Janice Taylor - Memories of
Brigham Young Junior High School

Ten Teens of Brigham Young Junior High School

I was in the Class of 1949 - but graduated from Provo High School. I attended BY Junior High and then went on to Provo High.

While at BY Junior High I was in two plays. I seem to recall that Morris Clinger was our director, but it could have been otherwise.

I played the part of an old lady in a play "The Patchwork Quilt." I was also in a play called "Don't Feed the Animals." I was the only junior high student with a high school cast. The play was entered in a speech contest and won an award.

During my Brigham Young Junior High years, I belonged to a group of ten girls. We called ourselves the "Ten Teens". We had parties at each other's houses, sometimes including the boys in our class.

The girls in the group were myself, Mary Young, Marian and Marilyn Norton (twins), Janice Anderson, Ann Grethe Ballif, Margaret Clarke, Anna Lou Miller, Ruelene Jacobson, and Gail Curtis (yes, that adds up to ten).

Some of the "unnumbered" boys included Jae Ballif, Henry Taylor, Kent Broadhead, Harold Christensen and others. We danced, played games, etc., etc.

I remember that one of the girls once suggested we play "wink" or "post office" but the boys were all so girl-shy that they wouldn't hear of it.

We girls often had sleepover parties at each other's homes and talked all through the night. I particularly remember one party where we decided to tell each other what was wrong with each of us and try to improve ourselves. It ended with all of us angry with each other and in tears.

In my 9th grade year, I was secretary of the Junior High. We had a Student Council meeting each week and both the Junior High and High School officers met together. We also held weekly mat dances together.

My family home in Provo and our cabin in Provo Canyon provided locations for many fun times.

As a group we often hiked up Rock Canyon to "Devil's Kitchen" and beyond. On one rather harrowing occasion, we decided to investigate an old abandoned cave. Jae Ballif thought up the idea of using burning sagebrush for a light. We attempted this and Jae ended up with singed eyebrows and arms.

We ten teen girls often rode our bikes around town, sometimes down to Utah Lake and back. I remember riding by the Utah State Mental Hospital to peek at faces we might see behind the barred windows.

--by Janice Taylor McGraw
10 Teens of BYJrHS