Pleasant 7th graders had the opportunity to hear from 1994 Pleasant graduate and historian, Mr. Tim Stried, on Friday, October 8th. Mr. Stried’s focus of his talk centered around Pleasant Township’s deep and rich history. Pleasant Township grew because of its local sawmill at the intersection of Owens Road and Smeltzer Road as well as the Owens Quarry. These two local businesses were key developments that sparked our economic and population growth. The growing population quickly led to the need to financially invest into its first school in 1823. By 1915 there were 9 one-room school houses as the population continued to grow. 1916 saw a K-12 building that housed grades 6-12 that is today the current Middle School. 1963 saw the high school being built followed by the elementary in 1967.
Pleasant schools never had a mascot until the early 1950s. Jim Midlam, the head basketball, baseball, and track coach at the time began referring to his teams as the “Pandas”. Some say he did it more as a joke, but it was soon adopted as the school’s official mascot. Pleasant remained the Pandas until the early 1960s when the school decided that a more impressive mascot would be adopted.
Mary Howser, a senior and Pleasant’s head cheerleader in 1963, was soon to begin her college career at Michigan State University, home of the Spartans. That year, the “Spartan” became a popular choice for the new mascot as it was voted by the student body to make it the new mascot. Thus, Pleasant took to the football field as the Spartans for the first time in the fall of 1963.
The 7th grade students and Middle School staff would like to thank Mr. Stried for sharing his historical knowledge with us. His parting words reminded us that our own last names on the back of a jersey represents our family but the “Pleasant Spartans” on the front of the jersey represents ourselves as a proud school district and township. WE ARE SPARTANS !