November 2000                                           The Megaphone                                                       Page 4

Who laid the cornerstone that changed the girls dress codes in the 60's? 
   

Some brave person uttered the radical words that began the change so that we could wear slacks in the winter. In many sub zero winters 'we' were required to wear skirts or dresses. Walking to school in the winter was not only treacherous but physically dangerous as well. Frozen exposed skin, where our knee highs didn't cover our  legs. 
   

Someone must have really 'stuck their neck out' to get it changed. I would like to publicly "Thank" whomever did this for us. I suspect it was the high school nurse. Can anyone confirm or deny?   

Just a grateful and curious panther. 

Meet the Moderator 
by Genie (Forst) Boyer

Marvin Crim '57

When Marv first suggested that we reinvent the Megaphone for our own purposes, I thought what a neat idea. My next thought was:  Oh goodness, what can I write about. From those thoughts came this column, which I hope can be run in each edition of the Megaphone until we have indeed "met" all our moderators.

As the founder, owner and chief moderator of the Panther Den, it is only right that the first of these columns be devoted to Marvin Crim. Marv said in his interview that it was his idea to "...develop a couple of pages that might attract a few interested individuals." As we all know, he has attracted more than just a few people to this site. While our Panther Den site may not be the first of its kind, it is certainly among the earliest to be developed. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" . . . and "Other websites and lists are popping up all over the Internet."

Marv is a 1957 graduate of Wendell L. Willkie High School. He attended Purdue University for one year before beginning an apprenticeship in skilled trades at Delco Remy in Anderson. He spent the last 15 years working solely in the Statistical Services department as a resource and trainer. During his working years, he taught in Adult Education and GM's Apprentice Program for the Anderson School System for 30 years. Marv worked at Delco until his retirement in 1996. 

In high school, Marv was involved in many activities. He was a participant in band and participated in many solo contests. Marv was very active in sports, playing on the football team, including the 1956 CIC championship team. He participated in track and field, running the 440 yard dash, the mile relay and competed in the high jump. In the fall of 1954, the mile relay team consisting of Craig Toensing, Jeb Carter, Harold Vest and Marv held the school record at the time. Other high school activities included working on the Megaphone staff, Crescent staff, Student Council, Spanish Club. He was a member of the Dixieland band known as the Sugarfoot Six. Other members of that band included Steve Ward, Joe Noble, Jeb Carter, Dave Cooper and John Wheeler. He graduated as a lifetime member of the National Honor Society.

Since his retirement from Delco Remy, Marv has kept busy by teaching part time for Ivy Tech State College and the Anderson Community School System. He has many interests and hobbies - besides the Panther Den, that is. Marv told me that his interests today include art, math and teaching.  He is interested in railroading from any era: Amtrak to steam to model railroading. He also listens to music most of the time. 

Anyone who has read the pages on the Panther Den site, the letters on the mail list, and/or has had occasion to meet Marv personally knows about his unending sense of humor, and his love of poking fun at any and all of us. Through all of this he has acquired many names and nicknames. The most common probably being "Doc," short for a modern day Dr. Frankenstein, creator of this "monster" that now has a mind of its own. But one thing also that comes through when you talk to him is his undying interest in people and in the Panther Den sites. 

Marv made mention of how so many of us have made the list what it is today. The Panther Den online is "a time consuming endeavor." His final comment was that "This ‘monster' has been and continues to be . . . FUN. Thanks."

Marv also said in his interview that he envisions "the Den to be a work in progress." And indeed that it is. The Den continues to grow and be fun for all of us. Thanks in return, Marv, for having this wonderful idea and letting all of us be part of it.