Parking prank puzzles PHS

Pep Week pranksters struck Pendleton High School in February 1981 with a puzzling parking problem.

Students arrived on Monday morning, Feb. 23, 1981, to find a yellow MG Sprite plunked in the middle of the high school library. The car was jacked up and the tires removed and shoved under the car. The pranksters took the lug nuts so the wheels couldn’t be reinstalled. A potted plant perched serenely in the rear seat, and three books were carefully placed alongside: “Fingerprinting,” “Great Adventures in Crime” and “Crime in America.”

Pendleton High School students shared the library with an MG Sprite during a Pep Week prank on Feb. 23, 1981 (EO file photo)

After somehow obtaining a key to the building, the culprits had removed a center post from the library doors and rearranged the furniture. The car was then carefully wheeled in and displayed proudly in the center of the room. The floor was not scratched, no furniture was damaged and no oil leaks were found.

Principal Joe Cannon said, “We’ll get it out of here, but I don’t know when.” While the battery and engine were still in the car, it wouldn’t start.

Parking attendant Dave White heard about the incident and gleefully slapped a ticket on the windshield, citing the owner for improper parking, not having a parking sticker and for blocking the aisle.

Once the students had satisfied their curiosity, the prank caused no disruption to classes. “I told you we had a parking problem,” one student commented.