The start of a new decade always prompts people to look back on the past years, and as Dallastown students return back to school after the holiday break, alumni and staff can’t help but remember Dallastown High School at the beginning of the decade. 

In 1998, the original Dallastown High School and Middle School building had remained unchanged since its original construction in the late 1950’s . Dallastown enrollment was rising, the school board voted to renovate and expand the building in Feb. 1998 in order to accommodate students.

Renovations to the existing building affected students attending high school from 1999-2001, just at the turn of the millenia.

During the next two school years, the school remained at active construction zone. Social Studies Teacher Mrs. Marell (Clark) Beyer was a student at Dallastown during major renovations. 

“[There was a] really sketchy, long, wooden hallway with construction lights that connected the two parts of the school,” Beyer said. Hallways were typically lined with plywood and the smell of construction was always pungent. 

Miranda (Brown) Shultz, also a DHS student during the renovation, said, “I was late to many classes because of the distance to walk and hallway congestion.”

Students weren’t the only ones affected by renovations.

Retired DHS Teacher Debra Raver even said, “I once wore a pedometer and walked four miles a day within the building!”

With classrooms typically under construction, temporary portable pods were utilized by teachers. A common complaint of the pods was the absence of restrooms, as teachers and students who had to use the restroom had to go back inside the main building- no matter the weather. 

Ms. Stefanie (Vicchiotti)  Smeltzer, learning support faculty member at DHS, was a Senior at DHS from 1999-2000. “The portable classrooms were so cold, and I hated walking outside in the rain,” said Smeltzer.

Teachers also had to adjust to not having permanent classrooms. “I taught in seven different rooms from one end of the building to the other,” said Spanish Teacher Mrs. Cherie Garrett, “I had all of my teaching paraphernalia on a cart which I pushed through the halls.” 

Because DHS teachers didn’t have permanent classrooms, “offices” were temporarily created. “There were five teachers in my first “office” which was the size of a closet,” Garrett said. 

Among the major renovations, students and faculty still had to eat lunch. And because of the renovations, lunch was held in the infamous “Gym-eteria”. 

“I think a better portion of my high school experience was eating cold lunches in what is now the gym,” said DHS Alumni Lauren Workman. Cold meals were served Monday through Thursday due to the absence of a renovated and usable kitchen, while students were offered the option to purchase Domino’s Pizza every Friday.

“I remember every Friday was Domino’s Day and you could either buy it by the slice or the whole pizza,” said DHS Alumni Ashley (Bayliss) Markey. 

Dallastown’s athletic program also had to make a few adjustments due to the construction. For example, DHS’s Wrestling team had to practice in the cafeteria. 

“Every day we had to stack the chairs, fold up the tables, sweep the floor, and roll the mats out, then put everything back after practice,” said DHS Alumni Dan Thoman. The extra work paid off as the DHS Wrestling team won District III during the 1999-2000 season.

Other sports programs had to make adjustments as well. The swim team had to have practice and compete at York High. For a period of time, all indoor varsity sports competed in the Middle School gym, and tennis utilized Penn State York while their courts were unusable.

Even though there were drastic changes to the building of Dallastown High School, it didn’t change the student’s and faculty’s spirits. During the renovation, seniors collected parts of rubble and made them into paperweights to sell for a class fundraiser. 

From the turn of the century to 2020, Dallastown’s school camaraderie and character still remains present in our remodeled building and will for years to come.

Gallery • 8 Photos

from Beacon Archives

Students pose next to a tank that was unearthed to revamp the system that fueled the middle and high school. Prior to the 1998-2001 construction, the school was not air conditioned.