Santa Rosa High School celebrates 150 years

The year 1874 was a big one in the United States.

A patent for the definitive design of barbed wire was invented, New York City annexed the Bronx and the Philadelphia Zoo opened.

Ulysses S. Grant was the president of the United States, which at the time included just 37 states. It was the year the Republican Party adopted the elephant as its mascot and the year that poet Robert Frost was born.

But most monumental, surely, among these historic events was the opening of Santa Rosa High School — revered by some as the school so great they named a town after it.

When it opened its doors, Santa Rosa High was just the ninth high school in California. Petaluma High opened in 1873, nipping SRHS by one year.

A century and a half of educating kids, educating generations of students in this community, is worth celebrating.

“It’s something clearly remarkable, not just for Sonoma County, but for California,” said Mike Daniels, a 1959 SRHS graduate, retired English teacher and founding member of the Santa Rosa High Foundation.

So with that in mind, a party will be thrown this weekend to celebrate Santa Rosa High’s 150th birthday.

And what a party is planned.

It all starts with the homecoming football game against the Piner High Prospectors on Friday night. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, the entire campus, as well as the school museum, will be open at 10 a.m. with guided tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Food trucks will be set up in the staff parking lot from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The largest “Show and Shine” car show in years — 60-plus vehicles are expected — will be in front of DeSoto Hall.

Bands, singers and performances will occur outside of DeSoto Hall throughout the day and the ArtQuest Fall Showcase will open in the auditorium at 11 a.m.

At noon, organizers and local elected officials will speak in front of the school. The time capsule that was enclosed in the front sign in 2010 will be opened and then resealed.

Festivities will wind down at 3 p.m.

“There is something to be said for something being that old and having such a rich tradition and rich history,” Principal Mark Ryan said. “It’s worthwhile for people to come and celebrate something that is historical.”

Volunteers with the Santa Rosa High Foundation have already helped hang historic photographs in the main building, according to foundation president Mary Beseda, a 1974 grad.

“We got those up a couple of weeks ago,” she said.

Beseda and her class celebrated their 50th reunion last weekend with just about 120 people signed on to attend. The reunion, as many do these days, included a tour of the SRHS Museum on the second floor of the main building.

“It’s got just about every yearbook you could imagine,” she said. “And all kinds of memorabilia.”

There are mannequins decked out in period spirit wear, blankets going back decades that celebrate athletes and teams, and uniforms, pom-poms and all things orange and black.

Muriel Craw Kingsbury and her classmates had long planned to get their multiday, 70th class reunion rolling on Thursday.

The class of 1954 had a mixer planned Thursday night and a luncheon Friday before the whole group is scheduled to head to the football game.

“I am hopeful that we as a group can come in, get announced as the class of 1954, and carry in a bunch of balloons,” Kingsbury, 88, said. “I think that would be spectacular.”

The group from the class of 1954, as one might expect, has gotten smaller in recent years, but Kingsbury, who lives in Sebastopol, said planning each reunion is its own special joy. She’s the one in charge of checking in on classmates, keeping them apprised of events. So even if they can’t make the big party this weekend, she’s been able to keep folks updated.

“We have had a wonderful time planning,” she said.

But why all the fuss?

“It’s our alma mater. We love it,” Kingsbury said. “It was the beginning of the rest of your life, you might say. It was our last woohoo before we stepped out into the world.”

Speaking of spirit, the school fight song will surely be a part of the party.

The song, based on the tune of the University of Wisconsin fight song, has been a mainstay of campus life for decades.

Pep bands have played it, sure, but in the late 1990s, it was Daniels who sort of brought it back to life on campus.

“I decided we couldn’t start class until we sang the fight song,” Daniels said.

And so his kids sang. At the start of every period, they sang.

It got the attention of a classroom nearby.

“Art (Horner) came into my room and said, ‘What are you doing in here?’” Daniels remembered his colleague asking. “So he started doing it with his class. It spread to the whole upper floor. Just spread like crazy.”

So every Friday during the fall sports season — cross-country, volleyball, girls golf, girls tennis, football — every student in every classroom on the second floor of the main building files into the hallway and sings the fight song. At the start of every period of the day.

Then they quietly return to their desks.

“It’s wild,” Daniels said. “It’s just wonderful.”

As a 1991 Santa Rosa High grad, I wasn’t around when this tradition took hold. But I have seen it in action since.

The spirit is real, said retired teacher Art Horner.

“I think the kids really feel it,” he said.

Horner taught history for decades at Santa Rosa High and was for years the school liaison to the foundation. Since retiring, he’s joined the foundation board. He’s been a key part of the 150th celebration organization.

Santa Rosa is known for its outsized school spirit. The Panthers may or may not win the game, but they will likely out cheer their opponent.

I asked Horner where that spirit comes from and how its maintained year after year.

“I think it’s because the kids really care about the school,” he said. “I had a PTA mom say it really well. She said when you go to other schools, kids like their school. When you come to Santa Rosa, they love their school.”

I asked Horner again, why?

“We don’t have any dominant groups on campus — those stereotypes of high school movies,” he said. “We have all these groups that all think they are dominant. We have ag, we have ArtQuest, we have sports kids. They all see it as their school.”

And all of those programs will be on display Saturday in an all-day affair meant to both celebrate and thank SRHS.

That is one of the best parts, Kingsbury said.

She just feels grateful for her experience, one that was some seven decades ago but which still holds such a special place in her heart.

“It’s the school spirit that gets me,” Kingsbury said. “The teachers were special. The office people were special. The students were special. I suppose everybody feels that way, but I very much feel that way.”

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or [email protected]. On Instagram @kerry.benefield.