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Show Page 4 AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN y r I) CLASSROOMS AND EDUCATORS aking memories mericanette tradition M an A Joyce Gunther . - , "I am an Americanette now and forever..." So begins and ends the pledge taken by new members initiated into the American Fork cutting-edge group of precision marchers in the 1960s organized and run by Kay Bond. The Americanettes America-nettes marching team, unaffiliated with the school system, consisted of high-school-age girls who practiced at 6:30 a.m. every weekday of each summer from 1962 through 1967 in a local chapel parking lot, preparing for performances. II I he ( tilting edge ut (lull If, ill) sl lev I'.nn'i .-m)lii ! in II' iV.ll IVC ( II"! CI g! .( illV lu the Allien .iiifiii-s s,ud I md.i Ii' Mi. 'I I'11 nils 'ii II illim 1 l.ipman lese.iK h stvles ' ill logl the! lllto i d.ini i- si vie i li.m di ill i- iim (I lo im k then, i ' mum 'ii. lull it wasn't 'A'I'lr '!' ill i it " s;ml K r. w ts h. !' ii i- her K.n . i. I . II. 1 1! I ' I ;,H I il i-i'lW ' d K.IY si. II T - J the 1 1 -.1,. -.ml h nut 1 1 ill the . .'. .i w c (Id .'. .is I ' iip I I rdi Muni;- iinw I ihink K k.i'i been in ' .illl'il III. i w lien 1 1 lie IH'W s! yle) ' ii 'i-d .mil kiii1'.' w h.il she ' i 'I' ui;g w hen iii' 'si it'ii)le ii . .ii im h.iiln I i .'.ilk' gotten :. :. -.Vr h.i'l tlH- .ivetles i! ... I" " im Ii was mm c dt ; . . : i.irnl iii thing ;t : . i i. ' pet lui nied at i : : ' .a.' ! ii,' Hii iliilii I dd anv ; ' ;"li mat lung i I !:' llii-l Ii ahrUrsI did. :! h '''-as a lot shatpi-i , with : i and .', 1 i mill I mil ines." a.i 1 1 ii i-i'iiwiM l "It was alsd i i .i. il.mi i' v mi 'i e exact ing .i i h.illeiiging mmiIii'i tiend th.it l'.i nid ' ir'.-l '. as letting all the gills I ' dli 'Mi l ski! Is Hi it lis! the I gn Is I In- stvle a! the v di' laii-'l thai aniti ii ins hang I ,' ..h:ii- ills! am i' In illi ihi- I lout' i ; "ii w i i i i hi ! I ic shi n 1 end 1 1 1 ' 1 1 ! 1 1 ii . ' ii.il u as p eal ." said ( ii I-. ir'. ' id. In 'i ails.' i an skirt ::.r. -Ii"i t , 1 nit 1 1 t he t wile ll gi l tin tali gii Is the skirls were !' '' ii Ii i I In- knee i I ii hp 1 1 had I In- shorter skirts ''ii e el ! i, .ih . and il was ust 'In- ill1 1 1 1 i;p-and i i lining look." M nr. i ,il businesses sxn--"i"'! the gii Is. hut hind raisers M I e st ill nei ess.il v 111 i l del Id keep the pi K in tin isc llelld-set-' :iii.', 1 1 istunies. and pa tor out -"' 1 1 iw n I rips I Vi iects included i ai w ashes, spmisoi mg concert ,s and hi ilding hake s.iles "( tir special! v was the 'mud pie' no-hake no-hake ci M ikies " said ( lupin. in. We alsi i v ild kisses i me time " Hi Hid gtew up in ( alitoniia I Hi H e I w il ling 111 e hali His as a I :YI iiia' H cite, and ! hat w as a hei e she m.-t her hiish.nid Max I Iii mil She i H gunied llie Irem 1 Yei isn niettes U'. h i mi i ing lo American I oi k and shading her talents here I'.oIkI was the engine Ilia! kept I he A met I' .incites running, run-ning, in spite ill 1'i'iim a young llldllicl alid i al ! '-. ;i,g ( iult Ire!) al i Hind It 11 he! a! pi act ices K.r. l'.i Hid V- as mii l edlhle.' -alii ( ilr'HWi ii nl 1 i ! ml klV W 0 I- 1 1 I ' 1 I h i ? ft i n Star lineup: lrt to right: I'uuhi I tmec s. l'eggy ( ,onon. Susun Teuscher, ShHu Taylor. Diane Humes. Suiuk Thomas. Jeanine Jensen, Debbie Thornton, Barbara Buckley, Susan Sweat Karen Lewis Anne Holiex. cuniv Hansen. Linda 7 uvlor. Chnidiu Hall. Gloria Hall. Maxine Hunter. Linda Gordon, KathvConder, Sherry Beck, Vickie Hardman, Trudy Grace, Maria Arevle Jeanette Mc-Danid ' I )omi v ,omisoM. Linda 1 horn I mi, Where are they now? Krii'Ti iHI"1' Greenwood, wit e' D' J He Greenwood, American l-'i'k "arrn-,1 a .ltnible master's le Vi'"e in speei.h patholocjy arid dea' e.lui alion. wtirks part time in her fie'd. and is, the mother of five Joy f q;)"tl Alldredge, Alpine, has l;iuih! school many years, has five children ,md four grandchildren Rose M,irie Braithwaile Smith, Cedii' Hilts, owns Alvssi s Bridal, riiiminc it aher her dau-ititer I indM 7 .uirriter- Chip'ridn fives 3l 4 -4 1 i a; 4t " 1 I Everybody can-can: i-'ronf row: Karen Swear, AJur' Ann Miller, Susan Sweat, Anne Holev, Susan Teuscher. Cindy Hansen, Diane Humes. Second row. Bonnie Mi'( hum. Dorothy Johnson, Linda Thornton, Joy Gasser. Vicki Hunter, Karen Eggett, Teresa Matthews, Karma Anderson. Susan Bartholemew. how she had the energy to do all that with little kids." Cut do it she did. lor six summers. sum-mers. Her voice rung out with vigor at practices, demanding high-quality performances, and yelling nicknames to get them into the proper lines - the tall girls were "the gruhs." and the sin ill ones "the sluhs." Bond was tall herself , topping top-ping six feel, and had no trouble keeping up with the girls as I hey marched in parades. I ler eves followed them, though, instead of watching her own looting, which sometimes resulted in mishaps. "We'd look around, thinking. 'Where's Kay'.'- and there she'd he. climbing climb-ing out of a ditch." said Jeanette U Daniel Hunt "She was cray and really fun. like the kids, but she wouldn't let ! he girls go out and do things Ihev shouldn't do." said Hunt. 1 heir pledge also included the declaration thai "I will only do the things that will make my group, my community and my country proud ot me." Bond, adamant that the girls p 1 ,l i.ggett, hulhy Cook in Pleasant Grove with husband Sieve, and works as a dispatcher for the Pleasant Grove Police Department De-partment Debt ne Thornton Frank, Mapleton, works at ValTek (Flowserve). Jeanette McDaniol Hunt, Lindon, loves to scrapbook, and is now a secretary for Utah County Major Crimes Task Force in Provo. Joy Gassei Woods, Pleasant Grove, is an evidence technician for the American Fork Police Department. m If? Awards, trophies and marches First-place trophies earned by the Americanettes: I At least tiro years, including 1963 and 1967, Wasatch County Fair, Heber I 1964 Pleasant Grove's Strawberry Days Parade I 1966, 1967 Steel Days Parade 1967 Member Joy Eggett won individual first-place award at a Logan drill team competition Marched in: k Many community parades and rodeos, such as Steel Days, Strawberry Straw-berry Days. Onion Days, Days of '47 and Christmas parades in SLC, Provo's Panorama shows for July 4, and county fairs. Football game half-time shows, such as BYU homecoming games. Talent shows, such as Eugene Jelesnik and Ted Mack. Local beauty pageants know the rules and boundaries, constructed a five-page constitution consti-tution chock-full of guidelines and regulations, but made sure the girls enjoyed themselves and often compared them to the New York Rockettes. Carolee Bond Cook, Highland, daughter of Kay Bond, a young girl at the time, served as mascot for her mother's team. Later owned the gift shop "The Grapevine" in American Fork. Anne Holley Michaelson is a Las Vegas marriage counselor. Linda Gordon Larson, Highland, a quilter and stay-at-home mom, has five children and "almost" 10 grandchildren. Served as guild chairman of the Utah Regional Bal W vy M vj y fj vi tj In uj in Lt r sy) II I j if vi II Ilif VT TTtT,BT S;1 Tf ir 4 "V V ji' '4K "She was a kick in the pants. She made it fun and positive. 1 don't know anyone (in it) who didn't have a positive experience, experi-ence, which goes back to Mrs. Bond." said Rosemarie Braith-waite Braith-waite Smith. "She was our rah- let for many years. Gloria Hall Merrill, Salt Lake City, has served as principal of a junior high school for several years. Claudia Hall Holmstead lives in St George with her husband, Gordon. Karen Lewis Peterson, Rexburg, Idaho, loves her church callings and works in a doctor's office. She has two daughters and four sons. Cindy Hansen Carson lives in Jackson Jack-son Hole, and ran a dude ranch for V aV i- , 1 "if. S2 ' ' "'W. rah cheerleader." Bond also composed a theme song and had sweatshirts printed print-ed for the girls to inspire camaraderie cama-raderie and unity. "I wish every small town could have a youth group like it." said Smith, who. like most of them, still enjoys lasting f riendships with former members. "Some girls needed companionship compan-ionship that they wouldn't have had. otherwise." she said. "It was a positive, homemade-pie kind of experience." The girls sent Bond many flowers, gifts and thank-you notes to show their love and appreciation through the years. They once made a cake in replica rep-lica of a certificate, made out to "Kay Bond Worst est Driver in the Land." in remembrance of a time she drove the group the wrong direction down a one-way street. In a tribute letter, a group representative penned the words. "We... realize that this has been one of the most important impor-tant and rewarding experiences of our lives." many years. Diane Humes England, American Fork, likes to travel and scrapbook. Has two sons and two grandsons. Susan Teuscher Chilton, Salt Lake City, runs the Children at Risk program, pro-gram, and is working with Katrina victims. She is soon to be remarried. Donna Healy Newman Spears and her husband have a total of nine children and nine grandchildren between be-tween them. She manages a dental office in Plain City, northwest of A "'i : V-W -N Said Greenwood. "Kay knew each of the girls personally." and kept memorabilia from their lives through the years, such as wedding announcements announce-ments and pictures. ( )ne keepsake was the program from the 1966 Miss American Fork Pageant, when six of the 11 contestants were Americanettes, and fellow group members performed a snappy routine for the crowd. Denise Argyle was crowned queen that night. Bond's enthusiasm for life carried her through to the end, when at age 61. she succumbed to breast cancer. That was 10 years ago. but she will always hold a special place in the hearts of scores of women. Said Linda Gordon Larson, "We loved her. and respected her." "Kay was a fireball, a go-getter, and a great example," said Greenwood. "If everyone made that kind of contribution, this world would be a better place, with fewer problems." Courlcsv Ogden. Vicki Hunter Pedlar is a hairstylist at the prestigious Michelle and Company Com-pany in Salt Lake City Denise Argyle Wilson Jeppsen runs a preschool in American Fork, and has 21 grandchildren. Connie Rhodes Bullock, head of the chef's department at UVSC, is married mar-ried to Judge Brent Bullock. Lana Hutchings Jacobs now lives in Highland with husband Harley. 5 Vs. |
