and Memo Martinez
Most Likely to Succeed: Carlos Lopez and Elsa Castro
Most School Spirited: Randy Whittaker and Ana Laura Lopez
Most Athletic: Brenda Virjan and Mike Luna
Most Studious: Danny Sanchez and Celeste Jackson
Most Handsome: Kenny Hickle
Most Beautiful: Melissa Barrera and Linda Henry
Best All Around: Ana Laura Lopez and Memo Martinez
Friendliest: Ninfa de La Garza, Maria Villarreal, and Gilbert Barrera
Band Sweeteart: Ana Laura Lopez
Sports Queen: Nelda Trevino
Most Courteous: Bede Leyendecker and Lazaro Ferdin
Wittiest: Isabel Shaver and Zeke Rodriguez
1st Runner up in Miss Laredo Pageant: Angie Zuniga
Senior Class Officers – Class of 1978
President – Memo Martinez
Vice President – Carlos Lopez
Treasurer – Alisa Garcia
Secretary – Maria Elena Galindo
Sgt. At Arms – Geraldine Gonzalez
Reporter – Letty Martinez
Historian – Belinda Trevino
Parliamentarian – Elena Mendez
Prom King and Queen: Kenny Hickle and Letti Zuniga
Valedictorian: Elsa Castro
Top 50 Hits in 1978
1. Shadow Dancing, Andy Gibb2. Night Fever, Bee Gees3. You Light Up My Life, Debby Boone4. Stayin' Alive, Bee Gees5. Kiss You All Over, Exile6. How Deep Is Your Love, Bee Gees7. Baby Come Back, Player8. (Love Is) Thicker Than Water, Andy Gibb9. Boogie Oogie Oogie, A Taste Of Honey10. Three Times A Lady, Commodores11. Grease, Frankie Valli12. I Go Crazy, Paul Davis13. You're The One That I Want, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John 14. Emotion, Samantha Sang15. Lay Down Sally, Eric Clapton16. Miss You, Rolling Stones17. Just The Way You Are, Billy Joel18. With A Little Luck, Wings19. If I Can't Have You, Yvonne Elliman20. Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah), Chic21. Feels So Good, Chuck Mangione22. Hot Child In The City, Nick Gilder23. Love Is Like Oxygen, Sweet24. It's A Heartache, Bonnie Tyler25. We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You, Queen26. Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty27. Can't Smile Without You, Barry Manilow28. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams 29. Dance With Me, Peter Brown30. Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad, Meat Loaf31. Jack And Jill, Raydio32. Take A Chance On Me, Abba33. Sometimes When We Touch, Dan Hill34. Last Dance, Donna Summer35. Hopelessly Devoted To You, Olivia Newton-John36. Hot Blooded, Foreigner37. You're In My Heart, Rod Stewart38. The Closer I Get To You, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway39. Dust In The Wind, Kansas40. Magnet And Steel, Walter Egan41. Short People, Randy Newman42. Use Ta Be My Girl, O'Jays43. Our Love, Natalie Cole44. Love Will Find A Way, Pablo Cruise45. An Everlasting Love, Andy Gibb46. Love Is In The Air, John Paul Young47. Goodbye Girl, David Gates48. Slip Slidin' Away, Paul Simon49. The Groove Line, Heatwave50. Thunder Island, Jay Ferguson
Top TV Shows in 1978
1. Laverne & Shirley
2. Three’s Company
3. Mork and Mindy
4. Happy Days
5. The Ropers
6. What’s Happening
7. Alice
8. MASH
9. All in the Family
10.Taxi
11. 60 Minutes
12. Charlie’s Angels
13. Angie
14. Alice
15. WKRP in Cincinnati
16. Soap
17. Eight is Enough
18. Barney Miller
The year began with a pleasant surprise as we celebrated our first pep rally and proudly scripted on the gym's center wall was our school's alma mater:
"To thee our Alma Mater, dear old Nixon High, your sacred walls of knowledge, we will glorify As one our hearts aspire to reach a common goal, all hail our Alma Mater; forever green and gold!"
Class 0f '78
We would always be remembered in our school's history by dedicating this special tribute.
The football team that year was led by Seniors Kenny Hickle, Eddie Aguero, Benito Casares, Randy Falk, Lazaro Ferdin, Gilbert Navarro, Alonzo Ramirez, George Rodriguez, Joe Rodriguez, Mario Sanchez, and Lance Villarreal. The head coach was John Reese. The season ended with a disappointing 3-6-1 record. We also lost to our rival Martin by an embarrassing score of 27-0. Our class never saw Nixon defeat Martin in football in the four years we were there, and we always thought that ours would be the year this would happen.
Our basketball team saved the year by winning the district championship, something the school had never done before. A new spirit of accomplishment overtook us all, and now we understood why our class was so great. Led by head coach Jim Harris the Mustangs captured the District 29-AAAA Co-Championship by defeating our rival school Martin by the score of 74-67 for a Bi-District title! The seniors were Felipe Parra, Juan Puente, Tony Escamilla, and Tony Colunga.
Then came the 60 Minutes story. I believe it was Mike Wallace who traveled to Laredo to do a report on how a poor town like Laredo held an extravagant George Washington Birthday celebration, featuring a mostly Hispanic cast of characters. What many people don’t know is that although Laredo is considered one of the poorest cities in the country, it has a significant amount of wealthy families. The class of ’78 had several students who were members of this wealthy circle.
One of the highlights of the Washington Birthday celebration is the night when George and Martha Washington formally present the debutantes into society. Different wealthy men and women from Laredo’s elite represent George and Martha each year. Traditionally the debutantes are the daughters of the members of the Martha Washington Society and are in their senior year in high school. Most of the debutantes in the 1978 Washington celebration were from Nixon’s Class of ’78. They were: Rosa de Llano, Letti Zuniga, Nora Montemayor, Roberta Rodriguez, Nina Neel, Lamar Leyendecker, Nelda Trevino, Celeste Jackson, Letitia Barfield, Emilie Dodier, Margaret “Bubba” Jones, Shawn Young, and Melissa Barrera. In the 60 Minutes story on CBS, Melissa was prominently featured curtseying and thus one of our most beautiful girls was seen nationwide. This event demonstrated how unique and prominent our school and our class truly were.
The Mustang Cheerleaders were Head Cheerleader Linda Henry, and Seniors Mary Margaret Melendez, Cindy Lira, Barbara Arciniega, and Lizette Pierluissi.
Junior Cheerleaders were Deana Flores and Laura Rangel, and the Sophomore Cheerleaders were Maricela Alonzo and Lety Miranda. An observation to make was that Irma Hinojosa was voted as the Head Cheerleader but when the year started, to our surprise, she decided to drop out thus Linda Henry assumed her position.
Mustang Mascot: Shawn Young (The school's first ever mascot)
Senior Golden Spur Staff: Marta Pena, Diana Vargas, Lizzette Pierluissi, Adriana Romo, Laura Castellano, and Aurora Luna.
Senior Brass Buttons: President Bede Leyendecker, Celia Ramirez, Ninfa de la Garza, Zulema Gonzalez, Martha Bruni, Clara Garcia, Brenda Chandarlis, Linda Chandarlis, Irma Benavides, Geraldine Gonzalez, Maria Elena Galindo, Emilie Dodier, Alma Leal, and Brunilda Ponce.
Maria Elena Galindo was elected Homecoming Queen for the Class of 1978. Her court consisted of Letti Zuniga, Linda Henry, Dora Chapa and Barbara Arciniega.
Linda Henry was elected as Football Sweetheart. Her court consisted of Kelly Contreras, Barbara Arciniega, Mary Margaret Melendez, and Marta Pena.
Senior Favorites:
Most Popular: Letti Zuniga and Memo Martinez
Most Likely to Succeed: Carlos Lopez and Elsa Castro
Most School Spirited: Randy Whittaker and Ana Laura Lopez
Most Athletic: Brenda Virjan and Mike Luna
Most Studious: Danny Sanchez and Celeste Jackson
Most Handsome: Kenny Hickle
Most Beautiful: Melissa Barrera and Linda Henry
Best All Around: Ana Laura Lopez and Memo Martinez
Friendliest: Ninfa de La Garza, Maria Villarreal, and Gilbert Barrera
Band Sweeteart: Ana Laura Lopez
Sports Queen: Nelda Trevino
Most Courteous: Bede Leyendecker and Lazaro Ferdin
Wittiest: Isabel Shaver and Zeke Rodriguez
1st Runner up in Miss Laredo Pageant: Angie Zuniga
Senior Class Officers – Class of 1978
President – Memo Martinez
Vice President – Carlos Lopez
Treasurer – Alisa Garcia
Secretary – Maria Elena Galindo
Sgt. At Arms – Geraldine Gonzalez
Reporter – Letty Martinez
Historian – Belinda Trevino
Parliamentarian – Elena Mendez
Prom King and Queen: Kenny Hickle and Letti Zuniga
Valedictorian: Elsa Castro
Top 50 Hits in 1978
1. Shadow Dancing, Andy Gibb2. Night Fever, Bee Gees3. You Light Up My Life, Debby Boone4. Stayin' Alive, Bee Gees5. Kiss You All Over, Exile6. How Deep Is Your Love, Bee Gees7. Baby Come Back, Player8. (Love Is) Thicker Than Water, Andy Gibb9. Boogie Oogie Oogie, A Taste Of Honey10. Three Times A Lady, Commodores11. Grease, Frankie Valli12. I Go Crazy, Paul Davis13. You're The One That I Want, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John 14. Emotion, Samantha Sang15. Lay Down Sally, Eric Clapton16. Miss You, Rolling Stones17. Just The Way You Are, Billy Joel18. With A Little Luck, Wings19. If I Can't Have You, Yvonne Elliman20. Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah), Chic21. Feels So Good, Chuck Mangione22. Hot Child In The City, Nick Gilder23. Love Is Like Oxygen, Sweet24. It's A Heartache, Bonnie Tyler25. We Are The Champions/We Will Rock You, Queen26. Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty27. Can't Smile Without You, Barry Manilow28. Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams 29. Dance With Me, Peter Brown30. Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad, Meat Loaf31. Jack And Jill, Raydio32. Take A Chance On Me, Abba33. Sometimes When We Touch, Dan Hill34. Last Dance, Donna Summer35. Hopelessly Devoted To You, Olivia Newton-John36. Hot Blooded, Foreigner37. You're In My Heart, Rod Stewart38. The Closer I Get To You, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway39. Dust In The Wind, Kansas40. Magnet And Steel, Walter Egan41. Short People, Randy Newman42. Use Ta Be My Girl, O'Jays43. Our Love, Natalie Cole44. Love Will Find A Way, Pablo Cruise45. An Everlasting Love, Andy Gibb46. Love Is In The Air, John Paul Young47. Goodbye Girl, David Gates48. Slip Slidin' Away, Paul Simon49. The Groove Line, Heatwave50. Thunder Island, Jay Ferguson
Top TV Shows in 1978
1. Laverne & Shirley
2. Three’s Company
3. Mork and Mindy
4. Happy Days
5. The Ropers
6. What’s Happening
7. Alice
8. MASH
9. All in the Family
10.Taxi
11. 60 Minutes
12. Charlie’s Angels
13. Angie
14. Alice
15. WKRP in Cincinnati
16. Soap
17. Eight is Enough
18. Barney Miller
6 comments:
Who is the author of this article and what's your email address?
I am Nixon Mustang 78 and my email is: nixonmustang78@gmail.com
One name left out on the basketball team - Armando Martinez #21.
I was a junior that year! An the mustang band was on its rebuilding year, but But thanks for the memories,mustang pride! Class of 79!
The Alma Mater was composed by Ed Bueno. He was assistant principal at the J.W. Nixon Annex in 1978.
Where Felipe Parra living now?
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