The 1970s at Cupertino High School is often referred to as the school’s “GOLDEN AGE” for athletics, spirit, teachers class curriculum innovation, television production and just having fun. The Powerful Pioneers won multiple CCS championships in soccer, basketball, wrestling and track. All told 29 team and individual CCS championships were garnered by Tino in this dynamic decade. In the spring of 1974 a huge wooden crate arrived at CHS bearing a huge 435 lb. bell that was painted a very ugly battleship gray. Sid James and his metal shop classes would transform this into a beautiful brass bell you could almost see your reflection in. The Cupertino High School “Spirit Bell ” would become the core of spirit at CHS to this very day.  It was unveiled for the first time the next year as we acquired still another bell that was emblematic of the FUHSD Spirit Championship…the El Camino Bell . Starting in the fall of 1974 the Cupertino rooting section dominated the FUHSD spirit competition until it was ceased in 1980.  It was  “a happening” at the start of each school year that hundreds of students relished…card stunts were performed that were truly dazzling. The Rowdy Rooters were born and brought zest and enthusiasm to Tino basketball rooting sections during the Kurt Rambis championship era. Dance marathons, ‘78 faculty kidnapping, Donkey Basketball & Hollywood Movie Nights all helped make Cupertino a fun place to be. Still another fun factor was a faculty Rock & Roll Band called the TOADS. First appearing at a Class of 1977 Freshman Fun Night, they went on to inaugurate  the Yearbook Dance, raising thousands of dollars to renovate the Wagon Wheel and decorate the gym. In the classroom innovative teaching techniques and classes were the rule at CHS. Mr. Brackenbury and Mr.  Montgomery collaborated on a class entitled “Marriage and Family” The students here were taught all about the responsibilities that came with matrimony. The highlight of the class came when all those taking the class were married in a mass mock ceremony. The Cupertino High School Marching Band established a nation-wide “Show Band” reputation as it performed on national television at 49er and Raider games and marched in prestigious New Years Day Parades such as those held before  Rose Bowl & the Cotton Bowl games. The Cupertino High School’s Girls Flag Football teams were among the finest in all of Santa Clara Valley as they ran rough shod over girls sport powerhouses such as St. Francis, Lynbrook, Gunn and Saratoga. The 1973 Senior boys anchored  quite possibly the greatest CHS football team of all time. A new multi million dollar science building in 1974 was constructed which afforded the school with a much needed second auditorium. Mr. Relph’s Psychology classes utilized a “Trustwalk” as part of its curriculum with one student escorting another around the campus who was blind folded. The faculty put on two plays…  “The Man Who Came To Dinner” and “You Can’t Take It With You” to raise money for scholarships.  CHS was on top of the world.  However, as the decade ended storm clouds appeared on the horizon as the District began looking for ways to cut costs as student enrollment began to shrink. Closing schools was now, for the first time, considered by the FUHSD Board of Trustees.