The Top 5 Events Witnessed by the Class of 1990

5. RETROSPECT: '88 GREAT, '89 OUT OF LINE

Retrospect 1988 was a terrific yearbook. To start, it was the first Retrospect with a full-color cover (all of the 17 previous editions had, at most, two colors on their covers). Other creative touches that had never appeared in previous Retrospects included the use of foil stars as borders for the Hollywood-themed Homecoming pages, and diagonally cropped pictures. It even gave coverage to such activities as the Intramural Basketball Association and the Pom-Pon Boys. Slightly larger in size than previous Retrospects, it also introduced the option for students to have their name imprinted on the cover in gold (for a small additional charge). All in all, it exceeded its readers' expectations.

So Harrison students awaited the encore in '89. And awaited. And awaited.

The '89 Retrospect finally came out on November 3, more than a month and a half after Homecoming (which was when the yearbook usually came out). But after reviewing the book, it became obvious that it was not worth the wait. The Retrospect fell flat in a number of ways.

• For starters, the cover was not exactly original; it was slapped together using bits and pieces from previous Retrospect covers. The "ret·ro·spect" at the top of the cover came from the 1985 edition (which used a dictionary motif), and the torchbearer at the bottom came from the 1984 edition (that torchbearer made sense for 1984--the Summer Olympic games were held that year in Los Angeles--but not for 1989). (Mark Rabinowitz was among the first to notice this. He had previously seen both the '84 and '85 Retrospects because his brother Sander, Class of '86, was on the yearbook staff from 1983 to 1986.)
• There was no coverage of the fantastic spring 1989 school musical, "Bye Bye Birdie".
• There were a few large blank white spaces that could have been filled in with either text or additional pictures (see pages 50-51 and 84-85 for examples).
• In the December 1989 issue of the Catalyst, staff reporter Nicole DeWitt noted that "Some cut lines (captions below the photographs) were snide." In case you have a copy of that yearbook, pages 23 and 51 have two of the worst.
• There were two different pages of "Class Favorites" (pages 37 and 165). So, for example, how was anyone to know if the Class of 1989's favorite TV show was "Married... With Children" or "Roseanne"?
• The most obvious mistake was that the faces didn't match the names in the freshman, sophomore and junior sections (unless you were lucky enough to be on the upper-left or lower-right corner of a page).
• The senior section was far from perfect.  The last eight pictures in that section were not in alphabetical order; perhaps they were found and added at the last minute, and twenty-three were "not pictured"--an unusually large number of seniors to not have had their picture taken, so it's possible their pictures were misplaced and not found in time for inclusion.

DeWitt's report also stated that the '89 Retrospect had been abandoned by the previous year's staff, meaning that the 1990 staff found itself with the unexpected task of completing that book quickly when the '89-90 school year began (rather than get started on the '90 edition).

Becca Rosen ('89), who was the Catalyst's Focus Co-Editor in 1988-89, published a letter in the Catalyst blasting the Retrospect for "sloppy fact gathering," noting that Catalyst Co-Editor-In-Chief Danielle Clervi was omitted from the Retrospect's coverage of the newsmagazine. Rosen concluded, "I question why a yearbook award was given to the Editor-in-Chief at Swing Out."

The 1989 Retrospect could have been even worse in one way. Earlier in 1989, Michelle Lee (the yearbook's Academics Section editor that year) said that sales of the book had been sluggish, and that unless sales picked up, that every single page--even the Senior section--could be in black-and-white. But the staff managed to boost sales in April to give them just enough money for select pages to be printed in color. Retrospect 1971--the inaugural edition of Harrison's yearbook--is the only Retrospect to be completely black-and-white.

In the meantime, Mr. A. Emerson Coates stated that the 1989 Retrospect was the worst he had ever seen in his 11 years as the yearbook's advisor, adding, "There will not be a repeat of last year."

4. HHS FACELIFT PICKS UP THE PACE IN '87

In 1987, Harrison High made some major improvements on its 17-year-old building.

For starters, painters came in to paint much of the middle and bottom floors in beige, covering the patchwork of gold, goldenrod and golden brown.

Also, new windows were installed in the fall of 1987. They were supposed to have been installed in the summer of that year (Harrison's summer school and drivers' education classes had been shifted to North Farmington High for that reason); however, nobody put in any new windows until October, a month into the new school year. Gone was the mix of glass and plexiglass windows. The plexiglass windows were a mistake because, although they were shatter-resistant, a few rotten students liked burning them with cigarette lighters; also, they became less transparent with age.

The gym was also redone that fall. HHS switched to a wood floor after using a green rubber composite floor* for its first 17 years, mainly because the rubber floor got dirty too easily. (That said, according to Coach Robert Sutter, injuries did not occur as often on the softer rubber floor.) The walls were repainted in white with green and yellow stripes running around them. New banners commemorating the sports teams' highest achievements were bolted to one wall, as was a board of boys' and girls' track records to the opposite wall. Also, the ceiling tiles were removed (they were prone to being dislodged by errant balls, especially where volleyball games were concerned), and the ceiling, vents and fans were all coated with acoustical paint.

The gym teachers no longer needed plastic tape to mark off boundaries for volleyball games or 3-point lines for basketball, either; these were all now painted on the new gym floor.

And last but not least, Harrison's mobility-impaired students got a ramp at the main entrance to the school building. Before, pretty much the only way that those students could get to the top floor would be to get dropped off at the second floor, almost directly below the main entrance, then take a nearby elevator to go up.

*Editor's note 6/1/2019: During the closing ceremony at Harrison, head football coach John Herrington said that the wood floor was installed over the rubber floor.  Earlier editions of G&G incorrectly said that the rubber floor was removed.

3. BATHROOM FIRE TARNISHES HARRISON'S IMAGE

The early chapters of Harrison's history were filled with vandalism. Among the ugly stories passed down from the 1970s were the trashing of the student lounge (located on the bottom floor near the 4W stairs, across from the entrance to the band room, it had long since become a padlocked storage room) and the destruction of the school radio station. In April 1984, the school was burglarized; the cash and property stolen (including computers and electronics) amounted to more than $30,000, school was closed for one day, and the incident was featured on local TV newscasts. In addition, HHS had more than its share of graffiti, such as “CLASS OF '77” on the roof of an outbuilding near the main entrance; and “84 ****ING ROCKS” on an exterior wall, also near the main entrance, in June of 1984.

Harrison had spent recent years improving its image, particularly with a few key remodeling projects in 1987 (see story #4, HHS FACELIFT PICKS UP THE PACE IN '87). In addition, the Michigan High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) gave HHS the privilege of hosting a boys' basketball district playoff tournament in 1988. The school administrators also planned on converting the former student lounge into a choral music room, which would be larger than the one they had.

Then, just 20 minutes into first hour on March 11, 1988, the school's fire alarms went off and the day ceased to be just another ordinary school day. A fire had started in the men's bathroom near stairwell 3E, and from there, a hellish cloud of breath-robbing smoke spread through the English and Math corridors, choking those who came near it.

As over 900 students and faculty waited outside, the word spread that this was no fire drill: They would be out in the cold morning air for more than just a few minutes--and most did not have their coats on because they didn't expect to be out for long.

Students who exited the school through the main entrance got to see a red Farmington Hills Fire Department fire engine roar down 12 Mile and drive up to the main entrance. Most of them cheered--some hoping the fire would not ravage the school, others wishing for a big explosion, and perhaps a few wishing they had thrown their books in the fire.

The fire was out before first hour ended, but the soot and the noxious, headache-inspiring odors remained. The decision to not close the school for the day shocked the returning students beyond belief. In particular, sophomores had to take their Refresher Math Tests that morning amid those odors.

According to this report in the March 14, 1988 Farmington Observer, the fire caused an estimated $1,000 in damages; assistant principal John Summerlee and biology teacher Joyce Tomlinson put it out using an extinguisher from one of the science classrooms.

During both lunch periods, boys flocked in numbers to that bathroom to see the damage. According to Mrs. Tomlinson, the toilet paper dispenser in one of the toilet stalls was on fire when she arrived to put it out, using a fire extinguisher, which she rolled to the bathroom with a cart. She also said that she and Mr. Summerlee had put out most of the fire before the firefighters arrived.  The flames had climbed up the steel partition, depositing soot on the ceiling tires directly above it.  

In the aftermath, a school stood in shame, its students disagreeing over exactly how much damage the fire did. Either they shrugged it off, thinking, We still have a school, or they considered the damage done to something intangible: Harrison's image, which might be the subject of more negative hearsay, especially from those attending rival North Farmington High.

In May 1990, more than two years later, the fire's starting point was still easy to find. Although the bathroom's walls were repainted, and the toilet paper dispenser replaced, a piece of rubber molding damaged by the fire had not been replaced. Also, at the same place, 39 small tiles were still missing from the floor.

(Editor's note: On October 16, 2010, at the Harrison High 40th Anniversary Celebration, more than 22½ years after the fire, Mrs. Tomlinson informed me about an error I had made in the original G&G. I had mistakenly believed that the fire began when someone lit the rubber molding at the bottom of a partition dividing the two toilet stalls, and the fire spread upwards from there.)

2. THREE POWER FAILURES HIT HHS IN 14 MONTHS

Harrison's troubles with the lights going out started on September 30, 1988. During 4th hour that day, a power failure put most of its classrooms out of commission. HHS administrators made the decision to keep those classrooms that still had their lights on to continue with their classes, making students in those rooms suffer while others laughed from the outside looking in.

1 1/2 months later, on November 16, a citywide power outage knocked out the entire school during 6th hour. Students walked through the school in a state of confusion for the rest of that period, not knowing what to do, not sure if they should leave. The outage lasted approximately 3 hours and 25 minutes, and the city needed generators at almost every street corner to restore power.

HHS still had no policy concerning power failures when October 19, 1989 arrived. During fourth hour, the lights flickered at 11:11 A.M., when students briefly erupted in ecstasy, then groaned when the lights returned. Similar reactions occurred at 11:16 A.M., when the lights flickered a few more times. Five minutes later, they flickered once more, then went out for the last time. According to the Farmington Observer, a 2.3-inch snowfall--extremely unusual for October--had blanketed the city that morning, bringing down tree limbs and electrical wires and causing the outage.

Shortly after the power went out, those students who wanted to leave did, especially those who were angry about the lack of clear direction from school administrators as to whether they should stay or not. For those who did leave, the decision to go home turned out to be a good one, because the next day, school administrators decided that official attendance for October 19 would be kept for only the first three hours.

Ultimately, the administration did work out a power failure policy. As in tornado drills, students would be directed to designated rooms. In addition, the Chemistry rooms received emergency backup lighting--a must for safety in case a dangerous experiment was in progress the next time the lights went out. Also, all classrooms received flashlights. The headline of the Catalyst's report on the subject, as written by Susie Levin ('91): Harrison will see the light.

Another blackout occurred on May 10, 1990 at 1:39 P.M., probably caused by heavy winds that afternoon. Considering that the students stayed in their classrooms until administrators dismissed them early, it's safe to say, the policy's worked well so far.

1. HARRISON HIGH WINS TWO STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

When the Class of 1990 first entered Harrison High in 1986, the Harrison Hawks were four years removed from their last state football championship. In 1982, Rubik's Cube was the hot toy, kids and young adults spent their quarters at the video arcade on games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, and E.T. had become the biggest money-making movie ever.

Fast forward to 1987. Six months after the Hawks' 1986 season crumbled at the hands of Marysville and their hard-nosed coach, Walt Braun, in the state semifinals, it looked as though Harrison would be content to keep getting regional championships, and the Silverdome threatened to become a distant memory.

The class of 1990 seemed content, too. They never expected to have, in their own graduating class, a quarterback who would set state passing records and become the most sought-after college prospect HHS had seen since running back/defensive back John Miller ('84), if not ever.

Then lightning struck. Millard Coleman Sr., a State Farm Insurance agent, got transferred to Farmington Hills from Albion. His son, Mill, had already established himself as the quarterback of Albion High's varsity team, having led their offense in his freshman season (freshmen are not allowed to play on the varsity team at Harrison).

The 1987 football season would only be the beginning for No. 6. Coleman's large hands and scrambling ability were enough to convince Braun to say, "The only way to contain Coleman is to throw a grenade at him," prior to Harrison's state semi-final rematch against Marysville. The Hawks gave the Vikings, the 1986 Class B state champs, their payback with a 35-20 come-from-behind victory, leaving Braun grumbling over whether or not he really should have brought some grenades.

Unfortunately, a week later, Harrison fell to Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 19-7, in the Class B state final. The Hawks finished 11-2 that year, its only losses coming in that game and in the Western Lakes Activities Association (WLAA) league championship against Westland John Glenn.

In 1988, Harrison became a powerhouse. Coleman's passing and running skills were complemented by a brickwall defense, surehanded receivers Bryan Wauldron and Chad Burgess, and a solid inside running game featuring tailback Matt Conley. The Hawks would score more than 8 times as many points as their opponents. Even the playoff games were lopsided affairs; all four were decided by more than 30 points. Highlights of the season included HHS avenging its 1987 loss to Westland Glenn, shellacking the Rockets, 45-7, for the WLAA title; destroying its first three playoff opponents, 109-7; and last but not least, easily manhandling St. Joseph in a record-setting Class B state final, 44-9, for Coach John Herrington's third state championship.

As the 1989 season began, Harrison's title defense was far from a sure thing. Burgess and Wauldron had graduated, and so did many of 1988's defensive starters. The pressure was on the new seniors--especially tri-captains Coleman, Conley and placekicker Steve Hill--to prove that they could overcome those departures. On top of that, the Hawks' first game was a highly-hyped tilt against Saginaw Arthur Hill, one of the top Class A schools. Harrison won that game, 34-18, and kept on winning throughout the regular season, although they didn't own their opponents the way they did the year before. They repeated as Western Lakes champs with a 23-15 win over Westland Glenn. After winning a fourth straight regional championship, they would play two unforgettable final games.

At Flint Atwood Stadium came the only game where Hill would kick a field goal that made a difference, on a field so covered with ice, everybody expected an Ice Capades halftime show. Harrison narrowly defeated East Grand Rapids, 3-2 (the East Grand Rapids safety came late in the game, when the Hawks were backed up deep in their own territory, and Coleman ran the ball out of the end zone to avoid a turnover; this also meant Harrison didn't have to punt the ball from their own end zone).

Then came a game at the Silverdome that would be forever known as The Classic Game. Harrison was at the 'Dome for the third year in a row--equalling all the trips it had made B.C. (Before Coleman). This time, they would face DeWitt (which Free Press prep sports writer Mick "Son of Swami" McCabe frequently called "DeWhat").

The Hawks got off to a rough start, trailing, 21-7--one of the rare occasions in Coleman's years at Harrison that the Hawks would be down by two touchdowns. But touchdown runs by Conley and Coleman tied the game at 21.

Then, with less than three minutes left in the game, DeWitt broke the tie with as quarterback Chris Berkimer ran for a touchdown. A crucial extra point by Panther placekicker Marty Camp was next.

"THE KICK IS BLOCKED! THE KICK IS BLOCKED! IT'S NO GOOD!"

Senior linebacker Matt Sperry charged through the left side of DeWitt's offensive line unblocked and got his left forearm on the kick. And now, with 2 minutes and 12 seconds remaining, Harrison could win the game with a touchdown and an extra point, rather than just tie it.

Coleman didn't even need one minute.

He led Harrison on a 67-yard drive that took just five plays. He started that drive by completing three straight passes--24 yards to Mike Saputo, 12 to Steve Hill and 15 to Greg Piscopink ('92)--before finishing with two runs (7 yards, then 9 for the touchdown). Then Hill added his all-important extra point.

"I never really got worried," Coleman later said. "When they scored, I looked at the clock and saw we had all three of our timeouts left."

"What kept going through my mind was when (Denver Broncos' QB) John Elway had to go 98 yards a couple of years ago against Cleveland in the playoffs. I just kept thinking 'The Drive. The Drive. The Drive.'"

The Panthers got the ball one more time, but an interception by Hill finished them off. The Classic Game was a 28-27 victory--Harrison's fourth state championship as well as their 26th straight win--and served as a fitting end to Coleman's high school football years. (For more details on the game, check out this article from the Farmington Observer archives.)

Coleman passed for 7,464 yards and 77 touchdowns, setting state records in both categories. He would continue to wear green after graduating from Harrison, as a Michigan State Spartan; he picked MSU over Michigan and Colorado on January 31, 1990 at a press conference held in the HHS gymnasium. The headline in the Detroit Free Press the next day: QB Coleman wants to thrill MSU fans.

(Editor's notes: Coleman's state passing records for career yardage and career touchdowns stood until Jason Fracassa of Sterling Heights Stevenson broke them in 2009. Also, Hill once held two state kicking records. His record for extra points in a season, set in 1988, stood until 1999; and his record for career extra points stood until 2000. For the entire list of MHSAA state football records, go here.)