Modge Podge Bottle

In the winter of 1972, two Highlands students (sisters) were separated for the first time. The younger of the two, Linda, was a junior at Highlands High School. 

Although she continued with her school, cheerleading, chorus, church, friends, and family routines, her thoughts often drifted to her older sister, Melody, who was a freshman at UK. 

The two had previously shared every aspect of life. Walking through the halls of HHS without her sister on campus felt different.

Melody, a young girl in her first year of college stops between classes at a campus newsstand and buys trendy magazines. She returns to her dorm and finds time in between classes to cut out phrases and glue them to a glass bottle while listening to “Here There and Everywhere,” by The Beatles on her record player. She reminisces about her sister, and how much she misses her while she is away at college. She hopes this Christmas gift will help remind her sister that they will always be there for each other, no matter the distance.

In the early 70s, modge podge bottles were all the rage. Teenagers in the 70’s did not have today's technological distractions and often engaged in arts and crafts. The Thompson sisters were awfully close, always talking about everything and teasing each other about boys, going around town, hanging in their rooms dancing, and listening to the top 40 hits on the radio. This is why during her first semester at college, Melody thought it a good idea to make a craft for Linda.

As for the process of the bottles’ creation, “We would cut phrases or words out of magazines or newspapers and decorate things with them. You would take an object and just paste the phrases on it. When all of the phrases were glued on the bottle, you would paint a glossy finish on and put something decorative inside it or give it to someone,” said Melody. Although some words on the bottle have a personal focus, many of the words and phrases provide clues to the life of a Highlands student in the early 1970’s. This memory bottle serves as a sort of “time capsule” revealing the life of Highlands students and cheerleaders from this era. Let’s peek into the meaning of some of these revelations. Each bolded, italicized word below is featured on this modge-podge memory bottle.