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In the Spring of 1974, the most infamous, ballsiest and greatest school
prank in the history of Greenville Senior High took place.
Join
us as we reconstruct that evening for you - from its conception to
flawless execution to the final, costly error.
BUT FIRST, A
LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT STREAKING FROM WIKIPEDIA:
| "The word is recorded in its
modern sense only since 1973. Before, to streak in English
since 1768 meant "to go quickly, to rush, to run at full speed."
Streaking is distinct from
naturism or
nudism in
that streakers usually intend to be noticed and may choose a
place with a large audience for their act, regardless of the risk of
arrest (sometimes even intending to be remanded into police
custody), whereas
naturists and
nudists
generally prefer to be left in peace.
It is also distinct from "flashing,"
in that the intent is generally not to shock or traumatize a victim.
Streakers may streak only once or a few
times, possibly as a result of a dare, or may streak so often it can
be considered a
hobby."
also
"In
1974, Ray
Stevens recorded perhaps his most famous hit, "The
Streak", which poked fun at the
early-1970s fad of running nude in public, known as "streaking"
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Oh, yes, they call him the Streak
Look at that, look at that
Fastest thing on two feet
Look at that, look at that
He's just as proud as he can be
Of his anatomy
He goin' give us a peek
Oh, yes, they call him the Streak
Look at that, look at that
He likes to show off his physique
Look at that, look at that
If there's an audience to be found
He'll be streakin' around
Invitin' public critique
(click here to
see video - part of which ironically takes place in a gym - does Mr.
Stevens owe us some royalties??)
"He's just in the mood to run in
the nude!"
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Was
Streaking a Sign-O-The-Times?
Hell yes it was!
click to see |
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THE PLAN
The Streak was probably in the planning for a couple weeks. Exactly
who came
up with it; how Keith volunteered to do it; why Keith volunteered to do
it; I'm not sure that anyone us really remembers. But we'll do our
best to re-live this historic event!
The one thing I'm sure of is that The Streak was conceived as a final,
senior GHS prank for the Class of 1974.
Streaking was a goofy part of the world's culture in 1974 - not just in
little Greenville, OH. While the rest of the planet looked at it as
a harmless, funny fad, the GHS Administration (and Greenville Police
Department - think Barney Fife) saw it as a serious crime; perversion and
indecent exposure. Charges were actually filed!
Little did we know that 'The Streak', lasting less less than 15 seconds, would
live in infamy!
We picked the annual Spring Athletic Banquet as the target. And the
final plan probably came together that evening - we had the event, the
crew, the will, the car - everything came together very fast.
But we needed a disguise! Keith was ready and willing - but wanted
to do the deed anonymously. So we drove to my house and grabbed my
dad's Bengals ski mask. A mask on top, shoes & socks below - and
nothing in-between.
That's
how we rolled in 1974!!
THE
EXECUTION
Flawless!! Simply flawless. As is proved by the Crime Scene
graphics below, the greatest prank in GHS history was over in in a flash
(pun intended). By the time anyone in authority came out, it was over - no
trace!
The perfect
crime!!
well,
almost
THE FATAL
ERROR
So how did we ultimately get caught? ILLEGAL SEARCH & SEIZURE!!!
Coach John Suba was at the banquet that evening. He had coached
Keith and been around him for years. He immediately recognized
Keith's very distinctive 'gallop'. But did he 'give Keith up'?
The official records aren't clear. I choose to think Mr. Suba
laughed to himself...
But it all fell apart when Principal Gooding and someone else (I think it
was Asst, VP John Burkette) decided to do an illegal search-n-seizure
on Mike Dohse's car.
And under the seat, they found a Bengal's ski mask. Where was
Johnnie Cochran when we needed him? Is it not possible that Mark
Fuhrman planted the mask under that seat?
THE
AFTERMATH
Our house-of-cards began falling that night, and within 15 hours, shit hit
the fan. The next day at school. all 4 of us were immediately
suspended for 10 days - Keith, maybe more.
Keith was arrested (for public exposure or some BS), and was not allowed
back at school until he was evaluated by a shrink or something. He
was persecuted by GHS and Greenville for a harmless, but incredible prank.
The rest of the CREW was also suspended for 10 days.
Then it became interesting! A group of parents went before the
School Board to raise hell about what they thought was excessive
punishment. Mr. & Mrs. North, particularly and especially Joyce - we
were all good friends with her son, Dan - came to our defense in a heated
meeting.
The School Board backed down and reduced (all but Keith's) our suspension
to just 3 days. Speaking for the Crew, I was thankful, but pissed
because I wanted a full 2 weeks off from school!
Keith was made to go thru some b/s psychological tests (I think) to make sure he wasn't some
kind of pervert - like he invented 'streaking'.
He was an 18 y/o kid - for him and his parents to became a nightmare...and
still pisses me off!!!
And it was the 'talk of the town' for a while. People (kids and
ADULTS) actually took sides. It was heated!!
Keith had to go to court for this. While he was kept out of school,
someone began a fundraiser called "Koins For Keith" using an old
coffee can. I think we
might have collected enough to pay his fine.
THE
LETTER
I wrote a letter to the Advocate weeks later about the treatment we got
compared to some other incidents that went unpunished by 'jocks' in our
school.
At the time. my mother was the president of the teachers' union. She
read the letter, liked it, but forbade me to have it published as it might
look like it was written by the union.
I didn't listen - and the shit hit the fan again. Still sorry, Mom!
I will post the
letter here if and when I can find/get a copy of it.
I think that all of this led to our Administration wanting desperately to
put us back under their thumb for our few remaining weeks, show us who was boss - and led
directly/indirectly to the SOB Assembly event.
At least that's my account - The Breeze. Other members of the crew
will can hopefully add their memories of that fateful evening below.
BUT
FIRST, THE STREAK!
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The Crew |
|
name |
aka |
deeds done dirt cheap |
| Mike
Ryan |
 |
j
Took Keith's
clothes. Watched the gym & waited for the perfect lull - threw
the gym door open and said "GO"! Calmly ditched the
clothes in a locker, walked to the new gym to shoot some
baskets. |
|
Chris Deardourff |
 |
k
Propped the
exterior building door open. Watched as Keith streaked towards him.
Propped open the exterior door and pulled open the gym door at the last second so that Keith never had
to slow down until he reached the car waiting & running outside.
Calmly walked to the new gym to shoot some baskets. |
| Mike
Dohse |
 |
l
Cool,
quiet, with the
driving skills of a moonshiner. Besides, he was the only one
with his parents' car that night. But he got Keith far away from
GHS before officials came running out, thirsty for blood. Calmly
drove back to the school with Keith about 15 minutes later -
they went to the new gym to shoot some baskets. |
|
Keith Foutz |
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The perpetrator - the
audacity, the boldness, the brass, the coolness - the stones!
He did it - you
didn't... |
click above to view actual faux crime scene evidence courtesy of
Greenville CSI
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