Mary Ann Sokolowsky Van Wagenen - Class of 1974

I grew up looking forward to the day when I would be an East High Knight. My older siblings had a great influence on my anticipation. Their participation in every aspect of East High including sports created an atmosphere in the Sokolowsky home of great pride for East High School. I was excited for the day when I would begin my own experience and it started as a freshman cheerleader.

I was proud to wear the cheer uniform and equally proud to cheer for our freshman basketball team. I can’t remember what our record was but it seems to me we won a lot of games. Many of them continued on to play all four years and although I didn’t continue on as a cheerleader, I did cheer them on from the stands. They simply were great guys and East High basketball contributed to that. Our friendships have continued and I respect them greatly. They were fun to watch on the basketball court and equally as fun to associate with off the court. East High basketball helped turned these young awkward boys who I knew from Dewey Jr. High, into outstanding men. They accomplished great things on the basketball court and in their own personal lives. I may not remember many of the details of the games, like my sister Virginia, but I do remember how it felt to be part of something as great as East High basketball.

I retired from being a cheerleader after my freshman year. I hung up the cheer uniform for that shiny, white, satin drill team uniform with the big black shield on the front. I gave up the sneakers for those sassy white boots with the big black tassels. And don’t forget the hat with the plume. I loved being in the drill team. It was a thrill to march in the parades and perform at halftime on the football field. But there was something special about performing during halftime at the basketball games. The gymnasium was always packed and everyone there cheered us on as well. It was an electrifying feeling and the enthusiasm the crowd had for the basketball game carried over to the halftime entertainment. Being a drill team member had its’ advantages. We were guaranteed entrance into the home games without having to arrive extra early just to make sure you could get in. Games were always a sell out.

East High basketball was memorable to me not only because of Coach Eathorne and his players but also because of the cheerleaders and pep band, the pep club and students, the parents and grand parents, and the traditions and school spirit. I too remember the hushed gym when the lights would go out and the introduction of the players. I also remember the well attended pep assemblies. We would sit together as a class and compete to see who could be the loudest at chanting, “We’ve got spirit yes we do, we’ve got spirit how ‘bout you”. We really meant it and this enthusiasm and spirit carried over to the basketball games as we competed with the opposing school in chanting that same cheer. We had a great feeling of pride for our school and for our basketball team. I also remember that at the assemblies our senior year the band would play “Jesus Christ Superstar” whenever Rick Walker would come onto the court. He was well known and respected for not only his superstardom as a basketball player but also for his own personal convictions. East High basketball had players with conviction. I feel lucky to have been a graduate of l974 and to have witnessed the l973-1974 back to back state championship games. These teams accomplished something amazing and I will never forget the thrill of watching it all happen. It was a memorable time to be a part of East High basketball. One I will never forget.

I do have one more memory. This will prove that coach Eathorne was right about Richard Arena being a lady’s man. We were playing at South Kitsap. I was a Jr. so it was l973. Some time during that game, Richard Arena was getting ready to inbound the ball from the sideline down by our student section. Before he put the ball in play, he turned around and was looking up into our section and he caught my eye and then mouthed the words, “will you go out with me tonight?” I remember saying “yes” and being quite shocked. He then said he would see me after the game. The whistle blew and the game continued. I had never been out with him before and I had no idea he was going to ask me out. He must have been pretty confident that I would say yes. I don’t know if Coach Eathorne ever knew what happened but I don’t think it would have surprised him. We went out that one time and I have never been asked out quite that again. Only Richard Arena, the lady’s man, could have pulled that one off.

Mary Ann Sokolowsky Van Wagenen
Salt Lake City, Utah

Ted Bryan - Class 1979

I played a lot of basketball, for a lot of coaches, with a lot of players – but that year under Les was the absolute best. It was that year I learned, “By the rule.” A mainstay in my coaching playbook with our AAU teams here in Wenatchee. I can still hear Les calling it out, and the other coach being upset when we won the tip and scored. Always good to start a game up 2-0.Thank you.

Ted Bryan

Bremerton High ‘79

Virginia Sokolowsky Toolson - Class of 1973

As a Varsity cheerleader for East High School for seasons 1971-1973, I have a different perspective of East High basketball than perhaps the players did. As a freshman cheerleader for the team that would eventually win the State Championship, I became spoiled to cheer for a winning team. The wins were one thing but beating almost every team by many points made it even more expected.
During my sophomore year (1971) I was privileged to be selected as a member of the varsity cheer squad. This was my first introduction to Coach Eathorne and his high expectations and standards. These standards carried over to the cheer squad as well. During warm ups the band would play and we would dance to the songs while the pep club would be chanting “Beat’em” or “Go East, beat West". The noise from the band and the crowd was exhilarating. This would go on until the introduction of the team. We loved the introduction of the team with the lights out and the Knight dressed in his armor. When the starters were introduced each received their own cheer. Then Mr. Stelson would announce, “Would the audience please stand for the National Anthem, Now sing it!” The memories of holding the flag and singing loudly the National Anthem still stays with me today. During away games we would stand and cheer right by the team. This would be the times we would get the full flavor of Coach Eathorne. He was intense in his instructions to the team yet he would always finish with an encouraging, “you can do this.”(Perhaps a bit more colorful words were used.) Sometimes he would motion to us to move away from the team a bit because we would start talking to the players. Some of our duties included, making run through signs, painting signs for the cafeteria, decorating the players’ homes, and once a year we would kidnap the team for breakfast. The first regional playoff game against Curtis was an eye opener. After being introduced the Curtis players would shoot a free throw and each ball would go in. Their fans packed the gym and wore decorated painters hats. We lost the game and Curtis went on to win the State Championship. We learned that we needed to step things up for the crowd during play off games.
Junior year (1972) had many moments to remember. Cheering at the old West High gym always was difficult because we had no room, but we were loud. That was one of the best things about being an East High Cheerleader; I always had a front row seat. Beating South by Richard Arena’s half court shot was unbelievable. The picture in the paper said it all, we were ecstatic. It was the first time that we had charged onto the court. Making it to Regional’s this time around the fans were prepared with a supply of painters hats (Parker Paints). Beating Curtis by one point was a surprise to everyone, especially arrogant Curtis. We never would have thought that the next weekend we would be in the UPS gym playing for State berths. We had a huge pep assembly that Friday. Team members from West and Central piled into my Corolla that I drove onto the gym floor. (I had to drive on black mats as not to mark the floor). They wished our team luck and told them to “Give them Hell”. (Back then, it was bold to say that in an assembly). The State game against Ellensburg was crazy. The crowd was huge and it seemed that the whole town was there. It was a disappointing loss but we loved our team. The team bus was met by over 100 cars. In the front of the Caravan was a fire engine and perched on top was Larry McDonald wearing the Knight armor. Inside the gym were about 1000 fans. The band played the fight song and we cheered for our team. We finally filed out of the gym about 12:15 a.m. During this year I was a class officer and Mr. Eathorne was our advisor. I got to know him on another level. He would tell us goofy stories and he never planned anything for us, he let us do the work. This proved to be a great training ground for my leadership the next year.
Senior year was met with great anticipation. I was selected to be the Head Cheerleader and we had a great squad. The Cheerleaders and the basketball players were all friends. I don’t remember anyone bad mouthing another team member, which I feel contributed to the success of the team. The team managers, Kurt Spitzer and Lynn Matz were every bit a part of the team as the players. I remember Coach Eathorne saying that he didn’t want to work them too hard for fear that he might ”Mess them up”. (They did look stylish in their wide bottom, plaid pants and wide ties.) Our pep assemblies were always attended by everyone. The competitions between the classes were fierce. It did seem that the seniors won most of them. At the beginning of the season the cheerleaders were allowed to ride the bus with the team for the Lincoln game. We sat in the front of the bus and had to look forward and not talk at all. I was amazed at how quiet it was. Lincoln was rated pretty high in the AAA polls. Our team really gave them a close game. We lost by 6 but Lincoln was very upset about how close it was. This was to be the only loss for our team. Lincoln’s administration had to escort all of us back to the bus. (It was pretty scary!) The team then started winning all the games by many points. As cheerleaders we then had to entertain the crowd. I remember when Port Angeles played us in our gym and how they stalled for over 3 minutes each time they got the ball. I loved it when Cliff McKenzie then stalled on them by holding the ball and yawning. During the second quarter we scored 2 points and Port Angeles scored 0. Our school had great school spirit and we would usually have a couple of buses full of students go to the away games. Of course the championship game was the ultimate game for all of us. I couldn’t watch the last minutes of the game; I turned around and hid my eyes. Larry Knapp and Rick Parker kept telling me to turn around but I didn’t and I never saw Richard Arena’s last shot go into the hoop. We went crazy with everyone kissing everyone. The caravan back to East was even longer than the previous year. Again we did cheers and the fight song. It was bitter sweet to think that my cheering at East High was over and I would not be wearing my uniform anymore. I still hold sweet memories of my years at East and even though it was 35 years ago that the Knights were the Champions, it seems just like yesterday. 1973 was also the year that Mr. Scheyer retired as the school Principal. Clifff McKenzie and I took the ferry over to Seattle to purchase a new sword for the Knight. The original sword was then given to Mr. Scheyer as a retirement gift from all the students that had the privilege of having him as our Principal.
Virginia Sokolowsky Toolson M.Ed.Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada

Bill Throm - Class of 1962

Do you all remember the unique way of introducing the starting line-up for all the home games? I sure do. All the lights would go out and then a spot light would shine down on the court. As the players names were given, they would run out to the center under the light. The reason I remember this so well is because I was operating the spot light. It was kind of a balancing act as I had little room to manuver up above the bleachers.

(Bill was the first one to operate the spot light and it continued thru Eathorne's tenure. He was a four year letterman in wrestling but loved basketball. Just too small! He was a back to back Goldenball All-star and played several years in city league. He played on Sunday afternoons at the school and during the summer at Lebo court where Les had a summer league.)

Robert Walker - Class of 1972

I did not attend any high school basketball games until after I graduated (1972). I finally went to a game during the 73-74 season and quickly became hooked on East High basketball. The fast and furious pace was fun to watch as were the expressions and animations of Coach Eathorne. The cheer leaders were pretty good too.

Our family lived on East 29^th street from 1963 to 1967. The Eathornes’s and the Torseth’s lived in the same block. My brothers and I played Army and “on the street” Baseball with Mark Eathorne and Rick Torseth. That made the basketball team all the more interesting to me.

The playoff game vs. Cleveland was the most memorable. Those guys looked so much taller than the East team. I was worried “This might be it.” But the scrappy East High team held their own. Watching my brother Rick go up for a defensive rebound carrying three or four Cleveland players with him and coming out of it with the ball is forever imprinted in my mind. At one point in the game he recovered a rebound and uncharacteristically did not pass it off to a teammate. He ran the full court for the lay-up with the deceptively slow looking glide Les Eathorne has referred to.

I wonder if that game was recorded on film?

I also wonder if Coach Danubio still has my “Handy”. The “Handy” was a requirement in his Woodshop class. It had to be made from wood and the main requirement was that it felt good to hold in your hand.

Robert Walker