TOKYO
AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL
NARIMASU
TIME LINE
SCHOOL YEAR
1947 – 1948
On the 16th of February 1948, Tokyo American High School, Narimasu was opened at Grant Heights Housing Area. It provided schooling for students 7th through 12th Grades who lived in the Tokyo metropolitan area. There were 201 students enrolled.
1948 – 1949
Exchange rate was 271 yen to the dollar
Thirty-two seniors graduated in the class of 1949
The Dragons of NHS were the Far East Command High School basketball Champions
1949 – 1950
Exchange rate set at 360 yen to the dollar It was to remain at that level until the summer of 1971
1950 – 1951
1951 – 1952
1952 – 1953
The school year started with 142 students including 7th and 8th grades
The Dragons won their second Far East Command High School Basketball Championship
1953 – 1954
The Dragons won their third Far East Command High School Basketball Championship
1954 – 1955
At the start of the school year a junior high school was established at South Camp Drake and the 7th and 8th grades were moved from NHS
There were 400 students enrolled in NHS at the start of the school year
The faculty totaled twenty-two teachers for a teacher to student ratio of 1 to 18
The Dragons won their fourth Far East Command High School Basketball championship. That’s three in a row. 53-54-55
In the Spring of 1955 the Grant Heights Teen Age Club moved to new facilities a block from NHS and opened its snack bar for lunch – this meant that students could get a hamburger, fries and a Coke instead of eating in the school cafeteria or brown bagging it for lunch in the gym bleachers
The Junior Senior Prom was held at the Washington Heights Officers Club. Theme Stairway to the Stars
1955 – 1956
The student populations rose to 611 with 81 members of the Class of 1956
The official name of Narimasu was posted over the doors leading to the rotunda we were now officially
Tokyo American High School Narimasu
The faculty remained at twenty two teachers
A new group of students came from Camp Drew. They rode in military sedans because of the small number and the distance
Just outside the rotunda entrance a flag pole was dedicated on 29 Nov ’55
1956 – 1957
Mr Marshall is the new principal of NHS replacing Mr Hoffman
A new high school opened at Camp Drew and twenty-five students left NHS for Camp Drew High School
The gym got an electronic scoreboard
A new housing area, Mutsumi Dai was built next to Grant Heights. It was for the people assigned to the US Military Assistance and Advisory Group Japan (MAAG-J). Most of the kids were already enrolled at Narimasu. Just moving from Washington Heights and Grant Heights.
There were twenty nine teachers on the faculty of NHS.
The Junior Senior Prom was held at the Washington Heights Officers Club on 17 May 1957. The prom theme was LEMURIA (look it up)
I957 – 1958
At the start of the school year, more blue Air Force buses began delivering students from Fuchu Air Station. Narimasu had grown every year, and by the start of the ’57 – ’58 school year there were 944 students on the attendance rolls of Narimasu. Including 448 Freshmen and 254 Sophomores, 150 Juniors, and 92 Seniors. This was the peak of NHS’s growth.
On the first day of the ’57 – ’58 school year there were thirty three faculty members including a new position, Student Guidance Counselor. NHS was the first American school in the Far East to have a Student Guidance Counselor.
A new coach, Mr French, came from Colorado to join the Narimasu faculty. He was the fourth coach in four years. Early in the school year he made arrangements to have a local Japanese sporting goods firm produce the iconic Narimasu High School Letter Jacket (See photo at “Our History” – “Photo Albums”- “High School Life”)
On 7 March 1958 the NHS basketball team beat Yohi at the YoHi gym 68 to 37. It was an epic moment.
On 9 May 1958 the Junior Senior Prom was held at the Washington Heights Officers Club, The prom theme, “MY BLUE HEAVEN”
At seven thirty PM, 29 May 1958, at the Grant Heights Chapel, eighty nine members of the class of 1958 graduated from Tokyo American High School Narimasu. Three other seniors completed requirements for graduation but returned to the USA before the graduation ceremony bringing the total number of graduates to ninety two. This was to be the largest graduating class in the history of NHS.
1958 – 1959
Narimasu started the 1958-59 school year with 904 students
The Narimasu High School Pep Club acquired blue and white “Happi-coats” to wear to the games.
Friday night football came to Narimasu with two home games played at the Camp Drake field and one at Yohi and one at Camp Zama
The NHS Student Council sponsored the first ever Homecoming Celebration in the history of NHS. Events included Monday Blue and White Day: a dance in the gym on Wednesday. On Thursday everyone was dressed in black in mourning for the YoHi football team. Events culminated on Friday with a Bonfire, football game and dance. The game was won easily and it signaled an undefeated season for the Dragons.
NHS wins the Far East Football Conference Championship
The NHS band won first place in the Fifth International Music Contest sponsored by the Kanagawa Prefecture Government
The senior class once more sponsored the annual Snow Ball formal dinner dance. The Ball was at the Washington Heights Officers club on Monday 22 December 1958. The theme ” Winter Wonderland”
On 8 May 1959, the Junior Senior Prom was held at the Washington Heights Officers Club . The theme “Sunset In Venice
Ninety-two seniors graduated from Narimasu High School on 29 May 1959. Ceremonies were held at the Grant Heights Chapel. This equaled the number of seniors who graduated in 1958.
The Student Council selected a standard NHS Class Ring for the class of 1958-59 and all following classes. The ring is gold with a synthetic blue sapphire engraved with the NHS emblem…
1959 – 1960
A new high school opened at Johnson Air Base and another high school opened at Yamato Air Station and the NHS population started to shrink as students from Johnson, Yakota, Tachikawa, Fuchu and Green Park moved to the new high schools
In February 1960 the Narimasu student population was 487 students
The second annual Narimasu High School Homecoming Celebration started Monday, 10 November 1959. The week long homecoming activities featured a Bonfire rally on Thursday and on Friday there was THE HOME COMING PARADE The game AGAINST YoHi (NHS lost 13 – 12) And in the evening a dinner dance at the Grant Heights Officers Club.
The Sno-Ball formal was held at the Washington Heights Officers Club on 21 December 1959. Theme for the event was “White Christmas”
The Junior Senior Prom was held at the Washington Heights Officer Club on Friday 8 May 1960.
In the spring of 1960, Coach French had to return to the United States for medical treatment of an eye injury.
The Student Council spent $2,200 to improve the landscaping of the Narimasu campus adding trees and shrubs and low stone walls to make lunch breaks more enjoyable.
1960 – 1961
By the start of the school year, Narimasu High School enrolled just those kids from Washington Heights, Grant Heights, Momote Village, Mutsumi Dai and private rental. Total number of students 540.
The Dragons ranked in the 99th percentile of all American high schools taking the Iowa Tests for Educational Development.
The faculty totaled 27 .
Twenty students completed all four years of High School at Narimasu.
The Junior Senior Prom Was again held at Wahsington Heights Officers Club, The theme was “A China Night” – a song that brings back memories to all Dragons.
The sophomore class opened a “Student Store” in the gym at lunchtime.
1961 – 1962
Narimasu High School had 540 students enrolled at the start of the school year
Narimasu Dragons are the Kanto Plains football champions
The Narimasu Booster Club was formed by the parents of NHS Students to support the athletic teams and other school activities.
The Junior Senior Prom was held on 4 May 1962. The theme was “Maypole”. The floor show included the music of the Shamami Four, Copacabana singer Aki Yoshimura and the magic of Chorai-ki and son
At the start of the school year there were 27 teachers.
The Dragons won the Far East High School Football Championship defeating the Okinawa All stars 30 to 0 in the “Cherry Bowl.
The class of 1962 graduation ceremonies were held on 24 May at the Grant Heights Chapel.
1962 – 1963
In 1963, Washington Heights was closed in preparation for the 1964 Olympic Games held in Tokyo. With the closing of Washington Heights most of the people who were housed there moved to a new housing area, Kanto Mura, and enrolled in Chofu High School .
Student census in March 1963 showed that there were 403 boys and 313 girls for a total of 716 students attending NHS.
The Narimasu High School Marching Band performed at halftime of the home football games wearing new blue and white uniforms
On Saturday 10 Nov 1963 the Dragons won their Homecoming Game against Yamato HS. Final score was Yamato 12 Narimasu 32 –
Narimasu Dragons went on to repeat as the Kanto Plains football champions
New Floor is installed in the gym in December 1962. While the installation is in progress the Varsity and Junior Varsity were practicing and playing at the Camp Drake gym
The Class of 1963 graduated 89 members at the Grant Heights Chapel on 28 May 1963 at 7:30 PM
1963 – 1964
From 1963 until the closing of Grant Heights in 1971, the Narimasu student population consisted of students from Grant Heights, Momote Village, Mutsumi Dai and those living in private rental.
Dr Hay left Narimasu to teach at Chofu High School, it was a sad day in the history of NHS.
1965 – 1966
In the fall of 1965, the football field was renamed Russell Field after our longtime principal Mr. Russell,. It was to be dedicated at halftime during the homecoming game. They put a big sign with the new name on the announcer’s tower and covered it with a tarp and during halftime they were going to remove the tarp and reveal the new name. The night before the game three members of the student body pulled back the sheet, and put a sign over the permanent one that said “Rusty’s Field”. (Everyone called Mr. Russell “Rusty” behind his back.) Then they put the tarp back over it. During halftime they made the big announcement and pulled back the tarp. At first there was a big gasp and then a lot of laughter, including Mr Russell himself,.
1966 – 1967
1967 – 1968
1968 – 1969
1969 – 1970
1970 – 1971
At the end of the 1970-71 school year Tokyo American High School Narimasu Closed its doors
1971 – 1972
In the summer of 1971 the exchange rate was 308 Yen to the Dollar
At the start of the 1971 – 72 school year Narimasu High School reopened as Narimasu Middle School. Camp Drake Middle School was closed. Those high school students who would have attended Narimasu High School began the daily commute by bus to Yamato High School
Sources for this Time Line include The Dragon’s Roar, the Sensu, personal memorabilia, and The Stars & Stripes. Additions to the Narimasu Time Line are welcome but please include information sources. Names will be limited to faculty members only.
