For generations, the Brecksville Broadview Heights High School has been alive through everything from the excitement of Friday night games, the school dances, and the traditions that shaped students beyond the classroom. Though the years have brought change, the heart of the school has remained.
In the 1960s, students like Judi Kaye, Class of 1965, vividly remembers her high school years. For Kaye’s class, the school had major milestones. For example, her class was the first to have a drum major and a male cheerleader. Kaye pointed out that high school was so much more than getting an education. Friday nights meant hanging out at Manners Drive-In or Turf Drive-In, chatting with friends between cars, and celebrating wins at football games.
Despite the amazing memories made, the school had much more to grow on. “Opportunities were limited, especially for girls. We didn’t have girls’ sports,” Kaye said. “If you wanted to play, you joined GAA, (the Girls Athletic Association) and played other schools that had one too.”
But what the school lacked in athletics, was made up for in the community. Unlike the prom now-a-days, proms were held right in the gym, decorated by students and parents. “Our parents even put on the after-prom show,” she remembered. “They built sets, wore costumes, and performed for us. It was amazing.”
Just like students nowadays, many liked to play pranks and mess around. Kaye remembers one time when “a student stuck a penny in a light socket just to see what would happen. When they turned the lights on, it blew out the entire center of town. It knocked out power to the stadium and even the town hall. We didn’t find out who did it until our 35th reunion!”
For years students have found ways to bypass dress code rules at school. Numerous debates have been held over the strictness and necessity for these rules. However, what is seen as strict now, barely compares to rules during the 1960s.
During the 1960s girls were forbidden from wear pants. “Skirts had to touch the floor when we kneeled, and if they didn’t, your parents were called to bring you a longer one.” Kaye shares. Boys couldn’t wear jeans or let their hair touch their collars. These were just some of the strict rules during this time. “We thought we were so clever, to get around the rules we sewed our culottes together so they’d look like skirts,” Kaye remembers with a laugh.
By the 1970s, the Brecksville Broadview Heights high school had grown. Annette Hess Mantkowski, Class of 1974, describes loving high school. She says, “The district prepared me well for college, but the friendships I made are what really lasted.” Even fifty years later, Mantkowski and numerous of her classmates still meet every six weeks. “When we’re together, we feel like teenagers again,” she says.
Her classmate Jeanne Travaglianti, Class of 1975, shared similar memories. “There was so much spirit, you were proud to be a Bee,” she said.
Travaglianti remincies on prom saying, “Our prom was the last one held at the school. We transformed the gym into Hawaii for the night.” Between crowded hallways, strict dress codes, and the excitement of senior traditions, the 1970s Bees carried forward the same pride and creativity that shaped the classes before them.
Travaglianti remembers the packed hallways of the old building and the buzz between classes. The high school at the time was in the current middle school. “There were almost sixteen hundred students,” she said. “Getting from the lower wing to the main hall before the bell was nearly impossible. Everyone was laughing, running, talking.”
Like Kaye, Travalianti recalled the strict rules, “Language, dress, even hallway behavior was monitored closely,” she explained. “One of my teachers once called me out just for getting a kiss on the cheek from my boyfriend.” Looking back, while the rules were frustrating, they gave structure and made the community safe.
By the 1980s, the school had developed even more. Booming with pride, the 1983 football team went undefeated, winning the state championship and uniting the entire community. “I think every student went to that game,” said David Martin, Class of 1985.
Martin ran track and cross country. “There wasn’t social media or distractions; it was just about running, learning, and being with your team,” he said. Like the others, Martin remembers the high school as an overall positive experience. When asked about negative experiences, he describes the 1980s as a lot more relaxed than now-a-days, making for very few negative experiences.
Decades later, Martin now works for the school in the very same building where he attended high school. “My office is where a locker room used to be,” he shared. “It’s strange, but it reminds me how much can change over the years.”
As time moved forward, BBHHS continued to evolve. From new buildings, such as the current elementary and high school, to expanded programs that foster curiosity and prepare students for the future, the district is better than ever.
From the dress code that has since be relaxed, to the girls in athletics that now play a major role in the district, the school has changed a lot.
Still, one thing alumni stress has not changed is the sense of community. Many alumni describe their pride for being a Brecksville Bee expands far after graduation. Despite being done with high school, graduates return year after year for alumni pancake breakfasts, bowling nights, and reunion luncheons.
Many remain active through the Brecksville–Broadview Heights Alumni Association, which brings together former students of all decades. “We’ve had people who left town decades ago come back just to reconnect,” Kaye said. “It’s the best part of being a Bee.”
Through every decade, Brecksville–Broadview Heights High School has stood for more than education. It represents memories, pride, and friendships that last a lifetime.
As said by Judi Kaye, “There’s nothing better than seeing someone after sixty years, hugging them, and realizing how much they still mean to you.”
And for everyone who has ever walked its halls, one truth will always hold, “Once a Bee, always a Bee.”
