By Maddie Soldaat
We’ve grown, shaped and led Delta to the strong foundation we have today, but not everyone knows the whole story.
It all started in 1967 when Delta first opened. The original Delta High School was in the former Royerton High School building (above), which has since been taken down. The Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department building stands near that site now.
This site allowed them to combine Royerton, Eaton and DeSoto high schools, making them all one school.
When trying to think of names for the new combined school they wanted to include students in the process, so they formed a committee of 24 students to decide on the name, mascot, colors, and fight song.
Dale DeHaven, a freshman at the time, was one of the lucky few. He was the one who picked out the name “Delta.”
The committee had thought of many names including Grissom, Apollo, and Nor-Del, but Delta was the perfect fit.
As the school year continued many traditions began to form. There were homecoming parades with floats and there were even live singers at the dances. The lead singer from the band “7 C’s” performed in 1967 for the homecoming festivities.
Later, a new building was built to give them more space. This building, which opened in the fall of 1974, is the current Delta High School building. This new building was spacious which allowed Albany High School to join in.
Moving on to the 1970s, Mr. Gary Seidner, a retired teacher, recalls that there were lots of busy school dances.
There would be senior appreciation day, where seniors would write letters and thank their teachers for their support over the last four years.
In 1974 Gerald Ford visited Delta less than two weeks before he took office as president of the United States. The marching band played for him and the Student Council showed him around the school. He had been there to support Congressman David Dennis, who was running for re-election. Indiana Gov. Otis Bowen was there also.
Mr. Kip Omstead, a former teacher and current substitute, became a teacher in 1979. He said there were no walls between classrooms, making it loud and difficult to teach. These walls were short, only around 8 feet tall, and open at the top, allowing students to throw things into other classrooms.
During the 1980s the friend groups were very cliquish, meaning everyone stuck with who they were always around and who they were similar to.
“When I went to Delta it was a lot like The Breakfast Club,” says Mr. Brad Himes, a former student and current history teacher. “Kids now accept differences and are around a variety of different people.”
Back in the 1980s people still didn’t have technology. Mr. Brian Brewer, former student and now assistant principal, recalls learning how to use a typewriter.
There even used to be a pay phone in the commons area for students to use, Many teachers said students often used the phone around noon.
The school also had its own radio station called WWDS. This provided students with music in the mornings and during lunch.
“The 80s were a cool time to grow up,” Mr. Himes says. “I miss when everything wasn’t on social media.”
In the 1990s some teachers left and some stayed, but some students were welcomed back as teachers. Mr. Brewer and Mr. Himes were two of them.
They both can remember when they first came back and worked alongside the teachers who taught them what they know now. It was very different seeing a different side of the people who you’ve only seen one side of.
There was also the annual bonfire. This took place the night before homecoming. It would get students excited about the homecoming game and dance.
In March 1997, the boys’ basketball team received state and national attention when they finished second out of 382 teams in the final single-class Indiana high school basketball tournament. This was a huge accomplishment.
In 1998-1999 Delta had their first ever female principal, Mrs. Jody Gibson. She was known for writing handwritten messages on every student’s report card each grading period.
These are all huge accomplishments Delta has made and we continue to make more, but even though Delta has changed … the kids haven’t.
“Kids are still kids,” Mr. Brewer says.
