605 W. New Hampshire Av. DeLand, FL 32720

Middle School since 1988

Southwestern 7th Grade Center 1969 - 88

Southwestern High School 1964 - 69

Euclid Junior Senior High School 1962 - 64

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MYTH BUSTING AT SOUTHWESTERN by Tony Tussing

Many years ago many of the students were led to believe that the floor of the old gym at Southwestern, slid back to divulge a swimming pool in the summer and an ice skating rink in the winter. Many students were led to believe that the gears to move the floor were rusted making the floor immovable. Many former students lined up when the old gym was torn down hoping to see the pool that Coach Gill Dominguez had always told them about. No such luck, there was never a pool there.

Another myth that always circled around the campus during Thanksgiving time was that those students that ate too much turkey in the cafeteria during the schools celebration of the holiday would begin to have a twitching of their neck back and forth such as a turkey does when it struts. Once again, Coach Dominguez got the students to believe in another pure myth.

In the early years of Southwestern Seventh Grade Center, the students swore up and down that the cafeteria staff put oak leaves in the spaghetti. The truth in this case was that the leaves were full oregano leaves that had not been broken down into smaller pieces. The leaves gave the spaghetti seasoning. Many students for a while would walk back into the serving line that they had an oak leaf instead.
At one time, students thought that the school was under attack by Native Americans. Arrows from time to time would fly out onto the campus, always far away from anyone outside. It was a student who had been sent home for misconduct and upon discovery was suspended for some additional time and explained about the law if it happened again.

Mr Tutt one time developed media center ping pong. He placed four tables together and placed books in the middle of the table in place of the net. Many played but Mrs. Shirley Wilson was the champion.

Like any time that the faculty of any school lines up against the students in any competition, the teachers are going to win no matter what. Well that held true most of the time at Southwestern in student/faculty volleyball games. Only a very few times did the students come through on top by a very thin margin.