FLASHBACK: NHS celebrates 50 years

Gearing up for this week's Niwot High School 50 year celebration, we present a FLASHBACK from 1972:

• Kids in Niwot were playing the first video game, PONG and hacky sack.

• The cost of goods was low but there was a recession on the horizon. If you were shopping in July 1972, you probably would have been pleased with prices overall. A 5-pound cantaloupe cost the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $3.86. A rib-eye steak was $2.49 a pound, the equivalent of $17.50 a pound today.

• Peter Max sneakers $4.44

• Gasoline $0.36/gallon

• Bread $1.71

• Folks could buy a movie ticket for $1.71. The Godfather, The Getaway, What's Up Doc and The Poseidon Adventure were the highest grossing films in 1972.

• Fashion of the day included bell bottoms, cowl neck sweaters, plaids, denim, western wear, and long pointed collars, and parents were dressing siblings in matching outfits.

• The Billboard Top 10 hits of the year included, American Pie, Brand New Key, A Horse with No Name, The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face, Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), Alone Again (Naturally), Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me, I Can See Clearly Now, Papa Was a Rollin' Stone and Song Sung Blue.

• There were only a few TV channels. The most popular shows were All in the Family (CBS), Sanford and Son (NBC), Hawaii Five-O (CBS), Maude (CBS), The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS), Gunsmoke (CBS), Ironside (NBC), and Adam-12 (NBC). Home Box Office was launched by Time Warner.

• The two most popular books were Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach and Watership Down by Richard Adams.

• Popular celebrities included Adrienne Barbeau, Dyan Cannon, Lynda Carter, Pam Grier, Peggy Lipton, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley.

• Time Magazine named Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger Men of the Year.

• In early 1972, the Volkswagen Beetle (number 15,007,034) came off the assembly line, breaking the record for the best-selling car in the world, which was previously held by the Ford Model T, produced for over four decades.

Other notable events in 1972:

• M*A*S*H premiered on CBS.

• McDonald's Egg McMuffin debuted.

• Nolan Bushnell founded Atari with an investment of $250.

• Intel invented the single-chip microprocessor.

• The Watergate break-in scandal was exposed.

• Doritos debuted nacho cheese flavor.

• Chrysler brought electronic ignition to automobiles.

• Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg introduced her knit jersey dress style.

• Clothes had a lot less static cling in 1972, thanks to the introduction of Bounce dryer sheets.

Notable Ads:

• "Hey, Mikey! He likes it!" – Life cereal ad

• "A mind is a terrible thing to waste" - United Negro College Fund

• "Nothing runs like a Deere" – John Deere

• "Nobody does it like Sara Lee" – Sara Lee

Notable in sports:

• The U.S. Men's Basketball team was 63-0 in Olympic History going into the finals of the 1972 Munich Olympic finals. The U.S. lost, by one point, to the Soviet team in one of the most controversial events in Olympic history. The U.S. team never accepted their silver medals in protest.

• Mark Spitz, a nine-time Olympic champion, jokingly told the Russian swim team coach in 1972 that his mustache increased his speed in the water, deflecting water away from his mouth. The next year, every Russian swimmer was sporting one.

• The Dallas Cowboys hired the NFL's first professional cheerleading squad in 1972.

• The cost of a Superbowl ad was $86,000.

• Sandy Koufax was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, the youngest player ever elected, at age 36.

• The 'Battle of the Sexes' was over once and for all when Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in three straight tennis sets.

UPDATED SCHEDULE - Friday Sept. 9

• 3 p.m. Parade from Niwot High School through Morton Heights, down Niwot Road, ending at 2nd Avenue and Murray Streets in downtown Niwot

• 4 p.m. Open House/Tours of NHS - Every 15 minutes guided by NHS students

• 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. 70's music at Niwot High School

• 4 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Barbecue and Reception at the main school entrance

-$2.00 for burger/hot dog, chips and drink

• 5 p.m. - Gates open. Additional overflow parking will be available within walking distance at Rocky Mountain Christian Church. Please don't park in the neighborhoods surrounding Niwot High.

• 7 p.m. Homecoming Football Game vs. Skyview - BRING SOMETHING TO SIT ON!!!

• 1974, 1975 and 1976 classes will be recognized between the 1st and 2nd quarters

• 9 p.m. - 11 p.m. Street Party in Niwot

• Saturday Sept. 10 - Get Together for Classes '74, '75, '76 at Wibby Brewery in Longmont from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Please make sure to check-in at the ALUMNI table and get your Alumni pin for admission to the game!