As spring begins to bloom here in Dallastown, we welcome the festivities, old and new, that come along with it. From dances to a fun little pageant, over the years we’ve welcomed new events and said goodbye to old favorites.

Hello Spring Day

Student Council plans many events for all to enjoy throughout the year, but one event in particular is traditionally used to kick off our spring.

Hello Spring Day is a half day event that was introduced by student council in 2023, after the annual Welcome to Winter Day was canceled during winter break. 

The event was such a hit that it became an annual event dedicated to students connecting with one another outside of classes and sometimes outdoors.

According to student council adviser, Mrs. Maddie Huyett, the group has tried various events and activities to keep students entertained and involved.

“We tried escape rooms, various puzzles, and even a petting zoo. Going outside during the Homeroom Rotation has been something that all students have seemed to enjoy,” Huyett said.

This year’s Hello Spring Day consisted of a performance by student council where students could win games and prizes, outdoor time in the stadium with an easter egg hunt and outdoor games, and food available for purchase in the cafeteria.

“I love getting to have a fun day with my friends, even if it’s spent working. All of us working together whether it’s at the assembly, or handing out food, is always a blast. This year was especially fun; Genevieve Ohm and I would play music through the microphone while selling food to get kids excited. Although I think we were the only ones having fun,” Student Council President, Sophia Long said.

The money that is received throughout the day goes toward funds for the student council to use to benefit the whole student body.

Like any event, the planning takes time and caution to ensure the day goes according to schedule.

“We start to come up with ideas and work through them with committees in January. Committees meet and continue the planning as needed up until the week of the event,” Huyett said

Though Hello Spring Day is a fairly new tradition here at Dallastown, students look forward to all of the fun festivities the day has to offer for the future.

Senior Citizen Day

Though it is fun to take a look at newer traditions and their impact on the school, it’s nice to take a moment and look back on older traditions that unite the community as a whole.

For the past 41 years, Dallastown has opened their doors every spring to the senior citizens living within our community.

In January, the student council sends out newsletters to seniors, inviting them to tour Dallastown High School for the day. After that, the careful planning begins as they begin to map out what the day will look like.

The day starts off with breakfast in the cafeteria during first period before the seniors are escorted by student council members to a class for them to observe for period 2. 

Whether they are escorted to a business class or a video production class, all seniors are welcomed to participate and share any guidance or memories they have to offer.

Touring the school always gives the seniors who are alumni a chance to relive precious moments from their youth.

“This past year a couple asked to see the library, and as we took them there the husband told us about how the library is where he saw his wife for the first time.  He told his best friend he would marry her one day, and after many rejections, she finally agreed to go out with him. They have now been married for 50+ years, it was such a beautiful story, ” Long said.

After period 2 it’s back to the cafeteria to enjoy a nice lunch before previewing the spring musical for that school year. This year, the citizens got to attend the viewing of “Footloose!”

Watching the musical is a moment that Dallastown alumni who may have been a part of the musical or class play can reflect on their time in the spotlight.

Senior Citizen Day is a touching way to open up to the community and welcome back former students and citizens that have paved the way for Dallastown to become the school that it is.

“I hope they see all the amazing things happening at Dallastown while I hope our students also get from them an idea of what school used to be like,” Huyett said.

Mr.DHS

Many Spring traditions like Senior Citizens Day have had a long run, but traditions like Mr. DHS have had a shorter history. One of the most recent traditions we have had to say goodbye to, is the beloved Mr. DHS pageant.

In 2011, student council students, Alex Snell and Terri Schaffer, came together to think of the perfect fundraiser to help support the senior class, a pageant for boys.

This pageant meant business for the participants, it involved some serious planning and preparation to get the boys stage ready.

“We would practice two times a week for about a month and then have a run through. There was lots of editing of scripts and making sure students were ready to go,” Huyett said. 

On the night of the event, the boys opened up with a group dance, and were judged   off of various things such as talent, personal interview, formal wear, and the group dance.

The judges panel was made up by different Dallastown teachers each year including some current favorites such as Molly Dallmeyer and Adam Trone

The talent portion always had such a range of performances. Over the years guests were witnesses of various acts such as hula hooping, weightlifting, singing, dancing, and even someone chugging a whole gallon of milk!

“One of my favorite memories was seeing the student council members be leaders and work with the senior boys on the event. They had fun and enjoyed the silliness that came along with the event, and it was always fun being able to see kids be kids” Huyett said.

But unfortunately, tragedy struck during COVID, as the annual Mr.DHS pageant had to come to a halt and be reconstructed to ensure everyone’s safety.

For the 2021-2022 pageant, the 6 contestants were still able to compete, but the only difference was there was no live audience.

The pageant was pre-recorded, and viewers could watch from the comfort and safety of their own home.

This was the last time the pageant was put on here at Dallastown. In the 2022-2023 school year, there was a lack of interest and volunteers, so sadly we had to say goodbye.

Though it came to an end, students and staff still hold out hope for its potential to come back.

“I think that if it was redesigned and additional ideas were explored, that the idea of Mr. DHS could make a comeback,” Huyett said.

Coffee house & Talent show

If there’s one thing students enjoyed, it was certainly performing. Around 2016, Student council and the Dallastown performing arts club (DPAC), came together to introduce the beloved, yet short lived, coffee house.

Coffee house was a night used to welcome the community into the school to sit back, relax, and enjoy various acts such as singing, poetry, music, trivia, and even kazooing!

Student council and DPAC sold items such as coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and baked goods to help build funds, but ultimately it was advertised as a little-no cost event.

“I remember attending Coffee House and enjoying classmates using their talents that I might not have otherwise seen” Dallastown alumni, Mackenzie Rice CO 2017, shared.

Though Coffee house continued to see a good turnout amongst viewers and performers up until its end, but as the cost of putting on the show began to become more expensive, it was hard to continue to put it on.

“After the coffee house ended, there was a little bit of a hole, so we didn’t have a place for people to perform their songs and poetry,” Dallastown teacher and DPAC advisor, Bethany Yuninger, said.

But fear not, talented students were not left with nowhere to perform for long. Many performers found a place for their talents to be viewed at DPAC’s annual Talent show.

The talent show is an annual event, similar to a coffee house, where students can perform their talents for a live audience and panel of judges. 

The talent show has seen a variety of acts over the years such as, Just Dance, singing, comedy, and even a hot wing eating contest. 

Though Dallastown was sad to see the coffee house go, students that have a gift to share, are highly encouraged to enter into the talent show.

Prom & MORP

When taking a look back at Dallastown’s history of annual traditions, Prom is one of the longest standing events that hasn’t seemed to lose its popularity, even though the money changes its face throughout the years.

Dallastown put on its first Prom dance in the 1930s as the dance was beginning to spread throughout the country.

Even through the building of the new high school building, Dallastown hosted the prom at the school for over 50 years until 1986 when students started to ride coach buses down to the Lady Baltimore in the inner harbor to dance the night away.

Since then, as the class sizes began to grow, Prom has been held at four other locations before finding its current home at Wisehaven event center.

Each class raises money throughout high school in order to fund Prom.

The location and theme of the dance isn’t the only thing that has changed. The fashion, arguably the most important part of the night, has seen many trends over time.

 “In the late 70s early 80s the dresses were long, fairly conservative, necklines or even high neck with lace, puffed sleeves or sleeveless, pastel colors or deep blues,” graduate Laura Stabley Smith said.

The fashion for girls has surely seen major changes from full skirts, simple silhouettes, pastel colors, shoulder pads, glitter, etc.

Though it may appear as men’s attire for the dance hasn’t changed as much, that is surely not the case.

Over time, three-piece suits, tuxedos, sports coats, ties, bowties, vibrant, and classic colors have come in and out of fashion.

Though many years have passed, the ritual of prom-posals, attire shopping, pictures, and dancing into the nigh has not changed much. But there once was a time when the party wasn’t over after the dance had ended.

For years, after graduation there used to be a party that was thrown to celebrate the graduating class, but as time went on that party eventually shifted to becoming an after-Prom party.

The party was hosted at the school and was chaperoned by adult volunteers who helped the night run smoothly.

During the party students could eat, dance, play games and hang out with friends. Some years had performances including hypnotists. For many years, there were opportunities for students to win prizes like supplies for dorm rooms, and even a car!

While Prom is only for the senior class to attend, Juniors once had their time to shine at what Dallastown titled, the MORP dance.

MORP which is PROM spelled backwards, was inspired by the Sadie Hawkins dance.

The whole premise of the event is simply that that traditional gender role of guys asking girls to the dance was reversed. Other than that, it was a regular dance, designed for students to dress up and have fun.

“I graduated in 1993, and I remember MORP. It was our answer to a Sadie Hawkins dance. The girls were to ask guys to the dance and go to dinner. My date and I ate at Alberto’s before the dance” Dallastown alumni, Heb Ness said.

The MORP dance had been a strong tradition here at Dallastown for many years, before ultimately coming to an end in the early 2000s.

These are only just a small piece of spring traditions that are still celebrated or have passed through in our school’s history. There are so many other events that could be honored such as Junior class plays, activity day, and even additional spring dances.

Though it can be bittersweet to see such beloved traditions go, we are excited to make new traditions for future Dallastown alumni to one day reflect on.