Elaine Garcia by Ruby Kassala
Elaine Garcia (Johnson) (1971-1975)
Elaine Garcia was a student attending Cascade High School in the early seventies. She was part of the Bruinettes- a spirited marching team- and competed with other marching teams outside the district. She was the middle child of three children- one older sister and one younger brother. She graduated in the year 1975 and worked at the Boeing Company and a bank after high school before settling as a secretary at Cascade. She has lived in Washington all her life and still lives here with her husband, a veteran from the Vietnam War, and her twenty-six and twenty-three year old daughters.
The school rules at Cascade have basically stayed the same, but I feel like it’s different with the new generation. When I went to school, they offered more classes like wood shop and art; classes that would put kids in a more mainstream society, which is why I don’t know how many kids took advantage of the study hall classes. The courses we took weren’t really aimed towards working for a college degree, but college was still very important. However, it wasn’t as emphasized as it is today. Back then it was much easier to get a job even if you didn’t have a college degree.
I remember that some students who were older than would get drafted into the Vietnam War after high school when they enlisted. My husband, who was older than me by a few years, was sent there. Drafting was when you were forced to go in and join the army, but I knew a couple of people that joined the air force or the navy because they did not want to get sent into the army type thing. Some of them just didn’t enlist, and only males were drafted then. Girls weren’t allowed to go, and you had to be eighteen years old to sign up.
Because of the Vietnam War, our taxes went to support the military over there, so the economy was pretty bad. The gas prices went up. We were given certain days where we could get gas. For example, if your license number was an even number, you could only get it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If your number was odd, then you could only get it on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If there was a red flag up on a gas station, they were open and able to sell you gas. I remember when I was living in Marysville at the time and I had to drive to Cascade, I would cross my fingers and pray to make it to school before my gas ran out. I can say however that the gas prices weren’t nearly as expensive as they are today. We paid a buck a gallon.
Driving was the main form of transportation then, like it is now. Kids would drive their cars to school, to work, and to go to school events like basketball games. A lot of the social activities offered at Cascade included sports and clubs like gymnastics, tack, ski club, boys club, and girls club. There was also basketball for girls, but it wasn’t like basketball for boys. It was recognized by the WIAA. The girls didn’t compete, but it was still competitive. There were other things too, like school dances, where everyone would get dressed up, but they didn’t get limousines and all of that kind of stuff. The guys would wear a shirt and a tie, and the girls would wear dresses. When we went out to dinner, we would go out for pizza.
The students at Cascade then were mainly a white population. There weren’t a lot of different ethnicities and cultures like there is today. We did not have the Ukrainian population, or the Asian population, or even the Hispanic population. Not even in my community. It was pretty rare to see someone of a different culture when I was growing up. But as the generations passed more and more races began attending Cascade, and now we have this big multi-cultural community.
Elaine Garcia was a student attending Cascade High School in the early seventies. She was part of the Bruinettes- a spirited marching team- and competed with other marching teams outside the district. She was the middle child of three children- one older sister and one younger brother. She graduated in the year 1975 and worked at the Boeing Company and a bank after high school before settling as a secretary at Cascade. She has lived in Washington all her life and still lives here with her husband, a veteran from the Vietnam War, and her twenty-six and twenty-three year old daughters.
The school rules at Cascade have basically stayed the same, but I feel like it’s different with the new generation. When I went to school, they offered more classes like wood shop and art; classes that would put kids in a more mainstream society, which is why I don’t know how many kids took advantage of the study hall classes. The courses we took weren’t really aimed towards working for a college degree, but college was still very important. However, it wasn’t as emphasized as it is today. Back then it was much easier to get a job even if you didn’t have a college degree.
I remember that some students who were older than would get drafted into the Vietnam War after high school when they enlisted. My husband, who was older than me by a few years, was sent there. Drafting was when you were forced to go in and join the army, but I knew a couple of people that joined the air force or the navy because they did not want to get sent into the army type thing. Some of them just didn’t enlist, and only males were drafted then. Girls weren’t allowed to go, and you had to be eighteen years old to sign up.
Because of the Vietnam War, our taxes went to support the military over there, so the economy was pretty bad. The gas prices went up. We were given certain days where we could get gas. For example, if your license number was an even number, you could only get it on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If your number was odd, then you could only get it on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. If there was a red flag up on a gas station, they were open and able to sell you gas. I remember when I was living in Marysville at the time and I had to drive to Cascade, I would cross my fingers and pray to make it to school before my gas ran out. I can say however that the gas prices weren’t nearly as expensive as they are today. We paid a buck a gallon.
Driving was the main form of transportation then, like it is now. Kids would drive their cars to school, to work, and to go to school events like basketball games. A lot of the social activities offered at Cascade included sports and clubs like gymnastics, tack, ski club, boys club, and girls club. There was also basketball for girls, but it wasn’t like basketball for boys. It was recognized by the WIAA. The girls didn’t compete, but it was still competitive. There were other things too, like school dances, where everyone would get dressed up, but they didn’t get limousines and all of that kind of stuff. The guys would wear a shirt and a tie, and the girls would wear dresses. When we went out to dinner, we would go out for pizza.
The students at Cascade then were mainly a white population. There weren’t a lot of different ethnicities and cultures like there is today. We did not have the Ukrainian population, or the Asian population, or even the Hispanic population. Not even in my community. It was pretty rare to see someone of a different culture when I was growing up. But as the generations passed more and more races began attending Cascade, and now we have this big multi-cultural community.
Elaine Garcia
Elaine Garcia (Johnson)
Class of 1975
Elaine Johnson lived in two separate households growing up and started school in the Everett School District. Once old enough, she moved to Marysville with friends as a reaction to her mother moving to Colorado. While attending Cascade her transportation was either bus or driving to school when she had the chance. During her high school years she was not only a student but worked at a local restaurant as a bus girl and eventually was promoted to cashier. Elaine spent most of her free time spending quality time with her siblings, which included three brothers and one sister. She also went to see movies with friends in downtown Everett at the Roxy Theater. After high school, Elaine Johnson decided to continue her studies and attended Everett Community College for one year until she could no longer afford it. After that she began working at a bank and continued to work there for 10 years. At the age of 27 Ms. Johnson got married and is now known as Mrs. Garcia; she also has two daughters. She decided to start job hunting again and was an employee at Boeing for several years, but quit her job at in order to be a stay-at-home mom. Shortly thereafter she was hired at Cedarwood Elementrary as a playground duty. Then in 1994, after working at Cedarwood, she got a job at Cascade High School and only worked for four hours per day. After those very short shifts she became the Athletic Secretary in 1996 and has been working at Cascade ever since.
It was a high school life; fun and interesting and friendly. It was just a good time in the seventies. The sports were different – back in the seventies there wasn’t a title nine until seventy three. [A title nine is] equal opportunity for girls sports and boys sports. We had girls’ sports but they weren’t recognized by the league. We didn’t have league competitions until seventy three when we became recognized as girls’ sports. Basketball was recognized. We had gymnastics and softball didn’t have a team until seventy five but other than that it was it was fun. Everybody went to the basketball games; it was always packed. Football games were packed too. Gymnastics was a really big thing back in those days and the gyms were full. It was a fun time. In terms of world events, there was the Vietnam War. Also, there was the Water Gate scandal, with Nixon resigning, and Patty Hearst was kidnapped. The speed limit went down from seventy five to fifty five on the freeways. The world events also played a role in my life; you were really aware of what was going on in the world. Stuff like that [the Vietnam War] was really talked about on television and such and it was often very sad. It ended in seventy four, if I remember correctly. That was very joyous and a lot of relatives came home. Other differences [between then and now] were that kids were really involved. They went to all the games. We really looked forward to Friday nights. There was a dance every Friday after a home game and everybody went; it was just a different atmosphere. It wasn’t as scary I guess. Parents weren’t as concerned with whether their kids were going to school or not. You didn’t hear about it [kids dropping out] on the news at all. Also, there was a lot more participation in school events and there were a lot more clubs. There were woodshop classes and there were more elective classes than today, and they were very fun. Nothing today really compares with what we used to have except for Sno Isle.
Class of 1975
Elaine Johnson lived in two separate households growing up and started school in the Everett School District. Once old enough, she moved to Marysville with friends as a reaction to her mother moving to Colorado. While attending Cascade her transportation was either bus or driving to school when she had the chance. During her high school years she was not only a student but worked at a local restaurant as a bus girl and eventually was promoted to cashier. Elaine spent most of her free time spending quality time with her siblings, which included three brothers and one sister. She also went to see movies with friends in downtown Everett at the Roxy Theater. After high school, Elaine Johnson decided to continue her studies and attended Everett Community College for one year until she could no longer afford it. After that she began working at a bank and continued to work there for 10 years. At the age of 27 Ms. Johnson got married and is now known as Mrs. Garcia; she also has two daughters. She decided to start job hunting again and was an employee at Boeing for several years, but quit her job at in order to be a stay-at-home mom. Shortly thereafter she was hired at Cedarwood Elementrary as a playground duty. Then in 1994, after working at Cedarwood, she got a job at Cascade High School and only worked for four hours per day. After those very short shifts she became the Athletic Secretary in 1996 and has been working at Cascade ever since.
It was a high school life; fun and interesting and friendly. It was just a good time in the seventies. The sports were different – back in the seventies there wasn’t a title nine until seventy three. [A title nine is] equal opportunity for girls sports and boys sports. We had girls’ sports but they weren’t recognized by the league. We didn’t have league competitions until seventy three when we became recognized as girls’ sports. Basketball was recognized. We had gymnastics and softball didn’t have a team until seventy five but other than that it was it was fun. Everybody went to the basketball games; it was always packed. Football games were packed too. Gymnastics was a really big thing back in those days and the gyms were full. It was a fun time. In terms of world events, there was the Vietnam War. Also, there was the Water Gate scandal, with Nixon resigning, and Patty Hearst was kidnapped. The speed limit went down from seventy five to fifty five on the freeways. The world events also played a role in my life; you were really aware of what was going on in the world. Stuff like that [the Vietnam War] was really talked about on television and such and it was often very sad. It ended in seventy four, if I remember correctly. That was very joyous and a lot of relatives came home. Other differences [between then and now] were that kids were really involved. They went to all the games. We really looked forward to Friday nights. There was a dance every Friday after a home game and everybody went; it was just a different atmosphere. It wasn’t as scary I guess. Parents weren’t as concerned with whether their kids were going to school or not. You didn’t hear about it [kids dropping out] on the news at all. Also, there was a lot more participation in school events and there were a lot more clubs. There were woodshop classes and there were more elective classes than today, and they were very fun. Nothing today really compares with what we used to have except for Sno Isle.