Nona: Is it true they almost cancelled the homecoming game in the 1950s?

Class of '52 Class of '52, How have you been? They had to scrap a bunch of activities because of some of the pranksters. You should know how that is. That's why you can refer to yourself as the Class of '52. The rest of the class got expelled after their epic homecoming prank.

You got lucky, if you can call it that, because you had the chicken pox. That's why Abner Stinkowski had his name legally changed to Class of '52. It was legitimate and everything. I saw the notice published in the Lublin Leader. I'm not sure if he was that proud of being the sole graduating member of the class of 1952, or if growing up with the last name Stinkowski was finally too much.

Anyway, the whole class got together to plan some pranks, and bedlam ensued.

The gym teacher, Jim Shortts, was notorious for leaving the gym door open when he left, so the kids could sneak in at night and shoot hoops. Poor guy ended up getting fired and had to finish up at the Catholic high school, and they didn't even have a gym. For phy ed class, they'd have to climb the rope that was hanging off the church bell. They couldn't afford a janitor, so then they'd have the kids run in the hallway with brooms.

Jim Shortts was joined at his new school in exile by the Lublin 13, as they came to be known after that homecoming week.

The school board got testimony from Lettie the Librarian, who recounted the terror of taking books out for weeks to come and having pigeons fly out. The pranksters had snuck in hundreds of sleeping birds and hid them in the library.

Then, there was the skunk in the principal's office. That might have been going too far. You didn't want to be sent to the principal's office after that. Anytime Principal Pete went anywhere for weeks, the crowd would clear out. He couldn't get rid

of that stink. To this day, whenever a skunk does its business in town, someone inevitably asks, 'Where's Pete?'

So, the Lublin 13 got expelled, and enrolled in the Catholic School, where Coach Jim Shortts led his basketball team to its only Taylor County Parochial School championship.

APPLE SQUARES Ingredients

1 cup sifted all-purpose

flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted 1/2 cup packed brown

sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup chopped apple 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons white

sugar2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

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Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 inch pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup of white sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture until just combined, then stir in the apples and walnuts. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining cinnamon and sugar; sprinkle over the top of the bars.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven; finished bars should spring back when lightly touched. Cool in the pan, and cut into squares.

OLD FASHIONED APPLE DUMPLINGS

1 recipe pastry for double- crust pie 6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 3 cups water 2 cups white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9×13 inch pan.

On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a large rectangle, about 24 by 16 inches. Cut into 6 square pieces. Place an apple on each pastry square with the cored opening facing upward. Cut butter into 8 pieces. Place 1 piece of butter in the opening of each apple; reserve remaining butter for sauce. Divide brown sugar between apples, poking some inside each cored opening and the rest around the base of each apple. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the apples.

With slightly wet fingertips, bring one corner of pastry square up to the top of the apple, then bring the opposite corner to the top and press together. Bring up the two remaining corners, and seal. Slightly pinch the dough at the sides to completely seal in the apple. Repeat with the remaining apples. Place in prepared baking dish.

In a saucepan, combine water, white sugar, vanilla extract and reserved butter. Place over medium heat, and bring to a boil in a large saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved. Carefully pour over dumplings.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Place each apple dumpling in a dessert bowl, and spoon some sauce over the top.